Delisting The Gray Wolf, Wheat Growers File Suit & Public Hearing on ESA Listings

Delisting The Gray Wolf, Wheat Growers File Suit & Public Hearing on ESA Listings

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

On Friday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its decision to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list, leaving future management and conservation efforts to the states for all gray wolf populations in the lower 48 states. This comes as a major relief to many, especially here in Washington where wolves had been listed one side of the state and not on the other. Washington cattleman Jack Field comments.

FIELD: We’ve got a number of management challenges that we’ve got to figure out and both state and federal partners are really rolling their sleeves up to see what can be done to effectively manage and mitigate the issue. I’m confidant that we’re going in the right direction.

A 90-day comment period will be opened before a final decision by Fish and Wildlife is released.

Claiming that the recent discovery of the unapproved genetically modified wheat in an Oregon field has damaged sales of exports of their crops several Washington wheat growers are suing Monsanto, the company that designed the same strain to be resistant to herbicides. A similar lawsuit was issued in Kansas last week. Since the wheat was found Japan has suspended some wheat imports and South Korea has increased inspections of U.S. wheat imports.

The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife will be holding two public hearings on the ESA listing for the White Bluffs bladderpod on July 11 in Pasco. Farmers and landowners in the area are concerned over the impact such a listing would have. The White Bluffs bladderpod are found on thousands of acres in Franklin and Benton Counties. Public comment period for the proposed ESA listing ends July 22nd.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network.