ST. CLOUD -- A Minnesota-based organization designed to protect gray wolves in the upper midwest is holding a meeting in St. Cloud Saturday to recruit supporters. Howling For Wolves organizer Maureen Hackett says they will hold a "Wolf Pack" meeting at the St. Cloud Public Library from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in the Array Community Room.

Hackett says there's a misconception that wolves are a nuisance. Instead, she argues wolves are good for the ecosystem...

A lot of people don't realize that the wolf basically is good for water because the wolf helps plants grow.  By having a wolf in a wildlife ecosystem, the animals like deer, the rabbits and all of that are kept in better behavioral control essentially so all of the plants are not wiped out.

She says the group works to lobby state and federal lawmakers in protecting wolves from hunting and trapping.  One of the group's efforts is to block federal legislation from passing through Congress...

There is a very intense push in Congress to remove the wolf from any federal protection and to make it not judicially reviewable.  We're concerned that bill will get passed into law and if it does then wolves will be under Minnesota's "management".  What happens with Minnesota is we have a wolf hunt on the books right now ready to be implemented.

As part of Saturday's meeting, Howling For Wolves will be highlighting current projects, providing opportunities to get involved and promoting Wolf Day at the State Capitol scheduled for April 11th.

Click on the link to learn more about Howling For Wolves.

To RSVP for Saturday's meeting, email here.

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