#KEEPWOLVESLISTED

#CommentForWolves
 26 Days to Save our Wolves
February 28. 2014

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/

Friday, February 28. 2014
I figured that since all I seem to do lately is pester you Wolves to leave a comment, I'd better do as I say, or as my Wolf Sister and friend, Robin says:

"Walk the talk".

So I'll share mine. 
Every day, one new comment to USFWS. 
Tomorrow there will also be new talking points for you to use, so you can leave your intelligent comments. Thank you for taking the time to speak up for the future of our Gray Wolves and Mexican Gray Wolves.

February 28. 2014
Hello folks at USFWS.
You know, it seems that we are really wasting valuable time pondering this decision to delist or not to delist our Gray Wolves as endangered species status from the E.S.A.

I'm really astounded that there is yet another delay, given that in the time since it was leaked to the press,that you were even going to consider such a misguided move, we have witnessed over a thousand wolves perish at the hands of hunters, trappers, and FWS employees.


This occurred in the 6 states of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

So, imagine how many wolves we will bid farewell to IF you were to decide to delist Gray Wolves in all 48 states of the USA?

Frankly?
I don't think our wolves have a snowball's chance in Hell of surviving your time in office given your track record of mismanagement of policy and methodologies of compiling "sound science" to determine the future of Gray Wolves.

You are advocating a total destruction of wolf recovery with this plan.

Why did we bother bringing wolves back into this country, and nurturing their recovery from the ground floor up to now see wolf recovery being, in essence, a "wolf hunt free for all" for hunting outfitters?

KEEP Gray Wolves listed as an endangered species because that is WHAT THEY ARE!!!
And please, for the sake of simple human decency?
RE-LIST the unfortunate wolves in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Thank you.
Speak with you again tomorrow.

~Heidi

We have until March 27 . 2014 to leave a comment regarding your thoughts about the seriously bungled Gray Wolf and Mexican Gray Wolf delisting proposal initiated by
the USFWS.
Tell them they buggered it up. Big time.

Here's the comment form.
http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=FWS-HQ-ES-2013-0073-43030

Here are some talking points you can use, swipe, send.
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/talking-points-to-use-for.html

Here's all of the news about what USFWS did ( and 4 petitions to sign from our wonderful advocate friends at Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, and Wildearth Guardians )
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/wolf-news.html

In a nutshell? The USFWS cut corners, and used a little creative "in house consulting" utilizing scientific research that was highly dubious. They were legally obligated to rely on independent, non biased review. Appears that they stacked the deck in their favor, as they just do not want to work at keeping wolves as a protected species under the E.S.A.
So, they want to wash their hands of protecting wolves as endangered species. No big secret there.
We can't allow that.
You've seen what ID, MT, WY, MI, MN, and WI state wildlife services have done when USFWS said "Go for it folks, YOU manage your wolves".
2,673 Gray Wolves were "managed". To death.

We need to keep the rest of the Gray Wolves in the USA protected.
THEN we are going to find a way to convince those six states to quit managing the wolves there into oblivion, heading toward yet another apex predator extinction in the lower 48 States.

Please comment and sign those org petitions.
This is SO important, can't stress that enough.
Thank you.
~Heidi

#KEEPWOLVESLISTED

#CommentForWolves
 27 Days to Save our Wolves
February 27. 2014

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/

Thursday, February 27.  2014
We have until March 27 . 2014 to leave a comment regarding your thoughts about the seriously bungled Gray Wolf and Mexican Gray Wolf delisting proposal initiated by
the USFWS.
Tell them they buggered it up. Big time.

Here's the comment form.
http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=FWS-HQ-ES-2013-0073-43030

Here are some talking points you can use, swipe, send.
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/talking-points-to-use-for.html

Here's all of the news about what USFWS did ( and 4 petitions to sign from our wonderful advocate friends at Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, and Wildearth Guardians )
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/wolf-news.html

In a nutshell? The USFWS cut corners, and used a little creative "in house consulting" utilizing scientific research that was highly dubious. They were legally obligated to rely on independent, non biased review. Appears that they stacked the deck in their favor, as they just do not want to work at keeping wolves as a protected species under the E.S.A.
So, they want to wash their hands of protecting wolves as endangered species. No big secret there.
We can't allow that.
You've seen what ID, MT, WY, MI, MN, and WI state wildlife services have done when USFWS said "Go for it folks, YOU manage your wolves".
2,673 Gray Wolves were "managed". To death.

