PORTLAND, Ore. — Two Republican state lawmakers are trying to thwart a lawsuit filed by environmental groups over a decision to remove the gray wolf from Oregon’s Endangered Species Act list.
The proposals by Sen. Bill Hansell and Rep. Greg Barreto seek to ratify the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission’s November decision to delist the wolves. Eighty-one wolves now live in Oregon.
In December, three environmental groups sued, arguing the commission failed to follow the best available science and its wolf population viability analysis was flawed.
The proposals from Hansell and Barreto include an emergency provision, which could make the lawsuit immediately moot.
The proposals also seek to amend state law by prohibiting the re-listing of wolves as endangered unless their numbers fall below a certain low threshold.
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