We are outraged that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Manage our Wolves Act, H.R. 6784—a bill that would strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves in the continental U.S. It would also prohibit citizens from challenging the Congressional decision in courts.
This legislation as well as a compromise Senate bill called The HELP for Wildlife Act would remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Please call and write your U.S. Senators immediately and tell them to oppose both these bills. You can find a directory here.
Additionally, a House version of the Department of Interior budget funding includes language that would end federal protections of gray wolves in the lower 48 states. (You can find your U.S. House representatives to contact here.)
“It is unbelievable Congress is trying to pass legislation that would thwart judicial review of such a controversial issue,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals. “Not only is it a death warrant for gray wolves, it doesn’t seem legal.”
This is the latest assault on wildlife by members of Congress and the Trump administration, which are beholden to ranchers and hunters. Under the GOP’s bill, landowners, hunters and others who despise gray wolves would be allowed to kill them, unless the states decide to implement their own protections.
It’s bad enough wolves are already delisted in Montana, Wyoming, Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington and parts of Utah and Wyoming.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the wolves’ status and is expected to declare they’ve recovered sufficiently enough to be removed from protection under the Endangered Species Act, according to the Associated Press. The House bill heading to the Senate would enshrine that policy in law and restrict judicial review of listing decisions.
About 5,000 wolves live in the lower 48 states, occupying less than 10 percent of their historic range.
(This post was updated on 12/4/2018.)