Manage Our Wolves Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to H.R. 6784, the Manage our Wolves Act.

Despite the claims made by our colleagues across the aisle, gray wolves play a critical role in keeping ecosystems healthy and balanced, including across Michigan and the Great Lakes region.

At one time, gray wolves roamed in the hundreds of thousands. Today, there are fewer than 6,000 gray wolves in existence. Just this week, the National Park Service announced that a gray wolf died after being relocated from Minnesota to Michigan's Isle Royale National Park.

The threat to gray wolves is still real, and they must be protected. The bill before us would remove all protections for gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act, including reissuing a 2011 rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that delisted the gray wolf in the western Great Lakes.

H.R. 6784 also seriously undermines scientific integrity, which is one of the foundations of the Endangered Species Act. It would remove scientists from the decision-making process to delist gray wolves. Scientists, not Congress, should be making listing or delisting decisions.

As a keystone species, these iconic animals are vital to the structure of the ecological communities in which we live. Two decades ago, the lush landscape of Yellowstone National Park was not as we see it today. Instead, it was riddled with defoliation, erosion, and an unbalanced ecosystem.

Due to the absence of predators, deer and elk populations were out of control. Despite efforts to manage them, they overgrazed the park's vegetation. That all changed when gray wolves were reintroduced into the park in 1995.

As a top predator in the food chain, wolves hold together that delicate balance of the ecosystem. Once wolves were brought back to the park, the natural balance of the ecosystem was restored. The regenerated forests stabilized the riverbanks, leading to less erosion and more suitable wildlife habitat. And not to mention, wolves reduce the coyote population by as much as 50 percent. The whole landscape was dramatically transformed with the reintroduction of just a few gray wolves, and their presence can similarly be felt across the Great Lakes region.

Finally, gray wolves not only benefit the ecosystem, but they provide significant economic benefits as well. Just 10 years after reintroduction, wolf-related tourism generated more than $35 million for communities in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen what the absence of gray wolves can do to the ecosystem. We have seen how wildlife and plant populations suffer, from our national parks to the Great Lakes, without a proper predator- prey balance.

Yes, good progress has been made to revive the gray wolf population, but there is more work to do. H.R. 6784 would halt and potentially reverse the progress that has been made. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

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