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Wolf issue could be in Washington spending bill

With the election over, the push is back on by Wisconsin officials to remove wolves from the endangered species list in three Great Lakes states.  Lawmakers and natural resources officials want to return to state wolf management, saying the pack is too large and causes too much damage to livestock and pets.

State Senator Tom Tiffany is optimistic delisting wolves can still happen during the lame duck session of Congress.  Tiffany tells Brownfield, “There’s an omnibus spending bill that’s coming up before Congress before the end of the year.  This provision could be included in it, and hopefully, it will be included in the final draft that is voted on.”

Tiffany says Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin needs to lead on this issue, but Baldwin told Brownfield in October the wolf issue should be settled in the courts. “Right now, it is more of a litigation issue than it is in the political arena right now.  What I believe is the Endangered Species Act was very important in terms of protecting those threatened species and rebuilding habitats, bringing them back to sustainable numbers, whatever that species might be.”  Baldwin adds, “It has gone to court to figure out what the sustainable number (of wolves) might be.”

Tiffany disagrees, saying, “What happens when you leave it to the courts is it volleys back and forth, so we’ll get delisting

for a few years like we had a couple of years ago, and then another lawsuit will be filed and it will be taken away, and so you end up with this ping-pong effect.”

Tiffany and State Representative Adam Jarchow sent a letter to Baldwin urging her to take a leadership role in the U.S. Senate on this issue instead of waiting for the courts.

Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s staff has told Tiffany the House of Representatives has the votes to pass it, but the U.S. Senate does not, so Tiffany is hoping the language is added to the spending bill.

Johnson authored one of the wolf delisting proposals, and Wisconsin Representative Reid Ribble authored another which was co-sponsored by Minnesota Representative Collin Peterson.

Wisconsin State Senator Tom Tiffany discusses wolf delisting with Brownfield’s Larry Lee