We need to keep the rest of the Gray Wolves in the USA protected.
THEN we are going to find a way to convince those six states to quit managing the wolves there into oblivion, heading toward yet another apex predator extinction in the lower 48 States.

Please comment and sign those org petitions.
This is SO important, can't stress that enough.
Thank you.
~Heidi

PROTECT WOLVES

#WOLFDAY #WOLFWEEK 

Heyya #Wolves!

We need to share this as much as possible 

to support our #wolffriends at @HowlingForWolves 
in their work to protect Minnesota wolves.

www.howlingforwolves.org

RALLY AT MINNESOTA STATE CAPITOL ~

February 27 . 2014

75 Rev. Martin Luther King Blvd.

St. Paul, MN

Heyya Wolves!
Here's the deal on the War on Wolves as I see it.

Ah, we have a major conflict between we "ProWolves" who believe that our Gray Wolves have every right to be on the Earth, that is their home, and those humans, "AntiWolves", who see them as as threat to their livelihood (ranching) and hunt them as "predator control". 

Next we have those folks who hunt Wolves for fun,  the Wolf trophy hunters. They like to pose for portrait photos afterwards. They are usually holding up our now dead as a doornail Wolf Buddy, in a bear hug. Twisted folks if you ask me.

THEN we have the Wolf trappers. I'll refrain from describing just how very twisted I view these folks to be. They may or may not use or sell the wolf pets taken from our tortured wolves.
If you have time, there are Ban trapping petitions here:
http://noanimalsuffering.blogspot.com/p/bantrapping.html

Let's start with the perceived livelihood threat that Wolves pose to ranch business owners .Those humans would own cows and sheep. The ranchers. Many of them see wolves as the ultimate enemy, as wolves have been known to eat cows and sheep. Yet our wolf Buddies do not dine on as many sheeps and cows as you may have been led to believe. 

MYTH:  Wolves kill lots of cattle, lead to lower birth rates, and are causing cattle ranchers to go out of business.

FACT: Wolves are responsible for less than two tenths of a percent (.2%) of cattle depredations.  94% of losses are due to non-predator related causes, such as respiratory disease, digestive problems, weather, calving problems, etc.  
http://predatordefense.org/wolf_myths.htm  Thank you Predator Defense.

AND , think about this?  Wolves are wild dogs. Your domestic doggo ? What do you feed your pup ? Is there beef in that commercial dog food you feed Sparky? 
Yup, could very well be the first ingredient listed on the bag or the can.

Dogs and Cows. 
Actually domestic dogs kill more livestock than wolves do. It does not appear that states have a hunting and trapping season on domestic dogs. How weird would that be?
Domestic dogs are not an endangered species, gray wolves still are.

Ranching interests have every available tool at their disposal to deter wolf predation from annihilating their sheep and cattle. It's not rocket science, but it does entail work.
There are many ranchers who will go the extra mile to safeguard their business and protect wolves from lethal wolf management. To these people, we say: 
"You decent ranching folks ROCK! Thank you for being compassionate humans." 
Here's a very cool ranching lady here, she's an advocate for co-existence with coyotes. 
http://www.sandiegolovesgreen.com/welcoming-wolves-back-to-california-a-ranchers-perspective/
You can read all about Non lethal predator controls here:
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/predator-friendly-non-lethal-predator.html

Wolves and Deers.  They are Predator and Prey. 
Nature's food chain is a bitch. I hate it, but that is the way that it is.

WHY DO GRAY WOLVES MATTER SO MUCH?

Here Leopold describes the death of a she-wolf killed by his party during a time when conservationists were operating under the assumption that elimination of top predators would make game plentiful. The essay provides a non-technical characterization of the trophic cascade where the removal of single species carries serious implications for the rest of the ecosystem.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sand_County_Almanac
Many thanks to Jonathan Thomson@JTgoatisland

ENVIRONMENTAL CONNECTIVITY. 
WHAT IS TROPHIC CASCADE? 
WHY THE ANSWER SHOULD SCARE 
THE HELL OUT OF YOU.
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/2014/01/environmental-connectivity-why-it-is-so.html

Please leave a comment to USFWS about why they need 
to protect our Gray Wolves as endangered species status 
under the E.S.A.
Otherwise? 
The wolfhunters who work with the state wildlife agencies 
in ID, MT, WY, MI, MN, and WI will alter the eco systems.
For every single one of us.
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/

#KEEPWOLVESLISTED

WHAT HAPPENED?

