Wolf Weekly Wrap-Up

Idaho’s War on Wolves is Taking its Toll: Preliminary Estimates Say Idaho’s Wolf Population is Down: This week the Idaho Department of Fish and Game released a wolf status update which provides an estimate of Idaho’s wolf population. The update suggests that there could be as few as 15 wolf breeding pairs in Idaho, a new low. That’s fewer breeding pairs than in either Montana or Wyoming — according to 2013 population estimates — despite Idaho’s larger wolf population and greater amount of habitat. When Congress handed wolf management over to Idaho in 2011, Idaho pledged to manage wolves like other valued species and the state’s wolf population management plan called for maintaining more than 500 wolves and more than 15 breeding pairs. In the long term, this will undermine the conservation of gray wolves more broadly throughout the Northern Rockies.

Wolf Alpha Female, © Bill Keeting
A wolf from Yellowstone’s Canyon Pack.
Project Leader for Yellowstone Wolf Program Tells All: Doug Smith, Yellowstone National Park’s Wolf Project Leader, shares all you wanted to know about the park’s wolf recovery program — which celebrated its 20th anniversary just last week. How does the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem benefit from having wolves? How have wolves affected the elk population? Has the reintroduction of wolves changed our knowledge of this animal? This is a great Q and A video series for anyone looking to learn more about this reintroduction, and about wolves in general!

Congresswoman Pushes Forward With Plan To Remove Protections for Wyoming and Great Lakes Wolves: Congress shows no signs of slowing their efforts to legislatively remove wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes States from the list of federally-endangered species. In Wyoming, the stakes are particularly high. If Wyoming’s Representative Lummis succeeds, wolves in Wyoming will once again be in grave danger as unlimited wolf killing in 80 percent of the state will be reinstated as the law of the land. Politicians should not inject themselves into what should be a science-based decision. The ESA is clear – decisions about imperiled wildlife protection should be based on the best available science, and not politics. Rest assured, we will continue to fight any efforts by Congress to further jeopardize wolf recovery and undermine the ESA.

Wolf Killed in Montana’s Wolf Hunt: This week, Montana’s first “Great Montana Coyote and Wolf Hunt” took place on private lands in Sanders County. More than 100 registered and participated; one wolf was killed during the hunt. But, by no means is this wolf’s death the extent of the consequences. These events promote the attitude that predators are vermin and help spread anti-predator myths. These tactics are also similar to the misinformed thinking that led to wolves’ and other predators’ near extinction once before. We will continue to advocate that state wildlife agencies and lawmakers should work to ban these types of commercialized killing contests.

The post Wolf Weekly Wrap-Up appeared first on Defenders of Wildlife Blog.

Canada Wants to Kill Gray Wolves to Save Another Struggling Species

Up to 24 wolves, which spend part of their time in Idaho, will be shot to protect the last 18 woodland caribou in British Columbia.

