Duffy Supports Bill to Delist Gray Wolf
Press Release
U.S. Representative Sean Duffy (WI-07) joins as an original co-sponsor of H.R. 884, a bill to delist the Gray Wolf as an endangered species in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan and return management responsibility for the animal to the states.
The gray wolf was one of the first animals protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1966. In 2011, after determining that the animal had rebounded, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the gray wolf from the ESA in the Western Great Lakes Region and charged each state with further management of the wolves.
On December 19, 2014, a federal judge invalidated that decision, returning the wolf to the Endangered Species list, preventing state management, and consequently reinstating it as a threat to families and farmers in rural Wisconsin.
Rep. Sean Duffy, an avid outdoorsman and Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, cautioned against the court's decision, "All Americans have a responsibility to conserve our natural resources and protect endangered species. However, federal agencies and courts all too often misuse their responsibilities under the ESA based on philosophical beliefs instead of science-based evidence. I applaud my good friend Reid Ribble for taking the lead on this legislation. The Fish and Wildlife Service made the right decision on this issue, and I hope, with the help of this bill, that decision will stand."
Executive Director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, George Meyer, offered, "The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation greatly appreciates Congressman Duffy's support for gray wolf legislation restoring state management responsibility for the gray wolf in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. The gray wolf is currently well managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. It is important for the numbers of wolves to be carefully managed in order to assure the continued viability of the species, but just as importantly to maintain the population at a level satisfactory to the citizens of Northern Wisconsin. Sportsmen and women are strongly behind this legislation."
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