Another Attack on Wolves - Delisting in the Lower 48

 

The Trump administration has proposed removing critical protections for gray wolves nationwide. Make your voice heard to ensure this premature decision is stopped in its tracks.

DEFEND WOLVES IN OREGON - SUBMIT A COMMENT

Here are some suggested talking points. Personalize your response to give a maximum impact.

  • It would be premature to remove wolves from the endangered species list, as they are not recovered throughout a significant portion of their historic range.
  • While some states have seen stable populations of wolves, this does not mean wolves are recovered throughout all suitable habitat. Hastily removing protections can make the species vulnerable to becoming imperiled again. 
  • In Oregon, removing ESA protections would jeopardize the few wolves living in Western Oregon and make them susceptible to a low threshold for lethal removal.
  • Federal ESA protections provide a necessary backstop. Removing them would shift decision-making to anti-wolf state agencies who have a vested interest in seeing wolves hunted and trapped. 

The Trump administration’s war on wildlife has picked its next target:The gray wolf. As you probably heard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its proposal to remove wolves from the federal Endangered Species Act. Wolves are far from recovered throughout a significant portion of its historic range, especially here in Oregon where just a handful of known wolves have reached the western parts of the state.

Here, wolves are federally protected in the western two-third of the state. Premature removal would put wolves like OR-7 and the newly discovered Indigo wolves in harm’s way. Taking them off the endangered species list would turn their management entirely over to Oregon’s embattled Department of Fish and Wildlife, which continues to push for hunting and trapping of the state’s 124 known wolves. Furthermore, a loss of federal protections would mean the outdated Wolf Conservation and Management Plan is the final backstop on all management decisions.

Please click here to submit your individualized comment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.