Saturday, October 31, 2020

Trump Administration Delists Gray Wolf from Endangered Species List

Washington, D.C. - October 31, 2020 - (The Ponder News) -- “In Eastern Washington, and especially in Northeastern Washington, wolf predation on calves has become common. I regularly hear from people who’ve seen wolves around their property and who cannot defend themselves without risking a felony,” said McMorris Rodgers. “By delisting the gray wolf and restoring local decision-making, we can allow people in our state and community to use science-based wolf management practices that will benefit both our endangered and native animals while protecting farmers and ranchers. As the Obama administration made clear in 2013, the gray wolf is recovered. Unfortunately, the gray wolf was not delisted. Thank you to the Trump administration for respecting local decision-making and delisting this recovered species in the lower 48 states,” stated U.S. Representative Cathy Rodgers McMorris (R-WA, 5th).

More than 45 years after gray wolves were first listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Trump Administration and its many conservation partners are announcing the successful recovery of the gray wolf and its delisting from the ESA. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt was at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge to announce that state and tribal wildlife management agency professionals will resume responsibility for sustainable management and protection of delisted gray wolves in states with gray wolf populations, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) monitors the species for five years to ensure the continued success of the species.

The Service based its final determination solely on the best scientific and commercial data available, a thorough analysis of threats and how they have been alleviated and the ongoing commitment and proven track record of states and tribes to continue managing for healthy wolf populations once delisted. This analysis includes the latest information about the wolf’s current and historical distribution in the contiguous United States

“Today’s action reflects the Trump Administration’s continued commitment to species conservation based on the parameters of the law and the best scientific and commercial data available,” said Secretary Bernhardt. “After more than 45 years as a listed species, the gray wolf has exceeded all conservation goals for recovery. Today’s announcement simply reflects the determination that this species is neither a threatened nor endangered species based on the specific factors Congress has laid out in the law.”

In total, the gray wolf population in the lower 48 states is more than 6,000 wolves, greatly exceeding the combined recovery goals for the Northern Rocky Mountains and Western Great Lakes populations.

The gray wolf is the latest in a strong list of ESA recoveries that includes the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, American alligator, brown pelican and 48 other species of animals and plants in U.S. states, territories and waters. Countless more have improved or stabilized. Collectively, these successes demonstrate that the ESA can make a difference for imperiled species.

No administration in history has recovered more imperiled species in their first term than the Trump Administration. Since 2017, thirteen species – and now the gray wolf – have been determined to not be either a threatened species or endangered species under the ESA’s List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, and another seven species have been downlisted from endangered species to threatened species. To provide context for this in looking at other administrations in their first term, the Obama Administration recovered six species; the Bush Administration recovered eight species; and the Clinton Administration recovered nine species.

“President Trump’s Administration has focused on proactive measures, including partnerships with organizations, to ensure listed species flourish to the point of recovery,” said Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Aurelia Skipwith. “Today is a win for the gray wolf and the American people. I am grateful for these partnerships with States and Tribes and their commitment to sustainable management of wolves that will ensure the species long-term survival following this delisting.”

By the early part of the 20th century, the gray wolf had become scarce across almost the entire landscape of the lower 48 states. But, the dedicated efforts of partners that included states, tribes, conservation organizations and private landowners working together under the auspices of the ESA, brought this great predator back to healthy, stable numbers. Gray wolves in the United States exist primarily as two large, genetically diverse, stable to growing populations broadly distributed across several contiguous U.S. States, with an additional large population in Alaska that was never listed.

Gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains, where a healthy and sustainable population roams across Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and eastern portions of Oregon and Washington, were previously delisted. These states have since managed this delisted population effectively and responsibly. Wolves have even expanded into western Oregon, western Washington, northern California and most recently in northwest Colorado.

The Western Great Lakes wolf population in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the largest outside Alaska, is also strong and stable. These states have been key partners in wolf recovery efforts and have made a commitment to continue their activities. The states of Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado are also committed to conserving wolves, as demonstrated by their development of management plans and laws protecting wolves.

This final rule excludes Mexican wolves as that species remains listed under the ESA. The final rule will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

In 2013, the Obama Administration’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that gray wolf recovery goals had been achieved, yet the effort to delist the animal from the ESA was met with politically-motivated attacks and lawsuits by radical environmental groups. Management of gray wolves was transferred from the states to the federal level following two 2014 U.S. District Court decisions that reinstated gray wolves under the protections of the ESA.

The best available scientific and commercial information continued to indicate the gray wolf does not meet the definitions of a threatened or endangered species. With a range-wide population of more than 6,000, gray wolf recovery efforts have exceeded the combined goals for the Northern Rocky Mountains and Western Great Lakes populations. In Washington state alone, there are at least 108 known wolves in 21 known packs, including at least 10 breeding pairs, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation reported 37 wolves in five packs.

The gray wolf joins the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, American alligator, brown pelican and 33 other species of animals and plants in U.S. states, territories and waters that have been brought back from the brink with the help of the ESA.

On March 15, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to delist the gray wolf and announced the opening of a 60-day public comment period on the proposed action, ending May 14, 2020. In response to requests, the Service extended the comment period until July 15, 2019, to allow all interested parties additional time to comment on the proposal and to allow for a public hearing. In addition, a final peer review report on the proposal was made available on June 3, 2019.

On May 28, 2019, 35 U.S. Representative wrote a bipartisan letter in support of the proposed rule, urging the Administration to use the best available science to delist the gray wolf. Click here to read the letter.

In the 115th Congress, Rep. Newhouse introduced H.R. 6784, the Manage Our Wolves Act, which passed the House on November 16, 2018. In Washington, the gray wolf is only listed as endangered in two-thirds of the state. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife has publicly supported changing the federal designation in order to fully implement their local management plan. Click here and here to read the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s 2015 and 2018 letters requesting the federal delisting of the gray wolf.

See more information by clicking HERE.

Rice Introduces Bill to Require Election Security Reports for Congress and State Election Officials

(Washington, D.C. - October 31, 2020 - (The Ponder News) -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY, 4th), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced the Election Security Assessments Act (H.R. 8697), which would require the Director of National Intelligence to submit annual reports on pre-election threats to Federal elections to Members of Congress and State election officials.

“Foreign interference in our elections represents one of the gravest threats to American democracy in the history of our nation,” said Rep. Kathleen Rice. “Given what is at stake, it is absurd that Director Ratcliffe and the Trump Administration at large have been tight-lipped and dismissive about these threats. Seemingly for fear of harming the President politically. The Election Security Assessments Act will require that information sharing take place and ensure that Congress and State election officials are not left in the dark about the threats facing our elections.”

Rice’s introduction of the Election Security Assessments Acts comes following Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe’s decision to scale back election security briefings to Congress. These briefings were retrenched despite U.S. intelligence that Russia and other actors are still interfering in the 2020 election.

Full text of the Election Security Assessments Act can be found here.