News and editorials

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/wolf-news.html

#CommentForWolves

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT?

BEFORE MARCH 27. 2014

Say something to the USFWS and sign the petitions to protest their flawed delisting proposal.

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/wolf-news.html

#TalkToUSFWS

HOW TO GO ABOUT DOING 

SOMETHING ABOUT IT .

Talking points to help you leave a great comment to the USFWS.

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/talking-points-to-use-for.html

CA: SAN DIEGO WILDLIFE ADVOCATES PAVE WAY TO RESTORE 

GRAY WOLVES IN CALIFORNIA

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/2014/02/ca-san-diego-wildlife-advocates-pave.html

Posted on February 18, 2014 
by TWIN Observer
By Susan Murphy

Efforts in San Diego County to restore Mexican gray wolves 
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/nov/08/efforts-in-san-diego-help-restore-critically-endan/    *
in the southwest are paying off. A recent survey shows a steady increase of the animal in the wild.

The Mexican gray wolf population at a recovery range in Arizona and New Mexico, where breeded animals are released, has increased to 83 — up from 75 last year, and just four in 1998. The California Wolf Center in Julian is one of several facilities across the country working to breed the endangered animal, which is a sub-species of the gray wolf.

This map shows the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction location along the Arizona and New Mexico border.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service


The group is also working to pave the way for the return of gray wolves to California by proposing state and federal conservation plans and educating the public.

“Mainly because they’ll sometimes get into conflict with livestock, and people tend to have very strong feelings one way or another about wolves; they either kind of love them or they don’t,” said Lauren Richie, director of California Wolf Recovery at the Wolf Center.

Earlier this month, following a yearlong review, the director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Chuck Bonham, recommended to not list the gray wolf on the endangered species list. Instead, he advised listing the wolf as a species of special concern and that a prohibition be placed on killing of gray wolves in California.

The commission is expected to consider his recommendation and could act on it in April.

Richie said she’s puzzled by the recommendation because currently, just one gray wolf called OR7 is meandering along the northern California border, and she believes the endangered species list is warranted.

https://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf/OR7story.html

OR-7 – A Lone Wolf's Story

Background

The male wolf known as “OR7” was born in northeastern Oregon in spring 2009. It weighed approximately 90 pounds when collared with a radio transmitter by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in February 2011. It is referred to by biologists as OR7 because it was the seventh wolf radio-collared in Oregon. Its collar transmits location information to satellites daily and is expected to continue to function until at least 2013.

Until recently, OR7 was a member of northeastern Oregon’s Imnaha pack. The Imnaha pack was first documented in 2009 and currently occupies much of the Imnaha River drainage (east of the communities of Enterprise and Joseph) in Wallowa County. The founding members of this pack migrated into Oregon from Idaho.

Although it had as many as 16 wolves in 2010, the Imnaha pack may now have as few as five animals. Several members died in 2011, and four radio-collared wolves (including OR7) have dispersed from the pack since December 2010. Additionally, the locations and fates of five uncollared pack members are currently unknown. According to ODFW, it is likely that some or all of these wolves may have also dispersed from the pack.

The dispersal of younger individuals from a pack is common. Dispersing wolves generally attempt to join other packs, carve out new territories within occupied habitat, or form their own pack in unoccupied habitat. In addition to OR7, known dispersers from the Imnaha pack include OR5, OR9 and OR3:  

OR5 is a female and entered southeastern Washington in December 2010. Its current whereabouts are unknown.
OR9 is a male that swam across Brownlee Reservoir and entered Idaho in July 2011 where he was subsequently taken by a hunter in February 2012. 

OR3 is a male that dispersed westward in May 2011. Its collar transmits VHF radio signals only, making the animal more difficult to regularly locate. It was last located on September 30 in the Ochoco Mountains of central Oregon (northeast of Prineville), and its current fate is unknown.
During winter and spring, the Imnaha pack tends to occupy lower-elevation areas consisting of a mix of private and public lands. In summer and fall, the wolves spend most of their time on public lands at higher elevations. The pack has been documented to kill livestock and two of its members were killed by ODFW in May 2011 in an effort to deter further depredation events. In September, ODFW decided to kill two additional wolves from the pack, including the alpha male. However, that action has not yet been implemented due to a court-ordered temporary stay. As an Imnaha pack member, it is likely that at some point OR7 has been involved in livestock depredation in northeastern Oregon. However, since OR7 was collared in February 2011, it has not been documented to have taken part in any depredation events.

