Rosendale Supports Legislation to Remove the Gray Wolf from the Endangered Species List

Press Release

Last week, Representative Matt Rosendale joined Representatives Lauren Boebert and Tom Tiffany, along with 18 other republican colleagues, in introducing the "Trust the Science Act." This bill would permanently delist the gray wolf in the lower 48 and ensure that action is not subject to judicial review.

"Gray wolves have well surpassed their recovery targets and it is high time we follow the facts and delist the species from the Endangered and Threatened Wildlife list," Representative Rosendale said. "In Montana, gray wolf populations were under 100 in the late 1990s. Today, our state is home to more than 1,100 wolves--greatly exceeding federal management objectives. I am proud to cosponsor the Trust the Science Act, and I urge the Biden administration to permanently delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act and allow states to lead conservation and management efforts, which have proven to be highly successful in the past."

Background:
In 2020, the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delisted the gray wolf in the lower 48 states through a process that included the best science and data available. At over 6,000 wolves at the time of delisting, the gray wolf has been the latest Endangered Species Act success story with recoveries with significant populations in the Rocky Mountains and western Great Lakes regions.

Gray wolf populations have fully recovered according to career officials who work for the Department of Interior currently and made the delisting decision based on the best available science. An activist California judge vacated the final 2020 rule back to the Service thereby restoring ESA protections for the gray wolf across most of United States. State and tribal management of gray wolf populations will allow the state of Montana to handle the species' conservation efforts in a way that will work best for Montanans, instead of "one size fits all" regulations directed by the federal government thousands of miles away.

Last month, Representative Rosendale joined Representative Boebert and 22 other Members in sending a letter urging the Department of the Interior to appeal the California court's activist decision.

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