Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries, led by its Chairman Cliff Bentz (OR-02), hosted a field hearing in Sandstone, Minnesota, to hear from local leaders about the impact of an unmanaged gray wolf population and the need to delist the species from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Congressional Western Caucus Vice Chairs Pete Stauber (MN-08), Tom Tiffany (WI-07), Michelle Fischbach (MN-07), and Celeste Maloy (UT-02) along with Western Caucus Member Rep. Harriet Hageman (WY-AL) participated.

"The costs and the risks of harboring an apex predator will fall upon those of us who live in rural America,” said Chairman of the Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee, Cliff Bentz (OR-02). “This does not mean that we who live in rural areas must silently accept the urban imposition of this very, real cost of the wolf, no, we do not have to accept this anymore than the law requires. I’m extremely happy to mention that just two days ago, the bill to remove the wolf from the Endangered Species list passed across the floor of the House and is on its way to the Senate.”

“The growing wolf population and the inability to properly manage the species due largely to its listing status under the Endangered Species Act is affecting our way of life here in Minnesota,” said Vice Chair Pete Stauber (MN-08). “What I’ve heard from my constituents is clear, the gray wolf has been recovered. The ESA has been weaponized by radical activist groups that don’t want to follow the science.”

“You endanger the Endangered Species Act when you do not remove recovered species,” said Vice Chair Tom Tiffany (WI-07). “The gray wolf has recovered, and Wisconsin and Minnesota farmers, hunters, and pet owners have to live with the impacts every day – whether through livestock killings, a decrease in the white-tailed deer population, and pet attacks.”

“We will continue the fight because it is about making sure rural areas, rural America, farmers, ranchers, and families can continue to do their work and not be afraid every day of the gray wolf,” said Vice Chair Michelle Fischbach (MN-07). “The story of the gray wolf is really the story of the failure of the federal government and who pays the price? The ranchers, the farmers, and the families.”

“The wolf is thriving, it’s unfortunate but we’ve seen time and time again that it’s the nature of the federal government not to want to give up control so when we give the federal government temporary control over something, it never ends up being temporary and the Endangered Species Act is a really good example of this,” said Vice Chair Celeste Maloy (UT-02). “It’s a well-established pattern that when the federal government is managing a resource be it wolves, or land, or minerals, local voices get drowned out.”

“The federal government’s recovery goal for these wolves was 1200-1400 by 2001,” said Rep. Harriet Hageman (WY-AL). “Current estimates show that there are more than double that in Minnesota today. The wolf population in Minnesota is stabilized, and we need to move forward with delisting.”