Tell Congress: Don't Mess With Wolf Recovery
U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) recently introduced a bill to strip federal protection from wolves in Wyoming, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. This bill is an ugly political ploy that will result in the deaths of thousands of wolves and do serious damage to one of the America's most important endangered species success stories.
In response to lawsuits from the Center and allies, federal judges overturned a series of bad decisions to prematurely remove Endangered Species Act protection from wolves. But with language explicitly preventing further judicial review, the new bill would reverse these court orders, end federal wolf protections, and undermine the basic rule of law and the rights of citizens to challenge illegal government actions wherever they occur.
That means that such cruel hunting methods as steel-jaw leghold traps, strangulation snares and even packs of dogs could be unleashed on wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes region.
Tell your representatives in Congress that you won't stand for it. Urge them to vote no on H.R. 424 and S. 164 and let science and law govern wolf recovery, not politics.
Dear [Representative],
I am writing to ask you to oppose any and all bills to remove federal protections from gray wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes region. With only a small fraction of suitable wolf habitat currently occupied and almost constant threats to their safety, these apex predators still desperately need the Endangered Species Act's protection to survive, expand their range and recover.
[Your comment will be added here]
Judges have repeatedly overturned rules stripping wolves of their federal protection -- and the courts have been clear that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Act when it prematurely removed wolf safeguards. Those court decisions are currently on appeal, and Congress should allow that process to play out before the judicial branch as the U.S. Constitution intends.
Moreover, Congress should not be inserting itself into what should be science-based decisions. Such meddling sets a terrible precedent and leaves the Endangered Species Act vulnerable to an endless succession of politically motivated attacks. We must not allow further erosion of this immensely popular, bedrock environmental law.
Please stand up for America's wolves. I urge you to oppose all legislative efforts to strip wolf protections or undermine the Endangered Species Act.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
