Pet and Livestock Protection Act looks to delist wolves with no judicial review

Arguably, wolves are  the most contentious wildlife species not only in Wisconsin but in many states where they are found. Wolves have bounced on and off the Endangered Species List (ESL) several times in recent years. Each time they are delisted, and Wisconsin is allowed to manage the wolf population in the state, a lawsuit puts the wolf back on the ESL. Last Friday Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) and Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-04) reintroduced legislation that would delist the wolf in the lower 48 states and ensure that it would not be relisted due to judicial review.

The Pet and Livestock Protection Act is similar to a bill co-authored by Tiffany during the last legislative session entitled the Trust the Science Act. That Act, too, would have delisted wolves and not allowed for judicial review. Tiffany and Boebert led 30 other members of Congress in reintroducing this legislation. 

When wolves are delisted, control of populations revert back to each state. In the past, wolves have found themselves back on the ESL after delisting not necessarily due to a lack of recovery of the species, but due to technicalities.

In recent years, there has been a push by producers, hunters and others to put an end to this on-again, off-again situation. 

With over 100 reports of probable or confirmed depredation reports listed on the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website and 18 confirmed wolf harassments, it shows that hunters and producers in some areas have real problems with wolves. Many of those people have attended listening sessions in the last several years held by both Wisconsin Wolf Facts, the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and state legislators to talk about the issues they’ve experienced. 

With wolves on the ESL, however, management options are often limited to non-lethal abatement measure.s Unfortunately, wolves often become habituated to those measures, leaving the producer with that same problem.

Hunters and producers have expressed the belief that, without a wolf season for several years now, wolves feel no threat from humans and they have become more bold in many areas. Further, as populations have grown, wolves have taken over habitats that were traditionally thought to be unsuitable for wolves. As wolf territory has expanded in the state, with that comes more conflict. 

Those conflicts, according to Laurie Groskopf from Wisconsin Wolf Facts, are not only a problem for the people involved, but they also create more contempt for wolves, which is not good for the species as a whole, and certainly not good for the specific wolves that have been known to cause repeated issues.

“Scientific data, coupled with the rise in wolf attacks in Wisconsin, confirms that the gray wolf population has exceeded recovery goals,” Tiffany said in a press release. “Yet, activist judges continue to disregard these facts, leaving livestock, pets, wildlife, and communities vulnerable to further harm. The Pet and Livestock Protection Act will restore management to those who understand local needs best — state wildlife officials — and ensure that out-of-state judges can no longer dictate how Wisconsin manages its wolf population.”

Tiffany said he felt there was enough backing, at least in the House, to get this bill over the finish line this time around, and said the challenge in the Senate would be that it must clear a 60-vote minimum, meaning it would have to be done on a bi-partisan basis. He said the hope was that Senators such as Tammy Baldwin and the Senators from Michigan would get behind the bill and offer some relief to rural Americans who have been dealing with wolf issues for years now with no relief. The damages are not limited to pets and livestock, but also to the deer herd in places like Northern Wisconsin, he added.

In 2020, the Department of the Interior issued a final rule to delist wolves in the lower 48 United States, The Pet and Livestock Protection Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to reissue that rule. The Act also ensures that rule could not be overturned through judicial review. According to Tiffany and Boebert, the delisting in 2020 used the best science and data available when delisting the wolf, calling the significant population recoveries in the Rocky Mountain and the Western Great Lakes regions a Endangered Species Act success story. There were an estimated 6,000 wolves at the time of that delisting.

“The recovery of the gray wolf is an incredible conservation success story that should be celebrated,” said Keith Mark, the Founder and President of Hunter Nation. “This legislation allows each state to manage the now recovered wolf population just as they manage all other wildlife within the state. The best part of this legislation is the provision that prevents judicial review of the legislative action which will preclude anti-hunting groups from interfering with sound, science based conservation in court.”

Wisconsin Farm Bureau president Brad Olson also weighed in on the matter, saying the recovery of gray wolves has far exceeded the population goals set under the Endangered Species Act.

“Their removal from the list is a success story and should be celebrated as a testament to the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act,” Olson said. “Now, it's time to allow Wisconsin to manage wolves at the state level, where we can ensure a balanced approach that protects our farmers, rural communities, and the ecosystem as a whole. Wisconsin Farm Bureau appreciates the work of Con. Tiffany and supports the Pet and Livestock Protection Act which will finally bring will bring much-needed certainty to rural residents, farmers, and livestock owners who have long dealt with the challenges posed by an unmanaged wolf population. It will also provide clarity and consistency for state regulators, ensuring they can respond effectively and responsibly to the needs of both people and wildlife.”

When wolves are delisted federally, Wisconsin state statute dictates that the DNR must create a wolf hunt.  However, it is unclear whether the state would be ready to create such a season.

“It should be a real concern to sportsmen what the state of Wisconsin, what the Department of Natural Resources and the Evers administration is doing right now,” Tiffany said. “It is obvious with them not having an accurate count, we’re hearing these excuses now by the Evers administration and the Department of Natural Resources in not doing their job that they have an accurate wolf count and also talking about setting numbers that are going to limit the number of wolves that are going to be able to be harvested. Regardless of how it gets done [delisting], is the State of Wisconsin ready? And at this point it sounds like the State of Wisconsin is putting as many impediments in the way as possible from being able to have a successful wolf season.”

Tiffany also spoke about the quota in the 2021 wolf season, which some said was largely overshot. The quota, however, was a harvest of 200 animals. After the Tribes were given their Treaty-granted allotment, that left 117 or so for state-licenses hunters and trappers, he said. In the end 218 wolves were taken off the landscape, just over the 200 quota mark. However, the Department, media and anti-hunting groups said wolves were grossly over-harvested. However, Tiffany said, based on the quota of 200, the overage was just a small margin. 

The DNR, he said, played games with the numbers, saying that only 117 wolves should have been taken, even after setting the quota themselves at 200. 

“The other thing is that we had expert testimony from Nathan Roberts last year on this bill where he said you can go up to 29%, it was almost 30%, you can go up to 29% take without endangering a species,” he said. He also said the subzones around reservations in the Ceded territory should not be allowed, as extremely tight quotas were set for those subzones, although a good deal of the land in those subzones outside of the reservations were privately owned.

“The Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association is strongly in favor of any action that would return wolf management to the professionals in the State of Wisconsin,” said Carl Schoettel, president of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association. “Science has shown now for over a decade that the wolf is recovered in our state. It has only been radical environmental activists that have been able to prevent the delisting that is essential for our state's people that live in wolf country and are adversely affected by our inability to manage the wolf population,”

Many stakeholders have given their support to the Pet and Livestock Protection Act. Those include the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Public Lands Council (PLC), National Rifle Association (NRA), Safari Club International (SCI), Hunter Nation, International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR), Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Blacktail Deer Foundation, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Wool Growers, New Mexico Cattle Growers, Minnesota Lamb & Wool Producers Association, Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association, Nebraska Cattlemen, and Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association

More information about the Pet and Livestock Protection Act can be found on Congressman Tiffany’s website at tiffany.house.gov under media press releases.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].