Wolf Weekly Wrap Up


More than 4,000 wolves have been hounded, gunned down and trapped to death since the feds took away their protection in a handful of states in 2011 -- hundreds since this summer alone. And now Donald Trump's final pick for interior secretary wants to finish the job.

Ryan Zinke has made the war on wolves a priority since he entered politics. He has helped draft legislation for President Trump's first 100 days to end federal wolf protection nationwide.

To help us stop this wolf-killing legislation, please make a generous donation to our Wildlife and Wild Places Defense Fund. Your donation to this fund will be matched dollar for dollar, so please give as generously as you can.

Zinke's legislation would mean open season on wolves across much of America. Countless wolf families would be shattered as we plunge into the darkest days for wolves we've seen in more than a century. All the recovery we've fought for and won would be wiped away with the stroke of a pen.

Zinke even once sent a holiday card featuring a caricature of himself standing over a dead wolf while holding an M16. It isn't just imagery: We know Zinke and the Trump administration will go after wolves with both barrels, unleashing a killing spree not seen in generations. And it won't be just wolves in the crosshairs. Trump and his allies are ready to go after any animal that gets in the way of powerful oil, gas, timber and mining industries.

We won't let that happen -- but we need you with us. The Center for Biological Diversity knows how to take down powerful special interests and protect the nation's most vulnerable species. We're the toughest, most experienced fighters around when it comes to protecting wildlife -- with your gift to the Wildlife and Wild Places Defense Fund, we'll take the battle to every venue, from the courthouse to the statehouse to the streets.

With your matched donation to the Wildlife and Wild Places Defense Fund, we'll expand the Center's fearless staff of lawyers, scientists and organizers working around the clock for the wild.

America's wolf families are depending on us for their survival, and I'm depending on you to stand with us in this historic fight.

After losing critical protections from the Endangered Species Act, the American gray wolf population PLUMMETED.

Today, scientists estimate there are less than 2O,OOO gray wolves left across the entire country.[1]

 These beautiful animals are rapidly heading toward extinction. Without protection, they could disappear from the wild.

Should wolves be protected under the Endangered Species Act?

Scientists estimate there were once 2 million wolves in North America.[2]

 But after a federal extermination program and the expansion of human settlement, wolves were pushed to the brink of extinction in the 196Os.

 The population began to recover after gray wolves were granted protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Now extremists in Congress want EVERY protection ripped away from desperate gray wolves.

The facts are crystal clear: gray wolves WILL die without help from the Endangered Species Act.

So, we need to know what you think: should wolves have protections under the Endangered Species Act? http://go.saveanimalsfacingextinction.org/Save-Wolves-Poll

More deeply disturbing rumors from the Trump administration. 

We just learned that fanatical wolf hater, Idaho Governor Butch Otter, is being considered to head up the Department of Agriculture!

This would put the man that once called wolves "a trophy hunting species" and established a $2 million Wolf Control Fund, in charge of the very Agency that oversees Wildlife Services, the department responsible for managing wildlife interactions.

How many threats to wildlife and the environment can fit into one cabinet?

Our job has just gotten a whole lot harder. Donald Trump seems determined to surround himself with Cabinet appointees who have spent their whole careers in fundamental opposition to the mission of the agencies they are being tasked to lead.

Now, more than ever, we need your strong support! Donate now to the Wildlife Defense Campaign, and your gift will be TRIPLED.

Just look at some of the cabinet choices:
  • Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) was tapped, just yesterday, to head up the Department of the Interior. Zinke is a fervent supporter of coal, oil and gas exploration. He’s voted for Congressional measures that would gut the Endangered Species Act and is a strong backer of building the Keystone XL pipeline.
  • Rick Perry, chosen to run the Department of Energy – an agency he once stated he would like to eliminate. Perry, yet another climate change denier, also serves on the board of directors of Energy Transfer Partners, the company developing the Dakota Access Pipeline.
  • Rex Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon Mobile has been nominated to lead the State Department. Tillerson has used his leadership at Exxon Mobil, the firm at fault for the devastating Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Alaska, to promote fossil fuel development here and around the world.
  • Scott Pruitt, known climate change denier to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt is well known for suing the agency he is now set to lead and has worked to dismantle basic protections for our nation’s air and water. 
This is why we've created the Wildlife Defense Campaign – so we’re ready to fight the Trump Administration. With you by our side, we’ll put a stop to dangerous policies from Trump’s stable of climate change deniers, oil executives and drilling enthusiasts.

We cannot remain silent and let the anti-wildlife extremists and the climate change deniers have their way. These people are taking the most important jobs affecting the natural world.

We must be ready to take action in the face of these growing threats to wildlife. Donate now – every dollar you give to the Wildlife Defense Campaign will be matched 2- for-1, up to $150,000. 

Save the Mexican Gray Wolf from Extinction
mexican-gray-wolf-by-tony-higsett
Target: Daniel M. Ashe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Goal: Stop removing Mexican gray wolves from the wild.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently removed one of the few remaining Mexican gray wolves from the wild. Mexican gray wolves are one of the most endangered mammals in the United States, and just this year, they’ve experienced 11 deaths and one other removal. Now, there are only 97 wolves left in the wild. Because of this, every wolf removed from the wild puts the species closer to extinction.

There have been a number of Mexican gray wolves removed from their native habitat of Arizona and New Mexico, most often in response to cattle death. There are many ways that ranchers could protect their cattle without the USFWS having to remove or even kill the wolves. Plus, research shows that non-lethal protection methods are more effective than removing or killing wolves. Unfortunately, the USFWS does not require ranchers to use non-lethal methods to protect their cattle from the wolves, which often results in tragic and unnecessary wolf deaths and removals.

To prevent the Mexican gray wolf from going extinct, the USFWS must stop removing them from their natural habitat. Sign this petition to tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that you want these wolves to remain in the wild where they belong.