Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today released the following statement in response to a federal court ruling that effectively places wolves back on the endangered species list. The decision also cancels the scheduled wolf hunts in Montana and Idaho by prohibiting state management of wolf populations.
"I've long said decisions regarding the endangered species list should be based on sound science. I'm disappointed that after years of monitoring and research, and hundreds of millions of federal dollars spent, there are still people in this country who refuse to acknowledge the fact that gray wolves are a recovered species and ready for responsible state management. Land-owners, stock-growers, biologists, conservationists, and public officials at the state and federal level have all worked diligently to get to this point.
"It's high time for the billion-dollar environmental extremist industry to start listening to local experts and stop assuming all knowledge about wildlife issues resides outside of Montana. State wildlife managers have legitimate concerns over depleting elk and deer populations and our livestock industry is faced with ever increasing wolf encroachment. Montana has developed a responsible wolf management plan and it should have been given a chance to succeed."