Wyoming U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis is a midevil thinker regarding how she wants wolves delisted in her State-------Seemingly, she is joing Govenor Mead in seeking "predator status" on wolves in her State...........with talking points taken directly from the Cattlemen Associations and Hunting Groups that "own her lock stock and barrel",,,,,, "For more than eight years, wolves in Wyoming have met or exceeded the federal government's recovery goals, and without proper management, have thrived at the expense of Wyoming's ranchers, farmers and big game herds"--Rep. Cynthia Lummis

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The state's lone U.S. representative wants any deal between Wyoming and the federal government over wolf management exempted from review in the courts.

 Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., announced Wednesday she's inserted language in a pending appropriations bill to bar any such legal challenges. She also proposes to require the federal government to transfer wolf management to Wyoming as soon as the state and federal officials can reach a deal.

 Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar are set to meet today in Cheyenne to discuss the wolf issue. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe also is scheduled to attend.
 Mead and Salazar have held a series of meetings since late last year intended to allow Wyoming to follow the lead of other states in the Northern Rockies and take over management of wolves from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 Federal biologists and environmental groups have opposed ending federal protections for wolves in Wyoming for years because the current state plan calls for them to be classified as predators that could be shot on sight in most areas. The standoff has spawned several federal lawsuits in Wyoming and elsewhere.
 The federal government earlier this year approved turning wolf management over to state governments in Idaho, Montana and other areas with a similar provision barring court challenges. Environmentalists are nonetheless trying to fight that move in court, saying it sets a precedent that undermines the Endangered Species Act while exceeding the power of Congress to limit judicial review.

 Lummis issued a statement Wednesday saying it's necessary to short-circuit years of legal wrangling on the wolf issue in Wyoming.

Language proposed in an appropriations bill would turn Wyoming wolves over to state control and prevent lawsuits in the event of a deal removing the predator from Endangered Species Act protection.

 "The best way to ensure the success of any negotiation is to back it up with the force of law," Lummis said in a statement. "This language does exactly that. This provision is a crucial puzzle piece to the long-awaited conclusion of the delisting of the fully-recovered gray wolf." She continued: "For more than eight years, wolves in Wyoming have met or exceeded the federal government's recovery goals, and without proper management, have thrived at the expense of Wyoming's ranchers, farmers and big game herds."

 The announcement from Lummis comes before a news conference with Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dan Ashe scheduled for today. The conference is expected to involve delisting wolves in Wyoming.

Gov. Mead has previously said he will accept nothing less than predator status for much of the state.