JUNE 2023

TWO Action Alerts for Washington Wolves

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission has proposed downlisting wolves from endangered to a state sensitive species.

Reducing protections from endangered to a “sensitive” species would mean that illegally killing a wolf would be a misdemeanor (rather than a felony as an endangered species) with lower fines and jail time.

As a “sensitive” species the state would be able to liberalize the killing of wolves for predation and even contract with local agencies such as sheriff departments to kill wolves.

Action Alert 1

The Fish and Wildlife Commission can stop this proposal from going into effect. There will be a Commission meeting on June 22/23. Submit comment online https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/contact You only need to provide your name, email, subject (wildlife) and comments. Ask the Commission to oppose the dowlisting of wolves to a state sensitive species.

Action Alert 2

But, it is also important that you submit comments on the DRAFT Periodic Status Review for the Gray Wolf | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

Submit comments: Online at publicinput.com/psr-gray-wolf, emailing comments to [email protected] or by leaving a comment via voicemail message by calling 855-925-2801 and entering project code 2573. WDFW will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2023.

PHOTO CREDIT Voyageurs Wolf Project

TALKING POINTS FOR WASHINGTON

Downlisting is not warranted at this time for a number of reasons:

Wolves are not distributed across the state as defined in the wolf plan

The third zone is the largest and has the most suitable habitat of the three zones yet there is not yet a sufficient number of wolves in that zone.

The proposal does not take into consideration the cumulative effects of disease, poaching and other causes of mortality.

Under Washington State law, designation of a species must be based solely on the biological status of the species. This proposal is not.

PHOTO CREDIT Kriszta Fecske

Great Lakes Wolves Under Attack

ACTION NEEDED

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) has introduced Northern Great Lakes Wolf Recovery Act S-1788 which would delist the gray wolf in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Here is a one page Summary.

The bill is now pending with Committee on Environment and Public Works and if your Senator is a member of this committee, it is especially important that you express your outrage.

Contact your Senators https://www.senate.gov/senators/ and Congressional Representative https://www.senate.gov/senators/ (note upper right corner where you can search by zip code) and urge them not to support this bill should it come before them.

There have been some misleading media reports indicating that this bill would downlist the wolf in Michigan, Wisconsin to threatened status (Minnesota wolves are already federally classified threatened). Downlisting to threatened is only the first step; the text of the bill clearly requires “the issuance of a delisting rule for gray wolves in the Northern Great Lakes Region”.

PHOTO IS OF A MICHIGAN WOLF

TALKING POINTS FOR GREAT LAKES WOLVES

It is the roll of USFWS to classify species under the ESA – not Congress

There is no scientific need to delist wolves in the Great Lakes Region. Predation has been extremely low; wolves pose little threat to humans; wolves have a positive impact on prey species; and this legislation ignores the broad public support for wolves.

We have seen what happens to wolves under state management. Wisconsin mandates that a wolf hunt be held, including the use of dogs, whenever wolves are not federally protected. The 2021 hunt was a bloodbath. Within three days, 218 wolves were killed (over 30% of the population), including pregnant females. They were trapped, pursued by dogs, hunted with the use of high powered night scopes and chased with snowmobiles. Packs were disrupted; wolves dispersed and according to DNR, the population dropped 14% the following year.

During the period 2012-2014, when wolves were delisted, 923 Minnesota wolves were killed through hunting and trapping for sport.

Without federal protections, any wolf in South Dakota can be killed by trappers, hunters, landowners and livestock producers.

This legislation is not about minimizing the few conflicts; it merely panders to a very small, but vocal minority who want to recreationally hunt and trap wolves for whatever reason they may have.

PHOTO CREDIT SANDY MONVILLE

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