Idaho’s Questionable Wolf Collaring in the Frank
Church. It’s a constant battle to protect wolves in Idaho’s Frank Church
Wilderness, the nation’s largest forested wilderness area in the Lower 48. Since
2011 when wolves were delisted in Idaho by Congress, hunters, trappers and
government officials have killed more than 1000 in the state. The state’s
management plan calls for an intensive program of wolf killing in the Middle
Fork Zone, the core of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area,
potentially using paid hunters and trappers over successive years to kill up to
60 percent of the wolves living there. There are no livestock there, and no
excuses that can justify this level of persecution. We’ve been to court several
times to protect wolves in this core wilderness area. Now, we’ve learned that
Idaho’s wildlife managers trapped and collared four wolves “by mistake” in an
effort to collar elk in the region. Our fear is that Idaho’s anti-wolf managers
will use this GPS information to track and kill wolves in the Frank. Defenders
is the only national organization with boots on the ground, organizing and
building public support for wolves in Idaho and we won’t stop fighting for them.
We will continue to raise awareness about Idaho’s mismanagement of wolves,
mobilizing activists to speak out against the exclusive use of lethal control to
manage wolves in Idaho, and educating Idaho’s state legislators about the
cost-effectiveness of nonlethal wolf management.
Endangered Species and
Habitat
We restored protections for wolves in Wyoming
through a court victory, oversaw the third year in a row of no wolves killed in
Oregon, and led the effort to return wolves to the West Coast and expand wolf
populations in the Southwest. We opposed efforts by Congress to gut protections
for endangered species, including releasing a report documenting a 600 percent
increase in legislative attacks on endangered species and the oil and gas money
behind those attacks.The Center won final endangered species protection for eight plants and animals this year, including black pine snakes, northern long-eared bats and Langford's tree snails -- for a total of more than 550 species since our founding. We won proposed protection for another 33, including eastern massasauga rattlesnakes, Big Sandy crayfish, Kentucky arrow darters and elfin-woods warblers in Puerto Rico.
The Center won more than 4.6 million acres of critical habitat for endangered species this year. We secured 5,000 acres for Mount Charleston blue butterflies, among the world's most severely endangered butterflies, threatened by fire-suppression activities and recreational development; and 229,000 acres for rabbitsfoot mussels, threatened by water pollution, mining, dredging, dams and displacement by exotic mollusks.
We also launched a campaign to paint endangered species murals in communities across the country, which we inaugurated with a beautiful mountain caribou in Sandpoint, Idaho and followed with an Arctic grayling in Butte, Mont.; a monarch butterfly in Minneapolis, Minn.; and watercress darters in Birmingham, Ala. Check out our Endangered Species Mural Project and get more on our wolf work.
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Posted:
26 Jan 2016 01:25 PM PST
Earlier this month, wolf advocates from Utah, Arizona, New Mexico
and Colorado rallied to support the recovery of Mexican gray wolves in their respective states. Despite
the fact that the lobo is the most endangered gray wolf in North America, the
governors from the Four Corner States are attempting to undermine the recovery
of this ecologically indispensable species, and subverting the will of their
constituents. While Defenders of Wildlife and our passionate members took part
in each of the rallies in the four states, we were especially active in New
Mexico and Colorado. First on the agenda was the Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Commission meeting in Denver.
Colorado
This past November, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
proposed a resolution banning Mexican gray wolves from being
reintroduced into our state. Jonathan Proctor, our Rockies and Plains Program
Director, attended the Commission’s meeting in Wray and, as the only member of
the public present to speak, strongly stated Defenders’ opposition to the
anti-wolf resolution:
The
Commission was expected to vote on the anti-wolf resolution at its January
meeting, so we encouraged all local wolf advocates to rally and speak out for
wolf recovery in Colorado. To prepare for this fight, Defenders hosted a series
of briefings to explain why Mexican gray wolves need to expand into Colorado to
survive. Wolf advocates learned how to write compelling comments and testimony,
and more than 50 supporters rallied with us and our partners in the conservation
community at the hearing.
As expected, the pro-wolf community turned out in
force to the Commission meeting. The meeting room was filled to capacity with
150 people, and 30 additional attendees were forced to stand outside the meeting
room doors listening to the debate. On top of that, 100 more people waited
outside the building, hoping to have the opportunity to testify. It was fantastic to see wolf supporters
dominating the turnout.
Unfortunately, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Commission voted to approve its anti-wolf resolution, which “opposes the
intentional release of any wolves into Colorado,” including Mexican gray wolves.
Even though this decision was a blow to Mexican gray wolf recovery, we were so
inspired by the number of passionate citizens who showed their support for one
of our most iconic animals.
New Mexico
At its August meeting in Santa Fe, the New Mexico
Fish and Game Commission heard an appeal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, after the Commission had denied the Service’s permit to release captive
wolves into New Mexico. The following month, the commission denied the appeal at
its meeting in Albuquerque, and in October, the Turner Endangered Species Fund made its appeal on the
denial of the permit it has held for the past 17 years to hold Mexican gray
wolves at its Ladder Ranch pre-release facility. These large, fenced holding
pens gave Mexican gray wolves a safe haven en route to or from the
wild.
At
each commission meeting, we gathered with dozens of Defenders of Wildlife
members to show our support for wolves. We were not allowed to speak at any of
these meetings, so instead, we held signs that read, “More Wolves, Less
Politics.” The message was a powerful if silent one.
When the rally before last week’s meeting began at 8
a.m., the mercury measured below 20 degrees. But despite the cold temperatures,
more than 50 activists – roughly the number of Mexican wolves in the state –
gathered outside to march with signs and listen to speakers comment on this
pressing matter. It was heartening to see so many dedicated advocates brave the
elements in support of Mexican gray wolves.
Even after the commission voted unanimously to deny
the permit, we recognized that our fight was not over. Despite continued
opposition from the game commission, wolf advocates have continued to make their
voices heard in letters to the editor, at meetings with local elected leaders,
and at rallies and meetings across our state. Without a doubt, we’ve made this
an issue that the state cannot ignore
We Want Wolves
The momentum for protecting Mexican gray wolves is
strong, and together, we succeeded in raising the profile and visibility of this
important issue. Defenders will keep moving forward with our wolf recovery
efforts and we hope that you will continue to speak out and stand with us. The
enthusiasm and dedication of hundreds of wolf supporters in New Mexico and
Colorado sent a clear message from wildlife advocates that we are not giving up
until lobos are home for good! The post Howling for Wolves Across State Lines appeared first on Defenders of Wildlife
Blog.
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