
Jared Blankenship
102:01 - 103:15
"The legislation would establish a formal partnership between USDA and the Department of Interior to support surveillance, monitoring, and eradication activities in wildlife species coordinated with state officials and regular reporting to Congress as we work collectively toward eradication."
“The legislation would establish a formal partnership between USDA and the Department of Interior to support surveillance, monitoring, and eradication activities in wildlife species coordinated with state officials and regular reporting to Congress as we work collectively toward eradication.”
And the SAFE Cattle Act is about supporting ongoing animal health and eradication efforts so that producers, animal health officials, and federal agencies can expand on their unified response. The legislation would establish a formal partnership between USDA and the Department of Interior to support surveillance, monitoring, and eradication activities in wildlife species coordinated with state officials and regular reporting to Congress as we work collectively toward eradication. I would like to recognize the work already being done by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, the Trump administration, state animal health officials, and many industry partners. Producers across Texas appreciate the leadership, the resources,— the attention that has been devoted to addressing New World Screwworm. The SAFE Cattle Act simply builds on that momentum and helps ensure federal agencies remain focused on the shared goal of eradication.
A House subcommittee heard competing testimony Tuesday on a bill that would let Washington state and tribal co-managers kill more sea lions across the Columbia River and Western Washington. Supporters cited a dramatic drop in steelhead extinction risk at Willamette Falls; a minority scientist warned habitat loss, not predation, is the real problem.

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries heard testimony Tuesday on the SAFE Cattle Act, which would require USDA and the Interior Department to sign a formal agreement coordinating screwworm surveillance and eradication on federal lands, where wildlife vectors cannot be controlled the way livestock can.
