Help, Starting today, gray wolves can be killed in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

[G_j]

Starting today, gray wolves can be killed in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies were officially removed from the list of federally protected threatened and endangered species earlier today. Their continued survival is now at the mercy of the insufficient -- and at times aggressively hostile -- state management plans developed by Wyoming, Idaho and to a lesser extent Montana.

Earlier today, our wolf expert Suzanne Stone had this to say:

"Intentionally vague language in the Idaho and Wyoming management plans means that wolves can be killed without justification. We risk ending up right back where we started, with wolves back on the endangered species list and under federal control."

Starting today, wolves can now be shot on sight for no reason in 88% of Wyoming – at least five wolf packs live in the shoot-on-site zone, and 10 more packs may drift in and out of this area. Idaho continues to send mixed messages regarding its commitment to ensuring a future for the gray wolf within its borders.

Here's what you can do to help...

1. Take action online.

Go to http://action.defenders.org/ourwolves and urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to adopt a national wolf recovery plan. Such a plan would help ensure a lasting future for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies and provide a needed boost for wolf recovery and management efforts in the Southwest, Northeast and Pacific Northwest.

2. Support our work.

Help support our Yellowstone Wolf Legal Defense fund and on-the-ground efforts to save wolves and other wildlife.

Make a tax-deductible contribution at Make a tax-deductible contribution at http://action.defenders.org/fbwolffriends.

3. Learn more.

Visit our new blog at http://myyellowstonewolves. typepad. com/ to learn more about Defenders of Wildlife's fight to save wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockie

[flvegan]

1. "...shot on sight for no reason in 88% of Wyoming"

Yeah, THAT sounds brilliant.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

2. This Northern Michigander has just one thing to say. SSS.

&, How many wolves are in your State, OP?

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

5. Shoot Shovel et Shut-up ~ SSS.

just for clarification.

[livvy]

18. May I ask why?

Being from Michigan, and having traveled in the UP, I don't understand why the wolves would be a problem. I'm just curious as to why you would find it justifiable to break the law.

[G_j]

6. Red wolves

Michigan eh?
(have you seen Ted lately?)

My State? NC

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0131_030131_redwolf.html

A recovery program has taken the species from extinction in the wild to a restored population of more than 100 in northeastern North Carolina. But while conservationists consider the program a success, many challenges still lie ahead for the species that once ranged across much of the southeastern United States.

"The red wolf is the first effort to restore a predator in the wild after it was officially declared extinct in the wild," said Bud Fazio, team leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Red Wolf Recovery Program.

While little is known about historic red wolf numbers, these canids once ranged across the southeast from Florida to possibly as far north as New England and west to Texas. As the country started to be settled by Europeans, hunting and habitat loss chipped away at the wolves. In North Carolina, court records tally bounties paid to wolf hunters from 1768 to 1789.


