House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings issued the following statement on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announcement to delist biologically recovered gray wolf populations in the Western Great Lakes and the Northern Rocky Mountains. The areas affected by the Western Great Lakes proposal are Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, and portions of adjoining states. The Northern Rocky Mountain states include Idaho, Montana and parts of Oregon, Washington and Utah.

“Expanding gray wolf populations have become a chief concern to farmers and families throughout the West. Delisting gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes and Northern Rocky Mountains is a step in the right direction. However, because wolves know no boundaries, parts of eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and all of Wyoming won’t be helped by the Administration’s interpretation of the Endangered Species Act. It is clear that there is more work to be done on granting states the authority to manage their own local wildlife populations,” said Chairman Hastings (WA-04).

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