"I want my children and my grandchildren to live in a world with clean air, pure drinking water, and an abundance of wildlife, so I've chosen to dedicate my life to wildlife conservation so I can make the world just a little bit better."
- Bindi Irwin
Don’t we all want to do what we can to make the world just a little bit better? This month’s E-newsletter is slightly different from others. We have a big task at hand and need your voice. While this news isn’t directly related to wolves here in the Pacific West states of Washington, Oregon and California, the indirect impact could be detrimental to wolf recovery efforts throughout the United States. Here’s what’s happening:
A few weeks ago, Senators from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Wyoming introduced a companion bill to legislation, the “War on Wolves Act” (S. 164 & H.R. 424), which was then introduced to the House. This bill would strip federal Endangered Species Act protections from wolves in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Wyoming. If passed, it would also allow trophy hunting and trapping of gray wolves in these four states. This bill is directing the Secretary of the Interior to turn over management of wolves to these four states and in Wyoming, the measure would also block citizens from challenging lethal control programs in court.
An insightful op-ed in the Huffington Post, ‘Why the Latest War on Wolves? Three Reasons You May Not Know’, offers this compelling and powerful statement: “The War on Wolves Act isn’t just bad news for wolves, it’s also bad news for the Endangered Species Act.”
You can help protect gray wolves by contacting your members of Congress and telling them to oppose any and all attempts to delist wolves. Ask them to vote no on (H.R. 424) in the House and (S. 164) in the Senate. The Animal Welfare Institute has some helpful tips for making these calls to Congress or writing an email to your representative:
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, and ask to be connected to the offices of your senators or representative. When you call, provide your contact information and ask your legislator to let you know where he or she stands on the issue.
An example statement to share: Hello. I am a constituent calling to respectfully request that you reject any bills that would delist wolves from the Endangered Species Act. I urge my [representative to oppose H.R. 424/senator to oppose S. 164]. I want to know where my legislator stands on this issue, and therefore request a response be sent to me; my name and address are [give full name and mailing address].
You may also wish to include some or all of the following points in your message:
The bill would allow hunting and trapping of wolves to resume under state control.
States such as Wyoming have dangerous wolf management plans. As predators, in 90 percent of the state they could be killed by any means, at any time—even wolves from Yellowstone National Park who venture just beyond the border.
In the past, after the US Fish and Wildlife Service decided to delist wolves in Wyoming, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, federal courts have had to step in to block these moves because state management plans did not sufficiently protect wolves. This bill, however, would circumvent these federal court decisions and contradict what best available science deems is necessary for gray wolves in these regions.
Additionally, here are two other organizations with information on how to contact Congress and your representatives:
Last but not least, visit the Pacific Wolf Coalition to learn more about the many conservation organizations of the Coalition who dedicate their resources and efforts towards wolf recovery and protection. Connect with them and become even more involved. As someone shared recently, “The future depends on what you do today” so thank you for supporting us in all our work.
