Wolf management bill clears House Committee

The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee has approved the “Gray Wolf State Management Act.”

The bill, co-sponsored by Wyoming Congressman Liz Cheney, would remove the gray wolf from the list of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. It would also limit further judicial review of the removal.

“For far too long our court system has been abused by radical environmental groups filing frivolous lawsuits to prevent Wyoming from managing our gray wolf population, despite repeated de-listing decisions and the approval of our state management plan,” said Cheney. “This bill will end that and provide our farmers, ranchers and other citizens with the certainty that they can protect their livestock and livelihood under state management of the gray wolf.”

Gray wolves were originally de-listed in 2012, but that decision was overturned in U.S. District Court and re-listed in 2014. In 2017 the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. overturned that decision and upheld Wyoming’s management plans.