Good News Warriors!! Oregon Bill 4158 Is Dead (For Now)…

Update: February 22, 2012

We can celebrate today and that’s  something we don’t have a chance to do very often.  Oregon bill 4158 is dead.

Remember it was just voted out of Oregon’s House of Representatives by a vote of 42-15 and was headed to the Senate BUT  it didn’t meet the scheduling deadline, so it won’t be heard by the Senate Committee!!  YES!!!! It’s dead as a door nail (for now) but it could rear its ugly head in the future. We don’t have to think about that now, we can celebrate today. OR7’s father and sibling are safe!! A victory!

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UPDATE: February 22, 2012 (Idaho Senate Live Bait, Kill Wolves Bill)

Now we hold our breath to see what happens with that  abomination, Senate Bill 1305, the Idaho Live Bait, Kill Wolves Bill.   I will let you know as soon as I know.

From Friends of the Clearwater

The Resources and Environment Committee in the Idaho Legislature is considering passing Senate Bill 1305, which would authorize ranchers to use ultralight aircraft to track and kill wolves suspected of depredation. The proposed bill would also allow the use of “live-bait” to lure wolves in so they can be killed. The current language in the bill does not specify what is or isn’t “live-bait” but bill sponsor Jeff Siddoway said, “Some might use dogs as bait.”

Please call committee secretary Juanita Budell at (208) 332-1323, Senator Monty Pearce at (208) 278-5408, Senator Siddoway at (208) 332-1342, Senator Elliot Werk at (208) 332-1352 and Senator Michelle Stennett at (208) 332-1353. Tell them this bill is barbaric and should not be passed out of committee.

Over 280 wolves have been killed so far in Idaho via hunting or trapping. The war on wolves needs to stop at some point.

And if you are an out-of-state resident tell them your won’t be visiting and/or spending money in a state that is doing anything and everything to eliminate wolves from your public lands.

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ACTION ALERT: Oregon Wolves Need Your Help! Little Red Riding Hood Syndrome Epidemic!

Little Red Riding Hood Syndrome

Update:February 19, 2012

As I discussed in a previous post, Oregon HB 4158, would make it easier to persecute and kill  Oregon’s tiny wolf population for supposed livestock depredation.

The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association is pushing hard for this legislation. Unfortunately the bill was passed by the Oregon House on Friday, February 17, by a vote of 42-15. It now moves to the Senate for a vote. It has a better chance of being voted down in the Senate.

“HB4158 now goes to the Senate, where Democrats hold a 16-14 advantage.”

If the bill passes the Oregon Senate the only thing stopping it from becoming law is a veto by Oregon Governor Kitzhaber.

Please continue to call Governor Kitzhaber and let him know America supports Oregon’s fledging wolf population and does not want them  slaughtered on the altar of the sacred cow.

As I’ve stated over and over, 51,000 Oregon cattle were lost to non-predation causes in 2010, including disease, weather, calving and theft. Compare those numbers against the 20 cow deaths blamed on the Imnaha pack and you can see the hysteria driving the persecution of Oregon’s wolves. Anyone who possesses the power of reason knows that in a state with a million cows, 20 cattle deaths blamed on wolves would not even register as any kind of threat. Why are Oregon ranchers so silent about the thousands and thousands of cattle losses to non-wolf causes? I’ll tell you why, it doesn’t fit into their wolf demonization campaign.

The Imnaha pack is the iconic Journey’s (OR7) natal pack. They want to kill his father and sibling. This would effectively destroy the Imnaha pack and leave the alpha female, Sophie (B-300) and her offspring, as the only surviving members.

Conservationists believe the bill is a response to the Oregon Court of Appeals stay of the kill order issued against the Imnaha alpha male and sub-adult.