Dispersal – Oregon

OR7 dispersed from the Imnaha pack in September 2011. Between September and early November it followed an approximately southwesterly course that took it across parts of Baker, Grant, Harney, Deschutes, Lake, Klamath and Douglas counties. During that journey it crossed Interstate 84 and U.S. Routes 26, 395, 20 and 97.

Between November 8 and December 23, OR7’s movements slowed and it occupied a broad area near the crest of the southern Cascades. This area included portions of Jackson and Klamath counties and included much of the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Field work conducted by ODFW determined that OR7 visited an elk carcass and livestock carcasses (bone pile) in this area. On November 14, an animal thought likely to be OR7 was photographed by a hunter’s trail camera on public land east of Butte Falls.

In late December, OR7 left the Sky Lakes area and headed south-southwest to near Howard Prairie Lake and Oregon Route 66. It then turned eastward, ultimately crossing the Klamath River and Highway 97. On December 28, OR7 crossed into California northeast of Dorris, a small town in Siskiyou County.

Dispersal – California

Since arriving in California, OR7 has traveled in the southern Cascades and across portions of the Modoc Plateau. Its average daily movement has been approximately 15 air miles. Since animals do not typically walk in straight lines, the actual distance it travels is likely much larger.

Dispersing wolves can readily traverse most habitat types and OR7 has passed through ponderosa pine forests, mixed conifer forests, lava flows, sagebrush shrublands, juniper woodlands and agricultural lands. Although OR7 has used private lands (timberlands in particular), most of its route has traversed public lands.

No public safety incidents events or agricultural losses stemming from wolf damage have been reported in California. There have been no confirmed sightings of OR7 in California.

Dec 28 – 31. After entering California, OR7 passed through Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and then continued south-southeasterly across private and public lands (BLM and USFS) near Mt. Dome. On December 31 it was on the Modoc National Forest between Lava Beds National Monument and Medicine Lake.

Week of January 1-7. OR7 remained in roughly the same area between Medicine Lake and Lava Beds NM until January 3. On January 3 and 4, OR7 crossed the Medicine Lake Highlands and moved approximately 30 air miles to the southeastern corner of Siskiyou County. It entered eastern Shasta County’s Fall River watershed on January 5. It soon turned westward and crossed the Pit River and Highway 89. On January 6 and 7, it was in the Cascade Mountains west of Burney. It spent much of its time in an area of regenerating forest that had burned in the 1992 Fountain Fire. 

Week of January 8-15. OR7 remained in the Cascades west of Burney until January 9. It then traveled south along the Cascade crest to LaTour State Forest before turning  eastward. By the end of January 10, it had crossed Highways 89 and 44 and was in Lassen County near Bogard Buttes (over 49 air miles from its transmitted location point on January 9). OR7 continued its rapid travel on January 11, traveling approximately 30 air miles to near Grasshopper Valley in northern Lassen County.




“It’s kind of hard to get more endangered than that,” said Richie. “But we do understand there’s a lot of scientific uncertainly. Usually when a department is looking at listing a species at the state level they’ve got to use a lot of scientific data to make that decision, and there isn’t really much because we don’t have a wolf population.”

“If we could get another way to afford protections, that would be, I guess, a second best choice,” she added.

More gray wolves are expected to move into California from the north as the population grows.

“It’s hard to predict how many could come,” said Richie. “That really depends on the habitat and the prey base that’s available for wolves.”

“We’re preparing for wolves to come back regardless of what the protections are because we think it’s inevitable and we see being proactive as a positive thing regardless of what the legal status is,” Richie said.

http://www.timberwolfinformation.org/ca-san-diego-wildlife-advocates-pave-way-to-restore-gray-wolves-in-california/

*

EFFORTS IN SAN DIEGO HELP CRITICALLY ENDANGERED WOLF

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/nov/08/efforts-in-san-diego-help-restore-critically-endan/   

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

By Susan Murphy, Katie Schoolov

Evening Edition 

A vibrant chorus cascades down the mountainside near Julian. The talented vocalists are gray wolves. They roam in a 50-acre conservation and research facility known as the California Wolf Center, founded in 1977 to educate the public about wildlife and ecology (story continues below).
http://www.californiawolfcenter.org/about/

"Here at the center we have 23 wolves," said Erin Hunt, general manager of the California Wolf Center. "We have six Alaskan gray wolves, and the Alaskan gray wolves are here for education and research purposes. We also house Mexican gray wolves, which are critically endangered, with only about 50 living in the wild today."

