Folks,

It appears that a wolf delisting bill will very likely pass this week in Congress. The wolf delisting language is included in the continuing resolution to keep the government funded. We expect that this bill will pass by the end of this week. The language will be a victory primarily for Idaho and Montana, though portions of Utah, Oregon and Washington are also included in the delisting. Important language was also added yesterday to preserve Wyoming’s court victory in support of important aspects of its wolf management plan.

This bill stops short of returning full state management authority back to these states, including Idaho and Montana. So USFWS remains in a supervisory role. If USFWS does not interfere and allows the states do their job, a wide variety of wolf management activities can be resumed by these states. We are hopeful this would be a step in the right direction for some of these states. This action does very clearly show that Congressional action is not only possible, but also necessary to delist no longer endangered wolf populations.

We could name a long list of names of members of Congress who have worked so diligently to delist wolf populations. Specifically, thanks go out to Senator Hatch and Lee of Utah, Senators Barrasso and Enzi of Wyoming, Senators Crapo and Risch of Idaho, Senators Kyl and McCain of Arizona, Senators Tester and Baucus of Montana, Congressman Rehberg of Montana, Congresswoman Lummis of Wyoming, Congressman Simpson of Idaho, Congressmen Matheson, Bishop and Chaffetz of Utah. We have not always agreed with some of these members, but all played an important role in getting wolves delisted.

Thanks also go to many sportsmen and conservation organizations that have lent their efforts and donations to Big Game Forever and to the wolf delisting efforts. Most importantly, this victory belongs to thousands and thousands of sportsmen from all 50 states who have truly gotten in the fight to protect the future of hunting through Big Game Forever. This week we will win an important victory in Congress that many experts said couldn’t be won. You can’t win a fight, if you are not willing to fight. So thank you to all those who have worked so diligently to make this happen. Your phone calls, emails and ongoing efforts were constantly a major conversation among members of Congress and legislative staff. This was truly a game changer in this fight for the future of wildlife in America.

While this has been an extremely difficult victory, it is hard to celebrate too much when we know that this bill does not delist most Western and Midwestern states. To our friends in Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and many other states: We share your frustration that you were not included in this delisting. While it was not our decision to go with a two state bill, the actions of a few made this a self-fulfilling conclusion. We also worked very hard to make sure the bill did not destroy Wyoming’s court victory in support of the right of states to make important wildlife management decisions. So while we celebrate the fact that Congress has now recognized that they must act to delist wolves. We know this is not good enough to fix the challenges of unmanaged wolves across the country.

We call on all sportsmen and all members of Congress to increase their effort and resolve to finish the fight. Thousands of emails are going to members of Congress to try to slow wolf delisting for the rest of the country. Let’s counter this effort with thousands of emails asking members of Congress to finish the fight. There are some who will use this two-state provision to try to kill the momentum on additional Congressional actions. We cannot let this happen. It is time to delist wolves in all states. Wildlife populations in the Midwest and West have suffered terribly. It is clear that Congress is willing act to address the problems of unmanaged wolves for some states. It is time for members of Congress to engage in the battle to delist wolves in your state and restore the primacy of states to manage their own wildlife.

Help us finish the fight. Ask all of your friends to join the effort at Big Game Forever to engage in this important fight for the future of hunting and wildlife in America. Signing the petition is fast, it’s easy and it’s free. Make a donation to help fund the ongoing efforts.

Let’s finish what we started.
–
Ryan Benson

National Director, Big Game Forever

Please take a minute and ask your friends to sign the petition at http://biggameforever.org/

Thanks for all of your efforts Ryan, Don and everyone at Big Game Forever, you’re much appreciated. – Hunters Against PETA