WASHINGTON, DC- Today, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Peter DeFazio (D-OR) applauded a recent decision by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to restart the peer review process for the proposed delisting of gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In a letter to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell earlier this month, DeFazio called into question USFWS’ management of and improper influence over the independent scientific peer review of the proposed rule.
“This decision confirmed issues I raised in my letter to Secretary Jewell-Fish and Wildlife Services improperly influenced the so-called independent scientific peer review of the delisting of the Gray Wolf. Gray Wolves have only just begun to return to portions of the Pacific Northwest, California, southern Rocky Mountains and Northeast and continue to need protection in these areas if they are to truly recover. To date there are already nearly 18,000 public comments in opposition to the proposed rule. I continue to urge the Service to rescind the proposed rule because continued federal protections are essential to the long-term survival and recovery of this iconic American animal," said DeFazio.
DeFazio called into question USFWS’ management of and improper influence over the supposedly independent scientific peer review of the proposed rule. USFWS completed the peer review for September 11th, 2013. He urged USFWS to continue to review the taxonomic history of wolves in the eastern United States and seek a broader scientific consensus before removing federal protection.
BACKGROUND
In February, 2012, the Fish and Wildlife Service released a five year review for the wolf that recommended removing protections for gray wolves across most of the lower 48 states. In March, DeFazio sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) urging them to continue protections for the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Retaining protections for wolves in the lower 48 will not impact the delisting decisions in the northern Rocky Mountains or western Great Lakes, where wolf recovery has seen considerable improvement and wolves have been removed from the endangered list. Instead, it will retain protections for a small number of wolves on the West Coast and wolves that have slowly been moving back into historically occupied areas like the southern Rocky Mountains and Northeast.
Studies completed after the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park have found that wolves are highly beneficial to ecosystems, benefitting a host of species from fish to songbirds to pronghorn antelope. Wolves have also been a boon to the local economy as a major tourist draw.
