WASHINGTON (March 4, 2024) – Today, Public Lands Council (PLC) Secretary and Colorado grazing permittee Robbie LeValley testified before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations about the unnecessary burdens borne by livestock producers when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduces experimental populations under Section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

LeValley outlined that while Section 10(j) authorizes broader use of deterrents and lethal take for these populations, these tools are rarely used in practice. Livestock producers are exposed to significant regulatory burdens that prevent their ability to protect their families and livestock from species like the gray wolf, Mexican Gray Wolf, and Grizzly Bear that have been introduced in areas they were not previously found. 

“Experimental populations carry the burden of regulatory systems built on hope that a 10(j) population can thrive, and one day be part of the numbers that can lead to a “recovered” population. For wolves and bears, and other species that are undoubtedly recovered, additional 10(j) populations unnecessarily expand the regulatory burdens over a wider area since their success little bearing on the species’ ultimate listing status,” said PLC Secretary Robbie LeValley. 

“Across the country, the ESA has become a barrier to sound management of land and wildlife resources. Populations introduced under Section 10(j) have all of the burdens of the Act, without any of the regulatory certainty. In a time where Congress is considering how best to reduce ESA burdens and make recovery more effective, there is huge opportunity to address landowner concerns and make the existing tools provided by the Act work for both wildlife and the ranchers that interact with these animals the most,” LeValley added.

Watch the hearing. 

View LeValley's testimony.