Senator Markey & ESA

EDWARD J. MARKEY MASSACHUSETTS		218 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20510 (202) 224-2742
	United States Senate January 30, 2015

Thank you for writing to me about the Endangered Species Act status of the gray wolf. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter.

Last year, I lead a bipartisan group of over 50 lawmakers in calling on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue protections for the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 2011, I wrote Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar expressing my opposition to the delisting of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In the Senate, I will continue to monitor this ongoing situation and advocate for the protection of the gray wolf. The backbone of the ESA has always been its commitment to use science to protect species from extinction. Science, not politics, should guide the conservation and management of the gray wolves in America.

The continuing recovery of the gray wolf has been one of the greatest success stories of the ESA. Through several decades of rigorous federal protection, the gray wolf population has risen to roughly 6,100 across three Great Lakes states and seven Western states. However, the recovery of gray wolves still faces challenges today and it is premature to take it off the ESA list.

The gray wolf once ranged across most of North America, Europe, and Asia. As a keystone predator, restoring the gray wolf through the Endangered Species Act is crucial to the long-term function of ecosystems. Reintroducing wolves to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in the 1990s has had far-reaching benefits. Fear of wolves prevented elk from using areas with aspen trees, which allowed the aspen to grow up, and this in turn has been good for songbirds and beavers. Yellowstone wolves has helped grow the local tourism economy in parts of the Northwest United States. Gray wolf recovery in the lower 48 states is a wildlife success story in the making, and I will encourage my Senate colleagues and the relevant federal and state agencies to continue to work toward greater recovery of this important species.

While in the U.S. House of Representatives, I served as the Ranking Member on the Natural Resources Committee and protecting our nation's wildlife has been one of my top priorities. I am honored to have received a 100 percent score from the Humane Society of the United States as well as a 100 percent score since joining the Senate from the League of Conservation Voters because of my voting record on animal welfare and environmental issues. In the Senate, I will continue fighting to protect America's wildlife and our environment.

Thank you again for contacting me about this issue. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. To sign up for my newsletter, visit http://www.markey.senate.gov/newsletter. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Sincerely,

Edward J. Markey
United States Senator