Help stop the Aerial Gunning of Alaska's Wolves

Help End Aerial Wolf Killing: Urge Your Representative to Co-Sponsor the PAW Act

So far, more than 1,000 wolves have been chased down by gunmen in low-flying aircraft and killed with high-powered rifles. This year alone, more than 250 wolves have been killed -- putting the 2008/2009 aerial wolf killing season on pace to become the deadliest in years.

Congressman George Miller will soon re-introduce the Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act, federal legislation to end the controversial practice of using aircraft and gunmen to chase and kill wolves in Alaska.

Will you urge your representative to help get the PAW Act passed into law?

Take Action!

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

Wolves Back on ES List

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has signed a legal settlement putting wolves in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin back on the endangered species list.

WASHINGTON— In a victory for the gray wolf, a coalition of wolf advocates led by the Humane Society of the United States has reached a settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Great Lakes region, including the states of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

The settlement comes in response to a motion filed by the HSUS, the Center for Biological Diversity, Help Our Wolves Live, Friends of Animals and Their Environment and Born Free USA. The motion sought an immediate injunction to halt the killing of wolves pending resolution of the case, which the groups filed two weeks ago.

This is the sixth time in the past five years that a federal government decision to strip wolves of Endangered Species Act protections has been stopped through legal action, but the settlement does not prevent the administration from making another attempt to delist wolves and turn their fate over to state killing plans.

“We applaud the Obama administration for restoring federal protections for wolves in the Great Lakes,” said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel for animal protection litigation with the HSUS. “This agreement will give the administration a much-needed opportunity to reconsider the failed wolf-management policies of the past, and hopefully put to rest the states’ reckless plans to start sport hunting and trapping imperiled wolves.”

The suit challenged the federal government’s decision to remove all Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region – a decision that would have allowed hostile state wildlife agencies to subject the wolves to widespread and indiscriminate killings at the hands of state agents, farmers and trophy hunters. Some of the state management plans allow a nearly 50-percent reduction of the region’s wolf population.

“Poaching and persecution remain severe threats to wolves in the upper Midwest and elsewhere,” said Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Wolf recovery has made tremendous strides, but with wolves occupying roughly five percent of their historic range, the job is far from finished.”

Last week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources intends to implement sport hunting and trapping seasons for wolves if they are ever successfully stripped of federal Endangered Species Act protection. The management plans for Minnesota and Michigan also allow for the establishment of future recreational hunting and trapping of wolves.

“The court’s decision is great news for wolves and for the integrity of science in government decision-making,” said Nicole Paquette, senior vice president of Born Free USA. “We hope that the Fish and Wildlife Service will honestly assess the scientific information it previously refused to review.”

The plaintiffs are represented pro bono by the law firm Faegre & Benson. The settlement will be submitted to the federal district court for the District of Columbia today for final approval.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 220,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org

Help Our Wolves Live is a Minnesota nonprofit organization, dedicated to the protection and preservation of the gray wolf, lynx, and other endangered or threatened predator species. HOWL has over 200 members, many of whom live in the State of Minnesota.

Friends of Animals and Their Environment is a Minnesota nonprofit organization committed to the protection of animals and the ecosystems on which they depend. FATE has approximately 200 members and supporters who regularly advocate on behalf of animals, and in particular wolves.

Born Free USA works to alleviate captive animal suffering, rescue individual animals, protect wildlife — including highly endangered species — in their natural habitats, and encourage compassionate conservation globally. More at www.bornfreeusa.org.

Learn more:
www.biologicaldiversity.org/

Call the US Fish and Wildlife Service for the Wolves

From Earth Justice:

Speak out for the wolves today!

Secretary Salazar's decision is out of step with President Obama's push for a science-based approach to the environment.

Independent scientists say that 2,000 to 3,000 wolves are required to ensure the survival of the species. But this new rule would clear the way for Idaho and Montana to kill hundreds of wolves, reducing the population to a level that is too small to survive.

You can make a difference by telling Secretary Salazar that you oppose this hastily issued plan.

Tell Secretary Salazar to withdraw his decision to remove federal protections for the wolves.

The northern Rockies wolf population has grown from around 30 wolves to more than 1,500 wolves today ... and their environment has begun to come back into balance.

But this decision could quickly undo all of that progress. Without federal protections, there's no guarantee of the wolves' survival. In the four months last year that they were unprotected, 110 wolves were killed.

We are preparing a legal challenge if Secretary Salazar makes the decision official, but right now we need you to show Secretary Salazar that a loud majority cares about the fate of the wolves.

Please speak out for the wolves now.

— Earthjustice
Because the earth needs a good lawyer

_________________________________________________________________________

From Defenders of Wildlife
March 12, 2009

Take Action for Wolves

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar wants to eliminate vital federal protections for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the rest of the Northern Rockies -- a move that could lead to the deaths of nearly 1,000 wolves.

Call the US Fish and Wildlife Service at 1-800-344-9453, select option “3” (for endangered species) and hit “0” to speak with the operator. Once you are connected, just deliver this simple message:

"I am calling to express my extreme disappointment in Interior Secretary Salazar’s decision to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies."

Last Friday, we received the surprise announcement that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has approved the Bush Administration’s discredited plan to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Idaho and Montana.

