Wolf Weekly Wrap Up

Center for Biological Diversity and Congressman Sue Trump Over Border Wall
We're taking Trump to court again. On Wednesday the Center for Biological Diversity and Arizona Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva sued the Trump administration over his proposed border wall and other border security measures that will divide communities and have disastrous consequences for endangered jaguars, ocelots, wolves and more than 100 species in the region.

The suit is the first targeting the Trump administration's plan to vastly expand and militarize the U.S.-Mexico border, including by constructing a "great wall."

This is what the resistance looks like. We've already filed 10 other lawsuits against Trump, including ones targeting his plans to ramp up coal mining on public lands and construct the Keystone XL pipeline. We're not stopping there -- stay tuned for other major actions and how you can help.

Read more in The Guardian and consider donating to our Trump Resistance Fund.
Trump Signs Bill to Bait, Trap, Kill Alaska Wolves, Bears

President Trump's sick war on wildlife is taking off. Late Monday he quietly signed a bill that allows wolves and their pups to be killed in their dens and bears to be gunned down in bait stations in Alaska's national wildlife refuges.

These refuges were designed to be a haven for animals, but they clearly won't play that role under Trump. The bill also allows aerial gunning and the use of steel-jawed leghold traps to hold the animals in place until they can be shot.

Thanks to the 33,000 of you who took action urging Trump to veto this disgusting bill. The fight is not over. The Center for Biological Diversity has sued the Trump administration three times in the past week, and the resistance movement is growing stronger by the day.

Read more in our press release and consider giving to our Trump Resistance Fund.
Suit Seeks to Save Carnivores From Deadly 'Cyanide Bombs'
The Center and allies on Tuesday sued the Trump administration for failing to protect endangered species from two deadly pesticides used to kill coyotes and other native carnivores. 

Our lawsuit seeks common-sense measures to prevent unintended deaths from sodium cyanide used in M-44s -- also known as cyanide bombs -- which killed an Oregon wolf in February, temporarily blinded a child, and killed three family dogs in two separate incidents in Idaho and Wyoming in March alone. 

"Cyanide bombs are indiscriminate killers," said the Center's Collette Adkins. "These dangerous pesticides need to be banned, but until that happens, they shouldn't be used where they can hurt people or kill pets and endangered wildlife." 

Get more from KFGO.

Release ‘Guardian the Wolf’ Back Into the Wild
Target: Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, Regional Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Region
Goal: Return Guardian the wolf to his pack to help maintain his struggling species.
In the summer of 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service captured Guardian, one of a tiny number of Mexican gray wolves still living in the wild. And Guardian isn’t just one wolf — as his name suggests, he’s the alpha male of a pack that includes young pups who rely on him and his mate for food. Capturing Guardian and placing him in captivity puts their survival, and the survival of the entire species, in jeopardy. The Fish and Wildlife Service must recognize the damage they’re doing and release Guardian immediately.
Mexican gray wolves were almost driven to extinction during the 20th century and, by the millennium, they were believed to have been wiped out in many regions of North America. Efforts to reintroduce the animal at the turn of the century have slowly begun to show progress, but the species remains critically endangered, with experts suggesting that fewer than 100 currently exist in the wild. Until recently, one of those was wolf M1396, named Guardian by Albuquerque schoolchildren as part of a competition to name the 17 pups born in 2014. Guardian lived in Gila National Forest, New Mexico, as part of the Luna pack, a group of wolves that included his mate and their pups.
Life is not easy for Mexican wolves, so when local ranchers started abandoning dead cattle on land near his hunting grounds rather than disposing of them responsibly, Guardian soon learned to scavenge from their carcasses. From this, he also learned to hunt cattle: a reliable source of meat to feed his hungry pups. Under pressure from ranchers keen to maintain their profits, the Fish and Wildlife Service moved to stop this predation by capturing Guardian and keeping him in captivity, just as they had with his brother, Century, in the past. This not only deprives his pups of his protection and care, but may drive his mate to begin hunting cattle too, in a desperate bid to feed her young. With no indication of Guardian’s condition or current whereabouts, it’s vital we maintain pressure on the Fish and Wildlife Service to reverse their decision and release Guardian back in to the wild. Please sign below to demand that Guardian is immediately released to his pack.
Oregon Pushes Weaker Protections for Wolves
Gray wolf
A report released this week shows that in the past year Oregon's wolf population has increased by just 1.81 percent, from 110 to 112 wolves, in dramatic contrast to previous annual gains of about 30 percent.

But instead of ramping up protections to help Oregon wolves, state officials want to weaken safeguards -- even allowing hunting and trapping -- according to the latest draft of the state's wolf-management plan.

"Oregon's wolves continue to need protection -- and we'll continue our work to defend them," said the Center's Amaroq Weiss. Read more.
Coyote
Victory: Use of M-44 'Cyanide Bombs' Halted in Idaho
A big win in the Gem State: Responding to a petition from the Center and allies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program announced it will stop using exploding cyanide traps called M-44s on all private, state and federal lands in Idaho. The program has also removed all M-44s that were previously deployed there.

Our petition was filed two weeks ago in response to an incident near Pocatello, Idaho, where a 14-year-old boy was sprayed with cyanide and his dog was killed.

"We're glad to see these indiscriminate killing devices being pulled from Idaho -- that's an important step toward protecting wildlife, people and pets from these cyanide bombs," said the Center's Andrea Santarsiere. "We hope this ban becomes permanent not just in Idaho but across the country, because there's no place on Earth where these devices won't endanger the lives of innocent people and animals."

Read more in The Washington Post.