What happens when the states try to manage wolves…
Feds decline to reclassify gray wolf under Endangered Species Act
Gray wolves across most of the Lower 48 are classified as endangered, which is more protective than a threatened designation. Advocates hoped a change to threatened would pre-empt intervention from members of Congress who want to lift federal protections altogether.
Exposing the Big Game 
Hardly a surprise. The good old boys can start cleaning their weapons and fixing their traps. I hope the people who wanted to reintroduce the wolves are happy. Yes, I know wolves belong in the ecosystem, they have a right to their place on this earth, and they do not deserve the fate they suffer at the hands of substandard human thugs. But the history of torture and death inflicted on this species should have told us we would be doing them no favor.
I saw this article earlier and I think it’s causing some confusion. If wolves were reclassified as threatened they would have less federal protection. So if FWS is refusing to reclassify them then they’re still on the ESA list. Here’s another article about this matter. I think this one makes things more clear:
I may be wrong, but this is how I’m understanding things.
Thanks for helping to clear that up, Maureen. The question was, why are HSUS and others (CFBD) rooting for re-classification? But that is answered here with: “Gray wolves across most of the Lower 48 are classified as endangered, which is more protective than a threatened designation. Advocates hoped a change to threatened would pre-empt intervention from members of Congress who want to lift federal protections altogether.”
Sleeping with the enemy.
Yep.
Reblogged this on Coalition for American Wildbirds.
There is so much anti-wolf, anti-predator mindset in Congress, genuflecting to these idiots is not the answer, and this is why they are pushing for this–because the final goal is to stop all protections for wolves. These groups are playing right into their blood-soaked hands.
It is sad to say but the feds have never been inclined to rule over the political pressure of “sportsmen”, ranchers, farmers, extraction industries, development. Truth is the feds are and have been a very part of wildlife and wildlife habitat destruction. The feds and our forebears marched across this country destroying wildlife wiping out the buffalo, wolves, grizzlies, pronghorn, and more. Conservation is rather new and should not be surprising that conservationists run up against this wall of good old boys and our killing traditions. USDA wildlife services is a devoted killing agency. State wildlife agencies are primarily “sportsmen” servants concentrated on recreational killing opportunities provision commerce from wildlife killing. The USFWS should be a leader in conservation and recovery, but conservationists have to beg, shame, sue them into action. BLM and the National Forest is more intent on grazing leases, oil and gas leases, mining, timber sales than wildlife preservation, recovery, and balanced ecology. Money, commerce, power politics talk. Conservationist have to play the power game: Lawsuits, public awareness and involvement, exposure, congressional action, show the value of wildlife. Hit them in the mouth. Nice does not get the job done. Most of these groups laugh at the tree huggers, the enviros, the granola heads. Truthfully, many or most do not even car, or they are ignorant modern rednecks who hate us, hate federal government oversight and involvement, and any perceived threat to their traditions and commerce. If you put most government wildlife agency personnel in a room with modern rednecks you could not sort them out. Power politics is a big part of the answer boys and girls.
I was never a fan of the petition to downlist wolves in the first place. If wolf advocates are going to play politics with the Endangered Species Act, we should do it by organizing wolf advocates in such a way that curtails the existing assaults and promotes a vision for greater recovery that supporters can rally behind and advance – not by proposing less-bad compromises to unrealized fears while keeping the focus on avoiding controversy. It sends the wrong message – namely, weakness. Let the crooks play this sort of cynical politics with the Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, the professional/establishment advocates are unwilling to invest in the sort of principled struggle that involves being unafraid of controversy and boots-on-the-ground community organizing to counter the anti-wolf advocates’ successful political strides.
Wolves are worth the *fight.*
Brian, so well said–thank you! I, too have been saying this for some time, and it really is sad (especially for the wildlife) to see so many so-called “wildlife organizations” making deals, compromising and genuflecting to the enemies of The Wild. As they say, “the lesser of two evils, is still evil.” If groups who purport to care about the wild, spent as much time, money & energy on fighting The Enemies, as they do playing political games and compromising wild lives away, wolves and other wildlife might just stand a chance. As it is now, more wild animals are dying, not less. Until we get very serious, and yes, angry, about what the Livestock and Hunting Industries, (and there political cronies), are doing out there, nothing will change.
http://www.foranimals.org
Sorry for the typo: it should read ….(and their political cronies)………
It has been sufficiently proved over and over again that it’s a MISTAKE to suggest the “reasonable compromise”, to voluntarily take that one step back too much, BEFORE serious negotiations even started. If we want to see ANY progress in environment and wildlife protection, we need to DEMAND the extreme maximum – then, maybe, we have a slim chance to get at least a bit of what is needed.
Wherever we are on this planet, we are dealing with greedy sociopaths, playing according to utterly irresponsible, short-sighted, exclusively profit-oriented CORPORATE rules, NOT with reasonable, responsible, decent individuals.
Please, finally DROP the notion it was possible to talk sense with people who regard plainly everything as nothing but a ressource to be utilized and exploited. To them, NOTHING has any “intrinsic value” – everything has a “price tag” for them, and is rated at current MARKET price. That is the way they think. THINK, not feel – most of them are not even capable of feeling too much, and certainly not regarding anything outside themselves.
Oh, you say we’re dealing with politicians and civil servants, not with corporate representatives? Let’s get real – there is NO difference, and mostly we are talking about – and with – persons who jump from the industry to politics and public authorities, and back again.
Decent, responsible, compassionate people in possession of a conscience DON’T MAKE CAREERS.