It's Open Season on Wolves

Big Game Forever
Dedicated to common sense conservation
For Immediate Release: April 15, 2011

President Obama has just signed H.R. 1473 the Budget Resolution, continuing government operations until September 30. A provision within that act will have wide ranging effects on the control of the Grey Wolf populations within some western states. The act requires that in the states of Montana and Idaho the Wolf be removed from the Endanger Species Act (ESA) and returned to individual state management. Language was also included which allows Wyoming to move toward delisting.

Sen. Orrin Hatch expressed, “I couldn’t be more pleased with the inclusion of wolf-delisting language in the budget bill that passed this week. The return of wolf management in northern Utah to state wildlife managers is a very important step in the right direction. This wouldn’t have happened without the resolute efforts of Big Game Forever and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife. I remain committed to doing everything that I can to ensure that the states, not the federal government, have the responsibility for managing wolves. ”

The sportsmen of America are grateful for the leadership of Leader Reid, Senator Tester, Senator Baucus, Senator Hatch, Senator Barrasso, Senator Enzi, Senator Risch, Senator Crapo, Senator McCain and Senator Kyl, Congressman Rehberg, Congresswoman Lummis, Congressman Matheson, Congressman Bishop, Congressman Ross, Congressman Chaffetz, Congressman Simpson and the over 60 total cosponsors who played a role in building the consensus of a need for Congressional action to delist no longer endangered wolf populations.

“We are encouraged that Congress has acknowledged the need to delist no longer endangered wolf populations. It is unfortunate that multiple administrative delisting decisions and ultimately Congressional action were required to obtain a partial delisting of a species that has been recovered for years. We applaud the beginning of the return of management of wolves to state wildlife managers who manage and protect hundreds of game and nongame species so capably,” said Ryan Benson of Big Game Forever.

U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis explained the importance of including language preserving Judge Alan Johnson’s November 2010 ruling. “Upholding Judge Johnson’s ruling is crucial to advancing negotiations on a common sense wolf management plan. This language removes obstacles that would have otherwise hindered discussions on the status of the fully recovered gray wolf in Wyoming. Returning management of the gray wolf to the State of Wyoming is the ultimate goal. Much work remains, but with this provision intact, I am confident we are closer than ever to realizing a full delisting. I look forward to that happy day.”

Don Peay, founder of Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, said, “With the need to trim billions from the federal budgets, this was first step to return management of wolves to all states and end redundant federal expenditures for a job states can do better. More importantly, with high unemployment rates and losses of jobs, abundant big game herds are an American Treasure, a renewable resource, and with proper management can sustain tens of millions of dollars in annual economic activity, tens of thousands of jobs, and the opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Americans to put food on the table.”

Big Game Forever and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife are grateful for the selfless and dedicated efforts of countless conservation minded sportsmen of America. The responsible livestock producer organizations, the conservation groups and many other organizations who have added their voice to this important effort have helped tremendously to educate for the need to protect healthy wildlife populations and America’s livestock industry.

We appreciate all your efforts Don, Ryan and Big Game Forever, keep it up. – Hunters Against PETA

Hunters Against PETA

More Good Wolf Fight News

House and Senate pass bill today with wolf delisting language

Folks,

Congressional action to delist wolf populations in Idaho and Montana appears to be moving quickly toward passage. The House of Representatives voted today in support of the Continuing Resolution by a margin of 260-167. The Senate also has voted to pass the Continuing Resolution. We are awaiting confirmation of the actual vote tally in the Senate. The bill continues to include wolf delisting language for a portion of the Northern Rockies.

The President will need to sign the bill into law by midnight tomorrow April 15, 2011 to avoid a shut down of the government. It is expected the President will sign the bill into law.

As many are aware, the wolf language in the bill codifies the April 2009 delisting rule which focuses on the approved wolf management plans for Idaho and Montana. Despite language that would delist portions of Oregon and Washington and a nominal portion of Northern Utah in the delisted zone, the focus on approved management plans in the 2009 rule make clear that the states where management authority will be returned are Idaho and Montana.

Passage of this bill will demonstrate that Congressional delisting is not only possible, but also necessary for states to be able to manage and protect wildlife populations, including wolves, within their borders. We are hopeful the passage of a wolf delisting bill for a few states will be followed by a broader delisting bill which would include additional states in the West and Midwest. While passage of this bill is significant step in the right direction, it clearly does not solve the issue. We continue to support the right of all states to manage wolves and other wildlife within their borders without federal intervention.

The environmental and animal rights community have been working hard to derail the legislation. Feel free to take a minute and call or email your Congressional delegation to let them know your feelings on the pending wolf delisting language in the Continuing Resolution.

Ryan Benson

http://biggameforever.org/

Hunters Against PETA

Good News on the Wolf Battle

Folks,

It appears that a wolf delisting bill will very likely pass this week in Congress. The wolf delisting language is included in the continuing resolution to keep the government funded. We expect that this bill will pass by the end of this week. The language will be a victory primarily for Idaho and Montana, though portions of Utah, Oregon and Washington are also included in the delisting. Important language was also added yesterday to preserve Wyoming’s court victory in support of important aspects of its wolf management plan.

This bill stops short of returning full state management authority back to these states, including Idaho and Montana. So USFWS remains in a supervisory role. If USFWS does not interfere and allows the states do their job, a wide variety of wolf management activities can be resumed by these states. We are hopeful this would be a step in the right direction for some of these states. This action does very clearly show that Congressional action is not only possible, but also necessary to delist no longer endangered wolf populations.

We could name a long list of names of members of Congress who have worked so diligently to delist wolf populations. Specifically, thanks go out to Senator Hatch and Lee of Utah, Senators Barrasso and Enzi of Wyoming, Senators Crapo and Risch of Idaho, Senators Kyl and McCain of Arizona, Senators Tester and Baucus of Montana, Congressman Rehberg of Montana, Congresswoman Lummis of Wyoming, Congressman Simpson of Idaho, Congressmen Matheson, Bishop and Chaffetz of Utah. We have not always agreed with some of these members, but all played an important role in getting wolves delisted.

Thanks also go to many sportsmen and conservation organizations that have lent their efforts and donations to Big Game Forever and to the wolf delisting efforts. Most importantly, this victory belongs to thousands and thousands of sportsmen from all 50 states who have truly gotten in the fight to protect the future of hunting through Big Game Forever. This week we will win an important victory in Congress that many experts said couldn’t be won. You can’t win a fight, if you are not willing to fight. So thank you to all those who have worked so diligently to make this happen. Your phone calls, emails and ongoing efforts were constantly a major conversation among members of Congress and legislative staff. This was truly a game changer in this fight for the future of wildlife in America.

While this has been an extremely difficult victory, it is hard to celebrate too much when we know that this bill does not delist most Western and Midwestern states. To our friends in Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and many other states: We share your frustration that you were not included in this delisting. While it was not our decision to go with a two state bill, the actions of a few made this a self-fulfilling conclusion. We also worked very hard to make sure the bill did not destroy Wyoming’s court victory in support of the right of states to make important wildlife management decisions. So while we celebrate the fact that Congress has now recognized that they must act to delist wolves. We know this is not good enough to fix the challenges of unmanaged wolves across the country.

We call on all sportsmen and all members of Congress to increase their effort and resolve to finish the fight. Thousands of emails are going to members of Congress to try to slow wolf delisting for the rest of the country. Let’s counter this effort with thousands of emails asking members of Congress to finish the fight. There are some who will use this two-state provision to try to kill the momentum on additional Congressional actions. We cannot let this happen. It is time to delist wolves in all states. Wildlife populations in the Midwest and West have suffered terribly. It is clear that Congress is willing act to address the problems of unmanaged wolves for some states. It is time for members of Congress to engage in the battle to delist wolves in your state and restore the primacy of states to manage their own wildlife.

