ACTION ALERT: “House Republicans Unveil Another Anti-wolf, Anti-endangered Species Appropriations Bill”

Center For Biological Diversity

For Immediate Release, May 24, 2016

Contact: Jamie Pang, (858) 699-4153, Jpang@biologicaldiversity.org

Release, May 24, 2016

House Republicans Unveil Another Anti-wolf, Anti-endangered Species Appropriations Bill

114th Congress Has Now Launched Nearly 20 Legislative Attacks on Wolves

WASHINGTON— Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives today introduced a bill to fund the U.S. Department of the Interior that includes a poison-pill rider to end federal protections for wolves in Wyoming and the western Great Lakes and to undermine other endangered species protections. The legislative rider would undo two court decisions affirming that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrongly removed Endangered Species Act protections for the wolf.

The bill is the 18th attack by the current Congress on gray wolves nationwide and the 12th attack targeting wolves in the Great Lakes and Wyoming populations.

“This is the most extreme, anti-wolf Congress our country has ever seen,” said Jamie Pang, an endangered species campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Rather than allowing for wolf recovery to follow a course prescribed by science, a small group of politicians has repeatedly tried to undermine species protections through unrelated policy riders tacked onto must-pass federal spending bills.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service removed protections for gray wolves in the Great Lakes region (Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota) in 2011, and in Wyoming in 2012. In both instances federal judges overturned agency decisions for prematurely removing protections, failing to follow the requirements of the Act and failing to follow the best available science. Republican lawmakers have responded by repeatedly attempting to remove protections from wolves and open the animals up to state-regulated hunting and trapping. Since the passage of the 2011 wolf rider that removed protections from wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains, there have been almost 30 legislative attacks on wolves in Congress. Already in 2016 there have been 10 legislative attacks, surpassing the number of anti-wolf bills for all of 2015.

In addition to this rider, the appropriations bill also contains language preventing the greater sage grouse from being protected under the Act, and would weaken protections for salmon and the Delta smelt in California’s Bay-Delta region.

“This shameful meddling is harmful to science, harmful to the rule of law, and harmful to our democratic processes,” said Pang. “Congressional lawmakers know that 90 percent of American voters support the Endangered Species Act, which precisely is why they have to resort to such back-door attempts at weakening the law.”

Despite overwhelming public support for the Endangered Species Act and the species it protects, there has been a greater than 600 percent increase in Republican-led legislative attacks on endangered species since the landmark ruling in Citizens United.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/wolf-05-24-2016.html

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

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Posted in: gray wolf, Wolf Wars

Photo: Courtesy ODFW

Tags: Center for Biological Diversity, Anti wolf, House Republicans war on wolves, poison-pill rider, Congress attack on the ESA, Wyoming wolves, Great Lakes wolves, Endangered Species Act, Take Action

The Ojibwe Honor and Revere Ma’iingan (Wolf) As Brother

The Ojibwe revere the wolf,  the wolf is brother, in their native tongue the wolf is Ma’iingan. The tribes banned all wolf hunting on their reservations.  “The snag, though, comes on reservations checkerboarded with non-Native ownership within reservation boundaries since the General Allotment Act of 1887. While virtually all lands within the Red Lake and Grand Portage reservations’ boundaries are held by the tribe or tribal members, others are like Leech Lake and White Earth, where 10 percent or less of lands within reservation boundaries are tribally held.”….Indian Country

Wolves are once again protected in the Great Lakes but politicians, catering to Big Agriculture and hunting interests, are scheming to introduce legislation that would pull an-end-round the courts and delist wolves via Congressional fiat. This move is very  similar to the 2011 delisting of  wolves in the Northern Rockies, when Montana Senator Jon Tester slipped a wolf delisting rider into a must pass budget bill. Democrat Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, refused to pull the rider out of the bill for an up or down vote and it sneakily passed without a whisper. It was an assault on American wolves and the Endangered Species Act.

President Obama signed the bill into law and just like that wolves in the Northern Rockies lost their federal protections. Since then, thousands of wolves have died in wolf hunts, Wildlife Service killings and poaching.

With powerful enemies like that the wolf faces terrible persecution and suffering. This is why I want to personally thank the wonderful Ojibwe who honor Ma’iingan . They proudly stand with their brethren, the wolf. What a remarkable people!

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Idle No More Duluth Fights to Save Wolf, Ojibwes’ Brother

Konnie LeMay

2/11/15

Idle No More Duluth, based in northern Minnesota, is using the recent federal court ruling that put the gray wolf back on the endangered species list to call for respect by non-Natives of hunting bans enacted on most Minnesota Ojibwe tribal lands.

The December ruling halted wolf hunts, which have taken place in at least six lower 48 states since the gray wolf was delisted from endangered species designation. Minnesota’s first wolf hunt was in 2012.

All of the Ojibwe tribal nations within Minnesota have outlawed hunting or trapping of wolves within their reservation boundaries. The snag, though, comes on reservations checkerboarded with non-Native ownership within reservation boundaries since the General Allotment Act of 1887. While virtually all lands within the Red Lake and Grand Portage reservations’ boundaries are held by the tribe or tribal members, others are like Leech Lake and White Earth, where 10 percent or less of lands within reservation boundaries are tribally held.

So although the tribes have banned wolf hunts within their reservations, the question arises over whether bans can be upheld on non-tribally-held parcels.

In the past, tribal leaders like the chairwomen of the Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa have emphasized authority within the reservations. “Certainly we’ll be keeping a close eye on all of our borders,” Fond du Lac chairperson Karen Diver toldMinnesota Public Radiobefore the 2012 hunt. “And we are asking non-band member hunters to respect the outer boundaries of the Fond du Lac reservation and not hunt within our borders.”

“In the Native American culture, the wolf is a sacred animal and part of our clan system also,” Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa Chairwoman Sandy Skinaway told Martha Fast Horse on her radio show in November, when the hunt was still active. “I believe the wolf is our relative … [it] is a clan animal.”

“Here in Minnesota, the major contention is the statewide wolf hunt prescribed by the state that refuses to acknowledge the territorial jurisdiction of the tribes and the importance of a healthy relationship between Ma’iingan (Wolf) and Anishinaabe,” Ojibwe elder Bob Shimek, Red Lake, wrote in a February 2014 essay, “The Wolf is My Brother! The Cultural, Spiritual and Historic Relationship Between the Ojibwe Anishinaabe and Ma’iingan of the Great Lakes.”

Although the hunt has been stopped for now, the issue will arise again. Congressional moves are already afoot to pass legislation overriding the court ruling. U.S. representatives from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Wyoming are all involved in the effort. Idle No More Duluth’s initiative intends to lay the groundwork for respecting tribal boundaries and laws before such moves again change the laws.

“We are trying to normalize the idea of thinking about sovereignty,” said Reyna Crow with Idle No More Duluth. “This is all ceded territory. What could be more culturally significant than Ma’iingan?

Read More:

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com//2015/02/11/idle-no-more-duluth-fights-save-wolf-ojibwes-brother-159150

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Article from 2012, when Minnesota instituted wolf hunts against the protest of Native Americans in the state.

Minnesota Ignores Indians, Allows Wolf Hunting

ICTMN Staff

7/5/12

 Against the steadfast opposition of American Indians in the state, Minnesota will hold its first managed wolf hunting and trapping season this fall. As a result, a cultural clash is brewing between state officials and Indians, who revere wolves.

“The wolf is part of our creation story, and therefore many Ojibwe have a strong spiritual connection to the wolf,” Karen Diver, chairwoman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, wrote in a letter to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this spring, according to theStar Tribune. “Many Ojibwe believe the fate of the wolf is closely tied to the fate of all the Ojibwe. For these reasons the Fond du Lac Band feels the hunting and trapping of wolves is inappropriate.”

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/07/05/minnesota-ignores-indians-allows-wolf-hunting-121922

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The Gray Wolf is Once Again a Protected Species

Friday brought 50 shades of good news for the gray wolf and its supporters: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced they are restoring endangered species protections  that had been stripped in previous years  for the gray wolf.

The ruling  means that it will be illegal to hunt or trap gray wolves in newly re-protected states including northern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, North and South Dakota and the western Great Lakes area, including Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. There are only an estimated 3,700 gray wolves in the wild today in the Great Lakes region.

“The gray wolf is recovered in less than 10 percent of its historic range and facing continued persecution. The courts got it right: Gray wolves clearly continue to need the protection of the Endangered Species Act,” Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity,said in a statement . “We’re glad the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today officially acknowledged gray wolves’ endangered status.”

Friday’s decision didn’t happen in a vacuum. 50 scientists signed onto a letter  that was sent to Congress this week saying that the wolf population still has not fully recovered and urged congressional action to restore the protections. In recent years, the U.S. House has supported legislation that would strip gray wolves of their protected status. In December, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell overturned the FWS decision, ruling that the lifting of protections placed the wolf populations back in danger of extinction.

The gray wolf used to be a vibrant species all across North America, with an estimated population of 2 million wolves in the U.S. alone before excessive hunting and open extermination efforts nearly wiped out the entire population,leaving only a few small packs left  in Michigan and Minnesota. Protecting their population isn’t just good PR, wildlife experts say it’s essential to protecting the entire ecosystem.

Read More:

http://www.ryot.org/gray-wolf-protected-species/922347

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Gray wolves in Wyoming return to Endangered Species list

By OIL CITY

Posted: Feb 20, 2015 2:12 PM MSTUpdated: Feb 20, 2015 2:27 PM MST

According to national reports, federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson has kept her ruling and ordered the gray wolf back on the endangered species list, despite Wyoming’s attempts to maintain their current status.

This order will throw out Wyoming’s proposed management plan, reports OIL CITY NEWS .

Some areas will be unaffected by the re-listing of the wolves, including Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington and Oregon, which will be under the guise of state agencies, according to national reports.

Wolves have been off the endangered species list since 2012, meaning in Wyoming they cannot be killed if ranchers are losing cattle because of their nonessential experimental population designation.

http://www.ktvq.com/story/28161865/grey-wolves-return-to-endangered-species-list

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Gray Wolf again listed as endangered in northern Iowa

AP

Story Created: Feb 21, 2015 at 3:49 PM CDT

Story Updated: Feb 21, 2015 at 3:49 PM CDT

DES MOINES (AP) — Federal protections for gray wolves have been reinstated for the northern half of Iowa and portions of nearby states.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reinstated federal protections in the western Great Lakes region on Dec. 19. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published its rule on the decision Friday.

The ruling once again classifies gray wolves as endangered in all of Wisconsin and Michigan, the eastern half of North Dakota and South Dakota, the northern half of Iowa, the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, and the northwestern portion of Ohio. Wolves in Minnesota are once again classified as threatened.

The court decision, the result of a lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States, vacated and set aside a 2011 delisting rule.

http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/gray-wolf-again-listed-as-endangered-in-northern-iowa-20150221#wdxC08q48yfdQyuh.99

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Ribble proposes removing gray wolf from endangered species list in Midwest

Posted: Monday, February 16, 2015 9:03 am

By Chuck Quirmbach, Wisconsin Public Radio

U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., has introduced one of two bills aimed at taking the gray wolf off the endangered species list in parts of the U.S.

Two months ago, a federal judge ordered greater protection for the wolf in the Western Great Lakes region, halting state-sponsored wolf hunting and trapping.

The Humane Society of the United States doesn’t approve of the congressional legislation. State Director Melissa Tedrowe said the measures will do nothing to help the wolf.

“We think that this is an overreach that’s sending us in a very bad direction when it comes to managing wolves,” said Tedrowe. “States have failed so badly in their oversight of the species.”

Read More:

http://www.pricecountydaily.com/news/regional/ribble-proposes-removing-gray-wolf-from-endangered-species-list-in/article_f27809bc-b5ec-11e4-b308-63ebc00772e7.html

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Top Photo: Courtesy Fanpop

Bottom gif: Courtesy gifdotnet

Middle Photo: Courtesy KTVQ

Bottom Photo: Courtesy Wiki (Symbol of Anishinaabe people)

Posted in: Wolf Wars

Tags: Ojibwe, Ma’iingan, Great Lakes wolves, ESA protections restored, Congress more dirty tricks, wolf revered by Ojibwe

 

 

To Montana and Idaho Wolves, You’re NOT Forgotten….

What better Christmas gift than to see Great Lakes Wolves relisted? First Wyoming and now Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. BUT the relisting, as tremendous as it is, came after Minnesota and Wisconsin wolf hunting “seasons” ended with 426 dead wolves. Both states went over-limit.

For Montana and Idaho wolves there is no reprieve!  As of today 229 wolves have been killed in their state hunts and the suffering is far from over. Montana’s hunt stretches to March 31, right through wolf breeding, denning and pupping season. Idaho’s wolf hunt is seemingly endless, with wolf hunts taking place on public or private land most of the year.

