| In spite of all of our best
efforts, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Sen. Ron Johnson joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) to introduce legislation (S. 164) on Jan. 17, 2017 that would remove protections for
the gray wolf in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Wyoming under the federal
Endangered Species Act, and prevent federal courts from intervening to
ensure wolf management is consistent with principles of sound conservation
science.
S. 164 has been referred to the Senate Environment and
Public Works.
 S. 164 bill text and history
Baldwin, Johnson back bill to delist wolf
Meanwhile, a similar bill,
H.R. 424, has been introduced in the House of
Representatives. The short title as introduced is Gray Wolf State Management
Act of 2017. It has been referred to the House - Natural Resources Committee.
H.R. 424 bill text and history
Wolves targeted as Congress moves to de-fang Endangered Species
Act
Opponents are already gearing-up
for a grassroots battle at the state level given the likelihood the de-listing
legislation will succeed under a Republican -controlled Congress and the
incoming Donald Trump administration. "I think we'll see the hardest fight
of our lives in the next four years," said Melissa Smith, who represents
the Great Lakes region for the Endangered Species Coalition.
For
more articles detailing the efforts to delist wolves, please see our
WI Wolf Hunt in the Media
page.
More articles concerning the
on-going "War on Wolves"
|
|
 PLEASE
contact your federal lawmakers urging them to oppose H.R. 424 and S. 164!
Find My State and Federal
Representatives
Call
your members of Congress -- you can find their contact info by using the link
above, or by calling the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, and asking to be
connected to the offices of your senators or representative. and urging them to
oppose any and all attempts to delist wolves. Ask them to. You can look up the
phone number for your members of Congress by visiting AWI’s Compassion
Index, or simply
All
you need to say is, "Please vote no on (H.R. 424) in the House and
(S. 164) in the Senate, and oppose ANY AND ALL attempts to remove federal
protections for wolves." The message will be noted by your
representatives' staffs and relayed to them.
Be
prepared to give your name, address, and phone number. Please, ALWAYS be polite
and respectful. Name-calling, and rude or abusive calls will hurt, rather than
help, our cause.
If
you, like many of us, are hesitant about calling because you don't know what to
expect, there is a very good article called "Shy Person's Guide to Calling
Representatives" --
you can read it here!
Shy Person’s Guide to Calling
Representatives
The
simple message above is enough, but if you want to add to it, here are some key
talking points you might share:
Removing federal protections for
wolves is premature, as wolves have barely recovered to their historic range in
the Great Lakes and elsewhere.
On top of that, they face
numerous threats including habitat loss, disease, and poaching.
Here in Wisconsin, aggressive
trophy hunters use exceptionally cruel methods, including hounding. Tracking
and trailing wolves with hounds leads to potentially disastrous encounters, and
is in our opinion no more than legalized dog- fighting.
Remind your representatives that the majority of Americans want
wolves protected and ask them to stay strong in protecting them.
More articles concerning the
on-going "War on Wolves"
Ask your
representatives NOT to delist wolves through Congressional intervention -
science not politics should dictate wildlife management.
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