Barely 10 days into the new Congress, and a bill has been introduced to delist wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes region.
If this legislation passes, wolves will die.
Even more despicable, the bill would prevent courts from reviewing the legitimacy of the law.
We’ve seen wolf management Wyoming-style before. In 2012 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delisted wolves in Wyoming. The state wildlife agency declared more than 80% of Wyoming a 'predator zone,' where anyone could kill as many wolves as they wanted any day of the year. Even wolves that wandered outside of the protection of Yellowstone National Park were at risk of being shot or trapped.
One of the early victims of Wyoming's wolf killing was a magnificent collared Yellowstone wolf known only as "06." The matriarch of the Lamar Canyon pack, ‘06’ drew wolf-watchers from around the world. Her death just a few miles outside the Yellowstone National Park boundary was a tragic loss for science, for wolf tourism, and for her pack.
Thanks to a lawsuit brought by Defenders and our allies, a federal court ordered Wyoming’s wolves back on the endangered species list in 2014. But since then there’s been a continued effort in Congress to undo that decision.
Protections under the Endangered Species Act are not supposed to be about politics. They’re supposed to be about science. And the science is abundantly clear: Wyoming’s plan is not acceptable for wolf recovery, and until Wyoming creates a science-based plan, these wolves continue to deserve federal protection.
Please don’t let extremist politics crush sound science again. Take action today to protect our wolves.Denali wolves are in trouble and need your help.
Denali National Park & Preserve is one of the best places in world to see wild wolves. However, viewing opportunities have dramatically decreased recently due to hunting and trapping on adjacent state land. In 2010, 45% of Denali visitors saw wolves; but in 2015, only 5% did.
Now is the time to speak up for Denali wolves.
In February, the state of Alaska will consider a proposal to reinstate a wolf safe zone to limit hunting and trapping of Denali’s wolves when they roam out of the park onto nearby state land. A similar safe zone was eliminated by the state in 2010.
The proposed safe zone covers critical habitat used by Denali’s wolves hunting caribou during the winter and spring. Iconic and long-studied Denali wolf family groups have been severely reduced or eliminated as a result of hunting and trapping in this area. It is time to write a new future for these animals.
Wolves are an essential part of the Denali ecosystem, and the opportunity to see them in the wild is one of the special experiences that our national parks provide.
Take Action: The wolves of Denali need your voice. Please send a letter to the Alaska Board of Game and ask them to reinstate the safe zone. Denali’s wolves should be seen, not hunted.