Baldwin, Johnson back bill to delist wolf
State would control management
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin are political opposites, but have come together on the issue of removing federal protections for the gray wolf.
Johnson and Baldwin joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. John Barrasso (RWyo.) to introduce legislation on Tuesday that would remove protections for the gray wolf in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Wyoming under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The bill would replace federal protections with state wolf management plans. The legislation comes after a federal judge’s decision took away the power of states like Wisconsin to manage their wolf populations.
As their numbers have grown, wolves have become increasingly controversial, heightening conflict with landowners, hunters and others.
But some wolf advocates have pushed to keep federal protections, saying they doubt states will do an adequate job of protecting wolves.
Collette Adkins, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said wolf populations have not significantly recovered in some areas.
“Here we have Congress meddling and replacing the science with a political compromise that undermines the Endangered Species Act,” Adkins said.
The bill is the latest effort by Congress to respond to court decisions protecting wolves with legislation to turn regulation over to states. In Wisconsin, U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) sponsored a bill last week that mirrored the Senate bill.
In a joint statement Tuesday, Johnson said the bill does not modify the Endangered Species Act and would not prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from returning the wolf to federal protections if it deems federal protections are needed.
Johnson said future “decisions should come from wildlife experts, not from courtrooms.”
Said Baldwin: “I’ve heard from farmers, sportsmen and wildlife experts and they all agree. The wolf has recovered and we must return its management back to the State of Wisconsin, both for the safety and economic well-being of Wisconsinites and the balance of our environment.”
From 2012 to 2014, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conducted hunting and trapping seasons for wolves after they were removed from a list of federal endangered species.
But Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan lost much of their power to regulate wolves when a federal judge in December 2014 returned wolves in the western Great Lakes back to federal protection. The Fish and Wildlife Service has appealed the ruling. Wyoming also lost its management over wolves.
In Wisconsin, the lack of controls played a pivotal role in a growing wolf population. The DNR estimated the state’s minimum wolf population at 866 to 897 during the winter of 2015’16. That represented a 16% increase over the previous winter.
Last winter’s wolf count was the highest since the 1970s when wolves, once eradicated from the state, returned to northern Wisconsin from Minnesota.
The bill includes language that says the action can’t be subject to review by the courts. Adkins said such separation of powers is essential, adding that the Fish and Wildlife Service’s appeal of the federal judge’s ruling should be allowed to play out in the courts.