Gray wolves-legislative declaration-2.

WORKING DRAFT
2009
STATE OF
WYOMING
09LSO-0477

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0148

Gray wolves-legislative declaration
-
2.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Jaggi, Brechtel, Childers, Craft, Davison, Hallinan, McKim, McOmie, Philp, Quarberg, Shepperson, Teeters, Thompson and Wallis and Senator(s) Townsend and Vasey

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to game and fish; providing for management of gray wolves; repealing contingency provisions for management of gray wolves; providing legislative findings; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
109(a) and by creating new subsections (g) and (h) is amended to read:

23
‑
1
‑
109.

State management of gray wolves.

(a)

Subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, this section

The provisions of W.S. 11
‑
6
‑
302, 23
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1
‑
101, 23
‑
1
‑
302, 23
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1
‑
304 and 23
‑
3
‑
115 insofar as they relate to gray wolves
shall become effective
:

after
the date

(i)

April 1, 2009,
provided
that gray wolves
are

have been
removed from the list of experimental nonessential population, endangered species or threatened species in Wyoming
;
,

and Wyoming has legal right to exercise full and continuous management authority over gray wolves in the entire state of Wyoming subject only to federal preemption.

or

(ii)

Not later than May 1, 2009.

(g)

Upon the occurrence of either of the events in subsection (a) of this section, the commission shall assume full management authority over gray wolves in those areas of the state where gray wolves have been designated a trophy game animal pursuant to W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
304.

(h)

The attorney general shall take all actions necessary to defend the authority of the state to manage wolves under this section.

Section 2.

W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
109(b) through (f)
is
repealed.

Section 3.

(a)

The legislature finds:

(i)

That gray wolves were introduced in
Yellowstone

National Park
in 1994 as a nonessential experimental population;

(ii)

That under the terms of the final rule implementing the reintroduction, wolves located outside of a national park or national wildlife refuge were to be treated under the Endangered Species Act as if they were only proposed for listing and not listed;

(iii)

That the goal of the final rule implementing the reintroduction was to reestablish a viable wolf population in the Yellowstone area, one (1) of three (3) wolf recovery areas identified in the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan;

(iv)

That the final rule provided that it would remain in effect until wolf recovery occurs or a scientific review indicates that modifications in the experimental
status
are necessary to achieve wolf recovery;

(v)

That a viable wolf population has been established in the
Yellowstone
area and therefore the final rule is no longer in effect;

(vi)

That because gray wolf populations outside the national parks and wildlife refuge are not deemed to be listed under the Endangered Species Act, delisting is not an essential precondition to the state assuming management authority of wolves in this state.

Section 4.

This act is effective immediately upon co
m
pletion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constit
u
tion.

(END)

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HB0148