I have concerns on the recent U.S. District Court’s decision to reinstate gray wolves under the protections of the Endangered Species Act in Minnesota. I urge the Department of the Interior to appeal this decision so Minnesota can return to successfully managing our robust gray wolf population.
Farmers and ranchers in my district now face an immediate legal predicament between protecting their livestock from predatory gray wolves and complying with yet another overreaching federal judicial decision. Unless the court decision is reversed, Minnesota producers will need access to depredation relief if their livestock is attacked by predatory gray wolves.
I have long been a proponent of state-controlled wolf population management. Minnesota developed a successful plan to control a thriving gray wolf population, which is why the Department of the Interior delisted the Great Lakes region gray wolf population from federal protection in 2011.
The Congressional intent of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is to protect and recover imperiled species. Once populations recover and return to healthy numbers, like the gray wolf in the Great Lakes region, such federal protection is no longer necessary.
Appealing the U.S. District Court’s decision is an issue that requires immediate attention.
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