BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Lawmakers from the Northern Rockies say pending bills to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list have little chance of passage this Congress.
With only a few working weeks left in the 111th Congress, attention is focused on a few major items including unemployment, Medicaid and nuclear proliferation.
Brad Hoaglun, a spokesman for Idaho Republican Sen. James Risch, says the time crunch makes it “highly unlikely” any of several wolf bills will advance. The bills would have to be reintroduced next year.
More than 1,700 wolves inhabit Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon. They were taken off the endangered list in 2007 and 2009, but re-listed both times under court order.
As livestock killings by wolves have increased, so has the political pressure to reduce their numbers.
