By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has delivered on one of the first promises she made to her potential new U.S. House district.
In various debates in the 4th District, Boebert has noted the depredation by the gray wolf in Colorado, and had pledged to pursue a bill in Congress which would remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list. There are an estimated 13,000 gray wolves in the United States and another 30,000 in Canada.
She authored House Resolution 764, titled the “Trust the Science Act”, to remove protections the gray wolf enjoys while depredating livestock and other animals in Colorado. The act passed the U.S. House by a 209-205 vote Tuesday, oddly earning Democrat Rep. Yadira Caraveo’s support among the four Democrat votes received. The bill was also supported by Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, but opposed by the remaining four Democratic members of the Colorado delegation to the U.S. House. The 4th District has no representation in Congress following the departure of ex-U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor.
“Out-of-touch Denver and Boulder leftists voted to reintroduce wolves in Colorado,” Boebert said. “Farmers and ranchers are powerless to defend their livestock from wolf attacks and there have been eight confirmed wolf livestock killings in April alone.”
Colorado Parks & Wildlife officials also indicate wolf pups have been born within the state, adding to the population.
“Rather than celebrating the gray wolf recovery success story, leftists want to cower to radical environmentalists and keep them on the Endangered Species Act list forever,” Boebert said.
It is true no wolves presently exist, according to CPW officials, within the 4th District, but locator maps for Colorado’s wolves indicate an expansion east over the continental divide.
“The gray wolf is fully recovered and should be delisted in the lower 48 states,” Boebert said. “Today’s bipartisan passage of my Trust the Science Act empowers states and puts people ahead of violent predators.”
The act was termed a “commonsense, pragmatic step forward” for local control of wildlife management, “instead of ceding control to radical environmentalists”, by Rep. Bruce Westerman, the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
“By all metrics, the gray wolf population has recovered. But instead of pursuing common sense, science-backed approaches to delisting, this Administration continues to weaponize the ESA against private landowners,” said Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse. “I’m proud to support this legislation that delists the gray wolf.”
The act requires the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the 2020 rule delisting gray wolves from the endangered species list. In 2009, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado, termed the delisting decision “a supportable one …scientists have concluded that recovery has occurred.”
The gray wolf population has been successfully managed, Boebert says, pointing to population 500% beyond recovery goals in Montana and 700% above recovery goals in Idaho.
Some of the organizations supporting the bill include the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, Colorado Farm Bureau and other farm bureaus, Colorado Livestock Association, the National Rifle Association, county commissioners and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife.
H.R. 764 now advances to the U.S. Senate, where it will need to earn a vote of approval in order to advance to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.