Add the Alexander Archipelago wolf to the Endangered Species Act
- by: Care2.com members
- recipient: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of Interior)
We, the undersigned, urge you to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf (Canis lupus ligoni) as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.
This subspecies resides only in coastal southeast Alaska, with most residing within the Tongass National Forest - the largest in North America, encompassing some of the largest remaining stands of old-growth, temperate rainforest in the world.
They can be found on all the major islands of the Alexander Archipelago - a network of more than a thousand islands, glaciated peaks, and deep river valleys. Many of the wolves travel freely between islands, and their ranges may shift significantly over time. This makes it difficult to accurately keep track of their population, which has been estimated between 750 and 1500.
The Alexander Archipelago wolves and their rainforest home are under continued threats from industrial logging, road building, and large-scale habitat loss due to past, present, and proposed land & timber sales by the US Forest Service wihin the Tongass. A good percentage of the old-growth forests that the wolves rely on for hunting, denning, and raising pups are already gone.
This has also impacted the wolves' primary source of food - the Sitka black-tailed deer - whose population is also in decline, and are even more dependent on high-quality, old-growth forests of the region, especially for winter survival.
Projected growth in human population, increased road access, and the continuing loss and fragmentation of high-quality deer habitat can only increase the risk of not maintaining a viable, well-distributed population of Alexander Archipelago wolves in southeast Alaska.
Nearly two decades ago, your agency wrote: "[...] it is clear by our analysis that without significant changes to the existing Tongass Land Management Plan, the long-term viability of the Alexander Archipelago wolf is seriously imperiled. [...]" Current conservation assessments and available scientific information do not show any "significant" changes beneficial to either the Tongass or its wolves.
Thank you for your consideration.
We, the undersigned, urge you to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf (Canis lupus ligoni) as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.
This subspecies resides only in coastal southeast Alaska, with most residing within the Tongass National Forest - the largest in North America, encompassing some of the largest remaining stands of old-growth, temperate rainforest in the world.
They can be found on all the major islands of the Alexander Archipelago - a network of more than a thousand islands, glaciated peaks, and deep river valleys. Many of the wolves travel freely between islands, and their ranges may shift significantly over time. This makes it difficult to accurately keep track of their population, which has been estimated between 750 and 1500.
The Alexander Archipelago wolves and their rainforest home are under continued threats from industrial logging, road building, and large-scale habitat loss due to past, present, and proposed land & timber sales by the US Forest Service wihin the Tongass. A good percentage of the old-growth forests that the wolves rely on for hunting, denning, and raising pups are already gone.
This has also impacted the wolves' primary source of food - the Sitka black-tailed deer - whose population is also in decline, and are even more dependent on high-quality, old-growth forests of the region, especially for winter survival.
Projected growth in human population, increased road access, and the continuing loss and fragmentation of high-quality deer habitat can only increase the risk of not maintaining a viable, well-distributed population of Alexander Archipelago wolves in southeast Alaska.
Nearly two decades ago, your agency wrote: "[...] it is clear by our analysis that without significant changes to the existing Tongass Land Management Plan, the long-term viability of the Alexander Archipelago wolf is seriously imperiled. [...]" Current conservation assessments and available scientific information do not show any "significant" changes beneficial to either the Tongass or its wolves.
Thank you for your consideration.
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