All in a Weekend’s Work. Fence Repairs Promote Coexistence in Mexican Gray Wolf Country. When I awoke on an early November weekend in a campground twelve miles north of Reserve, New Mexico, in the heart of Mexican gray wolf country, my tent was coated with a thick layer of frost. It had been a cold night’s sleep, and as I crawled out of my sleeping bag, I could see that others in the campground were already busy packing their things and trying to stay warm. Summer had long passed, taking with it comfortable camping weather, but that wasn’t going to deter our volunteer group.
Since wolves were reintroduced in the area in 1998, they have sparked some controversy because of their potential to affect cattle ranching. Through our coexistence program, we work with ranchers to implement tools and techniques to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock, which helps build acceptance for this ecologically important species. Earlier this year we supported WildEarth Guardians’ purchase of the grazing permit to help create a conflict-free zone for the valuable Dark Canyon wolves. Because of its rugged and steep terrain, the Deep Creek allotment provides excellent wolf habitat, but those same characteristics make ranching difficult in this area. The fences that separate the Deep Creek Allotment from the neighboring allotments will discourage cattle from wandering into this important part of the Dark Canyon pack’s territory. That’s where we volunteers came in.
After packing our things, everyone regrouped in Reserve before caravanning thirty miles up a slow, twisty, pot-holed road to the worksite on the northern border of the Deep Creek allotment. We split up into our work groups and spread out along the three-mile fence line, which had been damaged in various spots due to trees falling, elk busting through and hunters cutting the fence line. To make sure that cattle could not wander into the allotment, the fence, which wolves can easily pass through needed to be repaired. One group of volunteers, students from New Mexico State University, hiked two miles west along the fence line to the furthest break. After splicing the break, they worked back towards camp, while another group slowly worked towards them, mending another break and removing fallen trees. A third group hiked for a mile, east along the fence, bailing discarded wire that had been left and cutting more trees. The final group of us followed behind replacing wood stays to help stabilize the fence.
We talked as we leapfrogged each other along the fence line. Some of the volunteers I had met before, and others I was meeting for the first time. As much as I enjoy meeting and speaking with our activists at local meet-ups, rallies, agency meetings and over the phone, I have always liked it best when we are outside working alongside one another. Not only do we get know each other better, but as volunteers, people become more invested in the issues and the places that we work on. These volunteers all cared about wolves before helping to repair the fence. But after spending hours working with their two hands, sweating, freezing and getting dirty to create a safer place for wolves, I know they are that much more invested in helping to protect and recover our lobos.
After we finished our repairs for the day, we sat around a campfire and reflected on the day’s activities. I spoke about Defenders’ work to promote coexistence, and Madeleine Carey of WildEarth Guardians spoke more on the group’s grazing allotment retirement program. We also talked about our fieldwork, the hikes we had done and places we had visited in wolf country to continue promoting coexistence. By the end of the evening, it was clear to me that the volunteers were not only wholly dedicated to the recovery of wolves, but on a personal level, I felt as if I knew all of them to a degree that time indoors could never match.
A Tragic Blow to Oregon’s Wolves. It was standing room only at the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission’s
meeting in the taxidermy-adorned ODFW headquarters in Salem. The only topic on
the agenda for the day-long meeting? Whether Oregon’s 81 confirmed wolves should
be stripped of protections under the state endangered species act.
