Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this amendment strikes three riders that undercut sound implementation of the Endangered Species Act as it pertains to the gray wolf, the greater sage-grouse, and the lesser prairie chicken. Despite what many of my colleagues assert, the gray wolves are not recovered. Attempts by the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove Endangered Species Act protections for wolves have failed time and again, and they have failed because the Endangered Species Act requires listing and delisting decisions be based on sound science. The scientific experts have shown, and courts have confirmed, that the best available science does not justify the removal of all ESA protections for gray wolves at this time. This is true whether you are talking about proposals to delist wolves in the western Great Lakes, Wyoming, or nationwide. In fact, the only instances in which wolves have been delisted is through unprecedented and unfortunate congressional action in 2011 to remove protections from wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. These wolves are now continually persecuted by hunters and ranchers despite the positive impacts they have had on the ecosystem and the minimal toll they take on livestock. Gray wolves are incredible animals. Their reintroduction to the Western United States has revitalized Yellowstone, and wolf-related tourism around Yellowstone generates more than $35 million annually for local economies. And, yet, gray wolves occupy only 5 percent of their historic range.…”