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Subject: Environmental and Animal
rights extremists sue to block delisting wolves
Chris Smith, Chief of Staff,
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks quoted in the press regarding
delisting of the wolf ;"this is going to be tied up in political
and legal knots for many years to come" This lawsuit is designed
to buy time for wolf populations to grow exponentially, disperse and
expand their range, and impose an extremist agenda to end hunting
and ranching . The States of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho dealt in
good faith with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Asst. Secretary of
Interior, Craig Manson promised delisting of the wolf by Jan. 1
2003. Now, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will aid and abet the
extreme left who seek to destroy industries in the west, choking off
all forms of cash flow to the rural west, facilitating the
confiscation of land. State and county revenues will implode when
the aforementioned industries collapse. Ranch land and ranch assets held
as collateral in our banks, upon foreclosure will strain our
banking system and create a credit crisis that will be felt by
every citizen of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The biological
science is completely monopolized by those who seek to impose this
extreme agenda on the West. Those scientists who dissent are assured
they will never work agian. Sincerly, Robert
T. Fanning, Jr Chmn. "Friends of the
Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd, Inc." P.O. Box 142 Pray, Montana
59065.......406 333 4121
----- Original Message -----
From: Rachel
Thomas
To: a
AGRICULTURE
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2003 7:31 AM
Subject: Groups Move to Keep Wolf Recovery On Track;
Defenders of Wildlife Lead Plaintiff in Challenge
Conservation and Animal Groups Move to Keep Wolf Recovery On Track; Defenders of Wildlife Lead Plaintiff in Challenge 10/1/03 3:00:00 PM
To: National Desk Contact: Brad DeVries, 202-772-0237, William Lutz, 202-772-0269,
both of the Defenders of Wildlife; web: http://www.defenders.org WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Defenders of Wildlife and 16
other organizations today filed suit to block Bush Administration
plans to change the endangered status of wolves in the U.S., lessening
protections in most regions, and sharply limiting the areas where
wolves will be protected during recovery. The groups say that plans to change the wolf's status from
"endangered" to "threatened" are premature, and
noted that several state governments which are scheduled to take over
management of the species under the Bush plan have declared their
intent to initiate aggressive wolf killing programs. "It saddens us to have to take this step, especially when
we've made such a tremendous start toward real, sustainable wolf
recovery," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of
Wildlife. "But Secretary Norton is backing away from wolf
protection before the job is finished and is jeopardizing all the
progress her agency has made so far." A March 18, 2003, FWS decision downlists the wolf from
"endangered" to "threatened" throughout the
Rockies and the Pacific Northwest, even though only three of nine
states in the region with vast areas of suitable habitat have seen
recovery efforts. The rule also downlists wolves to threatened
throughout the Great Lakes and Northeast. The rule would sharply limit
wolf recovery in the West to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and preclude
wolf recovery in northern California, Oregon, Washington, northern
Colorado, Utah, and the Northeastern United States. The Bush Administration's plan would ultimately hand over
management of gray wolf recovery to various state governments, even
though many of those states have made it clear that they intend to
encourage large-scale wolf killing as soon as they have the authority
to do so. For example, Idaho's legislature recently passed a
resolution calling for elimination of wolves from the state "by
any means necessary," and Wyoming intends to permit the shooting
of wolves on sight anywhere outside of national park lands. Minnesota
continues to offer a bounty for killing wolves. "Even though poll after poll shows that the citizens of Idaho,
Wyoming, and other states with wolves want this important species
protected, many of these state governments are in the grip of
anti-wolf hysteria. Rather than working for a consensus that helps
wolves, ranchers and citizens, Secretary Norton can't wait to hand off
wolf management to those who would kill them instead,"
Schlickeisen said. Parties to Defenders of Wildlife, et al. v. Norton are: Defenders
of Wildlife, Sierra Club, American Lands Alliance, Animal Protection
Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, Forest Watch, Hells Canyon
Preservation Council, Help Our Wolves Live ("HOWL"), The
Humane Society of the United States, Klamath Forest Alliance, Klamath-Siskiyou
Wildlands Center, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
("PEER"), Minnesota Wolf Alliance, Oregon Natural Resources
Council, RESTORE: The North Woods, Sinapu, and the Wildlands Project. Defenders of Wildlife is one of the nation's most progressive
advocates for wildlife and habitat, and was named as one of America's
Top 100 Charities by Worth magazine. With more than 430,000 members
and supporters, Defenders is an effective voice for wildlife and
habitat. To learn more about Defenders of Wildlife, please visit http://www.defenders.org. [Non-text portions of this message have been
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