Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi, and Rep. Barbara Cubin, (all R-Wyo.), are encouraging the Fish and Wildlife Service to be flexible, make some concessions, and give full consideration to Wyoming’s wolf priorities.

Senators Thomas and Enzi met yesterday with Steve Williams, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to discuss the delisting of the gray wolf in Wyoming. Director Williams will be traveling to Wyoming next week to meet with Wyoming state lawmakers.

“I am disappointed that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not accept Wyoming’s wolf proposal. I opposed the reintroduction into Yellowstone from the beginning. I urged the Secretary of the Interior to accept the Wyoming plan and was disappointed when it was rejected,” Thomas said. “I have asked Mr. Williams to bring to Wyoming some flexibility to find a solution. The issue is to get the wolves de-listed so the state can manage them with some financial help from the federal government. If this delay in delisting goes on for three to four years, as it could, agriculture, sportsmen, and the state in general will suffer. We need to take into account where we are and find a solution to this issue.”

As co-chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, Enzi hosted a series of meetings this week in Washington with Senator Thomas and Game and Fish Department officials from Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. Sportsmen and members of the House and particularly members of the House Appropriations Committee were also present.

Enzi believes it’s possible to adjust the wording without changing the spirit of the current state plan and that with cooperation from the agency and the state a solution can be found.

“From my viewpoint we are in a semantic dilemma that is creating political failure,” said Enzi. “We need to keep our eye on the ball. The goal is to de-list the wolf and manage it in a way that fits our state. Some give from the Fish and Wildlife Service and a slight adjustment to the wording of our plan would accomplish that goal much faster than a long and costly court battle. Wyoming took an honest and forthright approach by calling the wolf a predator in its plan. That’s an accurate term. Montana, however, chose to avoid this classification in its plan, but I believe in practice it allows wolves to be managed as predators. Even Wyoming ranchers would agree that Montana is not known for being soft on predators.”

“I am appalled with the federal government for not dealing straight with Wyoming. The Fish and Wildlife Service made representations to the state and to me, verbally and in writing, that they didn't honor,” said Cubin. “I don't want to see Wyoming engaged in a lawsuit that could cost us millions of dollars to litigate and take years to settle, and I'm not sure our wildlife and livestock can outlast the wolves at the rate they're spreading. But if a lawsuit is the only way to get the wolves delisted then I'll fight tooth and nail for Wyoming. We're in the right on this, and I'm not afraid to say it.”