Another Republican headed for the minority party sidelines is heard from, regrettably.
US Rep. Sean Duffy - - not to be out-done by Scott Walker and his legislative allies' 11th-hour partisan and special-interest legislating maneuvering - - has moved through the House before Democrats take over in January a bill to remove federal protections for grey wolves in Wisconsin and other states.
Duffy is pushing the fiction that the states can better 'manage' wolf populations, even though federal judges affirmed last year a 2014 US District Court ruling that the wolves continued to require federal protections, in part because the states had done such a lousy job embedding science and best practices into their wolf hunting programs.
Which was certainly the case in Wisconsin, where the short-lived wolf hunts from 2012-2014 were marred by excessive and broken kill quotas, not to mention the usage of dogs in the Wisconsin hunt which was OK-ed by a judge even though the practice put both species into fighting postures.
A more recent effort to put the Wisconsin on record favoring an open season on wolf killing, no doubt anticipating the subsequent move by Duffy, got as far as a hearing.
Note also that data showed most wolves were killed during the recent Wisconsin seasons after being caught in traps, then shot in the head.
Let's hope the US Senate will again acknowledge the essential role wolves play in natural forest management, as well as the value of the Endangered Species Act, and turn aside spurious, 11th-hours bills that get it all wrong.
The Trump administration is also out to gut the Endangered Species Act, by the way.
US Rep. Sean Duffy - - not to be out-done by Scott Walker and his legislative allies' 11th-hour partisan and special-interest legislating maneuvering - - has moved through the House before Democrats take over in January a bill to remove federal protections for grey wolves in Wisconsin and other states.
Duffy is pushing the fiction that the states can better 'manage' wolf populations, even though federal judges affirmed last year a 2014 US District Court ruling that the wolves continued to require federal protections, in part because the states had done such a lousy job embedding science and best practices into their wolf hunting programs.
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Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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A more recent effort to put the Wisconsin on record favoring an open season on wolf killing, no doubt anticipating the subsequent move by Duffy, got as far as a hearing.
Note also that data showed most wolves were killed during the recent Wisconsin seasons after being caught in traps, then shot in the head.
Let's hope the US Senate will again acknowledge the essential role wolves play in natural forest management, as well as the value of the Endangered Species Act, and turn aside spurious, 11th-hours bills that get it all wrong.
The Trump administration is also out to gut the Endangered Species Act, by the way.
This bill is terrible (and Duffy is terrible at his job), but unfortunately this is a bipartisan failure... and I suppose a broader failure of science literacy among the electorate. Duffy's opponent was in favor of this bill, and I bet if it comes up in the Senate you'll see Tammy Baldwin vote yes. Ron "Kinda a Democrat" Kind voted yes as well. Even down-ticket I don't think there was a single Democratic candidate north of Hwy 29 who opposed de-listing. The best I heard was along the lines of "Yes, wolves should be federally de-listed, BUT we should also do a better job managing the state wolf hunt than we did last time."
ReplyDeleteMargaret Engebretson ran against Duffy. She was a great candidate. Smart, thoughtful and concerned about the people of her district. I hope she runs again.
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