Radio news logo 
Efforts In San Diego Help Restore Critically-Endangered Wolf
Aired 11/8/11
Once on the brink of extinction, Mexican gray wolves are staging a comeback. A conservation center in San Diego is helping with the effort to reintroduce them to the wild.
Mexican gray wolves were nearly extinct in the 1970s, with just five remaining in the wild. But the survivors were captured and the species was saved. Today, the Wolf Center is part of a national effort to give them a second chance.

"We have had one pack of wolves born here actually get to go out into the wild and they lived successfully in the wild for many years," said Hunt. "And the alpha female of that pack has offspring that are still currently living in the wild."

Four Mexican gray wolf pups were born at the California Wolf Center in April 2011. The pups will likely be selected for breeding or release when they're old enough.

Credit: The California Wolf Center

Above: Four Mexican gray wolf pups were born at the California Wolf Center in April 2011. The pups will likely be selected for breeding or release when they're old enough.

Three more wolves are set to be released this fall or winter to the reintroduction area along the Arizona and New Mexico border.

The wolves preparing to be reintroduced have very limited human contact. Most of the packs are off display and kept far away from visitors.

"We limit the amount of time we spend in each enclosure," said Hunt, "and we only enter certain areas of the enclosure. You don’t want to release a wolf that’s gotten a little too used to being around people by being in the captive environment," Hunt explained.

Hunt said the wolves thrive at the center -- four pups were born in April. But when they’re released into the wild they face many challenges.

Mexico border.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Above: This map shows the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction location along the Arizona and New Mexico border.

"That’s when the work really begins," said Chelsea Davis, the Center's animal care and facilities manager. "The wolves in the wild are monitored and checked weekly."

One way they're monitored is through howl surveys. "So they'll go out around dawn or dusk – peak activity times for wolves," said Davis. "And they'll actually try to get wolf packs to howl -- and you can tell two individuals and two pups."

Another way is through special micro-chipped collars.

"A lot of times you’re expecting the wolves will stay in the area where you released them and then you find them 60 miles away from there by the end of the week," said Davis.

The wolves are also observed to make sure they’re hunting and eating the right prey, such as elk, deer and fish. That’s because the reintroduction area is federal grazing land where roaming cattle and sheep often become tasty temptations.

The California Wolf Center
The California Wolf Center is a conservation and research center located 50 miles east of San Diego near Julian. The center is home to Alaskan and Mexican gray wolves -- some of which are exhibited for educational purposes.
Historically, wolves were killed by ranchers for attacking livestock. At the Wolf Center, researchers are experimenting with taste aversion, which is lacing meat with a nausea-inducing chemical.

Dan Moriarty, a professor of pshychological sciences at the University of San Diego is using the technique to teach captive Mexican gray wolves that eating sheep will make them sick.

"Some people describe this as a process of going from yum to yuck," he said. "It tasted good when you first encountered it, but after this illness episode it simply doesn’t taste good anymore.

Moriarty said the question is whether the learned aversion during captivity will be enough to prevent the wolves from attacking livestock in the wild.

"Certainly it’s going to be enough to prevent them from eating, and it’s hard to imagine why a predator would attack something -- logically why would it attack something that is distasteful.

The real answer is going to come with the field trials, Moriarty added.

Moriarty is hopeful the aversion will be an effective tool to boost the number of successful reintroductions. The goal is to create a thriving ecosystem –just like their sister, the Alaskan gray wolf has done in the northern Rockies. They too were on the brink of extinction and were reintroduced in the wild starting in 1995.

Credit: California Wolf Center

Above: This illustration shows the Yellowstone National Park ecosystem before and after the Alaskan gray wolves were returned to the wild, starting in 1995.

"So in Yellowstone national park when wolves returned, they kept the elk herds on the move. This prevented overgrazing which allowed willow and aspen trees to return and thrive. With the return of the willow and aspen, we saw a decrease of erosion in the stream beds in the river ecosystems in the park, which meant that song birds, fish, amphibians beavers and all sorts of other life could return to those areas," said Hunt.

That’s why there’s such excitement over four Mexican gray wolf pups born at the center earlier this year. Hunt said they’ll likely be selected for breeding or release.

