The memo directs BLM Director Bob Abbey to “take no further action to develop or implement” the draft policy on recreational shooting.

“By facilitating access, multiple use and safe activities on public lands, the Bureau of Land Manag ement helps ensure that the vast majority of the 245 million acres it oversees are open and remain open to recreational shooting,” he wrote.

Click here to read the full article.

The fact of the matter is though that they’re starting to introduce bills like this, which means it’s part of their agenda. This certainly isn’t the last bill of this nature that is going to try and get pushed through. This is what happens when hunters/sportsmen voice their opinions. Great to see this. – Hunters Against PETA

If this policy goes through then this would severely limit the areas where hunters are allowed to hunt.

“If the draft policy is finally approved, some public access to Bureau lands to hunters would also be limited, potentially reducing areas deer, elk, and bear hunters can use in the West.”

Click here to read the full article.

There are many shooting and hunting groups that are banning together to fight this ridiculous policy. We urge everyone to get behind the groups who are fighting this and to also let your state’s politicians know that you disagree with this. We have just as much right to shoot and hunt on public land as do the “urbanites” who are complaining about it. – Hunters Against PETA

Folks, things are getting interesting again. It appears that Judge Molloy may be signaling that he is ready to shut down the wolf hunts again in Idaho and Montana. As many of you are aware, a new lawsuit was recently filed challenging the recent Congressional action. Today a new case management order in the lawsuit is turning heads.

Why this action is a concern?
Typically, Congressional action will survive judicial challenge, especially where Congress is modifying an existing Congressional statute. However, the specifically tailored language of the Tester/Simpson language is subject to a fairly narrowly defined constitutional challenge. In basic terms, the challenge is based on the notion that if it can be shown that the Congressional action was targeting at a single lawsuit, the Congressional action can be a violation of separation of powers between Congress and the judiciary.

Will this be a problem for other wolf bills in Congress?
H.R. 509 (the Rehberg bill), S. 249 (the Hatch bill) The American Big Game and Livestock Protection Act and H.R. 1819 (the Miller bill) The State Wildlife Management Act are not subject to this type of constitutional challenge. In other words, by more broadly addressing the issue of returning wildlife populations to state wildlife managers, it makes it very difficult for these environmental litigants to successfully challenge these bills as being unconstitutional.

Why are we concerned that Molloy may once again shut down the hunts?
Judges will often send subtle signals on how they are likely to rule. These can be difficult to interpret correctly. However, in this case Judge Molloy has moved the plaintiff summary judgment deadline BEFORE the defendants even have a chance to file their initial answer to the lawsuit. This is an unprecedented move. In fact one attorney stated, “I have never seen a court do this in my thirty-five years of practicing law.” A number of legal experts feel this may very well mean that Molloy intends to quickly file an injunction which would once again put wolves back on the endangered species list. This would once again stop wolf management activities in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Utah.

What does this mean for wolf delisting generally?
Congress will likely need to take additional action to return wolves to state wildlife managers. It is becoming increasingly clear, that without more comprehensive legislation, preservationist groups will file lawsuit after lawsuit to stop any wolf management and to ensure the spread of unmanaged wolves to more and more states. More effective and broader Congressional action is the best way to protect America’s Big Game and Wildlife Resources from this endless cycle of litigation.

What does this mean for delisting of the Western Great Lakes?
This should be a warning signal to folks in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. It is clear that these preservationist groups will file endless lawsuits to stop wolf management. We have seen it before in the Western Great Lakes. Without Congressional action, it is unlikely that an administrative delisting will lead to lasting wolf management by the states. This is one of the reasons we applaud the action by Congresswoman Miller. There is nothing that says that Congress needs to wait for the inevitable lawsuit to resolve this issue and return wolves to state wildlife managers. It is time to be proactive and recognize that without Congressional action, the wolf mess will continue.

Keep Fighting the Fight
Once again, it is clear that some anti-hunting groups are not giving up the fight. Sportsmen must stay in the fight as well to save the wildlife in the West and Western Great Lakes. Family ranchers are hurting, local economies are suffering, and wildlife is becoming the real loser.

The anti-hunting community wants sportsmen to get worn down. As we have stated previously, while there are no short cuts to fixing the wolf issue, this is a fight worth fighting. It is clear that Congress is ready, able and willing to restore the right of states to manage their wildlife. Over the last few months members of Big Game Forever have sent over 30,000 emails to members of Congress. These emails have come from all 50 states.

We will continue to keep you apprised of developments as they arise. The stakes are high for the future of the North American Model of wildlife management. Working together as a Nation of United Sportsmen, we can assure abundant wildlife populations for generations to come.

