The Biden administration has declined to list gray wolves as an endangered species in much of the West, which would have granted the region full federal protection, something environmentalists have long argued. That’s what I’ve been doing.
In Friday’s announcement, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) responded to two petitions seeking to list gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the northern Rocky Mountains and western United States. The investigation found that there is no reason. The agency announced that it conducted an analysis and concluded that the species is not at risk of extinction in the Western world now or in the foreseeable future.
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) said in a statement: “Today’s announcement is a huge relief to the millions of Americans affected by the unchecked gray wolf population. “We cannot alleviate the concerns.” “The fact that Americans have to worry time and time again about how ESA rulings will affect their lives and livelihoods is a sign of a broken system that allows bureaucrats to make decisions without local community input.” It illustrates the system.”
“We know that the Endangered Species Act is in dire need of scientific reforms, and Congressional Republicans have worked to make these reforms a reality,” he said. “Despite today’s announcement, it remains clear that the gray wolf is a recovery species, and its management should be transferred to the states. It’s time to hand over control to local communities and the wild animals they know best. ”
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The Biden administration has rejected a petition from environmental groups calling for broader protections for gray wolves to prevent their culling in Western countries. (Getty Images)
Westerman led an effort Thursday with eight Republican senators to investigate the ongoing FWS over the labor landscape, gray wolves, and a national dialogue on thriving communities and culture. He and other Republicans expressed concern that the agency would list the gray wolf species in the Northern Rockies ecosystem despite evidence that the population has recovered.
The federal action taken Friday is in response to an emergency petition filed in May 2021 by several environmental groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity. The groups had sought to re-register gray wolves under the ESA to override state laws that allow residents of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to kill gray wolves.
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“It’s extremely shocking that the Fish and Wildlife Service is turning a blind eye to the cruel and aggressive methods of killing wolves in Montana and Idaho,” said Christine Ackland, director of the Rocky Mountain North Program at the Center for Biological Diversity. It’s unfortunate,” he said. statement. “By denying protection to these beautiful creatures, the Service is allowing northern Rocky Mountain states to continue defeating decades of recovery efforts.”
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) on February 10, 2021, in Midland, Texas. (Eli Hartman/Odessa American, Associated Press, File)
“Today’s announcement is a tragic loss to the important recovery of gray wolf populations in appropriate areas of the United States,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. “It’s going to spoil the situation,” he added. “Since wolves lost federal protection, unsustainable and cruel hunting regulations promoted by anti-wildlife politicians and policymakers have resulted in wolves being recklessly pursued and killed throughout the northern Rocky Mountains. It has become.”
House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said Friday that FWS’ actions “ignore the existential threat” posed by state laws that allow killing of wolves. .
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As a result of Congress passing a bill to delist the gray wolf in 2011, states in the West removed protections for the gray wolf and issued management plans calling for the species’ population to be reduced. One of those states, Montana, says it supports ensuring the long-term survival of wolves while managing populations responsibly to prevent conflicts with livestock and humans. .
A 14-year-old wolf stands on a den at the Colorado Wolf Wildlife Center in the town of Divide. (Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images)
Industry groups such as the National Cattle and Beef Association, which represents ranchers, and the American Farm Federation, which represents farmers, have argued in favor of delisting the gray wolf.
In 2020, the Trump administration declared the species fully recovered in the United States and removed it from the ESA. Two years later, a federal district court restored ESA protection in the Lower 48 states, but this decision did not affect the species’ delisted status in the Northern Rockies ecosystem.
Former Secretary of the Interior David Barnhart said in 2020, “After more than 45 years as a listed species, gray wolves have met all conservation goals for recovery.” “Today’s announcement simply reflects a determination that this species is neither endangered nor endangered,” according to certain factors Congress has enacted into law. ”
