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Bush, Wolves, and the Perversion of Democracy

February 27, 2008

Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

Tags:

bushadministration, endangeredspeciesact, ESA, greaterrockies, greateryellowstone, northernrockies, wolves, yellowstone

In announcing the decision to remove endangered species protections from wolves in the Northern Rockies last week, Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett emphasized the change in public attitudes toward wolves over the last hundred years.  Indeed, attitudes have changed—and far more than Scarlett and the Bush administration acknowledge.  Nowhere in the delisting decision or supporting documents did Fish and Wildlife Service reveal the fact that 98% of the 92,000 comments submitted last year to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the delisting rule opposed the Bush administration’s decision, and supported stronger protections for wolves.  If wolf management had been the subject of a vote, the administration would be redoubling wolf protection, rather than loading their guns.

As we have seen in so many other natural resource issues, the Bush administration has shown a remarkable ability to ignore public opinion, including views of scientific experts—even in its own agencies.  Fortunately with environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act, citizens have legal recourse.  And we have used our access to the courts effectively, stemming the tide of many Bush administration decisions that would have harmed the environment.  Hopefully, for the sake of wolves in the Northern Rockies, the courts will again cast a favorable eye on our cases to stop the administration’s recent decisions to allow the killing of hundreds of wolves—decisions that defy common sense as well as scientific knowledge about what is needed to ensure wolf recovery.

Ultimately, we must prevail in the court of public opinion.  And we must make sure that the next administration understands just how much the public cares about maintaining wolves in their last refuges.

Following are a few opinions expressed by citizens in comments submitted to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on wolf delisting last year.  The Bush administration certainly won’t publicize these, so we are.  I hope you enjoy!

First a few of my favorite one liners.

You people are EXPERTS – What did you THINK they were going to eat? Potatoes? 

Oh, don't do it folks - You delist these wolves and every crack pot with a gun will see how many he can hang over his fence till we're right back where we started.  

If you do this the only animals you will see running free are cattle and sheep.

I cannot believe that you would turn over wolf management in the State of Idaho to the chest thumping Neanderthals apparently running the state. 

If you have the stamina, here are a few more excerpts.  While comments were submitted from people all over the country—and indeed the world—these selected comments are largely from people in the region, because the state game agencies maintain that citizens of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana support their proposal to kill hundreds of wolves. 

I experienced coming face to face with a wolf on the Madison river 18 months ago as it chased a cow elk into the river in front of me.  I stood in awe for the brief few seconds the wolf and I faced each other and then it spun on its heels and ran back into the forest.  It was a beautiful creature. I thought to myself, if I never catch another fish again, I have seen it all and have been blessed. Idaho  

I have lived in Montana with my husband Hank for 27 years and we have enjoyed the beauty of this state. Montana's wildlife is an essential part of that beauty.I am opposed to delisting the gray wolf as it will result in another mad slaughter of this beautiful animal. Our creator is responsible for the existence of this animal, and the wolf has his rightful place in creation. I am aware that there is big money involved in hunting in the Western states. I am suspicious that these big money influences are behind this delisting move. Also, cattle ranchers would like to see the wolf eliminated again, I'm sure. Montana  

Why can’t one see how important the wolf is to our ecosystem, pleasure, and balance to this earth?  As a hunter I am glad to see a wolf take down a sick or weak animal.  Does society not see that this keeps our deer and other animal population strong and healthy?  I love to hear their howls at night when I am sitting at a campfire. I do not own livestock but I do like to hunt.  I was lucky that I had a father who taught me to respect life even if that life was a plant, animal, or human being.   He would always say, “We are the keepers of life.  We take only what we need to live on.  We never deplete what the Lord has given us.  For each living thing has a purpose.”  I would like to add to that: ... and if we disrupt the balance of nature, we as humans will suffer at the mercy of an unbalanced world.”  We will no longer enjoy life as we knew it.” Tennessee  

Hasn’t enough killing been done to populations in the USA? I speak of the buffalo, 2 million wolves, and of course native people. You-we need a new paradigm in the way you think about such animal life. No wolves have ever harmed people. To hear them howl is a magnificent spiritual experience. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota  

I am a fourth generation Wyoming native.  When I was a child in the 1950s, many species were becoming rare or had been killed off completely, including eagles, wolves and grizzlies. I believe that a diversity of wildlife is Wyoming's most important resource.  Wildness is so scarce any more that people travel from all over the world to experience it.  They love our state and the beauty of it but are very confused by our seeming hatred of animals they have come so far to see.  If Wyoming does not preserve it's wilderness and wildness for the future of our children, who will?  Without large predators, the completeness of the ecosystem is compromised.  Wyoming  

I can’t believe the level of ignorance that exists, that science is ignored for the benefit of cattle! Wake up!  We need predators to keep the balance in check, not an abundance of cattle. It is time that wolves are appreciated for they are a part of our food chain, preying on only the sick and the weakest of animals, strengthening the genetics of the future generations of other animals. Wolves are a endangered species and needed to be treated as such. This reminds me of some kind of "ethnic cleansing" but instead of it being against a human ethnic race it's against an animal for the sake of another animal that isn’t even native to our country!  Oregon  

