Gray Wolves One Step Closer to Losing Protection Under the Endangered Species Act

In a last push before the House reverts to Democratic Control in January, Republicans pushed ahead on a piece of legislation introduced in September to remove Gray Wolves from the Endangered Species List. H.R. 6784 is entitled “Manage our Wolves Act.” It was introduced on September 12, 2018 by Representative Sean P. Duffy (R-WI) and co-sponsored by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and Rep. Colin C. Peterson (D-MN). The text of the Act is very short. It reinstates the final rule from September 2012 to remove the species from listing in Wyoming, without being subject to judicial review. It also directs the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the final rule from December 2011, again without being subject to judicial review. It also directs the Secretary of the Interior to issue a rule to remove the gray wolf from protection in all of the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia before the end of the 2019 fiscal year, again without being subject to judicial review. The bill passed a roll call vote in the House by a vote of 196-180, with 54 no votes. The vote was mostly along party lines, with 187 Republican votes for aye compared to 9 Democratic votes, and 12 Republican votes for no compared to 168 Democratic votes. The gray wolf now awaits the outcome of similar legislation in the Senate to see if the delisting will be completed.

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