Help Protect Wolves In California
- by: Center for Biological Diversity
- recipient: California Fish and Game Commission
Good news for wolves on the West Coast: California's first wolf in 87 years, wolf OR-7, may have a mate and puppies.
Just this week agency officials in Oregon announced that information from OR-7's radio collar and images captured on trail cameras suggest that OR-7 and a female wolf may have denned near the Oregon-California border.
The writing is on the wall: More wolves will be returning to California. With federal protections about to be lifted, it's essential wolves be granted full state endangered species protections to help them get reestablished.
In April the California Fish and Game Commission voted to ban predator-killing contests but are holding a second hearing before deciding whether to give wolves full state protections.
So-called "contest-hunts" or "derbies" that award cash and other prizes to those who kill the most or largest animals (often coyotes) are antiquated and brutal. They also put endangered species at risk. It's important to ensure the commission follows through on its vote to end these derbies.
Sign before May 30th and help us urge the commission to grant wolves full protections under the California Endangered Species Act and end these barbaric hunts.
Just this week agency officials in Oregon announced that information from OR-7's radio collar and images captured on trail cameras suggest that OR-7 and a female wolf may have denned near the Oregon-California border.
The writing is on the wall: More wolves will be returning to California. With federal protections about to be lifted, it's essential wolves be granted full state endangered species protections to help them get reestablished.
In April the California Fish and Game Commission voted to ban predator-killing contests but are holding a second hearing before deciding whether to give wolves full state protections.
So-called "contest-hunts" or "derbies" that award cash and other prizes to those who kill the most or largest animals (often coyotes) are antiquated and brutal. They also put endangered species at risk. It's important to ensure the commission follows through on its vote to end these derbies.
Sign before May 30th and help us urge the commission to grant wolves full protections under the California Endangered Species Act and end these barbaric hunts.
I am writing in support of protection for gray wolves under California's Endangered Species Act. I am also writing to urge you to ban ethically and scientifically indefensible wildlife-killing contests in the Golden State.
[Your comment will be added here]
In its recently released status-review report, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended against listing wolves with the argument that there are no known wolves currently in the state. I urge the Commission to reject this recommendation for the following reasons:
-- Wolf OR-7 has now made California part of his range for parts of the last four years, including most recently on the very day the Department presented its recommendation to the Commission. His presence has been so frequent that the Department has called him an intermittent resident of the state. Scientists agree (as does the Department) that it's highly likely that more wolves from Oregon will come to California.
-- Oregon wolf biologists recently announced it is likely that wolf OR-7 has found a mate, and that they may have a den and puppies in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest, which straddles the California-Oregon border. This means OR-7’s new family will now be frequenting range in California, and when the pups are old enough to disperse in just a few years it's likely some will come to California to look for territory of their own.
-- Nowhere in the legislative history of the California ESA does it require that a population of a species be present in order to list it. The wolverine, Guadalupe fur seal and condor were all protected and remain protected as endangered under California law even though no wolverine had been confirmed for 50 years at the time of listing, even though the Guadalupe fur seal was thought extinct at the time of listing, and even though state officials knew there were no condors in the wild when they chose not to remove the condor from the state list.
-- Multiple peer-reviewed scientific modeling studies report that there are hundreds of thousands of acres of suitable wolf habitat in California.
-- And threats against wolves exist in the Golden State, including verbal threats from private citizens and elected officials, and actual threats of injury or death by people who are out hunting for coyotes. In 2012 and 2013, the Department was so concerned about potential harm to wolf OR-7 or other unknown wolves, they sent staff to places where coyote contest-hunts were being held to ensure no wolves would be killed. And the Department is urging the Commission to pass regulations to protect wolves from humans who could kill them.
I urge you to follow the law, the science and past precedent by listing the gray wolf under the California Endangered Species Act and fully committing the state's resources to protecting, restoring and conserving this magnificent native species.
As for predator-killing contests, I support the Commission's recent vote to start the process to ban these barbaric hunts. The current science shows that massive, nontargeted killing of coyotes results in more conflicts, not fewer. These "derbies" that award prizes for the most or largest animals killed can by no means be considered a science-based form of wildlife management. They're also out of step with the values of most Californians.
Finally, California recently passed legislation (A.B. 2402) that requires the Department to use "ecosystem based management" and the best science in its stewardship of California's wildlife. Allowing these contests to continue would be a violation of this law. I applaud the Commission for heeding the science and the public on this issue, and I fully support your decision to stop predator-killing contests and put California on track as a leader in more responsible wildlife management.
Thank you,
[Your name]
Sign PetitionSign Petition[Your comment will be added here]
In its recently released status-review report, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended against listing wolves with the argument that there are no known wolves currently in the state. I urge the Commission to reject this recommendation for the following reasons:
-- Wolf OR-7 has now made California part of his range for parts of the last four years, including most recently on the very day the Department presented its recommendation to the Commission. His presence has been so frequent that the Department has called him an intermittent resident of the state. Scientists agree (as does the Department) that it's highly likely that more wolves from Oregon will come to California.
-- Oregon wolf biologists recently announced it is likely that wolf OR-7 has found a mate, and that they may have a den and puppies in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest, which straddles the California-Oregon border. This means OR-7’s new family will now be frequenting range in California, and when the pups are old enough to disperse in just a few years it's likely some will come to California to look for territory of their own.
-- Nowhere in the legislative history of the California ESA does it require that a population of a species be present in order to list it. The wolverine, Guadalupe fur seal and condor were all protected and remain protected as endangered under California law even though no wolverine had been confirmed for 50 years at the time of listing, even though the Guadalupe fur seal was thought extinct at the time of listing, and even though state officials knew there were no condors in the wild when they chose not to remove the condor from the state list.
-- Multiple peer-reviewed scientific modeling studies report that there are hundreds of thousands of acres of suitable wolf habitat in California.
-- And threats against wolves exist in the Golden State, including verbal threats from private citizens and elected officials, and actual threats of injury or death by people who are out hunting for coyotes. In 2012 and 2013, the Department was so concerned about potential harm to wolf OR-7 or other unknown wolves, they sent staff to places where coyote contest-hunts were being held to ensure no wolves would be killed. And the Department is urging the Commission to pass regulations to protect wolves from humans who could kill them.
I urge you to follow the law, the science and past precedent by listing the gray wolf under the California Endangered Species Act and fully committing the state's resources to protecting, restoring and conserving this magnificent native species.
As for predator-killing contests, I support the Commission's recent vote to start the process to ban these barbaric hunts. The current science shows that massive, nontargeted killing of coyotes results in more conflicts, not fewer. These "derbies" that award prizes for the most or largest animals killed can by no means be considered a science-based form of wildlife management. They're also out of step with the values of most Californians.
Finally, California recently passed legislation (A.B. 2402) that requires the Department to use "ecosystem based management" and the best science in its stewardship of California's wildlife. Allowing these contests to continue would be a violation of this law. I applaud the Commission for heeding the science and the public on this issue, and I fully support your decision to stop predator-killing contests and put California on track as a leader in more responsible wildlife management.
Thank you,
[Your name]
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