It’s a decision that could lead to the deaths of more than 1,000 wolves -- including wolves in the western Greater Yellowstone ecosystem!

Make your voice heard. Call the US Fish and Wildlife Service at 1-800-344-9453 (between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday-Friday), select option “3” (for endangered species) and hit “0” to speak with the operator. Once you are connected, just deliver this simple message:

My name is (your name) and I am calling from (Your City & State) to express my extreme disappointment in Interior Secretary Salazar’s decision to implement the Bush Administration’s flawed plan to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Idaho and Montana.

If this rule is allowed to stand, nearly two-thirds of the wolves in the Northern Rockies could be killed starting as soon as this spring. I strongly urge Secretary Salazar to stop the implementation of this awful decision and reconsider his approach to wolf conservation in the Northern Rockies.

Our wolves can’t speak out, but you can! Secretary Salazar’s wolf proposal could appear in the Federal Register within the month, paving the way for the slaughter of wolves this spring. Please call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today at 1-800-344-9453 and let federal officials know that you oppose efforts to eliminate vital protections for these special animals.

Working with our sister organization, Defenders of Wildlife, we’re doing everything we can to save these wolves.

Defenders of Wildlife and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund are already preparing a legal challenge to Salazar’s decision. And just yesterday Defenders of Wildlife filed a Freedom of Information Act request to determine whether Secretary Salazar undertook any new scientific review before reissuing the same legally and scientifically flawed decision that the Bush Administration previously announced.

It’s up to us to speak out for our wolves. We don’t have much time to prevent the killing, but -- with your help -- we still have a chance to save these wolves before it's too late.

With Gratitude,

Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

P.S. After you call the Fish and Wildlife Service at 1-800-344-9453, please make sure you tell Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund about your call.

More Information about Salazar’s Plan

• Salazar’s decision violates the Endangered Species Act and allows more than 1,000 out of the roughly 1,500 wolves in the region to be killed.
• Delisting wolves is contingent upon two things that have not yet been achieved: 1) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's delisting plan must be based on current, credible science that ensures a healthy wolf population level that is sustainable and well connected. 2) All of the states in the delisting area must have wolf management regulations that provide for a sustainable and well connected wolf population after federal protections are lifted.
• Salazar’s decision fails to adequately address biological concerns about the lack of genetic exchange among wolf populations in the Northern Rockies. These concerns led a Federal court to overturn the same delisting rule late last year when the Bush Administration issued it. Salazar's decision also fails to address concerns with Idaho’s state wolf management plan and regulations that undermine the goal of a sustainable wolf population by killing massive numbers of wolves.

Wolves kicked back off the Endangred Species List

1,000 Wolves In Danger Interior Secretary Salazar has rubberstamped a Bush-era plan to kick the wolves of the Northern Rockies off the endangered species list. Help NRDC go to court to win back their protection -- before the states get the green light to start the slaughter.

FROM NRDC
It's the worst possible news for the wolves of the Northern Rockies: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has given the green light to a Bush-era plan that will kick them off the Endangered Species list.

Please give an emergency contribution to help NRDC rush to court to defend these wolves.

Nearly 1,000 wolves from Greater Yellowstone to Glacier National Park could be caught in the cross-fire of state-sponsored wolf hunts -- and that killing could begin in just a few weeks.

The decision couldn't come at a worse time. Breeding season is here, and wolves will start giving birth in April. That means pregnant females and newborn pups will be among those gunned down.

I'm sure you share my disappointment that the Obama Administration has abandoned a science-based approach in this rush to hand wolf management back to the states.

That's why NRDC cannot stand by and let this deadly attack go unchallenged.

We're filing suit in federal court to block this flawed Bush-era policy -- a policy that will simply not stand up to scientific review. But to wage and win this life-or-death case for wolves, we need your emergency donation right away.

We've won this fight before, thanks to your support. Last summer, NRDC and 11 other conservation groups compelled the Bush Administration to abandon its first attempt to strip wolves of their protection when we made the case that wolf populations had not yet fully recovered.

Today, less than 6 months later, wolf populations still haven't reached biological recovery levels. In fact, over this past year, the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park declined 27 percent -- and wolf pups in the park are dying of a yet-to-be-determined disease.

It's incumbent on Secretary Salazar to withdraw this disastrous plan and submit it to the kind of rigorous scientific review that the Obama Administration has championed on so many other environmental issues.

Otherwise, we can expect a bloodbath in the Northern Rockies. The last time wolves lost their protection, 110 of them were gunned down in 120 days -- nearly one per day.

NRDC and our partners stopped the slaughter then. And we must do it again -- before the states get their "Open Fire" orders. Idaho has plans ready to go that would wipe out more than 100 wolves in just a single area of the state.

NRDC members and activists like you have always stood up for the wolves of the Northern Rockies when they've been threatened. That's why I'm contacting you first -- and counting on you to rally to the wolves' rescue.

Wolves have already been exterminated in 96 percent of their former range. They are making one of their last stands right now in the Northern Rockies. We can't afford to have the government drag them back to the brink of extinction.

Please click here to make an emergency contribution to save 1,000 wolves -- before the states have a chance to pull the trigger.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council