Wolf Delisting Bill Pt 2

Wolf Delisting Bill Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. We talked yesterday about the House passage of HR 6784, the Manage Our Wolves Act that would remove the Gray Wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Representative Dan Newhouse co-sponsored the bill and protection of the wolves is no longer necessary ...

NEWHOUSE ... "Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to recover species to the point where they are no longer considered endangered or threatened. The Gray Wolf is currently found in nearly 50 countries around the world and has been placed in the classification of least concern for risk of extinction by the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation Nature."

But even with that kind of support, Newhouse says the common-sense solution seems much simpler than it actually is ...

NEWHOUSE ... "Some of my colleagues have asked, well if Fish and Wildlife have proposed to 'delist' the species, why haven't they done so? That is a completely fair and reasonable question. Unfortunately, it is due to fringe environmentalist efforts that any action from moving forward under the law has been stalled. So long as the courts are abused to prevent the proper adjudication of the law, we will not see progress made. And it is because of the exploitation of the law, that communities like those in Central Washington, suffer the consequences."

Newhouse says Washington state's wolf population has grown to a point where it can't be considered anything less that successful.

Tune in tomorrow for more what it will take to move this legislation forward.

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