---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Predator Defense <brooks@predatordefense.org>
Date: Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 9:24 PM
Subject: Action Alert: Oregon Wolves in Jeopardy 6-7-11
To:
From: Predator Defense <brooks@predatordefense.org>
Date: Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 9:24 PM
Subject: Action Alert: Oregon Wolves in Jeopardy 6-7-11
To:
Please immediately take action to save Oregon's biggest wolf pack from extermination.
The following alert was prepared by NE Oregon Ecosystems and added to by Predator Defense. More wolves to be killed, and extermination of the entire Imnaha pack is on the table.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced yesterday that more wolves from the Imnaha pack may be killed, and Oregon conservationists share growing alarm that the entire pack may be exterminated. ODFW Regional Manager Craig Ely implied last month in a conversation with NE Ecosystems that this option might be on the table, and information from sources close to the ODFW have reinforced this conviction.
As it is, the Oregon wolf population has been reduced from 23 to 17. Within the Imnaha pack, Oregon's first and biggest pack and that offering our state the best chance of wolf recovery, 3 members have been killed by ODFW, one is believed to have dispersed to Washington, one collared wolf has disappeared, the whereabouts of several others are unknown. The Imnaha pack is in real trouble...
The ODFW is under crushing pressure from Oregon cattlemen to kill wolves, and unless wolf supporters make their opinions known immediately, the entire Imnaha pack is likely to be killed. PLEASE IMMEDIATE CONTACT THE OFFICIALS LISTED BELOW! Our legislators, the governor, the ODFW, and the press need to hear from us, not just from the Oregon Cattlemen's Assoc. and their friends. If you live in NE Oregon, your voice is especially important and valued.
Some points to consider:
- The Imnaha pack, reduced to 8 living members, represents half of Oregon's wolves and the best chance for wolves to disperse to safer habitat in Central and Western Oregon, where livestock conflict is less likely.
Oregon wolves are protected by the Oregon Endangered Species Act. The Oregon Wolf Plan, implemented in 2005 and revised in 2010, requires wolves to be managed for recovery until their numbers allow them to be delisted. Treating every depredation as a crisis to be solved by lethal removals is not a satisfactory management plan for recovering a population. Killing wolves should be only a last resort and not the first response to confirmed depredation.
- There will always be stock losses from wolves, just as there are from coyote, bear, dog, cougar, eagle,and others. However, less than 5% of cattle losses nationwide are due to predators and only a tiny fraction of that can be attributed to wolves. The vast majority of losses are due to negligence, weather, poor husbandry and other non-predator factors.The Oregon Wolf Plan (OWP) is not designed to eliminate wolf depredation, it is designed to balance conservation of an endangered species with livestock and other public interests. Predators are part of the livestock business in the West, where huge tracts of public land rightfully provide a home for wildlife, and from which the ranchers benefit by grazing allotments. Despite the presence of the Imnaha pack, no rancher has gone out of business or is in danger of doing so from wolves.
- Confirmed wolf depredations are compensated at full market value. Vet bills for confirmed wolf-caused injuries are fully compensated. A compensation bill is under consideration by the state legislature.
- "The state Endangered Species Act prohibits the killing of listed species with very limited exceptions," points out Jennifer Schwartz of Hells Canyon Preservation Council, "If ODFW is going to lawfully operate within that narrow window of exceptions, it must be able to show that lethally removing wolves in response to conflicts with livestock is somehow necessary to further their conservation in Oregon. With so few wolves in the state, we are very much unconvinced that we need to kill more wolves in order to promote their recovery."
- After a strong start last year, wolf tourism is just starting to take off this season, with eco-tours scheduled for this summer and private operators planning for 2012. Tourists are planning trips specifically to be in wolf country and Wallowa County will benefit. Obviously the slaughter of the county's most famous and accessible pack will bring this to a halt, and may well give the county a bad odor to those planning a visit to view wildlife.
In a June 6th letter to officials, Oregon Wild, Predator Defense and other conservation organizations listed these four shortcomings in ODFW's management:
- Violation of the wolf plan by baiting members of the Imnaha Pack back to the site of reported depredations with a cow carcass, leading to more losses that may in turn be used to justify lethal control.
- Failure to adequately document and publicly share information on claimed non-lethal preventative measures.
- Issuing 24 landowner kill permits without adequately documenting and publicly sharing information demonstrating those permits were issued in compliance with the wolf plan.
- Treating every conflict between wolves and the livestock industry as a crisis by devoting nearly all of the agency's wolf-related time and resources on a small fraction of the duties prescribed by the plan at the expense of research, education, and conservation.
A note on incremental lethal removal:
The management policy being applied this spring by ODFW is called incremental removal and is used when stock predation becomes chronic. It should only be employed after all non-lethal tools have been used. It's intended to spare the pack while removing the depredating wolves. In the case of the Imnaha pack, it has not been shown that all non-lethal techniques have been exhausted and the use of bait to attract wolves is indiscriminate and dangerous. ODFW used a cow carcass to draw and kill at least one wolf. This practice works against selectively targeting the animals responsible for depredation by indiscriminately drawing all wolves in, and sets wolves up to view livestock as prey.
Please contact the following to express your respectful opinion about lethal removal of the Imnaha pack.
Governor John Kitzhaber: gov.kitzhaber@state.or.us - 503-378-4582.
CC the following:
- ODFW Director Roy Elicker: roy.elicker@state.or.us - 503-947-6044.
- ODFW Commissioners: odfw.commission@state.or.us (Individual Commissioners here).
Please adapt your letter as a Letter to the Editor (300 word max) and send to
- The Oregonian: letters@oregonian.com and post to http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/
- The Chieftain: editor@wallowa.com
- The La Grande Observer: tkramer@lagrandeobserver.com
- The Baker City Herald: kborgen@bakercityherald.com
5. Your own local paper.
Thank you all.
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