Aerial Gunning Operation Kills 19 Wolves in Idaho
This week yet another sad chapter unfolded in Idaho’s clandestine and egregious war on wolves as the Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced federal Wildlife Services gunmen aerially shot and killed 19 wolves in remote Northern Idaho at the request of the state. The killings took place on U.S. national forest land in order to artificially boost elk numbers to benefit sport hunters and outfitters. Funds for this wolf killing program were provided through the state’s controversial “wolf control board” implemented by Governor Otter last year. The wolf control board is expected to receive $400,000 annually for the next three years to fund wolf killing programs like this throughout the state. This is an incredibly expensive waste of taxpayer’s money: According to theSpokesman Review, in 2014, the wolf control board spent $140,000 to kill 31 wolves between July and January – which comes out to $4,516 per wolf.
The number of breeding pairs of wolves surviving in the Idaho wild has been plummeting ever since the wolves lost federal Endangered Species Act protection and the state gained control over their management four years ago. In 2011, there were 40 breeding pairs in the state, but by the end of 2014, state estimates projected that number as having declined by 45 percent to 62 percent. If you are an Idaho resident, please consider attending the Idaho Fish and Game Commission Public Hearing on Monday, March 23 at 7 pm at the Washington Group Plaza, 720 Park Boulevard, in Boise to speak out in defense of Idaho’s wolves.
Washington Lawmakers Consider Wolf Bills
We’ve been keeping you informed about the status of several bills being considered this year by Washington’s lawmakers that, if passed, will impact wolf restoration efforts. The most damaging bill would regionally delist wolves under the state Endangered Species Act, removing needed protection for the species before they’ve fully recovered. This bill passed out of the State Senate this week on a split vote. We remain in strong opposition to this legislation and will continue to advocate before the state legislature that the bill be voted down. Another bill, which would modify the 2011 Washington Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, has been significantly modified in Committee and now includes several amendments that improve it. This bill passed out of the House unanimously this week and will now go to the state Senate for consideration.
We’ve been keeping you informed about the status of several bills being considered this year by Washington’s lawmakers that, if passed, will impact wolf restoration efforts. The most damaging bill would regionally delist wolves under the state Endangered Species Act, removing needed protection for the species before they’ve fully recovered. This bill passed out of the State Senate this week on a split vote. We remain in strong opposition to this legislation and will continue to advocate before the state legislature that the bill be voted down. Another bill, which would modify the 2011 Washington Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, has been significantly modified in Committee and now includes several amendments that improve it. This bill passed out of the House unanimously this week and will now go to the state Senate for consideration.
Washington’s Wolf Population Grows, Remains Far From Recovered
Washington’s gray wolf population increased this year according to Washington’s official wolf population count for 2014, which documented 68 gray wolves statewide, an increase of 14 wolves from the 2013 year-end count. While it’s very encouraging to see this wolf population continue to grow and disperse farther throughout the state, wolf recovery in Washington remains fragile. As we said above, right now the state legislature is contemplating a bill that would remove state endangered protections for wolves which would severely undermine their continued recovery. This is occurring while anti-wolf groups continue their push in the media, spouting falsehoods about wolves in an attempt to undermine public support for restoring this iconic species. And while there was an overall increase in the population this year, three breeding females were killed in the last year.
Washington’s gray wolf population increased this year according to Washington’s official wolf population count for 2014, which documented 68 gray wolves statewide, an increase of 14 wolves from the 2013 year-end count. While it’s very encouraging to see this wolf population continue to grow and disperse farther throughout the state, wolf recovery in Washington remains fragile. As we said above, right now the state legislature is contemplating a bill that would remove state endangered protections for wolves which would severely undermine their continued recovery. This is occurring while anti-wolf groups continue their push in the media, spouting falsehoods about wolves in an attempt to undermine public support for restoring this iconic species. And while there was an overall increase in the population this year, three breeding females were killed in the last year.
Not only does the loss of breeding adults slow continued growth of Washington’s wolf population, butresearch from Denali National Park also shows that wolf packs are 77 percent more likely to break up after a breeding adult is killed. Wolf population growth is a good thing, but the fact is that wolves in Washington are still not recovered based on the best available science. And sustaining this fledgling population will require significant effort and collaboration by all parties going forward.
19 Wolves Killed in Lolo - Sadly, we’ve learned that federal gunmen have recently killed 19 wolves on
national forest land in remote Northern Idaho at the state’s request in order to
artificially boost elk numbers. As one source reports:
“The controversial action, carried out by the U.S. Wildlife Services agency
at the department’s request, was announced Monday and brings the total number of
wolves killed by state and federal agents in the Lolo Zone to 48 over the past
five years, including 23 in 2014. Most of the wolves were located with and shot
from helicopters.” — The Lewiston Tribune
The ironically-named “Wildlife Services” has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Idaho to carry out the state’s relentless wolf-killing agenda.
