UP Rep. Jack Bergman

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, has announced his support for removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list, expressing strong support for H.R. 845, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act. The bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to reissue regulations removing the gray wolf from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

According to a March 25 release from his office, Bergman participated in a hearing by the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, underscoring the need to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List.

Bergman expressed his strong support for H.R. 845, and highlighted the Great Lakes Region’s overwhelmingly successful efforts in recovering the once-endangered species, and he emphasized the critical need to now return wolf management efforts to individual state wildlife agencies.

The Pet and Livestock Protection Act is a science-based solution that empowers states to manage their wolf populations effectively without unnecessary federal interference, Bergman’s release says.

“The gray wolf has made a remarkable comeback in the Upper Peninsula, and the data confirms it,” Bergman said. “Yet, local, state, and tribal wildlife officials remain unable to manage wolf populations due to Washington’s failure to adapt to changing conditions on the ground. The needs and circumstances of Michigan aren’t the same as those of other states, but rigid, one-size-fits-all federal regulation continues to ignore that. The people of Michigan – not bureaucrats in Washington or federal judges thousands of miles away – know what’s best for our state. I’m proud to support the Pet and Livestock Protection Act to return wolf management to the states, where it belongs.”

On Feb. 15, State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, advanced a resolution seeking to use a portion of the Upper Peninsula’s abundant wolf population to re-establish a self-sustaining population in the Lower Peninsula. The resolution is tie-barred to Markkanen’s House Bill 4102, introduced on Feb. 15.

“Public support for wolves has historically been high among Michigan’s Lower Peninsula residents,” said Markkanen in a Feb. 15 release. “I’ve heard it from Lower Peninsula residents themselves – they often express envy in the U.P.’s privilege to live side-by-side with wolves. I urge the DNR to re-establish a viable and self-sustaining wolf population in the Lower Peninsula by re-locating as many wolves as possible from the UP’s thriving population.”

A viable and self-sustaining wolf population, currently estimated at approximately 700 animals, has been re-established in the Upper Peninsula since 2007 – far surpassing the original goal of around 200 set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Michigan Wolf Recovery and Management Plan. However, no such sustainable wolf population has been re-established in the Lower Peninsula, according to Markkanen’s release.

In the U.P. the wolf population has surpassed 760 and has been steadily rising for more than a decade. While this recovery marks a conservation success, it has also led to a rise in wolf encounters among UP residents, Markkanen’s release says.

In 2020, the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under President Donald Trump delisted the gray wolf across the lower 48 states based on the best available science and data. However, in 2022, a federal judge in California vacated this rule.

The Pet and Livestock Protection Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the 2020 Department of the Interior final rule which delisted gray wolves in the lower 48 states and ensures this rule can’t be overturned through judicial review.

UP Rep. Jack Bergman