Pete Stauber Claims Endangered Species Act Has Been 'Weaponized By Radical Activist Groups'

2 days ago

During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) spoke about the alleged 'weaponization' of the Endangered Species Act.

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Transcript

00:00of questioning.

00:01Thank you, Chairwoman Hagelman.

00:02I appreciate the opportunity to be waved

00:04onto the subcommittee and also want to thank you

00:05for calling this hearing to discuss legislation

00:08that is incredibly important to my constituents in Minnesota.

00:12Last spring, this subcommittee traveled to my district

00:14to see firsthand the impact that the well-intentioned

00:17yet broken Endangered Species Act is having

00:19on the communities that I am proud to represent.

00:22Furthermore, this subcommittee saw how the weaponization

00:24of the ESA has led to failed management of the gray wolf.

00:27When the gray wolf was listed as threatened

00:29in Minnesota under the Endangered Species Act in 1978,

00:33a recovery goal of 1,250 to 1,400 wolves was set.

00:39Today, according to data from the U.S. Fish

00:40and Wildlife Service and the Minnesota Department

00:43of Natural Resources, we have over 2,700 wolves in Minnesota.

00:47That's about half of the total wolves

00:49in the entire lower 48.

00:50Half of the wolves in this country are in Minnesota

00:53by the official estimates, and their population

00:56is twice as high as the goal our wildlife managers set

00:59at the species listing.

01:01With that said, I've traveled across my district.

01:05It's clear that this 2,700 wolf figure is an undercount.

01:10It is clear that there are likely hundreds,

01:13if not thousands more than what we're told.

01:18If you look at those grassroot groups,

01:20hunters for hunters out of Minnesota, hunter nation,

01:26in my mind, they're the experts

01:29in talking about this.

01:31And the reason I say this, they're out in the woods.

01:33They're in the deer stands, and they see the pack of wolves

01:36coming right below their deer stand.

01:39They see it on their game cameras.

01:41I see it almost weekly on my hunting track cameras

01:47in northeastern Minnesota.

01:48Species were never meant to be listed

01:50under the ESA indefinitely, but that's the reality today.

01:54Since the ESA's enactment over five decades ago,

01:56only two to 3% of the species ever listed

01:59have made it off the list.

02:01As Don Young said, rest his soul,

02:05that they were never meant to be put on there permanently.

02:09He was an advocate to delist the gray wolf.

02:12The ESA has been weaponized by radical activist groups

02:15that don't want to follow the science,

02:17the science that proves the gray wolf has recovered

02:20and should be delisted and allowed the state to manage him.

02:25Dr. Roberts is a wildlife biologist.

02:27He's dealt with the ESA for quite some time,

02:30and not just relating to management of the gray wolf.

02:33Clearly, the ESA is not working.

02:35It's helped certain species recover,

02:38including the gray wolf,

02:40but it has also created a listing purgatory.

02:43Species simply can't seem to get off the list.

02:46Can you speak a little bit about

02:48how the ESA is supposed to work?

02:50What is supposed to happen once a listed species recovers?

02:55Once a species is recovered,

02:57well, there's a recovery goal

03:00that sets some sort of criteria that's established.

03:03And once a population reaches that,

03:07and a species is determined to be recovered,

03:09management authority is returned to the state.

03:12ESA is intended to provide federal protections

03:18and federal oversights temporarily

03:20while the species is at the greatest risk of extinction.

03:23After that, they return to state management

03:25like most of our other species.

03:26And the key word is temporarily.

03:29Yeah.

03:29We have to celebrate that the gray wolf has recovered.

03:34So given activists' impressive track record

03:36of overturning administrative attempts

03:37to delist the gray wolf through the courts,

03:40do you think we can successfully delist the gray wolf

03:43under the ESA short of passing legislation

03:46like the Pet and Livestock Protection Act?

03:50No, I don't.

03:50I think that this act is critical.

03:53I think that it's a very litigious issue

03:55that lawyers and special interest groups like it

03:58because it's litigious.

03:59And in order to get some permanent action on this,

04:03it's gonna require an act of Congress.

04:06And Mr. Kariva, I appreciate your comments.

04:12I don't agree with you,

04:14but I do appreciate you coming here

04:16and giving us your opinion.

04:20Mr. Guardado, do you think it's important

04:23to streamline the process

04:24for approving voluntary conservation agreements

04:26under the ESA like habitat conservation plans?

04:30Absolutely.

04:31We have one ongoing right now

04:34that's taken over a decade to get through

04:37despite numerous iterations, numerous scientific studies,

04:41numerous consultations, and still no incidental take permit.

04:45Thank you very much.

04:46I will tell you that we must delist the gray wolf

04:51and allow the states to manage.

04:53We're seeing the devastation,

04:55not only in our farming community,

04:57but deer hunters, our young deer hunters are declining

05:02because they haven't seen a deer in years.

05:04And it's like golf.

05:05A good golf shot keeps you bringing it back.

05:07We must honor that tradition.

05:09And I yield back.

05:11The chair now recognizes.

Pete Stauber Claims Endangered Species Act Has Been 'Weaponized By Radical Activist Groups'

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