WASHINGTON (June 30, 2017) — Yesterday, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and several other senators introduced S. 1514, the Hunting Heritage and Environmental Legacy Preservation (HELP) for Wildlife Act. The bill ends Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Great Lakes region and bars judicial review of wolf delisting in the Great Lakes and Wyoming.
Statement from Defenders of Wildlife Senior Vice President of Conservation Programs Bob Dreher:
“It’s the same old story. This legislation is yet another attempt to roll back protections for America’s imperiled wildlife. In the last Congress, there were 130 attacks undermining the Endangered Species Act and harming imperiled wildlife. This new attack on wolves would bring us to 30 so far in this Congress. Wildlife biologists, not Congress, should be determining which species need protection under the Endangered Species Act.
“Meddling with Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes region and blocking citizens’ ability to go to court to fight for them would harm – not help – our native wildlife. This is politics, pure and simple, and is not what the American people want.
“Sen. Barrasso’s bill consists of toxic measures lumped in with reauthorization of some conservation programs to make it more attractive; but a poison pill is still a poison pill. This bill belongs in a Capitol Hill wastebasket, not in federal law.”
Defenders of Wildlife is celebrating 75 years of protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit defenders.org/newsroom and follow us on Twitter @Defenders.