"It could take several years for that to happen," said Hunt. "As I said they are very young animals right now, but it is definitely a potential in their future."

Conservationists had hoped to have 100 Mexican gray wolves in the wild by 2005, but six years later, they’re only half way there.

HOW WOLVES CHANGE RIVERS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

George Monbiot explains how the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone N.P. changed the entire ecosystem for the better.

WOLVES IN YELLOWSTONE PROVE 

ONE SPECIES' EFFECT 

ON ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY

Cody : WY : USA | Feb 16, 2014 at 6:11 PM PST BY RenoBerkeley 

How Wolves Change Rivers
Sustainability. For conservationists, it’s one of the single most important issues facing our planet today. For others, it’s an inconvenient issue serving as a thorn in their side that prevents industrial and agricultural progress. The issue is very real, however, and even the smallest change in any given ecosystem can wreak havoc on the life that depends upon it.
Take the wolf, for example. While cattle ranchers and farmers don’t think anything of killing them for destroying their livestock (which is actually detrimental to our natural environment), the fact is, these animals are imperative for a healthy natural environment. Sustainable Man illustrates this point quite well in his video regarding how reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone National Park changed the ecosystem for the better. In 1995, the National Park Service reintroduced the gray wolf into the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone after the animals had largely been absent since about 1926. According to the NPS, the last wolf pack was killed in the park, but individual wolves were sometimes spotted.
Almost immediately, the small wolf packs began to make a difference. Prior to reintroduction, the deer population was out of control. Not even human efforts could curb the growth. As a result of this, vegetation began to decline due to overgrazing. After the wolf made its majestic reappearance in the park, the deer population fell, becoming more sustainable. The remaining herds learned to avoid certain places, like gorges, valleys, and anyplace they could easily be cornered.
Vegetation boomed, and because of this the rivers began to change. As George Monbiot explains in the video, the wolf’s presence had a positive domino effect: Because deer weren’t overgrazing and even avoiding places, all manner of vegetation made a comeback. Because the vegetation regenerated, the rivers through the park experienced less erosion. The rivers, which had previous Because of this rapid regrowth, birds and beavers returned. And beavers, as Monbiot states, helped create environments for other species, like otters and ducks. And the river became different. It slowed down in places, creating pools.
All this new life, all this new regeneration, because one predatory species was given a new chance in a place it had once called home for thousands of years. Because of federal government’s protection, the wolf population has grown to such an extent that they have been removed from the endangered species list. But the fight is not yet over.
Only the Mexican gray wolf remains federally protected, but even this species has its opponents. In New Mexico, one wolf is being removed from the wild due to a recent cattle-killing spree. Area ranchers aren’t happy and want the wolves gone. In California, the wolf may be removed from the protected list there.
In 2008, then-Alaskan governor Sarah Palin allowed the issuance of aerial hunting licenses so hunters could kill wolves. Her reason? To increase the caribou and moose population so humans could hunt and kill them for their dinner. It was not due to any real conservation efforts; it was for selfish purposes.
Obviously, wolves that prey on domesticated animals or those that hunt in areas humans frequent need to be controlled and removed. In the lower 48 states, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has suspended its plan to allow the killing of gray wolves pending further investigation. After learning more about how this species keeps its ecosystem in balance, I believe any plans to allow non-essential killing would be a bad idea.
RenoBerkeley is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/16552429-wolves-in-yellowstone-prove-one-species-effect-on-ecosystem-sustainability

My love letter for my Gray Wolves,  

to Director Dan Ashe and USFWS, 

on Valentine's Day, February 14. 2014
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/

Good Heavens Director Dan Ashe!

How many ways can you find to break a girl's heart?

First we have that issue of 2,673 endangered Gray Wolves being slaughtered after they were delisted.

( You folks at USFWS were supposed to be taking care of them, not allowing them to be hunted dead. )

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/2014/01/2673-dead-gray-wolves-january-25.html

Then I find out that the science you used to base your proposal on delisting the REST of the Gray Wolves is fatally flawed ! 

http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewild/mammals/scientists-call-bs----bad-science-that-is----on-wolf-delisting.html

And NOW I discover that you intentionally looked the other way while your employees harassed whistle blowers??? http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059985432

Dan, Dan, Dan.

I am SO disappointed in you.

I trusted you.

Not now.

