Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chairman's leadership not only in the Western Caucus but his leadership on very important issues such as the Endangered Species Act. I appreciate his giving me the opportunity this evening. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the gray wolf being fully recovered. Gray wolves have never been extinct in Minnesota. We currently estimate our population at over 2,700 gray wolves, while the ESA recovery plan goal for our State is 1,400. In fact, Minnesota has more wolves than the rest of the lower 48 States combined. The Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, along with our very own Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, have all agreed: It is a scientific fact that the gray wolf has recovered. On my chart here, Mr. Speaker, you can see clearly the gray wolf has recovered. The blue dotted line is the Federal recovery plan, and the green dotted line is the minimum in Minnesota to reinstitute a wolf hunt. The wolf population is way up at the top, well above each threshold, as you can see. Unfortunately, radical activist groups have weaponized the Endangered Species Act to keep the gray wolf listed. This misguided effort is a clear danger to our deer herds, livestock, and beloved family pets across Minnesota. We have the scientists, the know-how, and the experience to responsibly manage the gray wolf, including implementing a hunting and trapping season.…”