After months of heated debate, this was the public’s last chance to provide input to the commission before a decision was made on whether to delist wolves statewide. Oregon residents — 106 of whom signed up to give testimony — packed the room. While there were many remarks from residents who don’t support keeping wolves on the state’s endangered species list, the majority of folks present, including Defenders’ staff, came to tell the commission that a state delisting for Oregon’s fragile wolf population was incredibly premature. In addition to the testimony at Monday’s meeting, the commission received more than 22,000 comment letters from the public opposing a state delisting of wolves. Indeed, most recent polling shows that over 66 percent of Oregonians want to see wolves continue to recover in the state. Unfortunately, in a precedent-setting move, the commission voted to remove state protections for wolves. No other species has been removed from the state’s endangered species list with a population of fewer than 100 individuals statewide, or when they were still absent from a significant portion of their historic range.  Headlines this year touting wolves’ continued expansion have warmed the hearts of conservationists nationwide. Wolves from Oregon even made the long journey south into the Golden State where the species has been absent for over 90 years. But, keep in mind, the progress wolves have made in Oregon is precisely because Oregon has remained committed to responsible wolf management, prioritizing the use of preventative measures to manage potential livestock-wolf conflict, instead of quickly resorting to killing wolves. One of the many issues we take with the commission’s decision is that it was made before wildlife managers and stakeholders had the opportunity to review and update Oregon’s wolf management plan. This plan, drafted in 2005 and extended in 2010, is overdue for its required five-year review. Without certainty in the plan, delisting could make it easier for wildlife officials to use lethal control to manage livestock-wolf conflict instead of prioritizing non-lethal tools. As Defenders newest staff member in Oregon, I will work tirelessly for wolf conservation. And, my first focus will be working with Oregon’s wildlife managers to ensure that precautionary and protective measures for wolves remain in any revision to the wolf management plan. It’s critical that any changes to the plan keep guidelines in place for using non-lethal conflict avoidance tools, like livestock guard dogs or fencing, to reduce potential livestock-wolf conflicts. The single greatest threat to wolf recovery is human impacts, particularly poor management when it comes to livestock-wolf conflicts. It will be equally important that any update to the plan includes a prohibition on any sport hunting or trapping of wolves, which at this time would certainly keep this fragile population’s from continuing to recover. The commission should also uphold its promise to work with the Oregon legislature to increase penalties for poaching a wolf. Recent headlines show that a hunter who killed a wolf in Baker City was charged with two Class A misdemeanors: one for taking the life of a threatened or endangered species, and a second for hunting without a big game tag. If wolves are to continue their recovery, it will be essential that the commission and the Oregon legislature stand firm on penalties for poaching like they’ve done here, and that the state’s fish and game agency continue its efforts to educate residents about wolves presence in Oregon, the protections that apply, and how to tell the difference between wolves and coyotes. This delisting decision is certainly a setback to continued wolf recovery in the state, but we’re not giving up. Oregon can continue its role in the success story that is the recovery of the wolf in the American west. But to keep this success story going, Oregon will need clear guidelines in place for managing wolves in the state. There’s work to be done, and we’re rolling up our sleeves to make sure Oregon’s 81 wolves get the chance they deserve to thrive throughout their historic range. The post appeared first on Defenders of Wildlife Blog. |
Demand an End to the Wolf Cull Now!!
TARGET: Tom Ethier, Assistant Deputy Minister of Resource Stewardship
PETITION: Click Here To Help
We've got 2,520 supporters, help us get to 3,000
Although it’s weather dependent, the termination of wolves in the South Peace and South Selkirk areas will likely begin in January again for the duration of winter, according to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. The program that began last January is expected to continue for four more years.
Not only will collared wolves make it easier for helicopter snipers to shoot wolves, but in the South Peace region, a “fixed-wing track spotter will also be used to make finding wolves easier.” In the South Selkirks, collaring to identify and confirm pack composition and use areas will help target “high-risk” wolves for removal.
B.C. has 98% of the global population of mountain caribou, an endangered species. While the province said it’s taken measures to protect 2.2-million hectares of habitat “these measures alone are not enough to protect mountain caribou,” a ministry spokesperson said.
Ian McAllister, Pacific Wild co-founder, said the province has made it clear that despite overwhelming opposition to the cull — and the Wilderness Committee’s freedom of information request revealing the forest industry was influential in encouraging the province to terminate wolves over saving more forest lands — it intends to move forward.
“I think the issue around that is they’ve increased the amount of wolves collared, people find that it’s really reprehensible to consider these ‘Judas’ wolves are going to be leading these helicopters with snipers to the rest of their families, and extended family.