Help us finish the fight. Ask all of your friends to join the effort at Big Game Forever to engage in this important fight for the future of hunting and wildlife in America. Signing the petition is fast, it’s easy and it’s free. Make a donation to help fund the ongoing efforts.

Let’s finish what we started.
–
Ryan Benson

National Director, Big Game Forever

Please take a minute and ask your friends to sign the petition at http://biggameforever.org/

Thanks for all of your efforts Ryan, Don and everyone at Big Game Forever, you’re much appreciated. – Hunters Against PETA

Hunters Against PETA

Bob Parsons the CEO of Godaddy gets uneeded heat from PETA

If you haven’t heard already the CEO and founder of Godaddy, Bob Parsons was recently slammed by PETA. Many other animal rights groups have also joined in the attack against Bob for having hunted and killed a problem elephant in Zimbabwe. They’re angry because he killed it then posted the video online.

We at Hunters Against PETA first want to say “Great job Bob”. There’s a lot of problem elephants in Africa that cause farmers a lot of damage to their crops each year and some deaths resulting from them as well.

Secondly, PETA and other animal rights groups will forever continue to attack our values, our lifestyle and our passion. It’s up to us to stand up and fight back against groups like these. And never apologize or justify our way of life.

It’s great to see that Bob didn’t apologize for helping these people out and for doing something he loves to do.

PETA said they’re going to stop using Godaddy’s services. We’re going to continue to use their services and always recommend them.

You have our support Bob. – Hunters Against PETA

Defenders of Wildlife call Hunters "anti-wildlife"

“Help Stop the Wolf Assault”. This is what reads on the home page of the Defenders of Wildlife’s website. It should read “Help Stop our Elk, Deer and Moose Assault and Slaughter”. This quote was also taken directly from their website – “Our wildlife needs your voice. Please write your senators today and oppose this extreme anti-wildlife agenda”.

Anti-wildlife? Do they not know and understand that no one and I mean no one cares more and does more to sustain the wildlife in America than hunters and sportsmen. Half of species thriving and living in America today wouldn’t even be living here today if it weren’t for sportsmen and their efforts.

The Defenders of Their Own Agenda, I mean the Defenders of Wildlife need to read their history and find out who truly protects and cares most about America’s wildlife.

How many elk, deer, moose, cattle and livestock have been needlessly killed, half eaten or not eaten at all and left to rot by wolves since they’ve been reintroduced back into the Rockies? (Where they don’t belong now). More than I want to know about.

Rest assured we at Hunters Against PETA will put up our best fight against groups like these who are trying every single day to take away our hunting rights. As long as they’re fighting us we’ll be fighting them.

Hunters Against PETA

APNewsBreak: “Montana won’t wait to kill wolves”

“BILLINGS, Mont. — Defying federal authority over gray wolves, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Wednesday encouraged ranchers to kill wolves that prey on their livestock — even in areas where that is not currently allowed — and said the state will start shooting packs that hurt elk herds.

Schweitzer told The Associated Press he no longer would wait for federal officials to resolve the tangle of lawsuits over wolves, which has kept the animals on the endangered species list for a decade since recovery goals were first met.

“We will take action in Montana on our own,” he said. “We’ve had it with Washington, D.C., with Congress just yipping about it, with (the Department of) Interior just vacillating about it.”

State wildlife agents and ranchers already kill wolves regularly across much of the Northern Rockies, where 1,700 of the animals roam parts of five states. Rules against killing wolves have been relaxed significantly by federal officials over the past decade but hunting remains prohibited.

Livestock owners in southern Montana and Idaho have authority to defend their property by shooting wolves that attack their cattle, sheep or other domestic animals. And federal agents regularly kill problem wolves, with more than 1,000 shot over the past decade.

But Schweitzer is moving to expand those killings beyond what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has so far allowed, including to parts of Montana where ranchers are not allowed to shoot the predators.

Fish and Wildlife spokesman Chris Tollefson said the agency was working with Montana and other states in the region to address their concerns over the wolf population.

