Partial Delisting of Wolves Part of FY 2011 Budget Agreement in U.S. Congress

April 12, 2011 (Washington, DC) - A coalition of the nation's largest hunting and conservation organizations welcomed a provision championed by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) member Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho and CSC Senate Co-Chair, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as part of a the FY 2011 budget agreement to fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year.

The coalition includes Safari Club International, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, National Rifle Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, the Boone and Crockett Club, and Pope and Young Club.

The groups support this initial step toward state management of recovered wolves and the clear assertion by Congress that recovered wildlife should be delisted from the ESA. The groups also note that other states have recovered wolf populations that have not yet been delisted and urge Congress to actively pursue delisting for those states also.

The Simpson-Tester rider directs the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the latest (2009) ruling declaring the wolf recovered and to return wolf management to state agencies in Montana and Idaho, as well as portions of Utah, Washington and Oregon. Additionally, the provision precludes further lawsuits and preserves the decision made by Wyoming U.S. District Judge Johnson in November 2010, that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) wrongfully rejected Wyoming’s wolf management plan.

“This agreement is only the first step in returning management of the gray wolf back to state authority where it belongs,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President Jeff Crane. “Thanks to the leadership of the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, a concrete move towards delisting has been taken and certain states will once again have the authority to manage wolves in the near future.”

Dr. Larry Rudolph, President of Safari Club International, said “We are pleased that the work of this important coalition has yielded a historical precedent from the Congress to cut off the endless litigation and return recovered populations of wolves to state management.”

“Federal management goals were met for all wolf populations at least 10 years ago and wolves now number at least five times over the federal goals. Federal officials at the USFWS have attempted delisting three times in the Rockies and Great Lakes and - despite the clear achievement of recovery - each attempt was turned back to the USFWS on questions of process. This fix is long overdue and we applaud it,” said David Allen, CEO of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The coalition noted that the Congressional mandate applies to only a part of the area where wolves are beyond recovery goals. Wyoming’s wolves remain under federal ESA protection. Only parts of Washington, Oregon, and Utah are included in the delisting although wolves are moving into other parts of those states. The Western Great Lakes area is excluded from the provision, where a fourth round of rulemaking is expected to begin soon.

Chris Cox, Executive Director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, said, “We are pleased with this important step and hope that opponents of delisting have gotten the message that Congress is sending. We will be closely watching the pending delisting in the Western Great Lakes. In the meantime, we will continue to push for a comprehensive solution in Congress.”

“It is unwise to try the same thing over and over again and expect a different result,” said Gray Thornton, CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation. “We’ve seen three times already that this process is unclear and causes – as Judge Molloy described it – ‘turmoil of legal issues with practical management issues’. This is a problem only Congress can fix. Congress has now fixed part of the Rockies and the Northwest. Turmoil will continue until Congress completes the job in the Rockies, including Wyoming, the Northwest and the Great Lakes region – and anywhere else where wolf populations are recovered.”

The wolf delisting agreement in the FY 2011 budget came on the heels of Montana U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruling against a settlement proposal by environmental groups that would have returned wolf management temporarily to Idaho and Montana only.

In order to return all recovered wolf populations to state managers, the group supports further efforts in Congress and the Administration until a comprehensive fix is complete.

Contact: Nelson Freeman, media@safariclub.org

i expect wyoming to be added to the list
before the weekend.

ravenr,

I hope your right buddy. Keep my fingers crossed.

Wyoming heads toward possible wolf delisting

After U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson dealt Wyoming a favorable hand, the state may be able to play its trump cards to get wolves delisted.

“I think that there is a chance that this can happen,” said Steve Ferrell, policy adviser to Gov. Matt Mead.

Ferrell, former director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, admits he is an optimist, but he said Wyoming citizens would like to see the matter resolved and so would Congress.

Ferrell has been traveling around northwest Wyoming seeking input from the public, the latest with members of Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife in Cody last week.

Ferrell said only a handful of Wyomingites want to see the wolf remain on the Endangered Species list; most in Wyoming favor delisting.

“The vast majority says, ‘Let’s pursue this,’” Ferrell said.

The governor wants delisting too, Ferrell said.

In November 2010, Johnson said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rejection of Wyoming’s wolf plan was not based on sound science. He said the service should revisit Wyoming’s plan to determine whether the proposed trophy game zone is adequate to sustain the wolf population.

In March, the service withdrew its appeal in Federal District Court that had questioned Wyoming’s wolf plan.

Then, on Saturday, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula denied a proposed settlement by Fish and Wildlife and 10 conservation groups that would have delisted wolves in Montana and Idaho.

Around one month ago, the service suggested expanding the trophy game zone along the southern boundary in Wyoming to allow Wyoming and Idaho wolves connectivity.

The service believes the sub-adult wolves need a dispersal window from November to March. Wyoming believes January to February would be adequate time for young adults to disperse, Ferrell said.

Big chunks of the proposed boundary are in national forest, but a third of the boundary would be on private and Bureau of Land Management land, Ferrell said.

That third is livestock winter range, and wolf predation could lead to conflicts. Elk and deer also winter there, Ferrell said.

So the boundary alterations would be points of discussion with the service. So far, no discussions have taken place between federal and Wyoming officials, Ferrell said.

Assuming Wyoming and the federal government can hammer out an agreement is no guarantee conservation groups will not contest any compromise.

“I think there will always be litigation surrounding the wolf issue,” Ferrell said.

Congress needs to protect delisting from judicial review to halt further legal challenges, Ferrell said.

Last month, U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said the only way to ensure delisting is by making it law.

On Saturday, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said wolves in Montana and Idaho would be taken off the endangered list under the budget bill pending before Congress, according to the Associated Press.

Science should dictate which plants and animals should be protected, not the whims of politicians, said Andrew Wetzler, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council wildlife conservation program.

Sportsmen’s groups are lobbying Congress to amend the rider to include delisting in Wyoming once Fish and Wildlife OKs Wyoming’s plan, Ferrell said.

Stand-alone bills in Congress also aim at delisting wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, Ferrell said.

Within the trophy game zone, livestock growers are compensated by the state of Wyoming for stock loss due to wolves. Those outside the trophy zone receive no compensation, said Louisa Willcox, Natural Resources Defense Council senior wildlife advocate in Livingston, Mont.

So, the grower outside the trophy zone still will not receive compensation.

Arbitrary lines on a map cut both ways. Producers don’t get redress for losses, and wolves run a gauntlet trying to connect with other wolves outside the trophy game area, Willcox said.

The predator zone “just seems like an old hang-up Wyoming would be smart to get over,” Willcox said.

Sounds like great news, can't wait for a chance to hunt a wolf.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Clark:
Sounds like great news, can't wait for a chance to hunt a wolf.