Bill to delist wolves advances in U.S. House
CHIPPEWA FALLS — A bill that would delist wolves from the Endangered Species Act is moving forward in Congress after it passed through a key committee in the U.S. House.
The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minosqua, gained approval in the House Natural Resources Committee. Tiffany introduced a similar measure last year, but Tiffany previously told the Leader-Telegram he's more confident it will pass this time around, now that Republicans control the House, Senate and presidency.
The bill is dubbed the 'Pet and Livestock Protection Act' and will now head to the full U.S. House for a vote. Tiffany wrote in a press release that he's excited about clearing this first hurdle.
'The damage to pets, livestock, and wildlife from an unmanaged wolf population can no longer be ignored,' Tiffany wrote Wednesday night. 'The gray wolf has exceeded federal and state recovery goals, with over 1,000 wolves now thriving in Wisconsin. It's time to take the next step, delist them, and let the people closest to the gray wolf manage their population levels.'
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is a co-sponsor of the legislation.
'The science has been very clear on this topic for years: gray wolves are fully recovered and their comeback should be touted as a success story,' Boebert wrote. 'Now it's time we encourage states to set their own guidelines and allow ranchers, farmers, and landowners to protect their livelihoods. I look forward to voting for this bill on the House floor and ultimately getting it to President Trump for his signature.'
The Pet and Livestock Protection Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the 2020 Department of the Interior final rule that delisted gray wolves in the lower 48 United States. It also ensures this rule cannot be overturned through judicial review, preventing activist judges, like the California judge who vacated the rule in 2022, from relisting the gray wolf by judicial fiat, the press release states.
With more than 6,000 wolves at the time of delisting, 'the gray wolf has been the latest Endangered Species Act (ESA) success story with significant population recoveries in the Rocky Mountains and western Great Lakes regions,' the press release reads.
However, a California judge overturned the rule in 2022 and relisted the gray wolf. Meanwhile, the wolf population in Wisconsin has increased each of the past three years.
There have been numerous gray wolf attacks in Wisconsin's Seventh District over the last few years, the press release states.
A total of 30 House members are co-sponsors of the bill, including Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, and the other four Republican congressmen from Wisconsin.
Supporters of the measure include the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), Public Lands Council (PLC), National Rifle Association (NRA), Safari Club International (SCI), Hunter Nation, International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR), Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Blacktail Deer Foundation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association, and Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association.
Last year, four Democrats joined 205 Republicans in voting for it, but the measure stalled in the Senate, which was under Democratic control at the time.
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