metimes protecting endangered species involves tough trade-offs. In California, for instance, sea lions have been killed to stop them from eating endangered salmon. In Oregon, some barred owls have been shot to help boost the population of northern spotted owls. Now Canada plans to kill up to 24 gray wolves to save the last 18 woodland caribou in British Columbia’s Selkirk Mountains.
The caribou population in the Selkirk Mountains has fallen from 46 in 2009 to 18 today, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. Wolves, the ministry said, have been linked to two caribou deaths in the past 10 months as well as to declines in the three other local caribou herds in the region. The British Columbia government signed an agreement with First Nations tribes in 2012 to increase the number of caribou by 10 percent in what is known as the South Peace region, just north of Idaho.  
With this goal is mind, the ministry stated that up to 24 wolves in the Selkirk Mountains would be shot from helicopters this winter before the snow melts. A total of 120 to 160 wolves will be removed throughout the South Peace region. This follows the killing of more than 1,000 wolves in Alberta over the past decade to protect the 100 caribou living there. 
The ministry did not reply to questions about how many wolves live in the South Peace region but estimated that there are about 8,500 wolves in British Columbia. The species is considered “plentiful” there and is not protected.
Environmental groups and experts have been quick to criticize the plan.
“The decline in caribou numbers happened long before wolves came to the stage,” said Suzanne Asha Stone, senior northwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife, who pointed out that hunting, poaching, and habitat loss were the initial causes of the caribou population crash. “You have to address the root causes first and tackle those if you want a long-term recovery of a species.”
She said eliminating wolves may slow a further decline, but it would be unlikely to lead to a caribou baby boom.
Science backs her up. A study published this past November in the Canadian Journal of Zoology found that the wolf hunt in Alberta stabilized caribou numbers there but did not result in a population increase. Researchers found that long-term habitat restoration—requiring as long as 30 years—would be necessary to boost caribou numbers in Alberta. The caribou’s habitat there has been degraded by oil and gas development and industrial logging, according to a Huffington Post editorial by Chris Genovali, executive director of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation.
Although wolves are not protected in Canada, the planned hunt could impact both wolf and caribou populations in the United States. The ministry says the populations of both species “move frequently” among British Columbia, Idaho, and Washington. Stone said only about a dozen caribou remain in the northern U.S.
Wolves in Idaho, meanwhile, lost their U.S. Endangered Species Act protection in 2011. Since then, at least a quarter of the wolves in the state have been killed. 
But Stone acknowledged that wolves “are clearly not as endangered as the caribou population. As bad off as wolves are, caribou are definitely in worse shape,” she said, noting that people have a tendency to “jump to killing predators” first instead of addressing other reasons for declines in ungulates such as elk and caribou.
“Without addressing these other issues, this hunt isn’t going to help the caribou,” Stone said.
British Columbia, however, is taking steps for the long-term recovery of the caribou.
The 2012 caribou conservation plan sets aside four hectares of caribou habitat for every hectare that is developed in the future. It also promises to take “immediate action” to prevent the local extinction of caribou in the South Peace region. The ministry’s announcement points out that “the risk of removing the number of wolves recommended is very low, whereas the risk to pertinent caribou populations of doing nothing is very high.”
Target: U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell
Goal: Thank Judge Howell for relisting gray wolves as an endangered species
Link: Click Here
Thanks to the efforts of wildlife advocates, the gray wolves of the Great Lakes region have been relisted as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Relisting wolves serves to federally protect them from hunting, which is a big win for Wisconson’s dwindling wolf population. After allegedly inaccurate population counts and continued hunting and trapping, animal activists were concerned about the state’s population due to more than 400 wolves being legally hunted over only two hunting seasons. With the relisting, this legal hunting has ended for the time being and Wisconsin has had to shelve its wolf management plan indefinitely.
As top predators, wolves are a vital part of the ecosystem that helps keeps grazing mammal populations in check. Thanks to centuries of misinformation, wolves are seen as dangerous to humans, but wolves generally avoid people unless they are sick. Though they may prey on livestock, this predation is usually opportunistic and impossible to entirely eliminate unless the wolves themselves are eliminated, which would have devastating consequences on local ecosystems.
Wildlife advocates have bought more time for wolves in Wisconsin thanks to petitions like this one. More time means more can be done to prevent the extinction of these beautiful and important animals, and Wisconsin can look into the allegedly inaccurate population counts. Thank Judge Beryl Howell for choosing to relist wolves, preventing them from further hunting in several Great Lakes states.
wolf
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Judge Howell,
Wolves are a vital part of any ecosystem, and relisting them as an endangered species is an important step toward ensuring their continued survival. Delisting wolves in 2012 was a premature move that opened wolves up to overhunting, particularly given the continued pervasive attitudes that wolves are a serious danger to humans. Now that they are no longer threatened by hunting, the wolf population can continue to grow to sustainable levels, at which point natural population control will fall into place.
Thank you for your commitment to the safety of the Great Lakes states’ wolf population. Without top predators like wolves, populations of other animals may grow out of control and wreak havoc on vegetation and even cause accidents, as deer do. Relisting wolves protects them while states like Wisconsin figure out how to manage populations responsibly, without relying on unchecked hunting. Hopefully, this time will help people understand the role that wolves play in any ecosystem and we can work toward preserving these populations in the future.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Dennis Matheson via Flickr

Save the Last Mexican Gray Wolves

  • author: Center for Biological Diversity
  • target: USFWS Director, Dan Ashe
  • signatures: 7,371
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just issued a new rule for managing Mexican gray wolves. At a glance, the rule seems to offer some hope for the most endangered canine in the United States by allowing these wolves to roam a wider area. 

But the rule is riddled with "poison-pill" provisions that cap the Mexican gray wolf population at 325, a number too low for recovery. Other provisions block the wolves' access to suitable habitat and make it easier for ranchers and government agents to kill these rare animals. 

The Mexican gray wolf is one of the most endangered mammals in North America. At last count a year ago, only 83 Mexican wolves survived in the Southwest, including a mere five breeding pairs. 

We can't let them disappear. 

Take action today—tell the Service to revise the rule to protect Mexican gray wolves from disappearing forever..





