(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Montana Republicans ask for delayed decision on wolverine protections – Daily Montanan [1] ['Blair Miller', 'More From Author', '- November'] Date: 2023-11-22 As a deadline looms next week for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether to put Endangered Species Act protections in place for wolverines in the Lower 48 states, Montana’s three Republican members of the federal delegation are calling for a pause on the decision because it accounted for the effects of climate change. Monday is the deadline for USFWS to make a final determination on whether to list North American wolverines as a threatened species under the ESA, stemming from a federal court order in Montana in a lawsuit from conservation groups seeking to have the agency update its Species Status Assessment for the animals. A recent story by WyoFile showed a September report from USFWS found the U.S. wolverine population could be “less secure” than the agency previously thought due to climate change and other factors. The report did not estimate the total number of wolverines in America, saying the true population size is unknown, but previous estimates found there were between 250 and 300 in the Lower 48. But U.S. Reps. Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke, and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, all Montana Republicans, wrote a letter to USFWS Director Martha Williams last Friday calling for the agency to delay the deadline for the determination by 120 days over their stated concerns that climate change was taken into account when looking at wolverines’ population decrease and their risk of becoming extinct. “A postponement is necessary because the proposal is based largely on faulty conclusions drawn from climate predictions instead of a thorough assessment of population data,” the three officials wrote. There is no indication there will be any delay in the decision, as the deadline for it was mandated by U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy. But the three Montana Republicans are again blaming the Biden administration for the agency’s proposed action, which the Trump administration had opposed in court. “Once again, the Biden administration is trying to control Montana and I won’t stand for it,” Zinke said in a statement. “Just like with the grizzly, I believe Montana knows better than D.C. bureaucrats how to manage our wildlife and habitat.” A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, the lone member of the delegation that did not sign the letter, told the Daily Montanan in a statement: “Senator Tester believes the Fish and Wildlife Service must follow the best available science and take local input when making this decision.” In November 2022, USFWS proposed the rule requesting new information to update the Species Status Assessment to make the final determination on whether to list wolverines as a threatened species under the ESA, and asked for new information about the animal’s population, range, and distribution for the update. The three Republican lawmakers contend the proposed rule released in June, which recommended listing wolverines under the ESA, as well as the September report, only relies on population estimates from 2013 they say are unreliable because of a lack of data and uncertainties about how climate change affects wolverine populations. “Basing this determination on climate modeling and projections that have been consistently inaccurate over decades does not meet the standard of ‘likely’ or even probable at this stage,” the lawmakers wrote. They say the North American wolverines share genetic roots with wolverines that crossed over the Bering Straight from Asia thousands of years ago, which means they are resilient and adapting to climate changes. The three cite the Ice Age as one period of climate change wolverines have survived through. “This longstanding presence in North America underscores the wolverine’s ability to endure and adapt. It is wrong to base an ESA determination on unreliable climate predictions for any species, but especially for one that has proven to be so climate resilient.” Rosendale, Zinke and Daines say the pause in the decision that they seek would allow officials to gather more data “to ensure that this decision is proper and protects constituents who will be adversely affected by the listing.” “We cannot afford to restrict the activities and recreation of citizens of Montana based on projections and models that may not materialize and do not meet the requirements listed in federal law,” they wrote. Montana currently does not allow for wolverines to be hunted or trapped in any season despite the state having the largest estimated population of wolverines. Wyoming does not allow for hunting or trapping either. In fact, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks asked for information last Thursday — a day before Zinke, Rosendale and Daines sent their letter — about who illegally shot and skinned a wolverine this month northwest of Wisdom, which has led to multiple organizations posting rewards currently up to $11,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the poaching case. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/11/22/montana-republicans-ask-for-delayed-decision-on-wolverine-protections/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/