February 24, 2011
I will update this post daily but I want to keep it on the front burner. There is no other issue to talk about. This is the fight we have to win to save the Northern Rockies gray wolf. We are their only hope for survival. If the anti-wolf provision, 1713, is not stripped out of the final budget bill gray wolves will be doomed in the Northern Rockies.
Remember, wolves were delisted by the Obama administration in April 2009, by September 09 Montana and Idaho had wolf hunts in place. The haters are itching to get their Remingtons out and start blasting. We could lose everything we’ve worked for the last fifteen years. Wolves cannot survive in this environment without the protection of the ESA. Please convey to the Senators the hate that is being spewed against wolves in the Northern Rockies. The lies and half-truths that are spread. This is all out war on an animal that was exterminated once in the West. We can’t let them slip away again without a fight!!
Please continue to call and write your Senators. After you do that, contact the Senators I’ve listed that would be most influential in stopping this horrible provision from becoming law. Then finish calling, emailing or faxing the rest of the US Senate. I know it’s a tall order but if we don’t do this we’ll lose this iconic animal forever in the Rockies.
The Senate needs to hear from the American people. We do not want a politician from Idaho sneaking an anti-wolf provision into a budget bill. They can’t win in the courts so they’re mounting a legislative sneak attack. The haters want to dismantle the ESA and strip gray wolves of their protections. Make no mistake, if this happens wolves will die.
Please continue to fight for wolves and the ESA. We need everyone that can pick up a phone and dial or write an email. I will keep you updated on this fight. We don’t have much time. Scroll down this post for Senate contacts.
We stand as one united for the gray wolf. We can’t let them down.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
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February 23, 2011
This is where the rubber meets the road Wolf Warriors. The House budget bill, passed on February 19, 2011, has been sent to the Senate, It has a sleazy trick included in it. Rep.Mike Simpson (R-ID) attached anti-wolf delisting language (section 1713) to this must pass budget bill, which funds the government. It states:
Section 1713
“Sec. 1713. Before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this division, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule published on April 2, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 15123 et seq.) without regard to any other provision of statute or regulation that applies to issuance of such rule. Such reissuance (including this section) shall not be subject to judicial review.”
What in the world do wolves have to do with the federal budget? Absolutely nothing but Section 1713 is buried deep in the text of the bill. Maybe Simpson was hoping nobody would notice? By the amount of coverage this deeply destructive provision has gotten, maybe he’s right. Where were the wolf advocates in the House of Representatives on Saturday? The bill passed with section 1713 intact.
Of course the budget has nothing to do with wolves but this is the only way the haters can destroy wolves and the ESA, by sneak attack. Now that the damage has been done in the House, this horrible budget bill has been sent to the Senate for debate and passage. If section 1713, which would delist Northern Rockies wolves in Montana, Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Washington and parts of Utah, is not stripped out of the final budget bill, wolves are finished in the Northern Rockies. They could be subjected to mass slaughter by the states, which would only have to maintain a population of 300 wolves. There are 1700 wolves roaming the Northern Rockies, this could mean the demise of over 80% of this population.
The Senate will begin deliberations on this bad bill on February 28, 2011. It must be passed by March 4, 2011, that’s just 7 business days away. But Congress is considering a two week extension:
“Fearing shutdown, GOP considering deal with Dems to fund government for two more weeks“
But that’s not a done deal, so we have to operate on the premise that the bill will be voted on and ready for President Obama to sign by March 4, 2011, to avoid a government shutdown. As it stands now we have barely a week to turn this around. Just one week people!! Please get busy calling Senators.
This would be the first time the ESA has been tampered with in this way. If wolves lose their protections because of political expediency, then no endangered animal is safe. This would set a very dangerous precedent. Are grizzly bears next?
Politicians have no business meddling in science. The Endangered Species Act is tailor-made for a species like the wolf who has been subjected to one of the most vicious campaigns of half-truths and persecution I’ve ever witnessed. All this has been done to please the powerful hunting and ranching lobbies.
This is it wolf advocates. We need to make a lot of noise. This not the time to be silent or meek. If you care about wolves, please call every single US Senator to voice your total and complete outrage at what is happening to wolves and the ESA. I will NEVER in my lifetime vote for another Democrat if they allow wolves to slip away, after over fifteen years of hard work and care to bring them back from the brink.
