Wolf Blood Soaks The Ground – Over 600 Dead…

I can hardly believe the numbers. 605 wolves have been slaughtered in the combined hunts since August 30, 2012.  In 102 days or a little over three months, hundreds of wolves have been wiped out. Images of their mangled, bloodied bodies litter FB and hunting forums. The smiling, grinning wolf killers are gloating in their blood bath. AND this is only December. Montana opens wolf trapping season on December 15.  The Colville Tribes in Washington state are  hunting wolves on their reservation.

Seven collared wolves from Yellowstone National Park have been killed.

Killed late October: 824M of the Mollies pack.

Early November: 829F of the Blacktail Plateau pack.

November 10th in WY: 754M of the Lamar Canyon pack.

November 13th in MT: 823F of the Junction Butte pack (sole collar).

Date/location unknown: 762M and 763F of the Madison pack.

Date unknown, killed in WY: 793(?) of the Snake River pack.

December 6th: 832F. Iconic Alpha Female of  the Lamar Canyon pack.

Wolves are being gut shot, tortured, trapped, strangled in choking snares, arrowed and god only knows what they’re doing to them in Wyoming’s  predator zone, any method of killing is allowed, including poison.  Wisconsin wants to hunt wolves with dogs. A temporary injunction stopped it for now BUT  the issue is being revisited on December 20, 2012.

This is the state of “wolf management” as of December 9, 2012.

We can thank the Obama administration and its Interior Secretary Ken Salazar,  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid D-N, for allowing the Northern Rockies wolf delisting rider to remain in the budget bill, Senator Jon Tester D-MT, for slipping the wolf rider into the Senate budget bill and the majority of  Senate Democrats who voted for it, USFWS for delisting wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes and the state game agencies of  Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Wisconsin and Minnesota for allowing the hunts to take place. Everyone who is responsible for the massacre should hang their heads in shame but it’s fairly obvious they’re not ashamed. This will continue until wolf advocates come together and put pressure on the politicians and feds to stop to this insanity. Wolves must be relisted!!

WAKE UP AMERICA!

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Top Photo: Facebook

Posted in: Wolf Wars

Tags: Wolf slaughter, over 600 dead,  US Senate, Senator Harry Reid D-NV, 81 Senators voting to delist, Ken Salazar, Jon Tester D-MT, Mike Simpson R-ID, USFWS Dan Ashe, State game agencies

I’m Weary!

I haven’t posted in several days and some of you may wonder why? It’s not that I’ve given up or am less interested in justice for gray wolves.  It’s because fighting the relentless persecution of wolves is tiring. I’ve written thousands and thousands of words about the gray wolves’ plight;  many, many nights not turning off the lights until the sun had started to rise on a new day. But that’s what being a passionate wolf advocate is all about.  I do it because I care.

Let’s take a look back at some of the things, not all, that have happened to wolves and wolf advocates in the last 26 months.

In the Spring of 2009 the Obama administration unceremoniously kicked wolves off the endangered species list,  Just mere months after that fateful decision, wolves were being hunted in Montana and Idaho.  Has that EVER happened to a newly delisted species?? EVER?? Then to make matters worse, Montana opens its hunt right outside the borders of Yellowstone National Park, which decimated the park’s iconic and studied Cottonwood Pack. Hunters were waiting near park borders for wolves to cross over. Those wolves were sitting ducks, not as wary of people as they should have been because they’d been habituated by the presence of millions of visitors that frequent the park each year. If that wasn’t bad enough, three wolves were poached in Montana during the hunt and not added to the 75 wolf quota. And of course Wildlife Services was busy killing wolves in Montana  as well.

Other crazy things were going on during the hunts of 2009. Like this. And this.  And this.

