If we leave wolves to Republican Lawmakers…. There wont be any left!!
SALEM — Two Oregon lawmakers plan to introduce bills that would ratify the decision by state wildlife officials to delist wolves as an endangered species.
The proposals, which will be considered during the upcoming legislative session in February, are planned by Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, and Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, in reaction to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups.
In November 2015, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to delist the wolves under the state’s version of the Endangered Species Act after several criteria for their recovery had been met. Under a management plan for wolves created in 2005, the species could be delisted after having established four breeding pairs for three years and no longer facing a substantial risk of extinction in a significant portion of its range, among other criteria.
Wolves were delisted by the federal government in the eastern portion of the state, but remain protected in the rest. Oregon wildlife officials have the jurisdiction over those wolves under the state ESA.
However, Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands and the Center for Biological Diversity recently challenged the state’s delisting decision in court, arguing the decision unlawfully ignored the best available science about wolf recovery.
The bills, which will be introduced in the House and Senate, will provide the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife — which is overseen by the commission — more ammunition in defending itself in court, Barreto said.
“We’re shoring up what the commission has already decided,” he said during a Jan. 14 hearing before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Source: Oregon Local News – Lawmakers want wolves off endangered species list