We have to speak out.
Keep calling, faxing and writing emails. Keep the capital switchboard busy. We cannot allow politicians to run an end round the ESA and destroy wolves in the Northern Rockies, with no judicial review.
Capital Switchboard Numbers:
1-866-220-0044
1-877-851-6437
1-800-833-6354
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Key Senators To Contact:
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Bennet, Michael F. – (D – CO) Class III
(202) 224-5852
Fax: (202) 228-5036
Web Form: bennet.senate.gov/contact/
Boxer, Barbara – (D – CA)
(202) 224-3553
Web Form: boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/
Bingaman, Jeff – (D – NM)
(202) 224-5521
Web Form: bingaman.senate.gov/contact/
Email: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Cardin, Benjamin L. – (D – MD)
(202) 224-4524
Fax 202-224-1651
Web Form: cardin.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Gillibrand, Kirsten E. – (D – NY)
(202) 224-4451
Fax (212) 688-7444
Web Form: gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/
Kerry, John F. – (D – MA)
(202) 224-2742
Web Form: kerry.senate.gov/contact/
Lugar, Richard G. – (R – IN)
(202) 224-4814
Web Form: lugar.senate.gov/contact/
Merkley, Jeff – (D – OR)
(202) 224-3753
Fax: (202) 228-3997
Web Form: merkley.senate.gov/contact/
Murray, Patty – (D – WA)
(202) 224-2621
Fax: (202) 224-0238
Web Form: murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
Reed, Jack – (D – RI)
(202) 224-4642
Fax 401- 464-6837
Web Form: reed.senate.gov/contact/contact-share.cfm
Reid, Harry – (D – NV)
(202) 224-3542
Fax 202-224-7327
Web Form: reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Schumer, Charles E. – (D – NY)
(202) 224-6542
Fax 202-228-3027
Web Form: schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm
Udall, Mark – (D – CO)
(202) 224-5941
Fax 202-224-6471
Web Form: CLICK HERE
Udall, Tom – (D – NM)
(202) 224-6621
Web Form: CLICK HERE
Whitehouse, Sheldon – (D-RI)
(202) 224-2921
Fax 202-228-6362
Web Form: whitehouse.senate.gov/contact/
The Whitehouse
www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461
If you live in Montana, please contact
Tester, Jon – (D-MT)
(202) 224-2644
Web Form: tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm
Dear Senator —
As a wildlife conservation advocate, I am deeply disturbed by Section 1713 (p. 266) of the House’s Continuing Resolution – 2011 which was passed on Feb. 19, 2011. This… section states, “Before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this division, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule published on April 2, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 15123 et seq.) without regard to any other provision of statute or regulation that applies to issuance of such rule. Such reissuance (including this section) shall not be subject to judicial review.”
Please be advised that I vehemently oppose this section of the House’s version of the Appropriations bill. Buried deep within the text of the bill, it covertly voids US District Judge Donald Molloy’s ruling that returned wolves on the Endangered Species List as of August, 2010. In addition, Sec. 1713 seemingly precludes judicial review of any decisions related to de-listing the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in the future.
It’s not the role of Congress to decide which species should or should not receive protection from the ESA. The ESA is one of our most respected environmental laws. Its power lies in the independent, scientific consultation at its heart. In fact, Congress has never successfully legislated a species-specific decision under the ESA. Wolves should not be the first. That is a decision that should be made by independent science. The ESA, and issues related to wolf restoration, requires clear thinking, strategic planning and science-based decision-making. To legislate such a decision would weaken the Act and set a dangerous precedent that could lead to more native fish, wildlife, and plants being wrongly stripped of protection.
Respectfully submitted,
Sign your name
From Defenders of Wildlife:
Section 1713…..”effectively boots the Northern Rockies gray wolf off the list of endangered wildlife, leaving them at the mercy of states poised to undertake massive wolf killing programs. In all, the bill reads like an anti-environmental lobbyist’s ‘wish list’ – one that when enacted would leave the American people to pay the price with their health, welfare and natural heritage.”
PLEASE TAKE ACTION FOR WOLVES, THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT, AND ALL WILDLIFE
If Northern Rockies gray wolves can be taken off the endangered species list through an act of Congress, so can Mexican gray wolves, and so can any species of wildlife that becomes politically inconvenient to special interests. This is an outrageous precedent that will have devastating impacts to wildlife. Please contact your Senator today and ask them to oppose any Continuing Resolution Bill that contains language to reduce protections or funding for wolves.”