Meanwhile, even though the Idaho wolf hunt was supposed to end on December 31, 2009, the commissioners decided to extend it all the way to March 31, 2o1o, right through wolf breeding and denning season. That’s a seven month-long hunt.  Who cares if pregnant or lactating females die along with their pups? Apparently not anybody at fish and game. But then we all knew that didn’t we? That’s why wolf advocates have been shouting so loudly. Don’t turn wolves over to these people, they want to kill them!!!

Environmentalists fought back with a lawsuit, filed in the fall of 2009, challenging the delsting of wolves in the Northern Rockies.  It took almost a year to settle but in August of 2010, Judge Molloy placed wolves back under the protection of the ESA. That’s when the real fun began.  The anti-wolf crowd was losing in court so they decided to switch tactics. They teamed up with Western politicians, itching to score points with hunters and ranchers on the   “wolf issue”.  So the 111th Congress got involved. I can’t even count the number of anti-wolf bills that were introduced.  But because it was late in the Congressional year, none of the bills went anywhere. A little back room dealing was reported. Apparently there was an effort to delist wolves by appropriation rider but it fell flat.

Meanwhile Wildlife Services continued it’s relentless war on wolves.

Wolf advocates were EXHAUSTED, the delisting, the relisting, the poaching, the hunts, the lies, the demonization of wolves and on and on. And more Wildlife Services ugliness against wolves.

It wasn’t long before Congress reconvened and the 112th picked up the persecution of wolves where the 111th Congress left off. Anti-wolf bills were piling up again. Then it got sinister. The Democrats and Republicans were engaged in a budget war.  The sneaky wolf delsting rider started in the House of Representatives when Rep. Simpson (ID-R) introduced it into a must-pass- budget-bill.  The bill passed the House and traveled to the Senate.  Senator Tester (MT-D) convinced the Democrat leadership in the Senate to once again slip the wolf delisting rider into the budget bill.  Sen Tester was  locked in a tough campaign for his Senate seat against Denny Rehberg (R-MT), who also wanted wolves delisted. Basically they were trying to “out wolf” each other.

We all know how the story ended.  81 senators voted for the budget bill with the wolf delisting rider tucked safely inside.  It passed overwhelmingly, only three Democrats voted against it.

Shockingly the Democrat Party betrayed wolves, just threw them under the bus. They did it in hopes of helping Senator Tester keep his Senate seat in the 2012 election and therefore secure their shaky Senate majority.  Because of that treachery wolves and the ESA suffered together. Aside from the Senate’s actions being wholly wrong and disgraceful, they  opened the door for other endangered species, who may inconveniently get in the way of someone’s agenda, to suffer the same fate. Who will be next? Grizzlies? Salmon?

Where do we stand now? Well Idaho is planning a no-quota wolf hunt in most of their state for 2011. They want to use baiting, calling, trapping, snares, archery and of course guns on those hapless wolves. Montana raised their wolf quota to 220 for the 2o11 hunt, with archery on the table as well. Of course WS continues to kill wolves the way they have been doing. If the hunts go forward, the pups of this year will only be 4 to 5 months old. They will die along with their parents either by starvation or outright killing.

There is a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the wolf delisting rider. It was brought by Friends of the Clearwater, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and then joined by WildEarth Guardians.  The Center for Biological Diversity also filed suit and was joined by Western Watersheds Project.  At the end of this month Judge Molloy will hold  hearings on this litigation.  We can only hope he reverses this horrific delisting-budget-rider by finding  it unconstitutional.

And Wildlife Services is still busy killing wolves.

I’m weary.

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Photo: Courtesy Eric Begin Flickr Commons

Posted in: Wolf Wars

Tags: wolf persecution, never ending story, wolf advocate, battle weary, Montana wolves, Idaho wolves, US Senate, wolf delisting rider, Judge Molloy

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

We Will Not Go Gentle Into This Good Night…

I know everyone is devastated by the news and we need time to grieve and digest it.  The only thing on my mind right now is that wolf-pupping season is upon us, with wolf babies being born into this nightmare.

I’m sure the wolf haters are celebrating their victory but we are not going to go away. We went through a terrible time in 2009 when the  hunts were ongoing in Idaho and Montana. Not sure what direction we’re going to take but we are not giving up. Remember what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. This will make us stronger and more determined then ever to protect wolves.

Do not despair, in the coming days and weeks a plan will emerge for us to follow. In the meantime I’m urging everyone to write to the 81 Senators,  who voted for the “wolf budget slaughter bill”. Let the Democrats know who voted for it we will not forget.

We’re all tired emotionally and physically but we fought the good fight, unfortunately we lost this round. But it’s not over.

Think of the of  the wolves.  Keep the faith.

For the wolves, For the wild ones,

Nabeki

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Tracking science: Biologist’s findings show forest diversity, health influenced by wolves

http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/territory/article_3ec9fc54-c01f-11de-bf16-001cc4c002e0.html

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Photo:  Courtesy kewlwallpapers.com

Posted in: Wolf Wars

Tags: wolf persecution, Tester wolf delisting rider, US Senate, 81 Senators votes yes, wolves in peril. wolf stripped of ESA protections

Sacrificial Wolves…

Look closely at this picture, this is what the US Senate is preparing to foist upon wolves.

The Congressional leadership allowed Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID) to insert a wolf delisting rider into the budget bill  that would remove Endangered Species Act protections from wolves in the Northern Rockies, without judicial review. They apparently haven’t heard about the climate of hate and persecution that surrounds wolves in the Northern Rockies.  For starters the Idaho legislature recently passed a Wolf Emergency Resolution. Wolves, who have never caused a single human fatality  in the lower 48 in a hundred years, are surrounded by hysteria and a deliberate hate campaign. I suggest this as required reading for any Senator who plans on voting yes on the wolf delisting budget bill.

And in the end, hysteria triumphs in Idaho Legislature

Posted: Thursday, April 7, 2011

On Tuesday, Huckleberries — an Idaho blog of the Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane, Wash. — posted an online poll that asked readers, “What scares you more: the Idaho Legislature in the Statehouse or wolves in the forest?”

The legislators won, 74 percent to 10 percent.

Just in time for House Bill 343, which would allow the governor to declare a wolf emergency and ask city and county law enforcement officers to hunt down the predators.The House passed it 64-5 on Tuesday and the Senate Resources and Conservation Committee — which used to be the most-respected in the Senate — approved it 7-2 on Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.magicvalley.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_20ceeffa-df5b-57b7-a468-ad98a8c95fca.html

This is just the tip of the iceberg. It all started in the Spring of 2009 when the Obama administration delisted wolves in the Northern Rockies, a feat even George Bush couldn’t accomplish. Within months of their delisting wolves were being hunted, something never done with a newly delisted species. 500 wolves died that year in the Northern Rockies, due mostly to the Montana and Idaho hunts, brutal Wildlife Services killings and poaching.

In August 2010 Judge Molloy relisted wolves, a major victory for wolves and 14 environmental groups, who sued USFWS over wolves’ delisting.  Since then things have spiraled out of control. The anti-wolf crowd came up with a new plan. Since they couldn’t win in court they decided to make an end-run around the ESA and join forces with Western politicians to legislate wolves out of their ESA protections, again something never done before to any species. This is the hateful situation the Senate will be placing wolves in. And for what? Jon Tester’s Senate seat?

Tester is battling rival Rep. Denny Rehberg (MT-R) in a tightly contested race for 2012.  Behind closed doors, away from the eyes of the American people, Congressional leaders decided to throw wolves under the bus in some misguided attempt to save Tester’s seat, since both he and Rehberg are using gray wolves’ 2010 relisting as part of their political campaign. Are the Dems so worried about losing their majority in the Senate they would stoop this low?

Guess what US Senate Democrats? The only thing you’re doing is pissing off your base. You know, the people who actually vote Democratic? Those people?

The people you’re trying to placate for Senator Tester’s sake, will never vote for you, ever.  They will vote Republican. Therefore, if you allow wolves’ ESA protections to be removed in a BUDGET BILL, you will go down in history as the Senate Democrats who destroyed the ESA and wolves for political expediency.

I urge  Senators to examine their conscience. You will be dooming the Northern Rockies wolves to pain and death. Wolves are hated by a small, vocal minority in the Northern Rockies,  that mean to do them real harm. Wolves need the protection of the ESA or they will suffer the same fate that befell them the first time they were exterminated in the West.

Wolves are being used in a cruel political game. If Democrat Senators ignore their conscience and vote for the wolf slaughter budget bill it will come with a high price tag, possibly the loss of the Dems Senate majority, because environmentalists and wolf advocates will not forget this betrayal.  Not ever.

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Tester’s wolf rider is bad policy

By Michael Garrity

Sunday, March 13, 2011 12:00 am

During his 2006 campaign against then-Sen. Conrad Burns, candidate Jon Tester made many promises. Among them, Tester promised he wouldn’t use “riders,” which are amendments tacked on to unrelated bills, to legislate environmental issues.

Only two months ago, Tester broke that promise when he added a rider to the Omnibus Spending Bill in December to remove wolves from the Endangered Species List. That bill died, but now Tester has slipped another wolf rider on the Senate’s latest Continuing Funding Resolution. Not only does his move set a very dangerous precedent that may well destroy the Endangered Species Act, it also violates the constitutional rights of all Americans.

Read more: http://helenair.com/news/opinion/article_bcbecbc6-4d40-11e0-afe5-001cc4c002e0.html

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Endangered Wolves Sacrificed in Budget Deal

By Glen Hurowitz

Although Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama stood firm against Republican attempts to repeal clean air and clean water protections, wolves in the Northern Rockies weren’t so lucky.

Under pressure from ranching interests in Montana and Idaho, as well as anti-wolf zealots in those states, Reid and Obama agreed to accept an amendment from Montana Democrat Jon Tester mandating the removal of grey wolves in Idaho and Montana from the endangered species list. For Obama, at least, the move isn’t surprising: his administration backed the Bush administration’s delisting of wolves even though it would allow the two massive states to cut wolf populations to as few as 450 individuals between them.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-hurowitz/endangered-wolves-sacrifi_b_847673.html

Photos: Copyright Lynne Stone

Posted in: Wolf Wars

Tags: Sacrificial wolves, selling out the ESA, abandoning wolves, US Senate, Democrats abandoning their base, wolf delisting budget bill

“Lords Of Nature” US Senate Project…

Recently Howling For Justice was joined by NIWA and Wolf Warriors , to complete the substantial project of sending  “Lords of Nature; Life in a Land of Great Predators” to 75 Senators in Washington DC.  This excellent documentary, which illustrates the essential role that wolves play in a healthy ecosystem, was produced by Greenfire productions of Oregon.

Our deepest gratitude goes out to Maggie and the other wonderful volunteers who delivered Lords of Nature and our “Wolf Truth Letter”, to the Senate today.

We sincerely appreciate all the people who helped with this project behind the scenes; some that we have never even met!

We are grateful for the opportunity to send this very important message to Washington on behalf of the wolves of the Northern Rockies. Today both Budget bills have been defeated, our timing turned out to be perfect.

Now Senators have an opportunity to watch the ground breaking documentary, Lords of Nature, which so beautifully outlines the vital role wolves play in nature. We hope Senators gain a better understanding of the importance of apex predators, like the wolf.

Wolves do not belong in budget bills. We have to ensure that whatever version of the budget the Senate adopts, delisting wolves will not be part it.

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Photo: Courtesy Lords of Nature

Posted in: Endangered Species Act, biodiversity

Tags: Lords of Nature, Senate, “Wolf Truth Letter”. Biodiversity, Trophic Cascades, gray wolf