The number of breeding pairs of wolves surviving in the Idaho wild has been plummeting ever since the state was given back control over wolves. In 2011, there were 40 breeding pairs in the state, but by the end of 2014, estimates projected that number as having declined by 45% to 62%. Based on these plummeting numbers of breeding pairs, the future of Idaho’s wolves is increasingly grim.
Unbelievable. Just six months
after NRDC won a lawsuit restoring federal protections to wolves in Wyoming,
these majestic animals are once again caught in the crosshairs.
Members of the new, anti-wildlife Congress have just introduced
legislation to cut Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across Wyoming
and the Great Lakes.
Tell your lawmakers to oppose any legislation removing endangered species protections from wolves!
Thanks in part to the bedrock protections afforded to America's most vulnerable wildlife under the Endangered Species Act, the return of wolves to the Northern Rockies and the Great Lakes is one of the greatest conservation success stories of our time.
But now, members of Congress are undermining the very existence of the Endangered Species Act itself!
Make no mistake: If we let Congress strip protections from these wolves, we will open the floodgates to an endless series of proposals to remove endangered species protections from other threatened wildlife.
I'm sure you agree: Endangered Species Act protections should be decided based on science and law, not politics.
I can't stand by while lawmakers in Washington decide the fate of America's most iconic wildlife -- and I'm guessing you can't, either.
Tell your members of Congress: Keep politics out of wolf recovery!
Tell your lawmakers to oppose any legislation removing endangered species protections from wolves!
Thanks in part to the bedrock protections afforded to America's most vulnerable wildlife under the Endangered Species Act, the return of wolves to the Northern Rockies and the Great Lakes is one of the greatest conservation success stories of our time.
But now, members of Congress are undermining the very existence of the Endangered Species Act itself!
Make no mistake: If we let Congress strip protections from these wolves, we will open the floodgates to an endless series of proposals to remove endangered species protections from other threatened wildlife.
I'm sure you agree: Endangered Species Act protections should be decided based on science and law, not politics.
I can't stand by while lawmakers in Washington decide the fate of America's most iconic wildlife -- and I'm guessing you can't, either.
Tell your members of Congress: Keep politics out of wolf recovery!
|
Contracted
Killing
in Idaho 
Federal gunmen
have aerially shot 19 wolves in remote Northern Idaho at the request of the
state.
 |
We’ve just
learned that federal gunmen have aerially shot 19 wolves in remote Northern
Idaho at the request of the state.
The killings took place on U.S. national forest land in order to artificially boost elk numbers to benefit sport hunters and outfitters.
This is a travesty pure and simple.
Please help us stop the killing with an urgent donation to Defenders of Wildlife.
Defenders will take whatever action is necessary to stop this tragedy.
Defenders is the only national organization with staff on the ground in Idaho who not only worked to help restore wolves, but who are actively working at the statehouse and state wildlife commission to testify against actions threatening wolves.
Are you as angry as I am that the federal government is hiring out its employees to Idaho to kill wolves from the air?
Please help with a generous donation to protect wolves and other vulnerable wildlife!
The federal wildlife kill-for-hire agency, ironically called “Wildlife Services”, has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Idaho to carry out the state’s relentless wolf killing agenda. That this latest killing took place on federal public lands only compounds the outrage.
And while the federal government spent millions of dollars helping to restore and recover wolves in the Northern Rockies, it is now helping Idaho slaughter wolves to boost elk populations, causing the situation for wolves to grow more dire.
The number of breeding pairs of wolves surviving in the Idaho wild has been plummeting ever since the state was given back control over wolves. In 2011, there were 40 breeding pairs in the state, but by the end of 2014, estimates projected that number as having declined by 45% to 62%. Based on these plummeting numbers of breeding pairs, the future of Idaho’s wolves is increasingly grim.
If you love wolves as much as I do, you’ll want to do everything possible to protect them from these appalling attacks by federal gunmen.
Your support matters more than ever. Can I count on you to help?
  Help Stop the Government's Rogue Wildlife-Killing Machine |
Again, we've learned that last month Wildlife Services, the animal-killing
program in the federal Department of Agriculture, used a sniper in a helicopter
to gun down 19 wolves in Idaho's Lolo Pass.
The Center and our partners have just filed suit to halt Wildlife Services' war on wildlife in Idaho. This is a huge task and we need your help. Give to our Stop Wildlife Services Fund today and we'll use your donation to rein in this rogue program.
Wildlife Services operates like a black-ops agency for wildlife, carrying out a secret war with little accountability. Considering itself exempt from most environmental rules, the program kills as many as 3 million native animals a year -- in addition to wolves they destroy bears, beavers, otters, foxes, prairie dogs, coyotes, mountain lions, birds and other creatures. Over the past 15 years they've spent a billion dollars to wipe out wildlife.