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Andrew Wetzler’s Blog
Republican Budget to Wolves: Drop Dead
Posted February 12, 2011
“Last night the Republican controlled House Rules Committee released a “continuing resolution” to fund the federal government past March. As I thought, the bill contains cuts to funding for endangered species (for those of you following at home, see section 1704). But it goes far beyond that.
The Committee has decreed, without a hearing and in defiance of the best and most up-to-date science, that wolves will lose all of their Endangered Species Act protection in Idaho, Montana, and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Utah (section 1713). The bill reinstates a plan that would legally allow states to kill all but 300 wolves in the Northern Rockies, a number that is not sufficient to sustain wolves over the long term. More than 1,700 wolves now roam the Northern Rockies. That means those who support this provision are content to see as much as 82% of the population wiped out.
How is this possibly related to the budget of the United States of America? When the Republican Party swept to power last November the repeatedly promised a new day–a day in which, among other things, budget bills would no longer contain extraneous policy provisions inserted to avoid the normal legislative process. In their words: “We will end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with ‘must-pass’ legislation to circumvent the will of the American people. Instead, we will advance major legislation one issue at a time.” It looks like that new day doesn’t include wolves.
We need to fight this provision. Stand up and be counted here.“
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Please pass this on to everyone you know. Contact newspapers, radio stations any one that can help. Wolves are going to die in huge numbers if we don’t stand together.
STAND UP FOR WOLVES NOW!!!
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Wolves in the crosshairs once again: Politicians attempt to sidestep the Endangered Species Act
Attempts to fast track delisting wolves crosses party lines and ignores science
To read the rest of the article CLICK HERE
Posted in: Wolf Wars
Tags: Dirty tricks, Section 1713, House of Representatives, Senate, Mike Simpson, Assault on the ESA, Assault on wolves
Boulder White Clouds Council
Exposing The Big Game
Footloose Montana
Friends of the Clearwater
Lockwood Animal Rescue Center
Louise du Toit
LUPUSLAETUS
Mercy For Animals
Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance (NIWA)
Predator Friendly®- Because Wildlife Matters
Project Coyote
Project: Wolf
The Nature Conservancy
The Ravensong Group
WildEarth Guardians
Wisconsin Wildlife Ethic-Vote Our Wildlife
Wolf And Wildlife Studies: Jay Mallonee (Independent Wolf Biologist)
Wolf Song of Alaska
Wolves in english ! Les loups en anglais !
WWP's Gray Wolf Page
Yellowstone To Yukon Conservation Initiative
Howling For Justice 
One of the things that madden me about this (including what is proposed there concerning wolves) is how they love to write everything in the most technical language possible (enlarging the document for about 6 pages) to hide stuff or make it sound less terrible.
I swear they could propose sending nuclear bombs to X country and nobody would notice it. Darn writing clutter.
I will contact every single senator you have mentioned there, perhaps more, and then pres. Obama. I am tired of these supposedly “superior” country making ignorant decisions on how to “manage” (like they were mere objects) our native wildlife. We must order several packages containing brains to all those anti-wildlife congress people, governors, senators etc…
P.S. This is an extra but personally I am really angry at this budget cuts. My public library is having its budget cut, my public local broadcasting radio is having its budget cut, and even my school (public) is having its budget cut! They are even cutting the budget for hospitals and climate change research centers! And, as we expected, wolves even though (as you said) they don’t have ANYTHING to do with the america budget! I don’t know you, but I have never seen lupine librarians, students, workers, etc.
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So well said Loua and thank you for your effort. I am so upset and angry at what’s going on. The war on wolves has escalated ten fold since they were relisted. We had to sit through the terrible hunting season of 2009/2010. We couldn’t even celebrate one minute after Judge Molloy relisted wolves. Almost immediately the haters came up with the plan to run an end round the ESA. Who would have ever thought a Democrat administration would delist wolves? George Bush yes but not President Obama, who promised change? Is this the change he’s talking about? We’ve never been more divided as a country.
N.
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I understand what you are saying,Loua.They sacrifice educaton and and other benefical things for the public ,but they certainly won’t think about reducing their pay and benifits in order to help the rest of us.
