Interior Department officially delists wolves as required by Tester’s law

Senator: ‘We’re restoring a responsible, science-based management plan that works best for our state’

(U.S. SENATE) – Senator Jon Tester released the following statement after the U.S. Interior Department today officially removed Montana wolves from the Endangered Species List, a move required by Tester’s recent law to return wolf management to the State of Montana:

“Today we’re restoring a responsible, science-based plan for the future of Montana’s wolves that works best for our state, for our livestock, for our wildlife and for the jobs they sustain.  Our wolves have recovered, and now state biologists need to manage them like any other recovered species.  I’m proud to have worked with Congressman Simpson to get this done because it’s right the right thing to do for the West.”

Tester and Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, included the provision in the 2011 federal funding bill, which overwhelmingly passed Congress last month.  The provision restores a 2009 rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that delisted Montana’s and Idaho’s wolves. Tester had worked closely with Senator Max Baucus and other lawmakers on plans for delisting wolves following a controversial court decision last August that returned wolves to the Endangered Species Act and nullified Montana’s wolf management plan.

Mike Clark, Executive Director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, said this in response to today’s news:

“Wolves are doing well in the region and it is time to let the states show they can manage wolves responsibly.”

Tester’s wolf language as it appears in the federal budget agreement is available on Tester’s website HERE.