With the clock running out on the Bush/Cheney Administration, federal officials have launched a final attempt to ram through a plan that could lead to the slaughter of as many as two-thirds of the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Rockies wolf population.
Following several bloody months of wolf killing in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, a federal court ruled earlier this year against an earlier version of the Administration's proposal to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the region's wolves. In response, the Bush/Cheney Administration actually withdrew that proposal just a few weeks ago.
But with the clock winding down on the Bush Administration, federal officials are launching a last-ditch attempt to sneak through a plan that could drastically reduce the number of wolves in the region and prevent wolves from establishing a sustainable population.
Stop the sneak attack! Please sign our petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging them to protect wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.
Dear U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
As a supporter of Defenders of Wildlife and someone who cares about protecting wolves in the Greater Yellowstone region and throughout the Northern Rockies, I strongly urge your agency to scrap your proposal to remove Endangered Species Act protections for these amazing animals.
Rather than repackaging a severely flawed plan that has already been rejected by a federal judge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs to take a fresh look at the management of wolves in the region.
The proposal allows as many as 1,000 wolves to be killed as soon as they lose the protections of the Endangered Species Act -- slashing the population by as much as two thirds. Such drastic reductions in wolf numbers would be a serious obstacle preventing wolves from establishing a sustainable and connected wolf population in the region.
Furthermore, the current proposal is the product of a flawed process and will likely result in the same types of policy conflicts and legal battles that have plagued wolf management in the past.
I strongly urge you to work with wildlife biologists to revise your plan and collaborate with wildlife conservationists, ranchers, tourism officials, hunters and other interested individuals to develop new science-based state wolf management plans that are more informed, inclusive and balanced.
Thank you for considering my comments.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
