Defenders Issues Response to House Oversight Hearing on Wildlife Protection

Defenders of Wildlife slammed the extensive and egregious false claims of yesterday’s House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries hearing related to the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act. These claims were clear attempts to undermine and eventually dismantle bedrock conservation laws that are fundamental backstops to the protection of our nation’s imperiled wildlife.

“The rate at which false claims were being leveled by anti-wildlife Members of Congress at today’s hearing was nearly as staggering as the contents of those claims,” said Robert Dewey, Defenders of Wildlife vice president of government relations. “The bottom line is that decisions about protecting, preserving and restoring imperiled wildlife and habitat critical to their survival need to be dictated by science and rather than by political agendas. We applaud the Members of Congress and experts who stood up for science and wildlife yesterday and underscored the vital need for the Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Acts.”

The most egregious false claims included:

False: "The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly population has exceeded recovery goals for over two decades." - Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY)
The truth: Using the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently found that grizzly bears are not warranted for delisting.

False: "I don't know how many thousands of people lost their jobs in Oregon because of the spotted owl...literally, I don't. It's literally tens of thousands of people.” - Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-OR)
The truth: Research has shown that while logging was prohibited in protected habitats for spotted owls, logging did continue elsewhere, and job losses were significantly less than those projected by the industry.

False: “We have in the northern part of my district as well, a rampant wolf population that is decimating livestock there." - Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA)
The truth: Wolf attacks on livestock are rarer than lightning strikes.

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