AZGFD Meeting: Last Friday, the Arizona Game and Fish
Commission held a scheduled public meeting. Over 60 wolf supporters
gathered at a rally in advance of the meeting, and 20 (including two girl scouts
who spoke for their entire troop) were able to offer public comments expressing
concern about the AZGFD’s (mis)management of lobos. After public comment was taken, Chairman Davis
of the commission introduced a motion to oppose all new adult Mexican wolf
releases, and now only allow the director to approve up to six pups per year
being released only by cross-fostering. Cross-fostering means moving pups born
in captivity into a wild den, a technique which has proven successful only once.
Unfortunately, Commissioner Zieler seconded the motion, and it was voted on
unanimously by the commission. This vote continues a long pattern of obstructing
the recovery of the lobo. The commission did not discuss or take action on
Congressman Gosar and Congressman Pearce’s lobo extinction bill, but many people addressed it in
their public comments.
This part of the post appeared first on Defenders of Wildlife Blog.
This part of the post appeared first on Defenders of Wildlife Blog.
Activists Score Victory in Effort to Stop the Government Killing of Millions of Animals. A court ruling revives a case against a federal program that eradicates wildlife deemed a threat to farmers and ranchers.
Environmentalists fighting a federal program that routinely and, some say, indiscriminately slaughters millions of animals every year will get their day in court.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program ostensibly protects farmers by eliminating predators and other wildlife that could hurt crops or livestock. Some see it as an essential service; many conservationists, however, accuse the government of killing indiscriminately, using bad science, and not keeping adequate records. The program reported killing more than 4 million animals in 2013, including 75,000 coyotes, 12,000 prairie dogs, nearly a thousand hawks, 866 bobcats, 528 river otters, and more than 400 bears.
Conservation groups are already suing the USDA in multiple states to compel more accountability for the agency’s actions. Now an old case that had been thrown out in Nevada is moving forward again after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that it does have merit.
A federal judge dismissed the original case after the USDA argued that the state of Nevada would step in to manage predator control if the federal program did not and thus the environmentalists’ claims were moot. The appeals court last week ruled that this is not a valid argument—and not just because Nevada has little history of wildlife removal and has stated in a letter to the court that it has no budget to replace Wildlife Services’ activities. “The ruling makes it clear that just because you were being injured potentially by more than one actor doesn’t mean you can’t seek redress for injuries by one actor,” said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians, which filed the original suit and sought the appeal.
The court cited several previous Supreme Court opinions, including Massachusetts v. EPA, which stated the EPA has the authority to regulate carbon pollution in Massachusetts even though many states and nations besides the U.S. also contribute to global warming.
“This is a big deal,” said Cotton, who noted that the ruling could affect similar cases filed in other states in the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction.
Cotton says the lawsuit’s goal is to get Wildlife Services to adhere to the same types of environmental reviews that every other government agency is required to follow. The program relies on a 1994 environmental impact statement that is based on science from the 1980s and earlier.
“They’re supposed to do an analysis, publish a draft in the Federal Register, and have a public comment period,” Cotton said. “That’s an opportunity for us to say, ‘Have you seen the latest science?’ ”
No, Really: Australia Has a Good Reason for Killing Almost 700 Koalas
This is important because, Cotton said, “the science has changed significantly. Forty years ago people thought that if coyotes were causing problems the best thing you could do was go and kill them.”
The most recent science finds that indiscriminate killing of coyotes causes more of the animals to breed and populations to increase. “If you’re trying to keep coyote numbers down, the worst thing you can do is go kill indiscriminately.”
WildEarth Guardians also has issues with the program’s use of poisons, many of which are illegal unless administered by federal agencies. “These are extremely toxic poisons,” Cotton said. “There are lots of recorded incidents of dogs getting into it and dying.”
“I brought wolves back to Yellowstone.” ~ President Bill Clinton
Yellowstone: The “little space” wolves were given in 1995 and 1996 when the federal government gave the green light to return wolves to portions of their native range in the West. The reintroduction of gray wolves to our first national park has been described as a near-miracle, having occurred at one of those rare moments when stars align in the political sky. A wildlife conservation effort with such positive environmental impact (and ongoing controversy) will likely go unmatched for a long time. But with the support of the American public and the critical protection for wolves afforded by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a new chapter in Yellowstone’s history began with a homecoming that changed the Park.
