State and federal legislation aims at delisting wolves

Measures to remove wolves from federal protection under the Endangered Species Act have been introduced in both Congress and the Montana Legislature.

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Montana, joined Idaho Republican representatives Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador on Jan. 26 in introducing two bills aimed at putting wolf management under state control.

One bill calls for delisting wolves from the ESA across the U.S. The second bill calls for delisting wolves in Montana and Idaho and allowing those two states to take over managing wolves there. Rehberg said 15 representatives support the legislation, including six Democrats.

“The gray wolf isn’t endangered, which is why Republicans and Democrats alike are joining forces to end the misuse of the Endangered Species Act to advance extremist policy agendas,” Rehberg said. “I heard from thousands of Montanans, and folks get it. They know that states are better at managing our own local wildlife than the federal government thousands of miles away.”

The Montana House passed a resolution calling for delisting wolves on Jan. 18. House Joint Resolution 1 passed by a 99-1 vote and will move on to the Senate. The resolution does not have the weight of law but sends a message to Montana’s congressional delegation that something should be done about Montana’s wolf population.

HJ1 supports the transfer of gray wolf management to state; urges Congress to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list in Montana; ensures the ability of the state to continue its successful management of wolves; and urges the Obama administration to fully support such legislation.

The lone no vote in the Montana House came from Mike Phillips, D-Bozeman, a wildlife biologist who has worked for decades on wolf restoration across the U.S.

Phillips said he doesn’t oppose de-listing and thinks Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks can manage wolves, but he didn’t think the resolution has a real chance of affecting wolf management. Three amendments he proposed were not allowed by Republican leaders.

One amendment called for Montana to urge Wyoming to come up with an acceptable management plan. Because Wyoming does not have an acceptable plan, courts rulings have favored keeping the animals on the ESA.

Another called for the federal government to exempt the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from wolf management and handing management over to the state. The third amendment called for more scientific analysis of the recovery criteria for wolves, which would help address court challenges.