Help us end this slaughter with your donation to the Stop Wildlife Services Fund.
Wildlife Services are contract killers, always willing to do the dirty work of special interests, especially those in the meat industry and corporate agriculture. In Idaho they destroy wolves and other predators to appease ranchers and big-game hunters. They have no regard for maintaining the integrity of nature and no respect for the decades-old struggle to return wolves to their homes in the once-wild West.
We must end their secret war on wildlife. Please give to the Stop Wildlife Services Fund today.
The Center and our partners have just filed suit to halt Wildlife Services' war on wildlife in Idaho. This is a huge task and we need your help. Give to our Stop Wildlife Services Fund today and we'll use your donation to rein in this rogue program.
Wildlife Services operates like a black-ops agency for wildlife, carrying out a secret war with little accountability. Considering itself exempt from most environmental rules, the program kills as many as 3 million native animals a year -- in addition to wolves they destroy bears, beavers, otters, foxes, prairie dogs, coyotes, mountain lions, birds and other creatures. Over the past 15 years they've spent a billion dollars to wipe out wildlife.
Help us end this slaughter with your donation to the Stop Wildlife Services Fund.
Wildlife Services are contract killers, always willing to do the dirty work of special interests, especially those in the meat industry and corporate agriculture. In Idaho they destroy wolves and other predators to appease ranchers and big-game hunters. They have no regard for maintaining the integrity of nature and no respect for the decades-old struggle to return wolves to their homes in the once-wild West.
We must end their secret war on wildlife. Please give to the Stop Wildlife Services Fund today.
Protect Imperiled Grey Wolves
Target: Secretary of the Department of the Interior Sally Jewell
Goal: List grey wolves as threatened under the Environmental Protection Act.
Federal protections for grey wolves have, historically, largely been piecemeal in nature. While they were effective in preventing the species from going extinct, their patchwork nature has made them vulnerable to conservative political pressure, resulting in many states passing counterproductive anti-wolf laws of their own just as the species was turning back from the brink of oblivion.
Giving grey wolves a federal designation of “threatened” would give these animals the unwavering protections they deserve. It would grant the federal Fish and Wildlife Service the authority to regulate protections for grey wolves based on science and the goal of recovering the animals to healthy populations across all of their historical habitat.
We almost hunted these animals into extinction—it’s our responsibility to fix that. Sign the petition below to demand that Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell list grey wolves as threatened under the Environmental Protection Act.
Dear Secretary Jewell,
I am writing you today regarding grey wolves and the number of letters you have received about them from both animal conservation organizations and a number of concerned congresspeople. I urge you to comply with their recommendations and list the grey wolf as a threatened species in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act.
Grey wolves may have been saved from the brink of extinction but that does not mean that they are in the clear yet—they are still very threatened. There are currently only around 5,000 grey wolves in the lower 48 states. While that is a great improvement over the approximately 1,200 wolves that were in the states in 1978, biologists say that it is nowhere near the number that wolves need to maintain a stable, long-lasting, and sufficiently genetically diverse population to avoid extinction. Clearly, the conservation effort for these animals is not complete. We have a duty to protect them and get them back to where they were before we decimated their populations in the first place.
Insofar as that is our charge, giving grey wolves a “threatened” designation, as has been recommended to you, is the best thing we can do. It will give these animals federal protections that cannot be undermined by other federal agencies or the laws of states. I urge you to designate grey wolves a threatened species in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: National Park Service via Wikimedia Commons
Last year Idaho Governor Butch Otter set up the "Wolf Depredation
Control Board," funneling $400,000 in taxpayers' money to finance the slaughter
of the state's wolf population. So far the wolf board has spent an average of
over $4,500 per wolf to gun down and trap these amazing animals.
Now they want to do it again. The control board has requested another $400,000 for the coming season. With what it's spending to kill wolves, the state of Idaho could improve the education of thousands of schoolchildren. They need it -- Idaho's dead last in per-pupil spending, and the state's colleges have one of the lowest graduation rates in the country.
Instead of spending up to $800,000 to gun down wolves, Idaho should spend this money improving schools for its children. That's why we're petitioning Gov. Otter to redirect those funds to Idaho's kids.
Tell Butch Otter to spend taxpayers' money on school kids instead of wolf killing by signing our online petition today.
To fight for wolves we also need your support -- you can help us with a donation to the Wolf Defense Fund. Last year in Idaho alone we put an end to the state's hired gunman in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and kicked an obscene wolf-killing contest off public land. We're also suing to stop Wildlife Services, the federal animal-killing program, from operating recklessly across the state. We go to bat for wolves and other wildlife every day, and we need your help.
