Another shot at delisting : Wyo. senators put gray wolf on target for state management

The gray wolf is alive and surviving – make that thriving – in Wyoming. Enough that most groups with ties to management in the state – from ranchers, to state and federal wildlife agencies, to U.S. congressmen – feel it is time for it to come off the endangered species list. Again. Legislation introduced recently in the U.S. Senate by the two Wyoming delegates, Senator Enzi and Senator Barrasso, along with several of their colleagues, would delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, and return management to the individual states. Key to the proposed Senate legislation for delisting is the stipulation that, if passed, the bill would allow for wolf management plans based on federal and state wildlife expertise to move forward without any legal ambiguity. Essentially, the delisting can’t be challenged again in court. Max D’Onofrio, press secretary for Senator Enzi, noted the bill should be more likely to pass because it affects the Great Lakes states – where the wolf was also previously delisted – and also enjoys bipartisan support. “The people who are closest to the areas where wolves are being delisted have the best understanding of how to manage them and should be left to do so. This bill would allow that to happen without interference from the courts,” says Senator Enzi. “This is an issue that Wyoming has been dealing with for decades. I trust local wildlife managers to manage wildlife better than judges, lawyers and the self-serving administrators and lobbyists of environmental groups in Washington...more