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Exactly, Rita. We don’t have any after school bus at my school right now, while a couple of months ago we did. My library is has this huge banner saying “SAVE OUR LIBRARIES FROM THE BUDGET CUTS! SIGN OUR PETITION!”
Anyway,
Phew! Almost done with contacting all these senators! Only two more to go (and the President, of course). Let’s hope we’re lucky!
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I will try to get to as many as I can in the short time I have for no one loves the Gray Wolf more than I do. I owned one at one time,no she owned me and my children for they were her cubs,She harmed no one but was fierce in what she considered her cubs.The wolf credo fit her so well. The Gray Wolf is a magnificent animal and we could learn from them. The bible says that God did not make anything that was not good in his eyes and he made the Wolf not man. I have told of the wolf, that one could be right beside you and you would never know it for they are silent in their ways.
Thank you for this opportunity
Ann Hedge
but always Grey Wolf
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I will never understand why some people hate Wolves so much? They only want to live a life without any trouble but as you know when any animal gets , even Humans they do what is needed to get food for themselves and their family. The wolves were already living in most places in peace until Man enters their space. “Indian Boy”
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Larry…..It’s stunning the amount of hate directed at an animal. Now I understand what it was like during the first extermination. It had to be like this.
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I can not understand where some people get they’re ways of thinking. These are a beautiful majestic animal who rival our society. They are a pack animal with society rules and caring such as us. They care for the young and old as we do. They only hunt for the survival of themselves. What is not to understand? My Husband and I are Native American and this animal is not only of our Clan but souls and spirits within any Native American Heritage. This saddens and sickens me to see such hatred directed to the wolf or any animal.
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Tina, I think it’s a sickness that’s engulfed these people. I don’t really think their hatred is all about wolves. Wolves have just become their new whipping boy. Before wolves were an issue if was the environmentalist they raged on. These are not happy people and they want to make everyone else miserable with them.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
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I think it may be part of the “don’t tell me what to do” culture, which is pretty prevalent here (although different groups of people seem to manifest it in different ways). I feel as though the fact that we don’t want wolves to be killed makes some people want to kill them all the more. They’re out to get back at us for cramping their style, or something, and they don’t much care who gets hurt in the process. And they can’t seem to accept the idea that wolves don’t need to be “managed” — which makes me wonder if some of them don’t have issues with being excessively controlling. If they can’t bend every living creature to their will and manipulate its population as they see fit, then they aren’t happy.
Some time back, I was a bit startled by a conversation I observed between a friend of mine and somebody else on Facebook. My friend was complaining about a woodpecker living nearby and bothering her (probably by pecking holes in her house, or something). One of her friends replied and told her to just kill it. She said, “Well, it’s a protected species, so I’m going to see if Fish and Wildlife can get me a trap for it, and if that doesn’t work I’ll get a permit before I kill it.” But he came back and said, “Oh, come on, it’s not a big deal, just be sneaky!” He was practically urging her to illegally kill this woodpecker. I didn’t get it. If she wanted to do the inconvenient but humane and legal thing and get a trap, why should he care? How was that any skin off his nose? The woodpecker wasn’t even remotely HIS problem. I suppose it’s possible that he was just really passionate about saving her some (in his mind) unnecessary trouble; but what I rather suspect is that her rectitude was making him look bad, and he wanted to pull her down to his level. If true, how disgusting.
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CaptainSakonna….I think you’re onto something here. There’s a problem with people creating illegal trails with their ATV’s. They just go off trail and tear up the forests without a care. Especially worrisome are the snowmobiles that go deep into Lynx territory. As you know the Lynx is a very shy animal and it causes their numbers to decline when you have snowmobiles charging all over their territory without caring what harm they could be doing. It’s an attitude of dominion. This crowd has a sense of entitlement. If they want to make illegal trails, they’ll do it and don’t get in their way. It’s like everything else. They think Montana and Idaho are their playgrounds and the wildlife is here for their pleasure to use and abuse. Being told they can’t kill wolves is going against that sense of entitlement. Personally I think this group of people are selfish and bullies. They want what they want and who cares what anyone else thinks. They’ll call names, intimidate and all the acting out behavior you see in spoiled teenagers, is now being played out with wolves. They just don’t want to be told what to do. They’re very controlling. If they don’t get their way they start squawking. Babies in adult bodies.
N.
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