Washington -- Heeding U.S. Representative Barbara Cubin’s call for public discourse, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has announced it will hold a public meeting in Cody to discuss the Department of Interior’s (DOI) proposal to delist the Northern Rocky Mountain Distinct Population Segment of (NRM DPS) of gray wolves. 

“I am very pleased the FWS has responded favorably to my request to schedule an additional public meeting in Northwest Wyoming to discuss the DOI’s proposal,” Cubin said.  “The folks in that area of our state have suffered a great deal of hardship to these gray wolves, which were re-introduced against the wishes of State and local authorities.  It is absolutely critical that the Wyoming citizens who have been so deeply impacted by wolves have ample opportunity to contribute to the delisting process.”

The FWS recently scheduled a series of public meetings in six states impacted by the proposal to remove the NRM DPS gray wolves from the federal list of threatened and endangered species.  Currently, a meeting is scheduled to take place in Cheyenne on February 27th.  In a letter sent to FWS Director H.. Dale Hall on February 7th, Cubin requested that additional meetings be scheduled in Cody, Pinedale, or a surrounding Northwest Wyoming community.

“Quite simply, the folks in Northern Wyoming need a voice in this debate, and it was going to be awfully difficult for anyone in Cheyenne to hear them,” Cubin said. 

While an exact time and location has yet to be announced, FWS representatives have committed to holding a public meeting in Cody.  A formal announcement from the agency is expected in the near future. 

“I appreciate the agency’s attention to this request, and you can bet I intend to hold them to their commitment to holding a meeting in Cody,” Cubin stated. 

On January 29, the FWS released a proposal to de-list the NRM DPS, and the agency is soliciting public comments regarding the proposal for a limited time.  The Wyoming State Legislature continues to debate a plan to manage the NRM DPS gray wolf population.