Lawmakers keep aim on wolves

Montana’s congressional delegation is keeping the federally-protected gray wolf in its crosshairs. Sen. Jon Tester fired off a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar asking for regulated hunting of wolves to control numbers. Meanwhile, Rep. Denny Rehberg introduced two bills that would remove wolves from Endangered Species Act protection. Tester said in a recent phone interview that it’s a big issue among Montanans. “We hear a lot of different issues but it’s a concern to me because we visited with a number of folks on it,” Tester, who chairs the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, told The Western News. “It’s a concern and a problem that needs to get fixed.” The senator’s letter to Salazar requested the reinstatement of a gray wolf conservation hunt in Montana. “A regulated hunt of wolves is well within the scope of the Endangered Species Act and will enhance the management of wolves in the state and throughout the region,” Tester wrote to Salazar. “It will reduce actual and perceived pressure from this species on Montana’s ecosystem and agricultural economy while honoring our state’s hunting heritage.” Rehberg’s legislation seeks to completely remove federal management of wolves. In one bill – co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) – wolves would be completely removed from federal protection with management authority returning to Montana and Idaho. The other bill would remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act anywhere in the United States. Rehberg said the issue has seen bipartisan support. “The gray wolf isn’t endangered, which is why Republicans and Democrats alike are joining forces to end the misuse of the Endangered Species Act to advance extremist policy agendas,” said Rehberg, a rancher from Billings...more