S.C.R. 15

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Senate Committee Amendments 2-11-2011 rd/jlw This document includes Senate Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 2:27 PM by rday. --> 1

DELISTING OF WOLVES CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
2 2011 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Allen M. Christensen
5 House Sponsor: Michael E. Noel
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor urges the United States
10 Congress to exempt wolves from the Endangered Species Act in every state.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This resolution:
13 . urges the United States Congress to take action to maintain the integrity of the
14 Endangered Species Act by exempting wolves from the Act in every state and
15 allowing each state to protect its rural economies, game herds, livestock, and pets.
16 Special Clauses:
17 None
18
19 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
20 WHEREAS, with a population of 60,000 in North America, wolves are no longer an
21 endangered species;
22 WHEREAS, the agreed-upon recovery goals of S. [ 15 ] 30 .S packs and S. [ 150 ] 300 .S
22a wolves in the
23 Northern Rocky Mountains has been exceeded since 2002;
24 WHEREAS, wolf populations currently exceed by more than S. [ 400% ] 600% .S
24a recovery goals
25 agreed upon by all parties, yet extremist groups and courts block management as all parties had
26 previously agreed upon;
27 WHEREAS, excessive wolf populations are causing tremendous negative impacts to

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- 2 - 28 game populations, livestock, and pets at the cost of tens of millions of dollars each year to state
29 economies, and the problem is growing exponentially;
30 WHEREAS, excessive wolf populations are costing rural economies many jobs;
31 WHEREAS, wolves are beginning to threaten and challenge people;
32 WHEREAS, the experiences of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Minnesota prove that
33 the administrative and legal process is broken and does not serve the people, private property,
34 wildlife, or rural economies;
35 WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has repeatedly failed to listen
36 to Utah's entire elected body of Governors, Senators, and bipartisan Congressman to include
37 the entire state of Utah in the Northern Rockies population;
38 WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service only included a small portion
39 of northern Utah in the potential delisting zone, leaving nearly the entire state of Utah as an
40 Endangered Species classification with no hope or promise of a solution to the wolf problem
41 for decades into the future;
42 WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to spend
43 $25,000,000 to monitor and watch wolf populations grow while they eliminate jobs and destroy
44 game populations, livestock, and pets;
45 WHEREAS, the court system has failed to allow the United States Fish and Wildlife
46 Service to delist wolves in spite of scientific data, costing over $40,000,000 to gather,
47 justifying delisting, with national experts inside and outside the government providing sworn
48 testimony that wolves should be removed from the Endangered Species list;
49 WHEREAS, 32 state wildlife agencies have requested wolves to be removed from the
50 Endangered Species Act through congressional action;
51 WHEREAS, state game and fish agencies are much better prepared and capable of
52 managing wolves than the federal government;
53 WHEREAS, western states face many habitat conservation challenges, and the focus of
54 investment of limited wildlife funds should be to protect habitats and abundant herds that
55 provide hundreds of millions of dollars each year to rural economies and food for tens of
56 thousands of families; and
57 WHEREAS, the state of Utah, in consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife
58 Service, and based on extensive professional wildlife management input and a two-year public

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Senate Committee Amendments 2-11-2011 rd/jlw 59

process, has adopted a wolf management plan:
60 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
61 Governor concurring therein, urge the United States Congress to take action to maintain the
62 integrity of the Endangered Species Act by exempting wolves from the Act in every state and
63 allowing each state to protect its rural economies, game herds, livestock, and pets.
64 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Majority
65 Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
66 the S. Director of the .S United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the S. executive director
66a of the .S Utah Department of Natural Resources, S. [ and ] the United States Secretary of the
66b Interior, .S to
67 the members of Utah's congressional delegation S. , and to the governors and presidents of the
67a Senate in all 50 states .S .

Legislative Review Note
as of 2-7-11 5:55 PM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel