I'm taking today's post for a little public service announcement that I'm stealing straight from Allie's Answers. Allie highlighted an issue today that is up for review by my former employer, the Department of the Interior. The DOI, in what is being described as a "parting shot" by the Bush administration, is once again proposing the removal of the gray wolf from the endangered species list.
If you can tell me the last time you saw a wolf in the wild, then by all means support the delisting. Otherwise consider that wolf populations in the greater Yellowstone region are still establishing themselves and should continue being protected from hunting and trapping by all those assholes in Wyoming with those "Save an elk- Kill a wolf" bumper stickers. I used to live there and I never once laid eyes on a wolf. They formerly ranged over much of North America before they were completely exterminated from the lower 48. When we undertook their reintroduction in the '90s in Yellowstone and sites in Idaho we had to import them from Canada.
They still need our help. Public comment on this issue ends November 28 and the Natural Resources Defense Council has a form letter all ready to go that you just need to add your name to. The recipient of your letter will be Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, a guy I had the pleasure of meeting one time. He's very handsome. I can't wait for our next president to replace him.
Seriously, go send him a letter voicing your opposition to delisting the wolf. It just takes a few seconds, tops. I'm not kidding, go right now. Ol' Dirk will love to hear from you, I'm sure.
If you can tell me the last time you saw a wolf in the wild, then by all means support the delisting. Otherwise consider that wolf populations in the greater Yellowstone region are still establishing themselves and should continue being protected from hunting and trapping by all those assholes in Wyoming with those "Save an elk- Kill a wolf" bumper stickers. I used to live there and I never once laid eyes on a wolf. They formerly ranged over much of North America before they were completely exterminated from the lower 48. When we undertook their reintroduction in the '90s in Yellowstone and sites in Idaho we had to import them from Canada.
They still need our help. Public comment on this issue ends November 28 and the Natural Resources Defense Council has a form letter all ready to go that you just need to add your name to. The recipient of your letter will be Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, a guy I had the pleasure of meeting one time. He's very handsome. I can't wait for our next president to replace him.
Seriously, go send him a letter voicing your opposition to delisting the wolf. It just takes a few seconds, tops. I'm not kidding, go right now. Ol' Dirk will love to hear from you, I'm sure.
14 comments:
Maybe the Bush administration is confusing the Latin name for wolves with the disease? That could explain their thoughts on the topic. After all, lupus sucks.
Lupus DOES suck, but wouldn't we want THAT on the endangered list, too?
Ugh. I would like to just ignore George Bush and sit comfortable in the knowledge that the end of his reign is nigh. And then you remind me that he's still got some kind of power or something. Boo.
Hmmm are only American allowed to write letters? K I'm check out the form letter and do my part.
I signed the form just for you. Now, if I start getting mailing labels from environmental groups begging me to donate money, the dead trees will be on your conscience.
Done and done. Wolves for the win!
OK I did it!
Mickey, I have seen the wolves in the wild (just last week)and I have also seen what they have done to the populations of the other animals in the ecosystem. the reintroduction of Wild wolves has been a great success story,however their population is beyond what the ecosystem can sustain and with out some control will continue to expand and overwhelm the foodbase that they need to survive. All animals, not just the wolves deserve to live and have viable populations as well. Why aren't you as concerned about the deer, elk and wild sheep? Why are you opposed to the professional game managers being allowed to do their job?
Anonymous, if you're going to provide a counter-argument, at least be courteous enough to leave a name. Keeping yourself anonymous only implies that you don't want anyone following up with you, which in turn implies that you don't believe in your own argument enough to defend it.
You know I'm with you on this, Mick. Off to sign the form now.
(And what possible benefit could the Bush administration see in taking this off the endangered species list? Are they just being dicks for the sake of being dicks now?)
Yay! So glad you posted about this too.
You can take a Yellowstone wolf tour trip in the winter, but it's pretty pricey. I hope they are still around by the time I can afford it. And I hope they are still around because they are awesome. And they look so freaking much like my dog, and the idea of him being slaughtered breaks my heart. I know wolves are not domestic animals. But I know that they have complex feelings and relationships and I just feel like we should honor that.
Oh, okay. Should have read this one first.
I don't think that anonymous realizes that wolves can't just pick up a few steaks at the grocery store like human hunters. They will reduce the deer and related herbivore populations, but they can't hurt the populations that much. The fewer ungulates there are, the harder to find they become for the wolves, meaning that the extra wolves starve, reducing pressure on the prey species which rebound.
It's human hunting that can be unsustainable if not regulated. We have the time and energy to hunt scarce animals.
Sounds like a good use of my American citizenship. The Bushies are just bound and determined to kill everything aren't they? I have visions of Cheney and Palin gunning down wolves from a helicopter. That's a scary picture, my friend.
Whether you think the Wolves are cute like your own puppy or an amazingly cool mystical creature of the woods the fact still remains that the Wolves were not COMPLETELY ELIMINATED in Yellowstone before the Canadian grey wolves were introduced. The population was low due to the life of most pups was not long in that alltitude and terrain. Those that did survive had already started coming back into town and finding food, be it pets, or the local wildlife (Deer, Wild Sheep, Elk, Rabbits etc...).
We as a culture need to leave nature be. God gave us animals for food. I am not out for hunters hunting for a trophy on the wall. For food well that is another thing. It amazes me that all these tree hugging, leather belt wearing vegitarian, nature boy idiots preach about natural selection but forget that these wolves that HAVE TAKEN OVER CERTAIN AREAS OF YELLOWSTONE, are not naturally occurring here and by introducing them to our ecosystem we have changed the entire process of natural selection.
Those who have not seen a wolf out in the wild well DUH!. Wolves do not make themselves known. They are predators and making themselves known eliminates the element of surprise. The fella talking about the wolves chasing him and locking himself in a truck. What a bunch of BS. A pack of wild dogs perhaps but not wolves. They would have taken him before he even had known they were there, that is if they were hard up enough to want to eat a guy marinating in his own urine. It made a fun story for a cocktail party but made him look like a total idiot.
We are at the top of the food chain. That means we have the responsibility and more importantly the right to hunt for food. We also have the right to defend our homes from attack be it by foreign invaders or wild animals. So climb down out of your trees, go see your psychic/counselor/therapist and be productive.
Thanks for the attribution. Original image is under a Creative Commons BY license.
Post a Comment