Why The Heck Was Anyone Celebrating the Endangered Species Act Day??

It boggles the mind. Wolves were sold out for votes. The ESA was recently gutted by Congress when 81 Senators voted to delist wolves in a  BUDGET BILL, which Obama signed into law.  Yet on May 20th we witnessed celebrations of the Endangered Species Act Day?

HUH?

Wolves are facing two wolf hunts in the Northern Rockies. High powered rifles, archery, baiting, calling, steel leg-hold traps and snares are just some of the tortures awaiting them and we’re supposed to be celebrating ESA day? Is this a joke?

There is NOTHING to celebrate. One of the greatest pieces of environmental  legislation ever written, tailor-made to protect a persecuted species like the wolf,  was weakened by political games and maneuvering.  Congress didn’t do what it should have done, remove the wolf delisting rider from the budget bill, where it should NOT have been in the first place.

Here’s a quote from Senator Baucus (D-MT), one of the supporters of the wolf delisting rider, speaking about convincing other Democrat Senators to vote for it.

“It was a little hard persuading Sen. Boxer and Sen. Cardin that we’re not gutting the Endangered Species Act,” Baucus said in an interview. “They don’t have the same understanding of the wolf problem that we have.”

Pretty shameful!

The very Senators who voted to delist wolves in a budget bill and in turn WEAKEN the ESA, were celebrating the Endangered Species Act Day. That, dear readers, is the ultimate in hypocrisy. I guess they think the American people are blind, stupid or both?

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How Democrats Gutted The ESA And Sold Wolves Down The River

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The 112th Congress will be remembered for two things. Selling out wolves for votes and gutting the ESA. This legacy will follow them throughout history. I hope they enjoy the notoriety.

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April 14, 2o11

How federal budget-makers cut wolves from the endangered-species list

After years of legal wrangling over the issue, why was Congress able to take such swift and irrevocable action, all within the framework of a budget deal?

By Daniel Jack Chasan

The last-minute budget deal that Democrats and Republicans worked out last Friday night may be, as President Obama said, “historic” for more reasons than one. Language in the legislation that may keep the federal government afloat “basically overturns the moral imperative that drove the passage of the Endangered Species Act,” says Doug Honnold, managing attorney of Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies office.

Read More: http://crosscut.com/2011/04/14/animals-wildlife/20817/How-federal-budget-makers-cut-wolves-from-the-endangered-species-list/

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Top photo: Courtesy All About Wolves

Bottom Photo: kewlwallpaper

Posted in: Wolf Wars

Tags: Assault on the ESA, hypocrisy, US Senate, ESA day not a day to celebrate, wolves politically delisted, Northern Rockies gray wolf