Manage Our Wolves Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I will emphasize something I think that has been said before. You always try to think of something new.

You can't help but notice that the number of people who do not want the gray wolf delisted live in areas that don't have gray wolves. The State of Wisconsin is maybe typical in this. They introduced gray wolves to northern Wisconsin. When there was controversy about it, they said, Well, that is okay. These are northern areas where very few people live. Of course, even then I had a problem with it because people did live up there.

I don't think the people near where this judge lived would want the gray wolves wandering around the Virginia and Maryland suburbs. They would not want the concern, walking around at night with the wolves, even though they don't normally attack humans. They would not want the concern of the wolves out there if they have dogs or other pets around. If they had cattle, they wouldn't want that concern.

Wisconsin being very typical, I think the gray wolves that began in the northern part of the State are now all the way down to areas like Columbia County or Sheboygan County in the southern part of the State. And they will, unless somebody does something about it, continue to grow, continue to go further south, and the herds will continue to grow.

I would ask people who are going to vote against this: Think how you would feel if you have a significant number of gray wolves wandering around your subdivision--or even one gray wolf wandering around your subdivision--and then have more respect for the Congressmen who are living with these gray wolves.

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