“We’ve been in negotiations with Montana and the other states for some time, and we’re committed to continuing that and trying to find a solution that works for everybody,” he said.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar provided by Schweitzer’s office, the Democratic governor said state game wardens will be directed to stop investigating wolf shootings north of Interstate 90, the part of the state with the strictest protections for the animals.

That follows a similar show of defiance from Idaho’s Republican governor, C.L. “Butch” Otter.

Otter said in the fall that Idaho Fish and Game agents would no longer participate in wolf management efforts, including shooting investigations. The move forced federal officials to step in to enforce restrictions on killing the animals.

Federal enforcement of laws against killing protected wolves also would be expected in Montana.

But critics of federal wolf policies appeared emboldened by the governor’s Wednesday statements. Robert Fanning, who heads a group that advocates protecting elk herds around Yellowstone National Park from wolves, sent out an e-mail urging Montana residents to “lock and load and saddle up while there is still snow on the ground.”

In the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula, Schweitzer directed Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to begin removing wolf packs blamed for driving down elk populations.

The state has a pending petition before the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove a dozen wolves in the Bitterroot. A decision on that petition is pending, according to federal officials.

But Schweitzer indicated Wednesday he was not going to wait, and would leave it to state wildlife agents to decide when to kill the wolves. He was less adamant in the letter to Salazar, which said the Bitterroot packs would be killed “to the extent allowed by the Endangered Species Act.”

Department of Interior spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said the agency agreed there was an “urgent need” to turn over wolf management to states that have acceptable management plans for the animals.

“But the governor’s letter is not the answer,” she added.

Federal wildlife officials have tried twice in the last four years to lift endangered protections for wolves and turn over management to the states. Both attempts were reversed in federal court.

A provision in a budget bill pending before Congress would revoke endangered species status for wolves in Montana and Idaho. Other measures introduced by lawmakers would lift federal protections across the lower 48 states.

Despite the bitter public divide on the issue, attacks on livestock by other, unprotected predators such as coyotes far exceed damage from wolves, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. But the lack of state control over wolves because of their endangered status has frustrated both livestock owners and elk hunters, who complain that their hands are tied by federal protections.

“This is a real-life problem in Montana — and we plan to start solving the problem,” Schweitzer said.”

http://www.HuntersAgainstPETA.com

Sportsmen Please Take Action

Concerned over the growing momentum behind the American Wildlife and Livestock Protection Act, H.R. 509 and S.249, the environmental community and their champions in Congress have gone on the offensive.

Senator Boxer (D) California and Senator Cardin (D) Maryland have chosen divisive political rhetoric over responsible wildlife management by suggesting the bill sets “a dangerous precedent that undermines the Endangered Species Act and threatens the continued existence of the Gray Wolf across this country.” Sportsmen are being accused of “hysterical anti-wolf hatred” for simply asking the federal government to fulfill longstanding commitments and the promises of the ESA.

Senator Boxer and Cardin, you still don’t get it. Trust the American People, trust local people, not Washington DC Bureaucrats. You can trust the people, the sportsmen, the ranchers, and the state wildlife professionals who have fixed the federal government failures over the last fifty years. Wolves, and all wildlife will be in better hands being managed by the states, than mismanaged by the people who have put our country fifteen trillion dollars in debt and kept our country at ten percent unemployment.

The stage has been set. Anti hunting groups now claim to have sent tens of thousands of emails to members of Congress to slow down this important legislation. It is time for the 65,000,000 American Sportsmen to stand up to the environmental bullies, to protect our rights and to protect America’s wildlife.

Please take 30 seconds and email all of your elected officials using our automated system at http://capwiz.com/biggameforever/home/ Simply click on “Take Action” and with some basic information the system will automatically email your representatives in Congress. Take a few minutes and get the word out to your friends.

Ryan Benson and Don Peay
Founders Big Game Forever
http://biggameforever.org

We support Big Game Forever 100% and urge all sportsmen to take action and contact your elected officials ASAP, together we can win this war. – Hunters Against PETA

http://www.HuntersAgainstPETA.com