Having grown up in the Black Hills area, and now living much closer to Cheyenne, I have always been fond of Wyoming as a state that loves it's wildlife. Are we big enough to share the state with a few families of wolves?  If they take some elk, won't this just get us closer to the desired elk population for the state?  Isn't it true that big game herds are essentially healthier in areas that have wolves?  Please put my vote in for a fair shake for the wolves. Wyoming  

I'm an archery hunter, and am delighted to see the grey wolf back in the west. Wapati and their ancestors have flourished in the presence of grey wolves on 3+ continents for over 12 million years. There's an old rhyme about this "What but the wolf's tooth whittled so fine The fleet limbs of the antelope". Your ancestors and mine and the wolves have been hunting side by side for tens of thousands of years. In that time, we've made a very good living competing against them with nothing but sticks, rocks and our wits. For thousands of generations he's been right outside our campfires, sometimes so close we took him into our family and called him "man's best friend". I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not afraid of the big bad wolf. He belongs there alongside me, and he's just going to make me a better hunter. Bring him on. The real threats to wildlife and our hunting is the same as it ever was: HABITAT LOSS. Washington  

The gray wolf holds a sacred place within the culture of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes. Consequently, the Tribes are interested in the maintenance of a healthy, sustainable, and genetically diverse gray wolf population throughout the Northern Rocky Mountain region.  We do not believe that the state management plans ensure healthy populations into the future. We do not believe that the minimum population level documented in the states wolf management plans, defined as 30 breeding pairs will result in a healthy, sustainable, and genetically diverse population into the future. Reducing the wolf numbers from its current size to the minimum levels set by the states is simply irresponsible, shortsighted, and unsustainable. Wolves are often singled out as the lone reason for the decline of elk numbers. However, wolves and elk have co-existed as part of our ecosystem long before the arrival of the non-Indian people. Primarily, human-based activities such as grazing hunting, recreation, and overall habitat destruction have led to reduced elk populations. Meanwhile, the important role that wolves play in the ecosystem is often overlooked. Ultimately, if the wolf was not necessary, the Creator would not have put them here. Lastly, we expect to see certain control methods, such as poisoning and helicopter shooting banned. Shoshone-Paiute Tribes  

I live in "wolf country" in Idaho and it is extremely rare to encounter a wolf in the wild. Wolves deserve to be given the status as a non-game species and not a game animal. The science behind the Idaho Department of Fish and Game opinion on this matter is really not a matter of science as much as it is a political bias against predators. I am told by numerous Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game wildlife biologists' that they oppose the delisting and that the Fish & Game Dept. is driven by politics from the Governor down and not by good science. Many of these biologists have stated their opposition to Idahos' plan for wolf management in private but fear political retribution if they were to voice their true opinion regarding wolf management, in public.  Idaho  

As former Mayor of Buffalo, I am sorry to see that reason and good science do not prevail when government and agency officials claim the wolves are decimating our wildlife herds, particularly elk. The numbers tell a different story. The WGF divides the elk population into Herd Units for management purposes. The WGF simply keeps elk numbers at unnatural levels and ends up having to feed this high number of extra elk, just to placate the hunters.  As a rancher in Buffalo, I am ashamed that Wyoming’s livestock producers are clamoring that wolves are destroying the state’s agricultural industry. Surely ranchers know that market driven forces are the number one contributor to what is driving the industry, not wolf depredation and the numbers substantiate this claim. Dogs, auto accidents and disease are responsible for more deaths than wolves. Wyoming  

There is a very frightening and distinct lynch mob mentality that is common among wolf demonizers here. It goes way beyond mere hunting. It is frightening to envision these people turned loose in the woods with wolf tags. And, I'm not looking forward to the horrible, sick feeling, upon seeing the inevitable wolf head mounts these sick cretins will flaunt on their truck grills. Idaho  

Dear Montanan Ranchers, I am from Greeley, Colorado. This place was also once known for its farming and ranching. Now, Greeley is in the #1 growing cattle county in the U.S. I grew up in a town once made up of rural values. Churches, apartments, and condominiums are now on this once farmed and ranched land. Shopping complexes and shopping malls are now on this once farmed and ranched land. Currently, the still standing farmers and ranchers are struggling to survive through severe drought conditions. These farmers and ranchers are just trying to make it through one season at a time. If I could I would trade all of these problems in for your one problem with wolves. I mean this from the bottom of my heart. Why? Because then I could still go home and call it home. My message is this:Be grateful that you still can call yourself a rancher.Be grateful that you still own your own lands.Be grateful that your problems are with wolves. Colorado   

Wolves are beautiful creatures put on this earth by God. No one should be able to take them off but God! We've come a long way in the past fifteen years towards repairing a century of damage. Let's not undermine all that we accomplished just to cater to archaic misinformation and fear. Where life on Earth is concerned, ignorance is no longer an affordable luxury. One of humanity's greatest crimes against the planet is assuming mastery of the world without taking responsibility for it. As stewards of the earth, we cannot allow whole populations of animals to be slaughtered because of fear or commercial interests. We must learn to live in harmony with the other living things on this planet or we don't deserve to be here. Montana

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