A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Wisconsin Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), are pushing to remove the gray wolf from the list of endangered species.
The group of lawmakers introduced legislation to return the management of the species to state and local government organizations, arguing the animals have made a recovery in western Great Lakes states.
“Wisconsinites must have a say in the management of gray wolves. In the western Great Lakes region, state wildlife agencies should manage the recovered population so the wolf’s ongoing role in the ecosystem does not come at the expense of farmers, loggers, sportsmen and people who simply live in these areas. Since 2015, I’ve fought to delist the gray wolf through multiple pieces of legislation and I will keep fighting until Congress passes a law that will codify the wolf delist administrative rulings that the Department of Interior under President Obama issued,” said Senator Johnson.
Previously, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California reversed a rule implemented by the Trump administration that removed the species from the list.
Judge Jeffrey White contended that the Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service did not consider threats posed to the population, contending the rule dismissed the “best available science.”
“I have supported a bipartisan effort to delist the gray wolf in Wisconsin since 2011 because of the scientific conclusion that the population has recovered in the Great Lakes region and that is why we should return management to the State of Wisconsin. This bipartisan legislation is the best solution because it is driven by science and is focused on delisting in the Great Lakes region, including Wisconsin,” added Senator Baldwin.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Wisconsin Daily Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
