Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, issued the following statement in response the announcement by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that the Obama Administration intends to respect the previous ruling to remove the Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolves from the Endangered Species List.  Last month, Rehberg sent a letter to President Obama requesting the delisting. 

“I was overjoyed to learn that President Obama heeded the concerns voiced in my letter requesting rapid action on the delisting of wolves as an endangered species in Montana.  As a rancher, I know first-hand the frustrations many Montanans have felt over the continued unnecessary federal management of wolves, and that’s why I asked the President to uphold the previous delisting decision. By all accounts, the gray wolf populations in Montana have far surpassed their recovery goals, and it’s well past time for state agencies to assume control over wolf management.”