BILLINGS, Mont. — Lawmakers in the West said Friday that they will keep pushing to lift federal protections for gray wolves despite a proposed settlement between environmental groups and the Obama administration.
The settlement would end a decade of lawsuits over the animals. But it faces significant legal hurdles that leave uncertain whether court approval will come before lawmakers act.
Approval is being sought from a judge who has twice ruled against attempts to lift wolf protections. Also, the deal faces opposition from some wildlife advocates who say their prior court victories are being squandered in a political compromise.
Given the uncertainties, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana told The Associated Press he won’t wait to push through his legislation taking wolves off the endangered list in Montana and Idaho.
An identical measure already was approved by the U.S. House, through a provision tucked into the pending budget bill.
“That’s ultimately the best solution,” said Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson, who authored the House provision. “I do think the language that we put in the bill will pass both the House and the Senate, and we’re going to continue to keep it in (the budget bill).”
The settlement agreement would lift protections at least temporarily for about 1,250 wolves and allow hunting in Idaho and Montana. But protections would be retained — for now — for almost 400 wolves in Wyoming and portions of Utah, Washington and Oregon.
Environmentalists backing the deal say it could allow wolf populations to expand sharply in Oregon and Washington — an outcome Simpson said he hopes to avert. The deal also calls for a scientific review in several years that could put the species back on the endangered list if too many wolves are killed by hunting.
Gray wolves once roamed most of the country but were largely exterminated from the lower 48 states by the early 1930s. A reintroduction program trapped some in Canada and released them in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Montana has twice rejected attempts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to declare wolves recovered in the northern Rockies.
The proposed settlement was filed with Molloy on March 18. He held a hearing last week but made no decision.
