In abiding to a recent court order that vacated the Obama Administration’s withdrawal of a proposed rule to list the North American wolverine as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has reopened public comment on a proposed threatened listing. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:

“The courts have become a de-facto arm of the executive in charge of ESA policy under the Obama Administration.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service is in a box and, no matter what they do, they will be sued. Tragically, the wolverine isn’t the only species that’s held hostage by the very same groups that claim to be helping these creatures. Many on the extreme left care less about recoveries than they do raising money for their lawyers to keep suing on the taxpayers’ dime. Ironically, it’s often at the expense of species recovery and a drain on resources that could be used to improve outcomes.

“The Administration must realize that without reforms to ESA rich and powerful special interests, rather than science and public input, will continue to drive ESA policy.”