“Conservation groups sued the state last year to stop plans to kill the wolves. They say the legislation is an attempt to get around their lawsuit and the state Endangered Species Act. Ranchers say the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife should make decisions about wolves, not judges, based on a wolf management plan already in

This bill is reminiscent of the infamous wolf delisting rider, attached to a spending bill last year, which ultimately passed the US Senate and was  signed into law by President Obama, stripping ESA protections from wolves in the Northern Rockies.  Due to that betrayal of wolves by the Democrats, the anti-wolf forces have learned they can circumvent the court system by turning to friendly pro-ranching state legislatures to get what they want. If the courts don’t rule in their favor, as in the case of the Oregon Court of Appeals stay, then they’ll just take their case to politicians to get it done. When wolves were delisted by budget rider last year,  I knew it would open the flood gates to do an end-round the court system. Now any endangered species can be delisted if  they become inconvenient to special interests.

Please act now for Oregon wolves.

Contact the Oregon Senate and Governor Kitzhaber.

Continue to sign the petition to the Governor!!

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The Governor of OR: SAVE OREGON’S 29 WOLVES, oppose HB 4158

Petition Letter

Greetings,

We, the undersigned, urge you to oppose HB 4158, a bill proposed by the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, which allows killing of wolves to address livestock depredation and declares a “state of emergency.” With less than 30 wolves in the entire state, we find this declaration absurd. We, and most Oregonians, highly value our wildlife and strongly support endangered species protection and the return of wolves to Oregon, and their strong recovery.

Oregon has less than 30 confirmed wolves in the entire state and approximately 1.3 million cows. We feel that a Bill establishing a “state of emergency” over the presence of a tentatively recovering endangered wolf population is an attempt to bypass the Oregon Endangered Species Act and would set a dangerous precedent which could be used to circumvent protections of other endangered species at the behest of special interests. Furthermore, we believe it is an effort to short-circuit current litigation which aims to clarify the relationship of the state Endangered Species Act with the Oregon Wolf Plan.

Statements by Oregon Cattlemen’s Association members and officers constantly stress the aim of lethal removal over the use of non-lethal measures and tools, which they routinely disparage. As quoted in the Lewiston Tribune Online, 7/2/11, OCA Wolf committee Chair Rod Childers said, “To be able to move to lethal control we as producers have to show we tried nonlethal actions. I can’t say if it works or not, it is just things we have been told we have to do, and the whole key to me is getting them to move to lethal control,…” With this in mind, we believe HB 4158 to be an attempt to weaken the commitment to non-lethal measures.

With so many critical issues before this short session of the legislature, devoting precious time to this controversial and unnecessary Bill is a mistake.

Please oppose HB 4158.

Thank you.

[Your name]

Click Here To Sign Petition

Alpha male of the Imnaha pack. He was slated for death until the Oregon Court of Appeals stayed the “kill order”.  If this bill passes the Senate and is signed into law by Governor Kitzhaber, this  wolf will be killed.  He is OR7′s father.

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CONTACT

Gov. John Kitzhaber

Governor’s Citizens’ Representative Message Line
503-378-4582

Fax: 503-378-6827

Governor Kitzhaber
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, Oregon 97301-4047

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Oregon Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources

503-986-1751

Chair

Sen. Jackie Dingfelder

Vice-chair

Sen. Alan Olsen

Members

Sen. Mark Hass

Sen. Floyd Prozanski

Sen. Chuck Thomsen

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Senator Jackie Dingfelder 

Party: D  District: 23
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1723
District Phone: 503-493-2804
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-407, Salem, OR, 97301
District Office Address: PO Box 13432, Portland, OR, 97213
Email: sen.jackiedingfelder@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/dingfelder

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Senator Peter Courtney

Party: D  District: 11
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1600
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-201, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.petercourtney@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/senate/senpres

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Oregon State Senate

http://www.leg.state.or.us/senate/

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State House Votes To Ease Killing Of Ore. Wolves

JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press

POSTED: 11:42 am PST February 17, 2012

http://www.ktvz.com/news/30485212/detail.html

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September 27, 2011

Oregon’s wolves are more important than cattle

http://hinessight.blogs.com/hinessight/2011/09/oregons-wolves-are-more-important-than-cattle.html

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Top Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Bottom Photo: Courtesy ODFW

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Oregon Wolves

Tags: Urgent action needed, sign petition, HB 4158, Oregon House of Representatives, Oregon Governor Kitzhaber, Imnaha pack, Oregon tiny wolf population, B-300, Oregon Cattlemen’s Assoc., OR-7′s natal pack