Delegation statement on proposed wolf delisting
by U.S. Senators Enzi and Barrasso, and Representative Cynthia Lummis media release
October 5, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., issued the following statement following the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List and transfer wolf management to the state of Wyoming.
"I’m pleased that we are one step closer to Wyoming managing wildlife in Wyoming," said Enzi. "This proposal gives everyone something to like. Big game hunters will see management that allows the wolf not to decimate our big game herds. Ranchers will also benefit. Even wolf lovers should be happy with this announcement. There are hundreds and hundreds of wolves in the Rockies that were not there before the federal government forced them on our states. Now, we’ve agreed to keep them at certain population levels and to let the state be the judge over how to best manage the animals."
"After more fits than starts, the Obama Administration has finally officially recognized that Wyoming should be in control of managing the wolf, not Washington," said Barrasso. "In questioning U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Ashe today, he assured me that his department would mount a ‘vigorous’ defense of the delisting. I look forward to that defense of Wyoming’s authority and making it stand."
"Wyoming’s nearly decade-long saga on the fully recovered gray wolf is, I hope, coming to an end. There is still work to be done, but today’s news is further momentum in the fight to grant Wyoming’s on-the-ground experts the right to manage our wolves. I look forward to the conclusion of our state’s delisting efforts which have been held up by Washington intrusion and repeated lawsuits that should have been resolved long ago," said Lummis.
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