Gail Norton: Seeks End to Gray Wolf Protection

[DaveSZ]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&e=7&u=/ap/gray_wolf


Gov't Seeks End to Gray Wolf Protection

51 minutes ago Add White House - AP Cabinet & State to My Yahoo!


By STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press Writer

FOREST LAKE, Minn. - Declaring it's time to celebrate the dramatic comeback of the gray wolf, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Friday the predator should be removed from federal protection from Maine to the Dakotas.



"The recovery of wolf populations in the Rockies and the Great Lakes area has been one of the most notable success stories of the Endangered Species Act," Norton said at the Wildlife Science Center, a nonprofit research and educational center that's home to 41 wolves.


The gray wolf, also known as the timber wolf, has bounced back from the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states over the past 30 years under federal protection. Their numbers have grown from as few as 350, all in northeastern Minnesota, to almost 4,000 spread across several states.


The National Wildlife Federation criticized the plan as shortsighted because it means the federal government won't be involved in any efforts to reintroduce the wolf in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, which the group says have suitable habitat. Norton said any reintroduction there would be up to the states themselves.

-more

[tabasco]

1. Fkkk her!

I'm SICK of the criminal cabal destroying our environment only to satiate the GREED of big business. 4000 animals and they do not warrant protection???? If these criminals were in charge much longer it would soon be back down to 300. Fuck these criminals and the IDIOT utopians who helped put them in power!

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[hlthe2b]

3. I wish that I could say something..... anything....

that would be printable about this horrible woman. Unfortunately, Colorado is currently saddled with one just as bad as Gale Norton, when she decimated environmental policy in Colorado in her previous role as CO Attorney General. That horrid women is our current Lt. Governor, another sanctimonious RW fundie, named Norton, Jane Norton. The thought that this other Norton might launch a succesful campaign for Governor, or other higher office, gives me nightmares...

While CO has producd some good female role models on the national scene, these two set us back for decades to come...

[OSheaman]

4. Gail Norton is a businesswoman

through and through. James Watt, Jr., one might say.

[kskiska]

5. There's a chapter on Norton in "Bushwomen"

by Laura Flanders (good book). This nasty woman is not to be believed. She began as a liberal/libertarian who later became a protegee of James Watt.

[Gloria]

6. I'd like to throw her to the wolves..........

eom

[hansolsen]

7. About 3000 of those wolves are in my back yard

I can hear wolves howling once or twice a month year around, hear on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota, tight against the Canadian border. (Thank God for Canada)\

I like those wolves. They never hurt people, they keep the deer, moose and beaver populations in balance, and they are a joy to see in the wild, though that is rare.

I stand with those who want there to be a few places left where man is not king, where wild animals roam freely, and man is only a visitor. I live in such a place, and I like it this way.

The problem is, many of my neighbors don't share my enlightened views. Let me share with you a report from the field: The good old boys in Northern Minnesota have already removed the wolf from the endangered species list. Wolves are shot frequently, even though that is against the law. But laws only work when there is vouluntary compliance, and the good old boys figure the number of wolves around here is getting too high.

Gale Norton can do what she wants -- it will make little difference on the ground, as long as we maintain the wilderness areas and manage habitat so that we have deer, moose and beaver; the wolves will survive if we give them that and a little room to roam.

[susanna]

10. As a Great Laker, I share your views...

The minute I read the headline, I thought: "shoot wolves if you want, hunters!" If you take wolves off that list, they are fair game.

I think it should be noted that it took quite a while for wolves to stage a comeback here in Michigan - and that comeback started on a desolate island, Isle Royale, in Lake Superior. The comeback there is PRECISELY because there weren't enough hunters there to hunt them down before they were able to re-populate.

I do believe that there are now some wolves in the U.P. of Michigan, but not so many as would be a threat. Damn, there's more bears up there than anything! The wolves are invisible to most hikers/hunters.

Until the time where they are truly (and I mean seriously) decimating livestock, I won't ever think taking them off the list is right. They are just now starting to come back, and they're as weak as a species can be (they areen't that prolific of breeders). As always, IMHO.

[bluestateguy]

8. James Watt in a skirt

Bitch.

[Tom Kitten]

9. Incongrous but oh so typical

of this faith based science administration...so you celebrate a speci's limited comeback by removing protections for them? Soon I take it they will be fair game to be shot on sight?

[DaveSZ]

11. I agree

She should be thrown to the wolves.

[Baclava]

12. Grey Wolf = Canis lupus

GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD The Grey Wolf was originally one of the world's most widely distributed mammals, living throughout the northern hemisphere north of 15°N latitude. The distribution range has been much reduced in the USA, Southeast Asia and most of western, central and northern Europe due to human persecution.


CURRENT POPULATION Estimates given for known populations by the IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group give a total population of between 124,775 and 136,625 animals. The largest population is that of about 50,000 wolves in the Asian section of the former USSR.



http://www.unep-wcmc.org/index.html?http://www.unep-wcmc.org/species/data/species_sheets/greywolf.htm~main

[DaveSZ]

13. If Kerry/Edwards win

They can help preserve wilderness in North Carolina to help the Red Wolf escape extinction.

That's about the only place they have to live now, and much of N. Carolina can be designated as wilderness.

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/wolf/redwolf.html

http://alligatorriver.fws.gov/

[DaveSZ]

14. Will killing tigers save them? Bush thinks so...

Thank you for signing up for Animals & Environment
alerts, Care2's periodic newsletter. Animals &
Environment alerts features important steps YOU
can quickly take to help make a difference in the
world around you. Today we are sharing some
important information about endangered species!
Find out more!

******************************************
1.What the Future Like for Endangered Species?
http://www.care2.com/go/z/15577


Is killing endangered animals the best way to protect
them? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
thinks so.

Find out more by watching this humorous clip about
the Preservator 3000 -- the newest weapon being used
to destroy the Endangered Species Act (ESA):
http://www.care2.com/go/z/15577

A new FWS proposal to the ESA would legalize
commercial exploitation of endangered species. If we
don't act quickly, it will be LEGAL to import endangered
species into the US without a permit.

History has shown that promoting endangered species
trade leads to overexploitation, increased poaching
and illegal activity. The proposed change creates a
direct incentive to speed up the pace of extinction of
more than 550 foreign species currently protected by
the ESA. We must stop this attack on the ESA!

You can help:
1. Learn more & Take Action:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/15577
2. Once you have watched the Preservator 3000 clip,
send it to your friends & family who care about the
future of wildlife!

[Leilani]

15. I am sick about this!

Wolves have been a particular interest of mine & I have a cousin who works in the field. I support the wolf programs through the adoption process.

These people would sell their own mother for a buck...criminals, all of them.

Please, if you care, call your representatives, & send nasty mail to as many people in the govt you can think of!!!

[VolcanoJen]

16. Is this a successful revival, or dangerous spin?

I'm not at all trusting of Gale Norton, or J. Steven Griles, the "master" to Gale's "puppet" in the DoI.

What do the wolf conservationists have to say about the grey wolf's removal from the endangered species list? Is there any commentary? Is this valid evidence of a revival of the grey wolf in North America, or just another twisted attempt to manipulate science, not to mention hearts? :shrug:

[DeepModem Mom]

17. kick