WASHINGTON — The gray wolf has caught the eye of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The House voted 209 to 205 this week to remove the animal from the endangered species list. All but four Republicans supported the bill, and all but four Democrats opposed it. One of the co-sponsors, Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, said the Endangered Species Act worked in enabling the species to survive, and now thrive.
“It's time to let the states manage wolf population,” he said.
At a hearing on Friday, House members heard testimony about the challenges facing the wolves; they also heard why some believe removing them from the endangered species list would be helpful to rural America.
“Some states would likely reduce populations to achieve management goals. But no states are suggesting the desire to remove wolves altogether,” said Nathan Roberts, an associate professor of conservation and wildlife management at the College of the Ozarks.
The gray wolf is delisted in the Northern Rocky Mountains, considered threatened in Minnesota and listed as endangered in the rest of the lower 48 states, which means they cannot be hunted there. But Tiffany said its population has caused disruptions in Wisconsin.
“You see agricultural producers, beef farmers, dairy farmers, losing production as a result of wolves going after the herds,” Tiffany said. “And we hear stories regularly of pets being snatched.”
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources estimated there are about 1,000 wolves in the state. The Trump administration removed protections, effective in Jan. 2021. A federal judge restored the wolf’s endangered status a year later. Some said delisting the gray wolf once again would put the species at risk for extinction.
“And in Wisconsin, one hunting season alone wiped out over 30% of that state's gray wolf population,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California.
The Biden administration opposes the bill, likely dooming its chances this year. The administration said the measure would “override and short-circuit” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is developing a gray wolf recovery plan.