“It’s such a disgusting thing that we’re committing to these wolves.”
Sadie Parr, with Wolf Awareness, said there is no conclusive evidence that removing the predator will boost the caribou population as their dwindling numbers are coming down to human interference and loss of habitat.
“It’s really inhumane,” she said. “It is ethically unacceptable to kill one species or several species to save another when it’s humans that put caribou in this situation.
“Predator control is not effective unless we’re going to kill wolves forever — they’re going to come back.”
Anne Sherrod, with Valhalla Wilderness Society, said documents show the province intends to wipe out about 80% to 100% of the wolves in those areas and “that’s basically an extermination project.”
“There is unanimous scientific evidence that the main cause of the decline of the mountain caribou is the destruction of old-growth forests through industrial activities,” she said.
Tom Ethier, assistant deputy minister of resource stewardship, was unavailable for an interview. Click Here To Help
Black Friday is always a frenzy of consumer madness, but that doesn't mean you have to get caught in the fray.
A generous donor is offering a chance today to make a gift that will last far beyond the shopping mayhem. Every dollar that's donated to the Center for Biological Diversity's Endangered Species Defense Fund will be matched by this donor, making your gift go twice as far.
Your donation comes at a critical moment. This may be a holiday weekend but in Washington, politicians in Congress are pushing their anti-wildlife agenda harder than ever. This year we've seen an unprecedented 66 legislative attacks on endangered species, including efforts to keep protections away from wolves, sage grouse and even the humble American burying beetle. It's part of a troubling trend: Similar attacks have increased 600 percent over the past five years, putting our wildlife, wildlands and our clean air and water at risk.
We're fighting back, but we need your help. That's why we've set up the Endangered Species Defense Fund, and why a committed wildlife defender has stepped forward to match your contribution dollar for dollar.
At the top of the right-wing agenda this year is stripping wolf protections so cruel hunting and trapping can return to Wyoming and the Great Lakes. But it isn't just wolves in the crosshairs. Powerful special interests like the oil and gas industry have ramped up campaign contributions to politicians willing to undermine protections for any endangered species that gets in the way of profits -- and they're getting results.
It's especially important that we stop these legislative attacks now. The end of the year is when many of these dangerous "riders" are added to must-pass spending bills, like the one Arizona Sen. John McCain snuck in last year that traded away land sacred to the Apaches to make way for a giant copper mine. Our attorneys, scientists and activists are gearing up for a bare-knuckle fight, ready to do whatever it takes in the coming weeks and throughout 2016 to stop these bad bills.
Endangered wildlife need your help this holiday season, and with a matched gift that doubles your contribution, this is the most powerful time of year to give. Nothing says no to the rampant consumerism of Black Friday more than a contribution to the Endangered Species Defense Fund. Please make a gift today, and your gift will be matched for wildlife.
  Help protect wolves. Make a matched gift today. |
To protect wolves and other threatened wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity has set up an Endangered Species Defense Fund, and a generous donor has stepped forward with a special year-end match to your donation.
We need you with us in this fight because these deeply cynical wildlife-haters are just getting started -- and it isn't only wolves they're after. They're hell-bent on clearing the way for industries to frack, drill, log and pollute some of our most pristine landscapes, no matter what species get in the way. That's why we're on the front lines every day to save bobcats, lynx, polar bears, walruses and other vulnerable wildlife.
It's the most hostile environment we've seen in more than a quarter-century. This antagonistic Congress is on the offensive, working to gut environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act. In the past five years, legislative attacks on endangered species protection have increased more than 600 percent, with 66 legislative attacks this year alone. Instead of allowing these laws to work as they should, driven by science, the far right has adopted a cynical strategy of death by a thousand cuts -- ending protection for one species, waterway and pristine stretch of public land at a time.
