Gray Wolves in the Lower 48 are back on the chopping block for being delisted from the Endangered Species Act. For years now, the gray wolf has been bouncing on and off the act, and now, after a vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Pet and Livestock Protection Act by a vote of 211 to 204. The bill, sponsored by Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO), is to direct the Department of the Interior to remove the protections for gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). This is to be done by specifically requiring the Department of the Interior to reissue the final rule titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, which was originally published on November 3, 2020.
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That final rule had removed the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act in the lower 48 of the United States, except the Mexican wolf (C. l. baileyi) subspecies. This rule had been vacated on February 10, 2022, by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, letting the gray wolves to keep their protection status. Though even before this rule being vacated, gray wolves had already been delisted in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and in the eastern thirds of Oregon and Washington State. Supporters for the bill say that wolf populations have recovered well enough from the 70s with populations having grown from the hundreds to the thousands now, and that wolf depredation events on livestock and pets have surged in recent years. While opponents argue that, while the populations have grown, they are still too vulnerable to be taken off the ESA. Either way, now having passed in the House, the highly contentious bill moves on to the Senate for consideration.
Writer for AllOutdoor.com and OutdoorHub.com Lifelong angler that will fish for anything that swim, firearms enthusiast, and hunter. Instagram – mrfish49
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