“I have long supported commonsense efforts to delist the gray wolf in Wisconsin because the science shows that the population has recovered in the Great Lakes region…”
-U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Northern Great Lakes Wolf Recovery Act, new legislation to develop a regional-specific plan based in science to delist the gray wolf population in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The legislation would create an advisory committee comprised of members representing agriculture, Native and Tribal communities, heads of impacted-state agencies, and wolf management experts and scientists to create the final delisting rule for the region.
“I have long supported commonsense efforts to delist the gray wolf in Wisconsin because the science shows that the population has recovered in the Great Lakes region. While other parts of the country have different wolf populations and management needs, this legislation will allow our agriculture, Tribal, scientific, and impacted communities to come together to create a solution that works for Wisconsin,” said Senator Baldwin. “The Northern Great Lakes Wolf Recovery Act is a deliberate approach that follows the science and gives impacted communities a seat at the table as we work together to be responsible stewards of Wisconsin’s gray wolf population.”
The region the legislation outlines includes Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where the wolf population has been determined to have rebounded to the point where state management is appropriate.
The advisory committee would also be involved in the five-year post-delisting monitoring period, which ensures that the status of the species does not decline or, if an increase in threats or decline in the population do occur, there are plans and measures in place to halt the decline so that relisting is not necessary.
The Northern Great Lakes Wolf Recovery Act would require the following:
- Define the Northern Great Lakes Region: Expand the Minnesota population segment currently listed as “threatened,” which has remained in place since 1978 except for periods of complete delisting, to statutorily include Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
- Create a Northern Great Lakes Region Gray Wolf Advisory Committee: Require the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to establish the Northern Great Lakes Region Gray Wolf Advisory Committee, which will include membership from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service, federally recognized Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, heads of impacted-state agencies, and experts of wolf biology, management, and predation.
- Re-Draft Gray Wolf Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan (PDMP): Require the USFWS to redraft the outdated 2008 PDMP for the gray wolf as it applies to the Northern Great Lakes Region population, in consultation with the Committee both during the drafting process and during the 5-year period post delisting.
- Issue a Gray Wolf Delisting Rule: Require the issuance of a delisting rule for gray wolves in the Northern Great Lakes Region, which shall be drafted in consultation with the Committee, in order to successfully, and in the long term, return the species to state management in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
