How Rep. Lauren Boebert’s bill to delist gray wolves would affect Colorado’s wolf reintroduction

For decades the question of how and whether gray wolves should be legally protected has been debated through federal rulemakings courts and now Congress where a bill from one of Colorado s representatives is under consideration U S Rep Lauren Boebert is leading a bill that would remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list and eliminate federal protections for the animal The bill if passed would provide certainty she declared in an interview This is an issue that has been ping-ponged from administration to administration It s very significant to get this finalized and codified into law to prevent frivolous lawsuits in the future and to protect our neighboring states reported Boebert a Republican from the Fourth Congressional District Boebert s bill continues its program through Congress as a federal judge deliberates on the future of gray wolves in three other Western states A federal district court judge on Wednesday heard arguments in a situation in which wildlife advocates are lobbying for the species to be protected under the Endangered Species Act in Idaho Wyoming and Montana where the canines presently are not under federal protection Hunters and government-sponsored predator extermination programs eliminated wolves from much of the West in the early s including Colorado Since then wildlife conservation groups have lobbied for efforts to return the species to its native range and to protect it from hunting once it returns Colorado voters in voted to to bring the gray wolf back to the state mandating that Colorado Parks and Wildlife reintroduce the species The agency began the initiative in December and has since disclosed wolves What would Boebert s bill do The bill named the Pet and Livestock Protection Act of would require the Interior secretary to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List weakening protections for the predator Boebert is sponsoring the bill alongside Rep Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin The rest of Colorado s Republican House delegation Reps Jeff Crank Gabe Evans and Jeff Hurd have signed on as co-sponsors Boebert introduced the bill in January and in April it passed its first committee House Natural Tools The bill now requirements to be scheduled for its next action I do anticipate that bill being voted on and passed out of the House and we will continue to keep pressure on the Senate to ensure it comes up in the Senate and is signed into law Boebert revealed Boebert ran a similar bill in that passed the House but failed after President Joe Biden s administration signaled it opposed the measure Republicans now control the House the Senate and the presidency Boebert announced President Donald Trump was in favor of delisting the wolf in his first term adding that she s had conversations with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum who also supports delisting What s behind Boebert s assistance for delisting Boebert previously represented Colorado s rd Congressional District which covers much of the Western Slope where the state s new wolves live She won electoral process in the th District in and now represents the Eastern Plains There are no known wolves in the region though a wolf that wandered from the Great Lakes died in a trap in Elbert County in The bill is not only for her district but for the agricultural district across the state she announced Colorado s ranching group has largely opposed the reintroduction venture asserting that wolves have threatened and stressed their herds This is for our farmers and ranchers who are working hard to feed America and other parts of the world she declared Hurd her successor in the rd District has also opposed Colorado s wolf reintroduction During a June committee hearing Hurd urged Burgum to remove gray wolves that were captured in Canada in January and distributed in the state as part of the reintroduction undertaking Hurd also petitioned the secretary to ban any future importations of wolves from other countries Voters outside of my district have decided to bring Canadian wolves to Colorado Hurd stated Those wolves have migrated into my district They are leaving a trail of death and destruction everywhere they roam U S Rep Lauren Boebert a Republican from Colorado speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Regime Reorganization hearing on cities immigration policies on Capitol Hill Wednesday March in Washington AP Photo Rod Lamkey Jr What are opponents arguments against the bill Wolf advocates have reported the bill would threaten the apex predator s continued survival and eliminate the possibility of challenging the delisting in court The bill s title is also misleading according to the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife Weather kills more cattle than wolves the group pointed out We denounce this bill in the strongest terms practicable and are dismayed that our elected administrators are playing political football with one of the country s majority beloved animals Ellen Richmond a senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife disclosed in a message when the House committee heard the bill in April How would the bill affect Colorado s reintroduction The bill would have little effect in Colorado because the species is protected as endangered under state law and state wildlife officers already have the authority to manage wolves inside its boundaries The state s reintroduction project would continue with little change Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Travis Duncan stated If the species were delisted it would remain illegal to hurt or kill gray wolves in Colorado and substantial penalties for doing so would remain Duncan reported Delisting gray wolves federally would render void the federal plan to work with Colorado to manage the state s wolves called a j plan but Colorado wildlife leaders would continue to deal with the species the same The primary change would be that CPW not the federal Fish and Wildlife System would investigate the circumstances of wolf deaths Colorado s historic wolf 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