Wolves to be Slaughtered as Part of Federal Budget

Photo-Wikimedia Commons

The wolves will be slaughtered in 60 days in Idaho and Montana. There are no packs in Utah and no plans to hunt in Oregon. In Washington wolves will remain endangered. In Wyoming, wolves will remain federally protected until the state develops a wolf management plan that’s approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Idaho and Montana, intend to kill many of the 1,270 animals last counted in their two states, which include approximately 80 breeding pairs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is likely to ramp up aerial gunning of wolves and campaigns that destroy pups in their dens.

There are 1,600 wolves in the Northern Rockies. 

Here is the text of the "wolf rider"

SEC. 1713. Before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule published on April 2, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 15123 et seq.) without regard to any other provision of statute or regulation that applies to issuance of such rule. Such reissuance (including this section) shall not be subject to judicial review and shall not abrogate or otherwise have any effect on the order and judgment issued by the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming in Case Numbers 09–CV–118J and 09–CV–138J on November 18, 2010.

In Washington state Fish & Wildlife will keep wolves listed as endangered. There are only 2 wolf packs in Washington.

Here's a Q&A from the Spokesman Review with Madonna Luers, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman:

Q. How will the rider affect Washington’s wolves?

A. Washington has a much smaller wolf population than Idaho with only two confirmed wolf packs – one in the Methow Valley and one in Pend Oreille County.
Wolves will remain a “state endangered species,” said Madonna Luers, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman.
The department is working on wolf management plan to reduce future conflicts as Washington’s wolf population grows.
A public meeting on the draft plan is planned for June in Ellensburg.

Q. Will Washington someday have a public wolf hunt?
A. “The short answer is maybe,” Luers said. “In our state, it’s probably a long way down the road.”

At least one Washington has sense :)


For a truthful, to the point article on the delistings go here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/12/966283/-Tester,-Simpson-put-anti-ESA-rider-in-budget-bill

Tester's Forest Removal Act

After being shrouded in secrecy, Senator Tester finally released his "Forest Jobs and Recreation Act." Secret, because no one, not even the press were told what the bill was about, except the select few who collaborated on it; conservationists, the timber industry and stakeholders.

Photo by Lisa Kunkel--HelenaIR

Regarding this secrecy in drafting the bill Tester was quoted at a press conference, “There’s really very little to talk about until the bill is written.”(WOW! Talk about arrogance and being controlling.) Yet on his website he says he “values integrity, common sense, (and) transparency in government” (http://tester.senate.gov/Jon/index.cfm )

The goal of the act is just as it says jobs and recreation. It has nothing to do with protecting wilderness. It's about logging (as the picture above shows).

Here are some highlights, or rather downfalls of the act.

Restoration Activity includes: precommercial thinning and commercial timber harvesting.

Stewardship Areas (here are a couple)

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest -- "a parcel of land that is designated as 'Suitable for Timber Production and Timber Harvest Is Allowed' as labled on the new map entitled, "Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Revised Forest Plan, Modeled Timber Harvest Classification." This means 7,000 acres a year will be harvested.

Seeley Lake Ranger District--a parcel of land that is "suitable for timber production; or eligible for timber harvest activities."

Stewardship Contract means "a contract that is carried out by 2 or more parties to carry out vegetation treatment, including mechanical treatment using commercial timber harvest of vegetation."

Another thing the bill doesn't do is limit cattle grazing on public lands. Cattle still own the land in Montana.

In his video he repeatedly says mills will put people back to work in the woods. He even says that if we lose timber mills, "we will suffer an even bigger loss. We will lose the folks who know how to work in the woods."

So, this act is as it says "Forest Jobs and Recreation Act." It's not about protecting forests.