Speak For Wolves: Reforming Wildlife Management in America – Part 1

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Speak for Wolves is a project that aims to educate, inspire and organize citizens to work towards reforming wildlife management in America. Join fellow wildlife advocates on August 7-9 at the Union Pacific Dining Lodge in West Yellowstone, Montana for Speak for Wolves 2015.
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The first of the five keys to reforming wildlife management in America.

 1. Restructure State Fish & Game Department Operations
 
Western governors currently appoint fish and game commissioners, who in-turn use their authority to influence agency policy, particularly predator management. This is cronyism at its worst. State fish and game departments are funded in large part by the sale of hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses. As a result, these agencies serve the primary interest of “sportsmen”, while sentiments of citizens that do not hunt, fish or trap are given considerably less consideration. Terminating the political appointment of agency commissioners, creating innovative funding mechanisms, applying the best available science, and incorporating genuine public involvement in decision-making is sorely needed within state fish and game departments. Since state legislatures determine state fish and game department operations, however, a more likely alternative would be for the federal government to assume the management of all wildlife on federal public lands.
 
www.speakforwolves.org
 Gray wolves fws.gov
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Top Photo: Courtesy Speak For Wolves
Bottom Photo: Courtesy USFWS
Posted in: gray wolf, Biodiversity, Activism
Tags: Speak for Wolves, Reforming Wildlife Management, state fish and game agencies, gray wolf
Published in: on February 20, 2015 at 8:38 pm  Comments (16)  
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  1. On February 20, 2015 at 9:30 pm Speak For Wolves: Reforming Wildlife Management in America – Part 1 | awakeu2shift2012 said:

    […] Speak For Wolves: Reforming Wildlife Management in America – Part 1. […]

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  2. On February 21, 2015 at 5:08 am natureinverse said:

    I will be there.

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. On February 21, 2015 at 6:22 am Anne said:

    Keep politics out of wildlife management. They don’t have a clue as to what they are doing. All they care about is political gain…not life. Let the people who know and care about wildlife and our Eco system put forth the laws that should be abided by (may the government listen to those who know). This is the only way we are going to have any wildlife, rivers, forests left for our children and future generations.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • On February 23, 2015 at 9:51 am Bert Claverie said:

      Anne, so perfectly said. I agree with every word.

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  4. On February 21, 2015 at 7:44 am Challenger said:

    I will look at traveling from Kansas to attend this conference in August. Hopefully, my friends Marc Cooke, Dave Hornoff, and Jerry Black will be there! Can’t think of a better excuse to see Yellowstone again. Hopefully, there will be opportunities during conference for some wildlife outings. The first wolf venturing into Kansas in more than 70 years was immediately shot with the claim the shooter thought it was a coyote.

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    • On February 22, 2015 at 2:38 am Nabeki said:

      Same thing in Kentucky Challenger…the first wolf who dispersed there in 150 years was shot using the “coyote excuse”, same thing in Kansas and Missouri. A dispersing Montana female wolf was poisoned with compound 1080 when she reached Colorado. The numbers are legion.

      And that excuse also implies coyotes have no value, I despise the way coyotes are treated and tortured.

      The wolves don’t stand a snowballs chance in hell of dispersing to new habitat if they keep getting shot and killed every time they do and of course that’s the point. The only gray wolves successfully dispersing are wolves in Oregon and Washington, where they’re not hunted, YET! Obviously OR7 is the biggest success because he had the good sense to stay away from Eastern Oregon and Idaho and go west and south. But where are the other success stories? I want to know of one wolf who has dispersed out of the Northern Rockies into Utah, Nevada, South Dakota, North Dakota, etc. If there are any wolves there they won’t last long. Gray wolf recovery has been virtually stopped in it’s tracks, except in the Pacific Northwest.

      For the wolves, For the wild ones,
      Nabeki

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  5. On February 21, 2015 at 1:15 pm Exposing the Big Game said:

    Reblogged this on Exposing the Big Game.

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  6. On February 21, 2015 at 2:24 pm Makuye said:

    I want here to address the congressional intent to strip ESA protection for wolves.
    It is certainly up to EACH of you to lobby your congressperson to deny any such bell or any such rider.

