Billings Gazette - Guest Opinion: Common-Sense, Montana Solution to Wolf Issue

Op-Ed

By Max Baucus

Last week, we put an end to the hard-fought battle to delist wolves in Montana and return them to state management. It's a huge victory for Montana and a common-sense solution that will give certainty to our ranchers, farmers and hunters once and for all.

Since last August, when District Court Judge Donald Molloy ruled to return gray wolves in Montana to federal management, the wolf issue has come up time and time again in my talks with folks all across the state.

Montanans want this problem solved. No one, especially the federal government, knows how to better manage wolves than Montanans. We've proved it with a successful management plan and a successful wolf hunt. And that's why, from the start, I vowed to resolve this issue for the people of our state and see it through to the end.

The science is clear: With more than 1,700 wolves in the Northern Rockies, wolves are a recovered species. Don't just take my word for it; that's what scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service have determined. That's why the Fish and Wildlife Service tried to remove Montana and Idaho's wolves from the endangered-species list back in 2009. The only problem was that without an approved management plan in Wyoming, the Fish and Wildlife Service couldn't legally return wolves in Montana and Idaho to state management.

My plan cuts through the red tape. It restores Montana's ability to manage wolves in a way that works for ranchers, hunters and wolves.

I've heard strong words of support from folks across the spectrum, from the Montana Stockgrowers Association to the Montana Wildlife Federation.

Errol Rice, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, tells me that pushing this legislation through to the finish line is a real win for Montana's family ranches, and it ensures Montana ranchers have the necessary tools to protect their cattle from wolves.

And Tim Aldrich, Montana Wildlife Federation president, says this is great for Montana hunters and livestock producers. "For far too long we have been held hostage by litigation and political wrangling," Tim says. "Wolves are recovered in our state. We have a science-based management plan, and Montana FWP is fully capable of responsibly managing wolves along with all the other wildlife that makes Montana the last, best place."

That's why for months I've been strongly urging Sen. Harry Reid to include my wolf provision in the budget compromise to fund the federal government.

That's just what he did. And last week, the president signed this into law. That means in 60 days, Montana will be rightfully back in control of our own wolf population.

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