For all those who got all happy about the MTFW&P wolf hunt closure around YNP [View all]

[2naSalit]

Attention to all who admire or are curious about wolves in the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone NP:

I am sorry to inform everyone that all the hoopla about this paltry action taken by MTFW&P was all about the bad PR they got and nothing more. Many of we wolf advocates have fought nearly to the death about this for almost two decades and with little national attention (seriously, we are stalked and receive death threats and harassment and loss of employment regularly).

Now that 10% of the Yellowstone NP wolves have been killed in the hunts so far this season, it needs to be known that it isn't going to stop anything except that, like the "Crowder" event in MI yesterday, the PR machine will make this agency look better when they have done nothing in reality to relieve the issue except in the PR game. And it was in Wyoming that the majority of park wolves were killed by individuals sitting outside the park boundary with "calls" luring the wolves out of the park and then killing them. The quotas for hunting units are always filled on the perimeter of the parks where wolves live and are protected first.

Many have argued for a "buffer zone" around the entire perimeter of YNP to avoid this very issue... for years. So here's the map of the miniscule "closure" offered by MTFW&P after most of the wolves that would enter that area have already been killed:

http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/planahunt/huntingGuides/wolf/closure.html

Mind you, neither Idaho or Wyoming have any intention of doing anything like this along their park borders.

It is also necessary to inform the general public that the main purpose (official excuse) for allowing the hunting of a species that has just recently been removed, illegally, from the ESA list was to let the wolf hating crowd "blow off some steam" by letting them kill some. That was so much BS that it makes one wonder what century these people live in. Letting these "hunters" kill wolves only encourages them to demand more killing and now trapping. There are a number of web sites that glorify the disrespectful maiming, torture and slow deaths of these amazing apex predators. And this issue has only received national attention because a well known wolf from the park was killed last week. About three million people come to YNP to see wolves and other wildlife in a natural setting each year and all three states benefit heavily from the revenue tourism brings.

As far as management policies in the three Rocky Mountain wolf DPS (reintroduced) states, Montana actually has the most reasonable (if you can call it that), Idaho and Wyoming are absolutely hostile toward the species and are attempting to kill them all even if they give lip service to the idea that the wolves will be placed back on the ESA list should they decline below 150 wolves per state. In the majority of the state of Wyoming there is a "shoot on sight" policy, year round. This is all due to the fact that they were reintroduced by the "goddam gubbamint" and wolves are something that can be taken out with guns.

Please pay attention to this issue as much as any of those regarding our rights as the removal of important species serves to further degrade our ability to survive by allowing the extractive industries to frack and dig up what's left of our publicly owned wild lands. They claim that in the absence of wildlife there is no reason to protect the land.

What can you do about it?

Call, email, tweet, FB the Congressional delegates and the state government officials of these three states and tell them that you will not be spending your vacation $$ in their state because of their wolf management policies. I urge everyone who cares about this to do so. You can find their contact info here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/contactingcongress.html

http://votesmart.org/

For wolf death tallies (overall population at time of delisting was approximately 1500 animals for these three states including park wolves):

Latest Posted Idaho Wolf Hunt Kill total: 114
Latest Posted Idaho Wolf Trapping Kill total: 6
Latest Posted Montana Wolf Hunt Kill Total: 87
Wyoming Wolf Kill Total: 58

Regional Total Reported Killed This Year: 265
Regional Total Reported Killed Since Delisting: 810

Source and for daily updates:
http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2012/12/05/briefly-noted-wildlife-news-stories-dec-5-2012-2/

It's the biosphere, stupid.

Thanks for reading my rant, I hope you contact the officials recommended above.

2naSalit