JACKSON HOLE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE

P.O. Box 2728

Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-9417

www.jhalliance.org

7/13/07

Wolves Need Your Help Now More Than Ever!

WHAT:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is taking final public comments on on two proposals affecting the endangered Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf:

1. Adding Wyoming to the proposal to remove federal protections (delisting); and

2. Giving states the right to kill wolves in areas where elk herd numbers are below management objectives (modification of the “10(j) rule”).

WHEN: 
Comments must be sent by August 6, 2007. See contact information below.

INFO:
Restoration of the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf is a tremendous endangered species success story. Wolves are a crucial part of the Northern Rockies ecosystems, helping to preserve riparian forests and maintain healthy populations of raptors, beavers and several scavenger species. Wolves are also a boon to the region’s economy. Each year, people traveling to Yellowstone to see wolves spend $35 million in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. These dollars turn over in local communities, pushing the regional impact to roughly $70 million a year.

But two new federal proposals threaten to reverse the Rocky Mountain wolves’ incredible comeback. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is poised to open the door to mass killings of wolves in the Northern Rockies states by removing them from the Endangered Species list and allowing states to kill wolves prior to delisting in areas where ungulate herds are below objectives. Up to 700 wolves could be killed under each proposal, more than half the current Northern Rockies wolf population.

FWS has initially approved Wyoming’s draft wolf management plan and added it to the delisting proposal. If delisting occurs:

• Wyoming has announced it will immediately kill over 100 wolves and manage wolves at minimum levels.
• Wyoming will classify wolves as “predatory animals” in all but the very northwest corner of the state, meaning wolves can be shot on sight by anyone, anytime, anywhere. Trapping, baiting and possibly even poisoning will also become legal.  
• Wyoming’s plan contributes nothing to linkage of the three recovery areas so that connectivity is maintained. Without linkage, wolves cannot migrate and genetic health and long-term survival are threatened.

Furthermore, if FWS is permitted to modify the 10(j) rule, up to 700 wolves could be killed:

• States will be permitted to kill wolves in areas where elk herd numbers are below objectives, even though habitat reduction, drought, and human hunting have been acknowledged by states and biologists as primary causes of such declines.

• Ungulate herds in all three Northern Rockies states are well over objectives. Habitat simply cannot support the number of elk the states are managing to. The handful of areas where elk are below objectives do not justify the slaughter of hundreds of wolves.
• Given that wolves prey on ungulates, wolves would have to be vegetarians to not be killed under this proposal.
• The proposed rule is tantamount to delisting. With this proposal, the FWS is attempting to circumvent its own process for delisting endangered species.

If you would like more information on wolves, the delisting or 10(j) modification proposals, or help in preparing your comments, contact Louise Lasley at (307) 733-9417 or louise@jhalliance.org.  Additional information is also available at http://www.jhalliance.org/Library/Perspectives/WolfMgmtDiscussionPoints.5-07.htm and http://www.jhalliance.org/Library/Reports/wolves.4-07.htm.

Urge the Fish and Wildlife Service to delay delisting until each state management plan, especially Wyoming’s, ensures these magnificent animals will thrive on the landscape for generations to come. This is the wolves’ last stand; let’s be sure of their future before we delist.

Please send your written comments by August 6, 2007, to Ed Bangs, the Wolf Recovery Coordinator in Helena:

For both proposals, mail comments to: Edward E. Bangs, Western Gray Wolf Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 585 Shepard Way, Helena, Montana 59601.

Email your comments on delisting Wyomings wolves to: WesternGrayWolf@fws.gov (include “RIN number 1018—AU53 in the subject line)

Email comments on modification of the 10(j) rule to: WolfRuleChange@fws.gov (include “RIN number 1018—AV39 in the subject line)

Wolves need you now more than ever; please join us in speaking out for wolves’ sake!

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The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to responsible land stewardship to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic and other natural resources. The organization has 2,000 members from Jackson Hole and across the nation.