By 1970 the red wolf population had dwindled to less than 100 animals roaming a small section of coastal Texas and Louisiana. "They darn near disappeared before we knew anything about them," said Fazio.___

~~~
http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/wolves/wolf_recovery_efforts/southeast_wolves/

Defenders has been working on red wolf recovery since the mid-1980s through a combination of advocacy and public education. The species, once considered extinct in the wild, now numbers more than 100 in northeastern North Carolina.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

7. You are talking about reds, when it is Greys being discussed.

Clueless et out of state.

[G_j]

12. there are none in NC

as far as I know,

http://www.wildwnc.org/education/animals/gray-wolf-canis-lupus

"The gray wolf is the largest member of the wild dog family found in North America. They once roamed throughout much of this country, including the southern Appalachians, but have now been eliminated from most of their former range. The closest remaining population of gray wolves to our area is in upper Michigan."

[Kolesar]

15. It is obvious that you are talking around the subject because you don't know &don't care

The issue is that outfitters think killing will allow more game species. I expect that you were too lazy to read the defenders website to determine that.

There is a small wolf exhibit in the Metroparks' zoo near where I live. And millions of tasteful people in Ohio who believe in protecting the wolves.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

3. Thank you for bringing awareness, G_j

I'll send $10.

[livvy]

4. I donated to Defenders yesterday, for just this reason.

I haven't sent them any money in quite a while. This news made it time.

Isn't this about the time that they would be having their pups? This irresponsible policy could be really devastating to the packs.

Crap, what the hell is wrong with people. Does everything have to be about money and profit and greed. I could get more out of watching a single wolf in the wild than I ever could with anything I could buy.

Your link didn't work, but here it is...

http://myyellowstonewolves.typepad.com/

[Mike03]

8. Heard this on the news a couple of days ago. It made me sick to my stomach.

Thanks for posting this, and giving us some idea of what we can do.

Bookmark, kick and rec.

[cynatnite]

9. The problem is in the illegal killing of wolves...

It's equal to the number of authorized kills that helps keep the populaton from getting out of hand. The gray wolf's existence is in danger from those who illegally kill them...not the controlled hunts.

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/233/gray-wolf-facts.html

My inlaws live on the Salish-Kootenai Res. in Montana. The tribe does controlled killings of gray wolves. The illegal killing of any animal is treated very harshly by the tribe. They take it very seriously. In fact, Montana's policies towards wild animals is probably one of the best and most forward thinking in the US. It's why you can take a drive on a mountain and see wild moose, bears and other animals. We used to drive on some of the logging roads and see all sorts of animals.

[blondie58]

10. I regularly donate to Defenders of Wildlife

they understand the role that every predator plays in the ecosystem, be it a wolf, or a prairie dog for the wolves and the black footed ferrets to eat. Nature functioned so well before man started messing with it.

Thank you for posting this.

[ShaneGR]

11. Such a difficult debate, ok, take deer hunting for example

Preface: I am not a hunter, never have been.

The question is whether uncontrolled wolf populations are a danger to the population. This question is both economic and actually a safety issue.

I'm from Ohio originally. I live in Florida. I have never seen a wolf. I have seen deer though. Lots and lots of deer. A deer isn't going to attack you unless you ran unarmed at it while it was guarding newborn babies. Even then it would probably turn and run.

So why are deer killed in seasonal hunting? Because they reproduce on a rapid scale. And if there are deer everywhere get ready to read some more obituaries related to traffic accidents. That's how government works normally.

How do wolves fit into the human population of those states?

[G_j]

21. big difference, deer are not predators as are wolves

in fact, it is predators which once kept the deer population in balance.

[burrowowl]

13. Already did take action

I get them direct in my e-mail. I urge people to sign up!

[LWolf]

14. I have a friend in Idaho

who regularly emails me with updates on the pack that lived in her area; sightings and sounds.

The pack has been under pressure from local ranchers; many killed for livestock predation.

Several weeks ago she said that she thinks the last of the pack has been taken; since the most recent "legal" kill, there are no further signs of wolves in the area.

Her goats and dogs have never been bothered by wolves. There is an abundant population of deer and elk in the area to occupy them. Apparently, it's not that difficult to kill wolves regularly even without this new development. Aggressively hostile is correct.

:(

[cynatnite]

16. I hear the Idaho gov is a real nut job...

We used to live in Idaho and many of the attitudes there are just outright archaic when it comes to the animals and the environment which is almost completely opposite of Montana's progressive handling of wildlife. You should have seen how they carried on when it came to changing the laws in regards to bear hunting.

[IDemo]

20. Butch Otter (his REAL name!) announced he wanted to be the first to bag a wolf

http://mountaingoatreport.typepad.com/the_mountaingoat_report/2007/01/otters_wolf_pla.html

[LWolf]

22. That's what I hear, too.

While my friend loves the land, the political culture is alien to her.

I could say the same about where I live, in Central Oregon. It's not quite as bad here as in Idaho, but still.

[Nevernose]

17. Here's a "rancher" gem from CNN's lead online story:

But many ranchers in the region just don't understand the fuss about the animals. They have complained for years that the wolves eat their livestock.

Aren't ranchers are paid for livestock killed by wolves? Ranchers arguments come down to "it's an inconvenience to apply for reimbursement."

[cynatnite]

19. They are reimbursed if it's proven that it was a wolf...

It can take a while to prove that it was a wolf. The Defenders of Wildlife ensure that it was a wolf and not some other prey.

Do you have a link for your quote?