This Has To Stop
Idaho Wolves It's been just over five years since the gray wolf lost federal protection. During that time, thousands of wolves have been killed in Idaho, and even more could be lost due to proposed anti-wolf legislation.

If this continues, Idaho could undo one of our nation's greatest conservation stories and wreak havoc on local ecosystems that depend on wolves as an apex predator. We can't allow this wolf persecution to continue.

Call on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a review of Idaho's gray wolf population before even more damage is done!
Take Action
Demand That FWS Review The Status Of Idaho's Wolves!
Goal: 75,000  Progress: 60,260
Sponsored by: Defenders of Wildlife
Less than five years after losing federal protection, it is clearer than ever that Idaho refuses to manage its wolf population responsibly.
That's why Defenders of Wildlife has officially requested that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) immediately initiate a status review of wolves in the Northern Rockies and examine the relentless threats that this species has encountered since being stripped of Endangered Species Act protection back in 2011.
The call for this status review is the first step toward restoring Endangered Species Act protection to wolves in Idaho and other Northern Rockies states.
Please, join us in calling on FWS to review the status of Idaho's persecuted wolf population.

Help Us Save This Wolf
Mexican Gray Wolf (c) Jim Clark
At the last official count, there were only 83 of these spectacular animals clinging to survival in the wild. 
We’re running out of time to save Mexican gray wolves.

After almost 40 years on the Endangered Species List, the Mexican gray wolf (also called the lobo) hovers on the brink of extinction.

Tragically, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has failed to conserve the lobo, so we have filed suit to compel them to act.

Your emergency donation to Defenders of Wildlife can help save these critically endangered animals and other vulnerable wildlife.

The lobo is the most genetically distinct lineage of wolves in the world, and one of the most endangered mammals in North America. In the U.S., Mexican gray wolves historically inhabited much of the southwest, including portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and ranged even further north into southern Utah and Colorado. 

At the last official count, there were only 83 of these spectacular animals clinging to survival in the wild.

This will not be the first time that Defenders has gone to court to save the lobo. Just recently, we filed a lawsuit challenging the failure of FWS to develop a recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf. 

There is no room for another failure. This may be our last chance to save one of America’s most iconic predators.
They named her Echo, the wolf who had traveled more than 500 miles from her home pack. For months she journeyed south down the spine of the Rockies, across the slickrock badlands of the Colorado Plateau, before coming to a barrier she couldn't cross -- the Grand Canyon. So she turned north, back toward home, looking to find a mate and start a pack of her own. It's likely that a hunter near Beaver, Utah, ended that journey with a bullet.

Help us to end wildlife slaughter by becoming a Center member with a one-time donation of $50, or become a steadfast sustainer at $15 a quarter or just $5 a month.

2014 was a terrible year for wolves -- in Idaho and Montana hundreds were gunned down in cruel hunting seasons. Other species are suffering as well. In Maine lynx are getting caught and maimed in fur traps, while in Florida 30 panthers were struck last year by speeding cars -- nearly 20 percent of the entire wild population.

Some species are facing imminent extinction. It may be the very end of the line for vaquitas, the world's smallest porpoise, drowning in abandoned fishing nets in the Gulf of California. The same goes for Attwater's prairie chickens, which once roamed Texas in the millions. Dusky gopher frogs could disappear forever from their home on the muddy shores of the Mississippi, along with leafwing butterflies, threatened by a massive new Miami Walmart.

This is why we need you to become a member as early as possible in 2015. We have a lot of work to do this year to protect wildlife and wild lands. Please join the Center with a one-time donation of $50, or become a sustainer at $15 a quarter or just $5 a month. Sustaining membership is an especially effective way to provide the resources we need year round to be unyielding advocates for wildlife.

In 2015 we are battling to protect 226 million acres of habitat for ringed seals, moving to preserve monarch butterflies from the pesticides that are destroying them, and suing to reveal the truth about dangerous deep sea fracking. Most of all, we are going to protect the Endangered Species Act from political and legal attacks by corporate bad actors and the politicians in their pay.

With your membership donation, the Center's lawyers, scientists and activists will be able to continue the work that makes them the most effective species-protection team in the country. Dollar for dollar, we've saved more species and protected more habitat than any non-profit in America. We won't send you a stuffed animal or a tote bag, but we'll use your membership donation to shut down the enablers of extinction who would wreck the planet to make a buck.

You can become a 2015 member with a one-time donation of $50, or become a sustainer at $15 a quarter or just $5 a month. You'll be doing your part to stop the planet's sixth great extinction, the one being caused by man. We can't do it without your support.

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