Sadly what we are witnessing in Congress today is a full-fledged attack on our nation’s most important environmental law despite the sentiment of the American public. According to a new national poll, 90% of American registered voters support the ESA, and 71% of voters believe ESA listing decisions should be made by scientists, not by politicians. And yet today’s Congress is bent on challenging the integrity and weakening the effectiveness of this cornerstone of environmental law.
Please ask your members of Congress to fight back against legislation that would weaken the ESA and push more imperiled animals to the brink of extinction! Find Your Senators & Representatives here.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program ostensibly protects farmers by eliminating predators and other wildlife that could hurt crops or livestock. Some see it as an essential service; many conservationists, however, accuse the government of killing indiscriminately, using bad science, and not keeping adequate records. The program reported killing more than 4 million animals in 2013, including 75,000 coyotes, 12,000 prairie dogs, nearly a thousand hawks, 866 bobcats, 528 river otters, and more than 400 bears.
Conservation groups are already suing the USDA in multiple states to compel more accountability for the agency’s actions. Now an old case that had been thrown out in Nevada is moving forward again after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that it does have merit.
A federal judge dismissed the original case after the USDA argued that the state of Nevada would step in to manage predator control if the federal program did not and thus the environmentalists’ claims were moot. The appeals court last week ruled that this is not a valid argument—and not just because Nevada has little history of wildlife removal and has stated in a letter to the court that it has no budget to replace Wildlife Services’ activities. “The ruling makes it clear that just because you were being injured potentially by more than one actor doesn’t mean you can’t seek redress for injuries by one actor,” said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians, which filed the original suit and sought the appeal.
The court cited several previous Supreme Court opinions, including Massachusetts v. EPA, which stated the EPA has the authority to regulate carbon pollution in Massachusetts even though many states and nations besides the U.S. also contribute to global warming.
“This is a big deal,” said Cotton, who noted that the ruling could affect similar cases filed in other states in the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction.
Cotton says the lawsuit’s goal is to get Wildlife Services to adhere to the same types of environmental reviews that every other government agency is required to follow. The program relies on a 1994 environmental impact statement that is based on science from the 1980s and earlier.
“They’re supposed to do an analysis, publish a draft in the Federal Register, and have a public comment period,” Cotton said. “That’s an opportunity for us to say, ‘Have you seen the latest science?’ ”
No, Really: Australia Has a Good Reason for Killing Almost 700 Koalas
This is important because, Cotton said, “the science has changed significantly. Forty years ago people thought that if coyotes were causing problems the best thing you could do was go and kill them.”
The most recent science finds that indiscriminate killing of coyotes causes more of the animals to breed and populations to increase. “If you’re trying to keep coyote numbers down, the worst thing you can do is go kill indiscriminately.”
WildEarth Guardians also has issues with the program’s use of poisons, many of which are illegal unless administered by federal agencies. “These are extremely toxic poisons,” Cotton said. “There are lots of recorded incidents of dogs getting into it and dying.”
“I brought wolves back to Yellowstone.” ~ President Bill Clinton
Yellowstone: The “little space” wolves were given in 1995 and 1996 when the federal government gave the green light to return wolves to portions of their native range in the West. The reintroduction of gray wolves to our first national park has been described as a near-miracle, having occurred at one of those rare moments when stars align in the political sky. A wildlife conservation effort with such positive environmental impact (and ongoing controversy) will likely go unmatched for a long time. But with the support of the American public and the critical protection for wolves afforded by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a new chapter in Yellowstone’s history began with a homecoming that changed the Park.
Sadly what we are witnessing in Congress today is a full-fledged attack on our nation’s most important environmental law despite the sentiment of the American public. According to a new national poll, 90% of American registered voters support the ESA, and 71% of voters believe ESA listing decisions should be made by scientists, not by politicians. And yet today’s Congress is bent on challenging the integrity and weakening the effectiveness of this cornerstone of environmental law.
Please ask your members of Congress to fight back against legislation that would weaken the ESA and push more imperiled animals to the brink of extinction! Find Your Senators & Representatives here.
Please consider signing/sharing Earthjustice’s campaign to save the ESA here.
Download the Save the ESA Flyer here.
Red Wolves
Live Cameras: 
The wolf trapping site from Alaska said that all of these wolves were killed by choke snares and this was the mildest of the photo's taken.
The wolf trapping site from Alaska said that all of these wolves were killed by choke snares and this was the mildest of the photo's taken.
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