[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7811-S7812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Enzi, and 
        Mr. Barrasso):
  S. 3919. A bill to remove the gray wolf from the list of threatened 
species or the list of endangered species published under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce S. 3919, an act 
to remove Endangered Species Act, ESA,

[[Page S7812]]

protections for gray wolves. Delisting of this species is long overdue.
  Gray wolves are listed as endangered under the ESA in the United 
States, except in Minnesota where they are listed as threatened. The 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed ESA protection from these wolves 
in 2009, but subsequently reinstated protection under a court decision 
following a lawsuit.
  Legislative action is the only solution to stop the endless cycle of 
litigation and return the sovereign ability of states to manage their 
wildlife. Gray wolves are the iconic species of the ESA. But we cannot 
let the preconceived and inaccurate perceptions surrounding this animal 
prevent us from doing our due diligence in providing protections and 
safeguards for other species including elk, deer, moose, and big horn 
sheep. With a population growth rate of 24 percent, gray wolf 
overpopulation is now doing significant damage to wildlife populations 
throughout the West and Midwest.
  Gray wolf predation is erasing decades of effort and hundreds of 
millions invested in rebuilding healthy big game populations. Wolves do 
not know or care where recovery plan lines are drawn. They will roam 
wherever necessary to find adequate food and habitat. Research 
indicates that wolf and ungulate populations are generally inversely 
proportional and cyclical over relatively long periods of time.
  Ill-advised experimentation and anti-management philosophy continues 
to be pushed by extreme animal rights and anti-sportsmen special 
interest groups. This war on the west threatens big game herds, 
proactive State wildlife management, use of renewable wildlife 
resources, and the western way of life. This bill, while viewed with 
suspicion and opposed with philosophical arguments by some 
environmental organizations, ensures that delicate wildlife populations 
are restored to healthy levels.
  When Congress passed the ESA, it envisioned legislation to make 
certain that species would not become extinct. The key to success of 
the new law was finding a way to conserve and protect species truly in 
danger of becoming extinct. The gray wolf is not endangered as a 
species. There are thousands alive and well in North America. The ESA 
has become a vehicle by which some organizations and individuals seek 
to halt all activities on our public lands which they happen to oppose. 
I would submit to you that such use of the ESA was not envisioned nor 
would it have been condoned by a majority of those who originally 
crafted the law.
  Some groups want to use the gray wolf as a surrogate for other 
agendas. Others have used it to raise a lot of money from citizens of 
this country truly concerned about the place of the wolf in our 
environment. Still others have used it for political purposes. What a 
shame that the laws of this great Nation can be subverted for purposes 
other than the reason the law was originally written.
  The gray wolf has been protected by the ESA since 1973, the year the 
ESA was passed. The single exception to that classification is in the 
State of Minnesota where they are classified as threatened. The 
original recovery plan for the gray wolf in the Northern Rockies was 
written in 1974. The main States involved are owned largely by the 
Federal Government. Thirty percent of Montana, 50 percent of Wyoming, 
and 64 percent of Idaho is federally owned. Access to and use of the 
public lands and resources on them has a great deal to do with the 
economy of these sparsely populated States. When the economy suffers, 
so do these communities and these people.
  The working men and women of our States have no alternative but to 
rely on continued access to and the use of grass, water, timber, and 
minerals from public lands to support their families. Those working 
people have mortgages to pay just like you and I; they have bills that 
are due each month; and they want to be able to feed and clothe their 
children just as you and I do.
  We must recognize the legitimate concerns of the hundreds of honest, 
hardworking citizens who are being directly affected by the continued 
listing of the gray wolf on the ESA. In my opinion, we have a 
responsibility to protect their right to make an honest living and to 
live the lifestyle they have chosen.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in this attempt to resolve this 
important issue.
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