WASHINGTON, D.C. (Michigan News Source) – Last week, the U.S. House moved to take the gray wolf off the endangered species list and hand management of the predator back to the states.

The Pet and Livestock Protection Act, which received bipartisan support that included GOP Congressmen Jack Bergman (MI-01) and John Moolenaar (MI-02), now heads to the U.S. Senate. If passed, the bill would delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), allow states to manage wolf populations, and curb courtroom battles.

Population moves from hundreds to thousands.

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Bill sponsor Congressman Tom Tiffany (R-WI) called the legislation a “commonsense approach.” He said, “When federal protections were first established for gray wolves in the Great Lakes region, populations were only in the hundreds. Today, there are well over 4,000 wolves across Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin,” he said.

Here in Michigan, Rep. Parker Fairbairn (R-Harbor Springs) is backing the House’s efforts. He’s urging Congress to pass the bill and send it to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. Fairbairn spoke on The Steve Gruber Show on Monday and said he believes the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula is double the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) estimate of 780.

“We’ve got to do something about these wolves,” Rep. Fairbairn told Gruber. “Congress is starting to see that and I’m really hoping see a wolf hunt in Michigan next fall.”

Michigan farmers verses wolves.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 federally protects animals at danger of extinction, and that includes gray wolves. Some states, including Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, delisted gray wolves. Rep. Fairbairn said managing the wolf population and securing a more effective deer management plan, like making Michigan a “one buck” state, go hand-in-hand.

“”I’ve talked to farmers [in the U.P.] and their cattle and sheep get wiped out by wolves. They’re not eating dog food or cat food,” Fairbairn added. “[The wolves are]eating deer, rabbits, whatever they can get their teeth on.”

Federal protection of wolves has gone back and forth between the government and environmental groups for years. Moves to delist the gray wolf often ended up seeing the inside of a courtroom.