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Bill delisting wolves discussed by subcommittee

Legislation that would remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species List is moving through the House Committee on Natural Resources. 

During a Tuesday subcommittee hearing, co-author and Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert said the introduction of wolves west of the Great Divide in 2020 is an example of ballot box biology, forcing wolves into rural areas. “This misguided approach of importing foreign predators has received pushback from tribes, residents, energy operators, and most importantly, our farmers and ranchers.”

Co-author Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin testified the wolf has more than recovered and needs to be taken off the Endangered Species List.  He says wolf management needs to return to the states to protect people, pets, and livestock. “We need to stop the slaughter that is going on in my district, in many districts across the United States and if we don’t, we now have three threats that have been documented to humans in Wisconsin. We’re going to end up with a situation that is going to be regrettable.”

Representative Pete Stauber of Minnesota calls the Endangered Species Act well-intentioned-but broken and the 27-hundred wolf goal in his state has been greatly exceeded. “Half of the wolves in this country are in Minnesota by the official estimates, and their population is twice as high as the goal our wildlife managers set at the species listing.” He says, “The ESA has been weaponized by radical leftist groups that don’t want to follow the science, the science that proves the gray wolf has recovered and should be delisted and allow the state to manage them.”

The legislation, HR845, has support from American Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.  It still needs a vote from the full House Committee on Natural Resources before getting a floor vote.