So remember what we’ve lost, what we’ve gained and during this Christmas season, as we rejoice over the relisting of the Great Lakes wolf population, remember Idaho and Montana wolves are still dying.

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    Montana Wolf Hell

http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/planahunt/huntingGuides/wolf

Idaho Wolf Hell

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/docs/rules/bgWolf.pdf

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Montana is a backward wolf massacre state

Opinion

The Billings Gazette

December 17, 2013 12:00 am

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Regarding allowing ranchers to kill perceived “threatening wolves” (Senate Bill 200): Montana policy wolf qualifies it, from wolf conservationists’ perspectives, as a backward wolf massacre state.

This attitude is evidenced by $19 tags for five wolves; not having a real quota; by having a trapping season beyond and through the hunting season; an attitude of “we need to drive down the population” without any science behind such thinking; an attitude of not holding the rancher responsible in any way for taking preventive, good husbandry, measures.

It is political management, not scientific management. Now it will be in evidence with a policy of allowing a rancher to kill a wolf “perceived” as a threat, which to a rancher and guests will likely mean any wolf seen, which will all equate to open season on wolves, with much of it on leased public land.

Wolves kill around 65 cattle annually in a state that has 5.5 million which is 0.001 percent. There are 3,776 leases on BLM land and 772 on national forest lands. Ranchers are reimbursed for losses. Oregon has a model for Montana, although Montana rule makers are too backward and obstinate to listen and learn. The Oregon wolf management model requires ranchers to have nonlethal deterrents in place and to have used them, and then only kill chronic offenders.

Wolves are not vermin. Wolves are apex predators that are good for wildlife ecology, having a positive cascading effect throughout the food chain versus ecological unhealthy man wildlife killing.

Roger Hewitt

Great Falls

http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/montana-is-a-backward-wolf-massacre-state/article_4125d0d7-2f81-53b8-be26-a95b9c59af7f.html

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Idaho’s Wolf-Killing Atrocity Continues

Posted: 03/24/2014 2:25 pm EDT Updated: 05/24/2014 5:59 am EDT

 When it comes to killing wolves, Idaho has an appetite that just can’t be sated.

State lawmakers just approved a bill that sets aside $400,000 to exterminate 500 wolves. Adding insult to injury, the bill takes management away from the state wildlife agency and places it in the hands of a “wolf depredation control board” that will consist solely of members appointed and overseen by Governor Butch Otter, who said in 2007 that he wanted to be the first to kill an Idaho wolf after federal protections were taken away.

Just a few months ago, Idaho sent a bounty hunter into the woods to wipe out two wolf packs and more recently announced plans to kill 60 percent of the wolves in another part of the state.

The slaughter continues and Idaho’s political leaders seem to bask in the carnage they’re leaving behind.

It’s exactly the kind of ugly behavior that we feared when Congress in 2011 stripped Endangered Species Act protections from wolves in the northern Rockies, where some 1,600 wolves have been killed since protections were lifted. And it’s clear, more mass killing is on the way.

This isn’t supposed to be happening. The United States worked for 40 years to return wolves to the American landscape. Canis lupus had been driven to the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states as settlement moved west, ranching moved in and government sponsored programs trapped, poisoned and shot wolves into oblivion.

The Endangered Species Act allowed wolves to begin recovery, at least in a few places like the northern Rocky Mountains and Great Lakes states. After reintroductions in Yellowstone National Park and parts of Idaho, wolves came back. New packs formed. Families were built. Ecosystems, now with a keystone predator back in the mix, began to function like they had historically.

Politicians in Congress, though, pulled the plug and unceremoniously stripped federal protections. We were told that wolves could be responsibly managed by state wildlife agencies in places like Idaho.

Truth is, wolves are being persecuted in Idaho with the same kind of repulsive attitude that nearly drove them to extinction 100 years ago. Only now it’s happening under the official state flag.

And here’s where it gets worse: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now wants to take away federal protections for nearly all wolves in the lower 48 states. And, just like in 2011, we’re being told that wolves will be fine. They won’t be. Wolves today live in just five percent of their historic habitat.

Click HERE to read more

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Photo: FWS

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Endangered Species Act

Tags: Great Lakes wolves, relisted, Montana, Idaho, wolf killing states, wolf trapping, wolf hunting, ESA, wolf persecution