This is why the Center created a special year-end Endangered Species Defense Fund. A longtime wilderness and wildlife advocate who is devoted to this fight has offered to match, dollar-for-dollar, all contributions to this fund made by Dec. 31. Please make a gift today to help us stop these enemies of wolves and other wildlife.
We live in an age of mass extinction, and the only way we can get through this crisis is with a fierce, tenacious defense of biological diversity. I hope we can count on you today to give a matched gift to the Center's Endangered Species Defense Fund and help us end these attacks on the wild.
Conservationists Sue to Stop Wolf and Coyote Killing Contest
Groups Challenge Fed's Decision to Allow Highly Controversial 'Predator Derby'
Additional Contacts:
Sarah McMillan, WildEarth Guardians, 406.549.3895, smcmillan@wildearthguardians.org
Laura King, Western Environmental Law Center, 406-204-4852
Lynne Stone, Boulder-White Clouds Council, 208.721.7301, bwcc@wildwhiteclouds.org
Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands, 541.434.1463
Laura King, Western Environmental Law Center, 406-204-4852
Lynne Stone, Boulder-White Clouds Council, 208.721.7301, bwcc@wildwhiteclouds.org
Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands, 541.434.1463
SALMON, Idaho – Today, a coalition of conservation organizations sued the Bureau of Land Management for granting a 5-year permit allowing predator-killing contests on public lands surrounding Salmon, Idaho over the winter holiday season. The agency unlawfully relied on faulty analysis and failed to conduct a full environmental impact statement. The suit also names the U.S. Forest Service for failing to require a permit for the killing contests. The next competitive killing derby is slated for January 2-4, 2015.
“Killing contests that perpetuate false stereotypes about key species like wolves and coyotes, who play essential roles in healthy, vibrant ecosystems, have no place on our public lands,” said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director at WildEarth Guardians. “The Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service are abdicating their responsibilities as stewards of our public lands.”
An application for a BLM special recreation permit triggers the National Environmental Policy Act, which prohibits fast track permitting of highly controversial activities, such as this. During the NEPA process, BLM received over 100,000 comments expressing opposition to the event. In its analysis, BLM failed to adequately consider the risk to public safety posed by the killing contest, the impacts to local and regional carnivore populations, displacement of other users of public lands, less destructive alternatives to the killing contest, and other factors. Wolves are a BLM ‘sensitive species’ and are supposed to be protected by the agency.
“The agencies are determined to stay on the sidelines of this killing contest,” said Laura King, an attorney from Western Environmental Law Center, who is representing the plaintiffs. “But federal law requires the agencies to engage—fully and in good faith—in evaluating the consequences of the contest on wolves, coyotes, and ecosystems.”
Lynne Stone, director of the Boulder-White Clouds Council, who has lived and worked in central Idaho for over three decades, said, “killing contests like this have no place in a civilized society and are an embarrassment to our state. Shame on the agencies for allowing these events on our public lands.”
Science shows that wolves play a key role as apex carnivores, providing ecological benefits that cascade through ecosystems. Wolves bring elk and deer populations into balance, which allows streamside vegetation to recover, in turn creating habitat for songbirds and beavers and shade for fish. Coyotes, like wolves, serve a valuable ecological function by helping to control rodent populations and to maintain ecological integrity and species diversity. Unlike wolves, coyotes quickly rebound when they are killed indiscriminately, meaning killing contests actually undermine the sponsor’s stated goal of reducing coyote populations.
“There is simply no ecological or scientific reason justification for these killing derbies,” said Nick Cady, legal director of Cascadia Wildlands. “These federal agencies are abusing public lands and wildlife to help finance an extremist, anti-wolf organization in Idaho.”
Since 2011, when Congress stripped Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves in Idaho, the state has allowed nearly half of Idaho’s wolf population to be hunted and trapped each year. Since 2011, over 1,200 wolves have died at the hands of hunters and trappers in Idaho. See, BLM Decision Record and BLM Finding of No Significant Impact.
