Baucus, Tester looking at new wolf legislation

Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester recently introduced legislation to remove gray wolves in Montana and Idaho from protection under the Endangered Species Act. A similar measure was also introduced by Rep. Denny Rehberg earlier this year.

The 21-line Baucus-Tester bill would go into effect after a state management plan for wolves is approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Their bill differs from Rehberg’s, which completely removes wolves from the ESA with no strings attached.

Both bills come on the heels of a federal court ruling in August that placed wolves in Montana and Idaho back on the ESA. U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service broke its own rule-making process when it de-listed wolves in Montana and Idaho but not Wyoming.

The court said FWS had to take all three states into account. FWS did not de-list wolves in Wyoming because the state has not devised an acceptable management plan that would preserve its wolf population outside Yellowstone National Park.

“This bill provides a common-sense solution that will put wolves in Montana back in Montana’s control,” Baucus said.

The Baucus and Tester bill has the support of the Montana Wildlife Federation, the state’s oldest hunting organization, and the Montana Farm Bureau. Whether it passes or not, it may force the entire wolf debate to the negotiating table — or back to court.

“We’re concerned with what Congress is doing will only further polarize the issue,” said Jeff Welsch of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, one of the lead plaintiffs in the suit. “We are willing to come to the table and work together under the parameters of the ESA.”

Welsch said his group does not oppose a “fair chase” hunt as a management tool. Montana’s wolf management plan, prior to the court decision, called for a “fair chase” hunt that aimed to harvest about 186 wolves this year, reducing the overall population by 10 to 13 percent. That hunt was canceled in the wake of the court decision.

Meanwhile, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is preparing an appeal of the Molloy decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. FWP has also sought FWS approval to hold a conservation hunt this year to reduce wolf populations.