- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pelletier, Pat Date: Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 1:47 PM Subject: An Agriculture Update from the Office of Congressman John Kline To: Good Afternoon, I wanted to inform you that this February Congressman Kline will reintroduce his Western Great Lakes Wolf Management Act. This bill prohibits listing any wolf in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan from being treated under any status of the Endangered Species Act, and provides that each state has exclusive jurisdiction over the management of wolves within its borders. As you likely know, in 2012 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed Endangered Species Act protection for gray wolves in the Western Great Lake states. In these states, wolf counts exceeded the population criteria identified by the USFWS for gray wolf recovery continuously since at least 2001. In spite of this, in December of 2014 the D.C. Circuit Court overturned the 2012 delisting and ordered USFWS to “reinstate immediately the protections for gray wolves in the affected area as those protections existed prior to the Final Rules effective date. The scientific evidence shows gray wolves are not endangered in the Western Great Lake states. Gray wolves are well above the USFWS delisting criteria of 1251-1400 wolves for Minnesota and 100 wolves for Wisconsin and Michigan combined. The wolf population in Minnesota, estimated at fewer than 750 in the 1950s, has grown to at least 2,423 (2013-14 numbers). Wisconsin and Michigan have wolf populations of 660 to 689 (2013-14) and 636 (2013-14), respectively. Congressman Kline knows how much harm wolves can cause to livestock and the agriculture community; the overpopulation of gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes region contributes to the decline of livestock, pets, and other animals in the wild. While the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision could be appealed, Congressman Kline’s legislative fix is a more permanent solution. The bill will allow capable state wildlife agencies to manage wolf populations toward a responsible balance between predators and prey, in an aim to preserve the important rural economies of Minnesota and our Western states. We would appreciate your support as we move forward with the process of gathering original cosponsors in the next few weeks before the bill’s introduction. As always, please share this information with interested colleagues, and stay in touch with any thoughts and concerns you have related to this issue or federal agriculture policy in general. Kind Regards, - Pat Pat Pelletier, Legislative Assistant Congressman John Kline (MN-2) Phone: (202) 225-2271 Email: [email protected] Please visit Congressman Klines Online Resources: cid:[email protected] cid:[email protected] cid:[email protected]
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 02:16:35 +0000
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