Getting Rid of the Riders
Anti-environmental legislation in Congress threatens to undermine the Endangered Species Act and push imperiled fish and wildlife closer to extinction, but WildEarth Guardians is fighting back. With a government spending bill under debate, industry lobbyists and the politicians they support are trying to attach “policy riders” to the legislation that would gut protections for wolves, sage grouse, lesser prairie chickens, and other imperiled species. WildEarth Guardians, along with your support will keep working to block extinction riders by telling Congress not to mess with the Endangered Species Act, our Nation’s safety net for fish, wildlife, and plants on the brink. Read more >>>
Give the Grey Wolves of Oregon their Endangered Species Status BACK.
Gray wolves were once common in Oregon, occupying most of the state and playing their vital role in it's ecological system. However, due to the actions of ranchers and poachers, wolves were made extinct in Oregon by the 1940s.
Sadly, Oregon has a long and bloody history with wolves. In 1843 the first wolf bounty was established, with the last recorded wolf bounty being paid out in 1947. In short, there has been a deliberate effort on the part of Oregonians to eradicate this beautiful species, and they very nearly succeeded.
But after an absence of over half a century, wolves finally began to take their first tentative steps towards recovery. One of the first sightings came in 1999 and since then their numbers have risen slowly, but surely.
Now, after waiting so many decades to finally come home, the grey wolves of Oregon are under threat once again.
Despite the fact that there are only eighty-one known wolves currently living in the state, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission have claimed that number to be more than sustainable enough for the current population. As such, they have determined that the wolf is no longer endangered, and have removed it's status as a protected species.
They do this under the guise of protecting the state's elk and deer populations, as well as livestock. But the fact is that Oregon's 59,000 Rocky Mountain elk and 223,000 mule deer have more than survived the wolf's comeback. So, too, have 1.3 million cattle and 195,000 sheep.
With their protected status gone, Oregon's tiny wolves population is now at the mercy of any number of threats. Conservationists in Wisconsin have estimated that around 44 percent of Wisconsin wolves aged seven months or older died each year after their protection ended in 2012.
If you don't want to see Oregon's wolves face the same fate, please consider signing this petition and sharing it with everyone you know. Together we can bring balance back to Oregon's wildlife and save a vital member of our ecological system. Click Here To Help!
URGENT: A deadly and imminent attack on wolves
Without
firing a shot, two U.S. Senators may be about to trigger the death of hundreds
of wolves.
Sens.
Ron Johnson (R-WI) and John Barrasso (R-WY) have introduced a bill that would
forcibly delist gray wolves in Wyoming, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Without the protections of the Endangered Species Act, hundreds of wolves,
including mothers and pups, will die.
We’re
fighting tooth and nail to stop these horrific attacks, and we need your help.
Because
the situation is so serious, our Board of Directors and National Council have
offered to match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $75,000, until
Monday, November 23rd!
By
introducing this bill just before final negotiations take place over the 2016
federal budget, Senators Barrasso and Johnson are hoping to encourage the
inclusion of delisting language into a must-pass budget bill.
If
that happens, how long do you think it will take for more wolves to be
killed?
To
add insult to injury, the bill would also prevent federal courts from ever
restoring Endangered Species Act protections for these wolves, no matter how bad
the situation gets!
With
federal protections gone, most of Wyoming will immediately be re-designated a
"predator zone," literally a free-fire zone where anyone could kill any wolf at any time
and for any reason.
With
your help, Defenders will mobilize our grassroots community to oppose this
blatant abuse of Congressional power, reach out to the media to spread the word
and continue to fight on Capitol Hill against this deadly bill.
Thanks
to you, we’ve been leading the charge for wolf recovery since wolves were first
reintroduced into the Lower 48, more than 20 years ago. With your
support, we’ve gone to court and won repeatedly to make sure wolves get the
legal protections they deserve. We’re pioneering new, non-lethal
strategies for wolves to coexist with people and livestock. With you at our
side, we’ll weather this current crisis and look forward to a day when wolf
recovery is truly complete!
