Federal officials have denied extending protections under the Endangered Species Act to a subspecies of moose that historically appeared in four upper Midwestern states.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday ruled the northwestern moose subspecies, historically found in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, is stable. The agency also said there were no notable differences with similar moose across the border in Canada, where the population is healthy.

Two environmental groups filed a petition in 2016 asking for the designation after moose in Minnesota, which has the region’s largest moose population, suffered a decline in the decade prior.

By — Lakeland News