Last Day to Comment for Bison!!

Draft Joint Environmental Assessment Adaptive Management Adjustments to the Interagency Bison Management Plan.

BFC file photo

Montana's proposed action would cause further harm to a majority of wild buffalo migrating in the Gardiner Basin. Wild bison would be harassed in winter range necessary for their survival, captured, tagged, crowded and confined into traps for extended periods - including during calving - fed hay in feedlot conditions worse than Wyoming's harmful elk feed grounds, vaccinated with a livestock vaccine that was never developed nor licensed for use in wild buffalo. Montana falsely claims that their proposed objective is to "maintain a wild, free-ranging population of bison." Their words and proposed action are incongruent. The government's language is intended to indoctrinate the public into accepting a gross contradiction of reality.
 

The environmentally preferred alternative is absent from this proposal. While it exists, it has been blatantly ignored by the government since 2000. This sensible alternative is overwhelmingly supported by the public and calls for managing wild buffalo as valued native wildlife, conservation of historic migration corridors, additional habitat acquisitions, and managing livestock where wildlife/livestock conflicts exist. This alternative has been ignored or rejected by Montana and other government agencies involved in the highly controversial Interagency Bison Management Plan since 2000, but it should be brought to the forefront and adopted immediately. (quoted from BFC website)

Click Here To Send Your Comments TODAY and Tell Montana Hay Bales Are Not Habitat!

Comments Needed! WY Wolf Plan

Photo: Britannica Advocacy for Animals

"Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead recently concluded an agreement with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to save 100 to 150 wolves in lands near Yellowstone National Park. But in the remaining 80% of the state, wolves can be killed year-round because they are considered vermin. Roughly 60% of Wyoming's 350 wolves will become targeted for elimination."  LA Times 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the Gray Wolf in Wyoming From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Removal of the Wolf Population's Status as an Experimental Population; Proposed Rule

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), are 
proposing to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming from the 
List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. This rule focuses on the 
Wyoming portion of the Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) Distinct 
Population Segment (DPS), except where discussion of the larger Greater 
Yellowstone Area (GYA) or NRM metapopulation (a population that exists 
as partially isolated sets of subpopulations) is necessary to 
understand impacts to wolves in Wyoming. The best scientific and 
commercial data available indicate that wolves in Wyoming are recovered 
and no longer meet the definition of endangered or threatened under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Wyoming's wolf 
population is stable, threats are addressed, and a post-delisting 
monitoring and management framework has been developed. However, 
additional changes to Wyoming State law and Wyoming Game and Fish 
Commission regulations are necessary for implementation. We expect the 
State of Wyoming to adopt the necessary statutory and regulatory 
changes within the next several months. If this proposal is finalized, 
the gray wolf would be delisted in Wyoming, the nonessential 
experimental population designation would be removed, and future 
management for this species, except in National Parks and National 
Wildlife Refuges, would be conducted by the appropriate State or Tribal 
wildlife agencies. We seek information, data, and comments from the 
public about this proposal including the post-delisting monitoring and 
management framework.

DATES: Public Comments: We will accept comments received or postmarked 
on or before January 13, 2012. Please note that if you are using the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES), the deadline for submitting 
an electronic comment is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on this

date.
    Public Hearing: We will hold a public hearing on this proposed rule 
on November 15, 2011, as well as an informational open house 
immediately preceding the public hearing. 

  
Click here to comment

Help fishers and wolverines: Your Comments Needed!

 The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission has tentatively approved "business as usual" with FWP allowing for the continued trapping of Montana's fishers and wolverines, two extremely rare species that are highly vulnerable to trapping and already struggling for survival.

Please send a comment to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission requesting the closure of the fisher and wolverine trapping season. Also, please support the reduced quota of bobcat trapping in districts 3 (400 to 300) and district 7 (800 to 600). Please write your comments into the form at the link below:

http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/publicComments/2011furbearerQuotas.html

The deadline for comments is Monday, July 18th at 5 p.m.

Talking points to support the end of trapping of fishers:

·         Montana is not only the only state in the lower 48 that allows trapping of fishers but it is also among the few remaining states that do not have a mandatory trap check!

·         Fishers in Montana are not connected to populations in Canada, and given their low numbers in increasingly isolated mountain ranges across western Montana, the mortality from the proposed trapping quota of seven individuals, may not be sustainable.

·         The wolverine is listed as a Species of Concern in Montana, and is likely at risk for extinction due to limited and/or declining numbers, range, and/or habitat.

·         Though fishers still remain in five drainages in Montana, their status is unknown; however, the decline in fisher numbers is clearly due to logging and trapping.

·         Historic data indicates that fishers were extirpated from Montana by 1920 due to over-trapping and they had to be reintroduced!

36 individuals from British Columbia were caught in live-traps and translocated to Montana in 1959. Another 110 fishers lost their homes in Minnesota and Wisconsin in 1989 and 1991and were translocated to Montana. After that, the trapping season was reopened in Montana in 1983. The statewide quota for fishers then was 20, then it was reduced to ten and now seven individuals can officially be killed for the entertainment of trappers.

Talking points to support end of trapping of wolverines:

·         Montana is not only the only state in the lower 48 that allows wolverine trapping but it is also among the few remaining states that do not have a mandatory trap check!
·         Given the low numbers of wolverines in increasingly isolated mountain ranges across western Montana, the mortality from the proposed trapping quota of five individuals, may not be sustainable.
·         The wolverine is listed as a Species of Concern in Montana, and is likely at risk for extinction due to limited and/or declining numbers, range, and/or habitat.

·         Wolverines are struggling for survival due to various threats, including habitat fragmentation and loss, and climate change. Yet, trappers can kill them for trophies!

·         Researchers estimate that a total of 400 breeding pairs are needed for the long-term survival of this species while the total number of wolverines in the US appears to be only 500 individuals with a large part of the population non-breeding subadults.  [USDI 2008/Cegelski et al. 2006, pg. 197; Inman 2007a]

·         Trappers kill wolverine outfitted with radio-collars, in fact, trapping has impacted expensive and difficult research studies to the point where researchers are unable to collect sufficient data to meet their objectives.

·         One research study (Squires et al. 2007) found that between 2001 and 2005, 64% [9 of 14 individuals] of known mortality was attributed to trapping. The same study showed that trapping was the primary factor for decreased survival of wolverines in Western Montana.

·         Trapping is an outdated hobby of few and causes our wildlife to suffer. It is time to end this kind of commercial and recreational exploitation of Montana's wildlife. Not trapping but wildlife is our heritage!

While we don't know if the Montana FWP Commissioners consider our public comments, we nevertheless need to let them know that we as citizens concerned about our wildlife, are watching their actions. Trappers can only continue to do what they do when we don't speak up!

Please send a comment. Again, the deadline is July 18.

Thanks!

Your friends at Footloose Montana