    My intent, though, is to reinforce some slow news:

    Like some tide, scientists are gathering behind the understanding that other animals have individual emotions and social values. A few (50) have very recently signed the following letter to congress:

    February 18, 2015
    An Open Letter to Members of Congress
    from Scientists on Federal Wolf Delisting

    Click to access WolfScientistCongress_SignOnLetter-FINAL.pdf

    These 50 are by NO means all the scientists protesting against state management by killing, and have expressed the desire for relisting them under ESA.
    I have been in contact with some others, who are quietly working on their observations, returning trouble for trouble visited upon them by state agencies,, and working for tolerance and understanding for the wolf.

    Just as Nabeki, each wolf death is one I feel deeply, and there are yet others who feel this way.
    Numerous Indigenous Medicine/Spiritual Leaders have begun to speak out for the wolf. Their cultures and opinions are well worth your getting to know. Without the kind of respect that traditional peoples express, there is no final way forward to coexist and treasure the Wolf.

    Right now, the US, Canada, and many state and Provincial governments are engaging in policies of all kinds that do not arise from the will of the majority of the people. I have repeatedly written to elected officials, stating in no uncertain terms that THIS issue is the one by which I vote (it is related to the psyches of those who legislate, and whenever you find a wolf hater or utilitarian acceptor of lethal force on the Wolf, you will find their failure reflects their unfeeling immorality and lack of ethical action in all other areas of their lives).

    Your own stand for the wolf must not fall prey to any selfish or anthropocentric issue causing you to trade the life of a wolf for some sociocultural convenience.
    Thus it is alright to SAY “keep politics out of wolf management”, but unless you back up your position by keeping the killers (who will NEVER listen – I have sufficient years of psychology to be able to categorically state this, with relatively few exceptions) themselves out of politics, you will forever fail.
    You are dealing with an entire culture with a consistent history of killing without a thought, any other animal who is imagined or seen to cause economic or social loss. Unless you remove the power to do so from them, and educate their children to a more respectful way of dealing with other living things, this killing will continue and increase.

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  7. On February 21, 2015 at 6:58 pm cascadian12 said:

    Really glad to hear you talk about reforming “fish and game” departments and commissions. There is no question that’s where the corruption starts. Why don’t we draft our own model legislation and lobby local legislatures to adopt it? Can’t wait to read part 2-5!

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  8. On February 22, 2015 at 11:45 am Dwight Roadman said:

    Thank you for your expression of the need to reform the Fish and Game organizations in the United States. Sadly, those organizations are of the mindset that their main, if not ONLY, way of dealing with wild animal issues is to kill them. Their funding is largely, if not entirely, based on hunting license sales, and I believe that the killing begets killing cycle is behind the entire organization. Personally, I believe that if a Game official kills an animal, there should be an investigation just as ANY law enforcement officer undergoes when they fire their weapon.

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  9. On February 22, 2015 at 7:16 pm Barbara Bussell said:

    Enough is enough. Wolves are a very important part of our ecosystem.

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  10. On February 23, 2015 at 5:31 pm Joanne Favazza said:

    I really loved last year’s event. I wish I could attend this year but unfortunately I won’t be able to. I’ll definitely be there in spirit, though. I’ll miss all of the great speakers and people I met, as well as the great music of Goodshield Aguilar!

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  11. On February 23, 2015 at 11:32 pm Pat said:

    wish I could go, but at least I live in a very enlightened state – California where they recently changed the name F&G to Fish & Wildlife along w/ change in attitude. I was @vet clinic (visit my dog!) when a wildlife rescue group brought in a Mtn. Lion that had been hit by car, they of course had her sedated and than x-rayed and checker her out – lucky no broken bones or back so they will do a “safe release”. A year ago she would have been shot! SO, FOR STARTERS, GET RID OF ALL REPUBLICANS in particular those tea party nut jobs

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  12. On March 24, 2015 at 3:33 pm cindy scott said:

    I think we need to save our wolves, for
    Generations to come.

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  13. On March 24, 2015 at 6:03 pm garthock@gmail.com said:

    I was wondering why none of my comments ever appear on the web page that the link below, “Speak for Wolves”, takes me to. At the bottom there are always comments from people. I post a comment and I never see it when I go back to the page. I am beginning to think that you don’t like me. Or are my comments too logical and matter of fact. Please advise.

    Sawtoothlobo

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    • On March 24, 2015 at 8:10 pm Nabeki said:

      garthock,

      Not really sure about your comments on Speak for Wolves. You can email them and ask info@speakforwolves.org.

      For the wolves, For the wild ones,
      Nabeki

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