Now they want to do it again. The control board has requested another $400,000 for the coming season. With what it's spending to kill wolves, the state of Idaho could improve the education of thousands of schoolchildren. They need it -- Idaho's dead last in per-pupil spending, and the state's colleges have one of the lowest graduation rates in the country.
Instead of spending up to $800,000 to gun down wolves, Idaho should spend this money improving schools for its children. That's why we're petitioning Gov. Otter to redirect those funds to Idaho's kids.
Tell Butch Otter to spend taxpayers' money on school kids instead of wolf killing by signing our online petition today.
To fight for wolves we also need your support -- you can help us with a donation to the Wolf Defense Fund. Last year in Idaho alone we put an end to the state's hired gunman in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and kicked an obscene wolf-killing contest off public land. We're also suing to stop Wildlife Services, the federal animal-killing program, from operating recklessly across the state. We go to bat for wolves and other wildlife every day, and we need your help.
You don't have
to be a lawyer to understand how downright diabolical and desperate this
is.
Recently, two
bills were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to strip wolves in
four states, including Wyoming, of any protection under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA).
Congressional
action to delist wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes is shocking and misguided
– these decisions should be based solely on science and not
politics!
Please help us fight back and make a generous donation
today.
This kind of bare-fisted power politics makes a mockery of wildlife conservation. If passed, these bills could mark another tragic milestone in undermining wolf recovery in America.
We’re fighting these shameful efforts tooth and nail. And if you love wolves like I do, I need your help!
Please make an urgent donation to help Defenders protect wolves and other imperiled wildlife.
H.R. 843 already has 10 co-sponsors and in one sentence writes wolves in the Great Lakes out of the most important wildlife protection law the nation has ever enacted. If this bill passes, each of the affected Great Lake states would have the power to “manage” wolves within its borders subject to no minimal recovery standards.
H.R. 884, which already has 15 co-sponsors, goes even further. It adds Wyoming’s embattled wolves to the Congressionally unprotected list. And to add insult to injury, it concludes that the forced delisting “shall not be subject to judicial review.”
Those seven words would prevent any court, even the Supreme Court, from reinstating ESA protections, no matter how grave the situation became.
That’s more than wrong. It is Congress acting at its worst by ignoring the best available science and making critical biological decisions on its own.
We are the voice for wildlife– and we are your voice too.
Your support today could make a world of difference for our wolves, and for imperiled wildlife everywhere.
This kind of bare-fisted power politics makes a mockery of wildlife conservation. If passed, these bills could mark another tragic milestone in undermining wolf recovery in America.
We’re fighting these shameful efforts tooth and nail. And if you love wolves like I do, I need your help!
Please make an urgent donation to help Defenders protect wolves and other imperiled wildlife.
H.R. 843 already has 10 co-sponsors and in one sentence writes wolves in the Great Lakes out of the most important wildlife protection law the nation has ever enacted. If this bill passes, each of the affected Great Lake states would have the power to “manage” wolves within its borders subject to no minimal recovery standards.
H.R. 884, which already has 15 co-sponsors, goes even further. It adds Wyoming’s embattled wolves to the Congressionally unprotected list. And to add insult to injury, it concludes that the forced delisting “shall not be subject to judicial review.”
Those seven words would prevent any court, even the Supreme Court, from reinstating ESA protections, no matter how grave the situation became.
That’s more than wrong. It is Congress acting at its worst by ignoring the best available science and making critical biological decisions on its own.
We are the voice for wildlife– and we are your voice too.
Your support today could make a world of difference for our wolves, and for imperiled wildlife everywhere.
Tell Congress to Keep Politics Out of Wolf Recovery!
Congressional efforts are now underway to delist wolves in Wyoming and across the Great Lakes, and it could be only a matter of time before legislation is introduced or amended to delist almost all gray wolves in the Lower 48 and bar protections for other critically imperiled species.
Thanks to the ESA, we have seen the recovery of some of America’s most beloved species, including the bald eagle, our national symbol – it is one of the greatest wildlife conservation achievements of our time.
Politically delisting gray wolves will only open the floodgates to an endless series of other congressional proposals to delist endangered species. And it could be the beginning of the end of the ESA itself!
Tell your member of Congress to keep politics out of wolf recovery!
Thanks to the ESA, we have seen the recovery of some of America’s most beloved species, including the bald eagle, our national symbol – it is one of the greatest wildlife conservation achievements of our time.
Politically delisting gray wolves will only open the floodgates to an endless series of other congressional proposals to delist endangered species. And it could be the beginning of the end of the ESA itself!
Tell your member of Congress to keep politics out of wolf recovery!
Thanks for standing with us to protect wolves and other imperiled wildlife.