I need for you and the rest of the folks at USFWS to keep my Gray Wolves listed as endangered status, to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. ALSO I need for you to please RE-LIST the Wolves you sold out via desisting to Idaho F&G, Wyoming F&G, Montana FWP, Wisconsin DNR, Minnesota DNR, and Michigan DNR. 

Please. Do the only right thing, Director Dan Ashe. 

Keep our Gray Wolves and Mexican Gray Wolves protected. List them under the E.S.A.

AND re-list those wolves who got the shaft.

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/wolf-news.html

Happy Valentine's Day, Wolves !!!

PRESS RELEASE: 
FROM WOLVES TO BEETLES 
FISH & WILDLIFE SCIENCE TARNISHED

SERVICE MANUFACTURES SCIENTIFIC STUDIES 
TO SUPPORT POLITICALLY NEGOTIATED DEALS

(Posted 2-13-2014)

#CommentForWolves

http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/w

olf-news.html

For Immediate Release: Monday, February 10, 2014
Media Contact: David Parsons (505) 275-1944; Kirsten Stade (202) 265-7337  

Washington, DC — This was an exceptionally tough week for the scientific reputation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).  On Friday, FWS had to release findings from a specially convened independent peer review panel panning its plan to remove federal protections from the gray wolf.  A day earlier, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) posted an internal investigation confirming that senior FWS officials overrode their experts to significantly shrink the range of the American burying beetle (ABB), a critically endangered species in the path of the proposed XL pipeline.

One common element of two embarrassing episodes is that FWS officials tried to support the agency position by writing their own scientific studies and placing them in non-peer-reviewed journals.  In the case of the gray wolf, the agency’s proposal rested on one FWS study which rewrote the entire taxonomy of the species.  The expert panel, which FWS tried to purge last summer, rejected that gambit, declaring “unanimity among the panel that the rule does not currently represent the ‘best available science.’”  In discussing the FWS study, one peer reviewer stated:  

“I checked the authorship of the paper and they are four people who work for the Service. I don’t know how the USFWS works in general, but if you are trying to say ‘this is the best available scientific evidence’ and then have the paper written internally?”

Another reviewer concurred, adding:

“I agree it is problematic....It is curious why they only involved FWS scientists and it be published in Flora and Fauna. I think it is a journal that hasn’t had an issue since 1991.” 

With the American burying beetle, FWS officials rushed a bogus study into a non-peer review journal to justify their actions.  Despite admitting the study is flawed, FWS did not order its retraction.

David Parsons, who served as FWS’ first Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator from 1990-1999 and was primary author of the Mexican gray wolf rule that would be replaced by the proposed FWS plan, has been unambiguously critical of what he calls FWS’ “ politically motivated path to likely extinction” for the Mexican wolf.  He further argues that these scientific deficiencies are symptomatic of a larger institutional corruption.  In recent formal comments on the plan, he exclaimed:

“Based on my observations over the years, political influence and pressure has so pervaded the FWS hierarchy that professional staff feel so helpless, demoralized, and in fear of career repercussions that they dare not defy orders from higher authorities….Has FWS completely lost its soul and dedication to its mission?”

The independent peer review panel reinforced Mr. Parsons’ concerns that the FWS plan for the Mexican wolf “is not well supported,” in the dry words of one reviewer.  Previously, PEER filed a formal scientific misconduct complaint based on documents detailing political deals with states to limit allowable range for the Mexican wolf, casting aside the findings of its own expert recovery team.  FWS declined to investigate.

Rather than withdraw its plan in light of the peer review panel findings, FWS Director Dan Ashe ordered a new 45-day public comment period “to provide information that may be helpful to the Service in making a final determination on the proposal” by the end of 2014, according to an agency press release which concludes with this declaration:  “We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence…”

“The Fish and Wildlife Service’s fiasco of a gray wolf plan has been a colossal waste of time and money that only underlines how politicized science has become in Dan Ashe’s tenure,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch.  “The Service desperately needs new leadership to restore its scientific integrity and credibility.”



See the Gray wolf peer review

Read David Parson’s comments 

Revisit the American burying beetle scandal

Look at FWS attempt to pack the peer review panel

View David Parson’s full scientific critique on the proposed Mexican wolf rule

Examine the political shenanigans on Mexican wolf recovery

View FWS press release on new wolf comment period

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http://www.mexicanwolves.org/index.php/news/1195/51/Press-Release-From-Wolves-To-Beetles-Fish-Wildlife-Science-Tarnished

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