LANSING — State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, said he was frustrated with a judicial decision restoring federal protections for gray wolves.

A judge restored federal protections for gray wolves across much of the U.S. on Thursday after they were removed in the waning days of the Trump administration.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had failed to show wolf populations could be sustained in the Midwest and portions of the West without protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Wildlife advocates had sued the agency last year, saying state-sponsored hunting threatened to reverse the gray wolf’s recovery over the past several decades.

“It is very frustrating that some judge over a thousand miles away has the authority to dictate how Michigan manages its wildlife population. How could this person possibly know whether Michigan’s gray wolf population is sustainable, much less claim it isn’t, when Michigan has far exceeded the recovery goals for two decades?,” McBroom said.

“It is, frankly, preposterous that activist courts and radical groups continue to undermine good faith efforts by stakeholders to responsibly de-list gray wolves from federal protection and provide real, scientific management. The endangered species listing is not management nor is it now being scientific.

“This ping-ponging back and forth is tiresome and the lack of surety for residents leaves them constantly wondering where they stand. Our citizens should not be in fear of becoming a criminal for doing nothing more than protecting their livestock, pets, and livelihoods.”