Important US House vote this week! De-listing gray wolves in MN, WI, and MI!

We finally have our chance to tell our reps to put science first and (again) get gray wolves removed from the endangered species list in MN, WI, and MI. Our state’s rights to manage this species was taken away based on an alleged procedural technicality.
This is our chance to get management of wolves returned to STATE control once again. All credible scientific evidence says wolves are no longer endangered in these states.

This bill does NOT mean wolves can or even will be hunted in these states. That decision will be made by the individual states.

This bill also shuts down technicality lawsuits that seek to prevent and reverse scientific decisions.

Our US House of Representatives members in MI, WI, and MN MUST HEAR THAT YOU SUPPORT THIS BILL AND THEY SHOULD TOO.

Full info from SCI below. Don’t miss this chance.

Grouse

Floor Vote This Week: Call Your Member Of Congress

U.S. House To Consider Bipartisan Wolf De-Listing Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled later this week to vote on H.R. 6784, the Manage Our Wolves Act, introduced in September by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) and supported by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN).

Passage of the bill will return management of the Western Great Lakes gray wolf population to the states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The bill will also ensure that Wyoming’s gray wolf management remains under state authority and will direct the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the remaining gray wolves of the lower 48 states, with the exception of Mexican wolves.

SCI Members are urged to call their Representatives to ask that they support this important legislation.

The Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. Find Capitol Hill office numbers listed by name and by district here.

Tell your Representative you support Rep. Duffy’s effort to reward the effort of States and the hunting community—all of whom contributed to the recovery of the gray wolf.

Tell them Congress should send a clear message that recovered species should not remain on the federal endangered or threatened species lists after Endangered Species Act protections are no longer necessary.

Approval of H.R. 6784 and return to state management of the gray wolf would represent a tremendous victory for the hunting community.

SCI has led or assisted ESA litigation efforts over many years to help support the delisting of several recovered species. Hunters, wildlife conservationists and State wildlife managers all have played significant roles in recovery efforts, but those efforts have been thwarted by the many ambiguities or flaws in the wording of the ESA.

This week’s vote in Congress provides a rare opportunity for federal legislators to clear away these roadblocks and enact laws to recognize well-documented recovery efforts and affirm State wildlife management authority.

Call today! Make sure your Member of Congress knows how very important this bill is to the future of hunting and to every American sportsman and sportswoman.

Thanks for the heads up Grouse!

Thanks Grouse. Our property in Hinckley is overrun with wolves. The Farmer next door loses multiple calfs each year to them. Our deer population in the area is almost non-existent. It’s time to let the states decide…

The real question is how will the main stream media twist and turn this into a big political s___t storm that the obvious culprits (to them) are to blame…

Grouse thanks for posting this!

Anyone know where Tony Evers (new governor in WI) stands on this? If it passes at Fed level, will MN open up a season for wolves?

bzzsaw wrote:

Anyone know where Tony Evers (new governor in WI) stands on this? If it passes at Fed level, will MN open up a season for wolves?

I think it’s important to keep this about the States of MN, WI, and MI re-gaining their right to MANAGE this no-longer-endangered species. In whatever form these states should choose.

This is not a wolf hunting bill and I think it’s important for sportsmen and women to keep the focus on the fact that this simply brings local decision making to managing this species, just like every other species that is not endangered.

Management includes far more than hunting. Right now, these 3 states have no say even in how wolves that prey on livestock or domestic animals are dealt with. If a bear is causing property damage, the DNR in these states can manage the situation as they see fit. If a wolf kills livestock, the hands of the states are tied.

I can’t see the overall wolf population impacted at all by sport hunting or trapping, even if it is allowed again. Hunting and trapping wolves is just too low of a percentage game, success would be so low that it would make no large-scale difference even in a county.

The only way the population in an area could be changed is by a full-scale management effort in that particular area. Hunting and trapping could play a small role in that, but the bulk if it would need to be accomplished by agencies within the state and local area.

Grouse

Update: First hurdle cleared!

H.R. 6784, the Manage Our Wolves Act, was introduced in September by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI). The bill was approved 196-180 and secured bipartisan support from nine Democrats and 187 Republicans on 11/16/18.

Next stop is the Senate. We are one step closer toward getting management of wolves returned to State control.

Grouse

Greatly appreciate the update!

Great post thanks, our moose are almost extinct and this was the worst deer season since the late 60’s up in the arrow head MN.

The bad news is we don’t have a timeline for a possible Senate vote on this bill.

And then with so much of Minnesota being ruled by politicians from Minneapolis, I’m sure there will be an effort by urban wolfie cuddlers to ram through a law that prevents the DNR from having any type of hunting. So we’ll need to be on defense from day one as far as getting and keeping a DNR ability to manage this species without interference which (shockingly) seems always to come from urbanites in Minneapolis and wealthy suburbs where there aren’t actually any wolves.

But we’re at least 1 step closer. It’s also a total win that this bill if turned into law will make it very dificult for future venue-shopping lawsuits that seek to interfere in wolf management.

Grouse

It looks like our MN reps were split on Yays/Nays.

Unfortunately based on the wildlife management practices we have seen thus far in our State on other controversial management issues (case in point the reintroduction of Wolves to Isle Royale), I’d be amazed if this passes. I would also think there is a lot of lobbying dollars from the insurance industry behind this decision as well. The less deer/vehicle collisions the better in their eyes.

Justin Schneider (Woods & Water Insurance) wrote:

Unfortunately based on the wildlife management practices we have seen thus far in our State on other controversial management issues (case in point the reintroduction of Wolves to Isle Royale), I’d be amazed if this passes.

It’s important to note that Minnesota and our state agencies have nothing to do with the management of Isle Royale and the wolves on it. Or not on it, as the case may be.

Isle Royale belongs to Michigan and is a National Park so, as such, it is managed by the Federal government. Because wolves are currently protected, wolf management and policy would be at their direction as it relates to the park. I don’t know what role Michigan and its DNR play, if any.

Grouse

Thanks for the clarification Grouse, that was a poor choice for a example on my part considering I had plenty more to choose from unfortunately…

Isle Royale is also in need of a predator to manage the moose population. The population of moose on that island is more than 1/2 of the entire state of mn and is expected to explode without a predator.

biggill wrote:

Isle Royale is also in need of a predator to manage the moose population. The population of moose on that island is more than 1/2 of the entire state of mn and is expected to explode without a predator.

Not to divert the thread, but why wouldn’t they remove moose to the mainland rather than wolves to the island?

My dog on some days reminds me of a small, cute wolf. Therefore, I’m fully against wolf hunting because if I were to see a dead wolf that would remind me of my dog and imagining her to be dead would make me quite sad. I would much rather not be sad.

BigWerm wrote:

Not to divert the thread, but why wouldn’t they remove moose to the mainland rather than wolves to the island?

Being that the predator to prey ratio is pretty lopsided, I’d guess they’d have to remove 100’s of 1000# moose compared to a couple dozen 100# wolves.