Download To: The Honorable Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis From: First

To: The Honorable Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis
From: First Name, Last Name of all members in group
Date: January 31, 2014
RE: Yellowstone National Park’s Gray Wolves
Statement of Issue: The Wyoming Farm Bureau sued the federal government to force the
removal of wolves from Yellowstone National Park in order to reduce predation of cattle grazing
on National Forest land adjacent to the park. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has since then
attempted to delist the Gray Wolf from the Endangered Species Act but there are still wolf
advocate groups who have sued in court to prevent this. We have trusted the USFWS to work
with the state of Wyoming to create a wolf management plan.
- The Endangered Species Act: “The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled
species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.” An argument has been raised as to the
status of the Gray Wolf by saying its population has recovered. Despite handing this situation to
the state there has been an aggressive approach. Over 200 wolves have been killed and 85
percent of Wyoming is considered a kill on sight predator zone. The USFWS very own scientists
have criticized Wyoming’s wolf management plan by saying it threatens the existence of Wolves
in both Wyoming and Yellowstone.
- The Sierra Club, one of many environmental groups concerned with this issue, has since then
been opposing the delisting of the wolf. It claims there has been little genetic interchange
between the three sub populations of wolves in the Northern Rockies which can lead to
interbreeding. Other environmental groups have also voiced their concern with the number of
wolves being killed by ranchers and hunters. Locals of Wyoming are also in opposition because
they find Wolves to be a vital part of Yellowstone National Park’s income.
- The estimate cost on wolf recovery in Yellowstone ranges from $200,000 to a million per wolf.
These are contrasting numbers when compared to the loss of the ranchers. The Defenders of
Wildlife created the Wolf Compensation Trust and up to 2009 they compensated ranchers of
three states, one which was Wyoming. The amount of money the ranchers received for 12 years
was 1.2 million dollars. Their compensation was based on the amount of money they had lost as
a result of their livestock. Research has been conducted and it’s been suggested that wolves are
only responsible for 10% of the destruction of livestock. Interestingly, Yellowstone wolves bring
an estimated 7-10 million in annual tourism revenue. It can be said that killing the wolves is far
more detrimental to Wyoming, especially considering the probability of them becoming
endangered again.
Policy Recommendation:
Keep the Gray Wolves of Yellowstone protected under the Endangered Species Act and work
collectively with the USFWS / State of Wyoming to ensure that the wolves remain untouched.
Senator John Barrasso stated in June of 2012, “Our state has surpassed recovery goals and
honored its commitments, and this rule finally recognizes that fact. I appreciate the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service working with the state to produce a plan that delists the wolf and leaves its
management in the capable hands of Wyoming’s wildlife officials.” We entrusted the USFWS
with this issue and I am afraid it is not in “capable hands.”
I feel it would be in our best interest to take the reign of this issue once again. We fulfilled our
duty of recovering the Gray Wolf as it was assigned to us by the Federal Government in the
1990’s. We felt an enormous load off our back when we handed this issue to the state, but it is
our responsibility to regain authority in an area in which we have worked in for over a decade.
Our subcommittee on Public Land and Environmental Regulation is responsible for the vast
network of federally owned lands including national parks and U.S. forests throughout the
country. Yellowstone National Park falls under that category and I feel we should create a plan
which reinforces the safety of wolves as well as the compensation of ranchers. It is true that there
have been two failed attempts at legislation but we cannot show resignation.
I am fully aware of your indignation to partake in this issue, especially because of the “litigation
happy groups” you had mentioned in a prior statement but it is the best course of action at this
point if we are to try and save the Gray Wolves.
Advantages: Help maintain the wolf population, prevent big game hunting, or at least limit it.
This will help keep the income of the Yellowstone National Park intact and it will also save us
between 200,000 to one million dollars per wolf.
Disadvantages: There will have to be a monetary compromise with the Wyoming Farm Bureau’s
ranchers.
Press release:
I feel it would be in our best interest to take the reign of this issue once again. We fulfilled our duty of
recovering the Gray Wolf as it was assigned to us by the Federal Government in the 1990’s. We felt an
enormous load off our back when we handed this issue to the state, but it is our responsibility to regain
authority in an area in which we have worked in for over a decade.
Our subcommittee on Public Land and Environmental Regulation is responsible for the vast network of
federally owned lands including national parks and U.S. forests throughout the country. Yellowstone
National Park falls under that category and I feel we should create a plan which reinforces the safety of
wolves as well as the compensation of ranchers. It is true that there have been two failed attempts at
legislation but we cannot show resignation.
Citied Page
http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/an_ongoing_battle.htm
http://wyoming.sierraclub.org/WOLVES%20AND%20LIVESTOCK.pdf
http://www.oregonwild.org/fish_wildlife/bringing_wolves_back/wolves-misunderstood
http://www.aws.vcn.com/fact.html
http://wyoming.sierraclub.org/WOLVES%20AND%20LIVESTOCK.pdf
http://www.aws.vcn.com/fact.html