Branded Blog

The Endangered Species Act Is Being Abused, It’s Time to Delist the Gray Wolf

By Vice Chair Tom Tiffany (WI-07)

Fifty years ago, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was created to protect species on the brink of extinction and put them on the path to recovery. It was a noble effort, but unfortunately, it’s been hijacked by the radical environmental lobby and activist judges who use it as a weapon to block common-sense wildlife management.
 
Nowhere is this more evident than with the gray wolf.
 
Take Wisconsin, for example. When the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) first outlined a wolf management plan in 1999 (later updated in 2007), the target population was set at 350 wolves. Today, Wisconsin has well over 1,000 wolves – nearly three times that goal – yet the gray wolf remains listed as an endangered species. This has led to wolf attacks in Wisconsin increasing for the third straight year.
 
It’s past time to recognize the gray wolf success story and update the law to reflect reality. That’s why Representative Lauren Boebert (CO-04) and I introduced the Pet and Livestock Protection Act. Our bill would delist the gray wolf, return management to the states, and ensure that activist judges cannot continue overturning science-based decisions.
 
Both the Obama Administration (2012) and the Trump Administration (2020) delisted the gray wolf, only to have judges overturn those decisions. Our bill follows the same legal model that successfully delisted wolves in Montana and Idaho in 2011. Despite the usual fearmongering from left-wing environmental campaigners, wolf populations in those states have remained well above recovery goals – proving that state-led management works.
 
It’s time to stop pretending the gray wolf is endangered. It’s time to prevent ideological extremists from using the ESA as a permanent power grab. And it’s time to restore common-sense by delisting the gray wolf and returning management back to each state.