Washington, DC – Members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted April 30 by a majority of 209 to 205 to pass H.R. 764, the Trust the Science Act, which would completely delist gray wolves in the lower 48 states if the bill also receives support from the U.S. Senate and President Joe Biden.
Four Democrats sided with Republicans in voting for the bill proposed by Sens. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisconsin) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). Tiffany said the key difference between the House bill and the delisting bill proposed by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (R-Wis.) is that his bill precludes judicial review by protectionist groups, as do similar bills from Idaho and Montana from 2011.
“The science is clear; the gray wolf has met and exceeded recovery goals,” Tiffany said in a news release. “Today’s House passage represents an important first step toward restoring local control over Wisconsin’s rapidly growing gray wolf population. I will continue to fight for the U.S. Senate to pass this legislation to protect farm animals and pets from brutal wolf attacks.”
If passed by the Senate and signed by Biden, wolf management authority would return to the states.
But even if the measure clears the Senate, the Biden administration’s announcement that Congress should not determine whether a species should be delisted more than indicated that the bill would attract a Biden veto.
“HR 764 would invalidate and short-circuit the science-based U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) program. administrative rulemaking processes and wildlife restoration planning,” the statement reads.
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The USFWS is in the process of developing a statewide wolf recovery plan.
In 2020, the Department of the Interior and USFWS removed the wolf from the lower 48 states list based on available science and data.
“With more than 6,000 wolves at the time of delisting, the gray wolf was the latest success story for the Endangered Species Act, including significant population recovery in the Rocky Mountains and western Great Lakes regions. “However, despite abundant scientific evidence supporting the gray wolf’s recovery, a California judge unilaterally relisted it under the ESA in 2022.” Tiffany said.
According to Tiffany, the Trust the Science Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the Department of the Interior’s 2020 final rule, which delisted gray wolves in the lower 48 states, and ensures that the reissuance of the final rule will not be subject to judicial review. by activist judges like the California judge who overturned the rule in 2020 and unilaterally relisted the gray wolf by court order.”
H.R. 764 was co-sponsored by 24 members of Congress, including the entire Republican delegation from Wisconsin.
“It is a scientific fact that the gray wolf recovered well above the target. To claim otherwise undermines the purpose of the Endangered Species Act. This is a true recovery success story and it is time to give states the reins to control their wolf populations,” Tiffany said in a press statement.
Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Kevin Krentz said in a statement that the production efforts of the state’s farmers should not be subject to the decisions of distant judges.
“It is time for Wisconsin to take full control of managing the state’s largest predator,” Krentz said. “The science has been proven. “Wisconsin’s wolves have been harvested and it is time for the management phase in line with the Endangered Species Act success story.”
Rep. Pete Stauber (Minnesota), co-sponsor of the bill, released a statement on the bill on May 1.
“The gray wolf has made a full recovery and over time, the Republican and Democratic administrations have worked to delist the species,” Stauber said in a statement. “Unfortunately, every time a delisting attempt is made, well-funded activists return to challenge these efforts in court. This lockdown places a huge burden on my constituents, many of whom are concerned about the decimated deer population, the loss of expensive livestock and the threat this species poses to family pets. We cannot continue to allow activist judges and radical environmentalists to exploit the Endangered Species Act at the expense of other species and the communities we represent.”
Closer to home, Laurie Groskopf of Tomahawk, Wisconsin, has been following the state’s wolf recovery program for more than 25 years.
“Wisconsin athletes and farmers must work with Senator Tammy Baldwin now,” Groskopf said. “I think there would be a chance (of the bill passing the Senate) if we had an candid discussion with Tammy Baldwin, but I’m not sure about President Biden. I think he would veto it. We would need people from Minnesota, Michigan, Arkansas and Missouri on board.
Groskopf included Arkansas and Missouri because wolf protectionist groups operate in those states in an attempt to restore wolves.
“I watched Tammy closely because I am involved in many agricultural organizations. It is very sensitive to farm groups and passes a lot of farm legislation.”
The bill will likely go to the Senate Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). The top Republican on this committee is Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming).
In 2013, the Obama administration proposed removing the gray wolf from the lower 48 states. The Biden administration is currently appealing to a federal court to overturn the 2020 rule.