–
Ryan Benson

http://biggameforever.org/

ryandbenson@msn.com

A new wolf bill was introduced today by Congresswoman Candice Miller (R) Michigan. Big Game Forever supports this new legislation as a significant next step in wolf delisting. The bill returns control of wolf populations to an expanded list of states in the West and Midwest, as well as providing the certainty of automatic delisting when objectives are met in Arizona and New Mexico. We continue to support H.R. 509 and S. 249 while also supporting the common sense effort represented by this new wolf delisting bill. We look forward to forwarding a copy of the official bill, once it is received, for your feedback and suggestion. Once a bill number is assigned, we will provide an update.

Here is an official press release regarding the new wolf bill:

Big Game Forever
Dedicated to common sense conservation
For Immediate Release: May 10, 2011

Conservation groups voice support of new wolf delisting legislation

Sportsmen and conservation groups applaud the introduction of new legislation in a bipartisan effort to address challenges presented by unmanaged wolf populations. The bipartisan bill introduced Tuesday May 10, 2011 by Congresswoman Miller (R)-Michigan returns wolves to state wildlife management protections in key Western and Midwestern states. Management of wolf populations under state wildlife protections is the best way to protect wolves while also permitting science based determination of what is best for wildlife resources within the states.

Ryan Benson of Big Game Forever addresses the common sense approach of the legislation, “We are grateful for the leadership of Congresswoman Miller, Congressman Matheson and the other original cosponsors of this proactive legislation. Returning important decision making authority to state wildlife agencies in the West and Midwest ends years of wasteful litigation and provides certainty that America’s wolf populations can be managed responsibly and in balance with other wildlife populations.”

Amy Trotter, Resource Policy Manager at Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC), remarked, “Its unfortunate that, when it comes to wolves, the Endangered Species Act has been hijacked by an anti-sportsmen agenda. Science initially guided the development of recovery goals. But wolf populations still languish on the list despite the fact that populations are now 12 times beyond delisting objectives for the Michigan-Wisconsin population. Michigan residents are frustrated. We welcome Congressional action to allow the states to implement their scientifically based wolf management plans.”

Recent announcements that US Fish and Wildlife Service will delist Mid-western wolf populations follow previous efforts to delist abundant wolf Mid-western wolf populations through administrative processes. Conservation organizations recognize that litigation and other delay tactics are likely to be used again to challenge new delisting proposals.

Mark Johnson, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, “Midwestern sportsmen conservationists were disappointed that recent Congressional action failed to address the need to delist wolf populations in Minnesota and most other states. However, we are encouraged by the growing consensus that wolf delisting is long overdue, while also recognizing the need for Congressional action to make delisting decisions immune to another wave of needless litigation. The wolf has recovered. It is time to delist them and place them under state protections and management.”

The impacts on wildlife populations in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and other states illustrate the need to be proactive in addressing unmanaged wolf populations. This is important not only to protect delicate wildlife populations but also the economic foundation of wildlife protection. Failures to properly manage wolf populations now present unnecessary risk to vibrant wildlife populations in the West and Midwest.

Don Peay, founder of Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, “With the need to trim billions from the federal budgets, returning management of wolves to all states ends redundant federal expenditures for a job states can do better. More importantly, abundant big game herds are an American treasure, a renewable resource that with proper management can sustain tens of millions of dollars in annual economic activity, tens of thousands of jobs, and the opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Americans to put food on the table.”

Suzanne Gilstrap, Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife, “The new delisting proposal aligns wolf recovery objectives in Arizona and New Mexico with Congressional wolf delisting proposals and is consistent with recent Congressional action relative to the gray wolf. The sportsmen of the Southwest welcome the fact that this legislation assures that delisting will in fact follow ongoing investment by states, sportsmen and livestock producers in wolf recovery.”

Anti-wildlife? Do they not know and understand that no one and I mean no one cares more and does more to sustain the wildlife in America than hunters and sportsmen. Half of species thriving and living in America today wouldn’t even be living here today if it weren’t for sportsmen and their efforts.

The Defenders of Their Own Agenda, I mean the Defenders of Wildlife need to read their history and find out who truly protects and cares most about America’s wildlife.

How many elk, deer, moose, cattle and livestock have been needlessly killed, half eaten or not eaten at all and left to rot by wolves since they’ve been reintroduced back into the Rockies? (Where they don’t belong now). More than I want to know about.

Rest assured we at Hunters Against PETA will put up our best fight against groups like these who are trying every single day to take away our hunting rights. As long as they’re fighting us we’ll be fighting them.

Adilene Chapina
adilenechapina@yahoo.com

Sincerily,
A Supporter of Wildlife“

“BILLINGS, Mont. — Defying federal authority over gray wolves, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Wednesday encouraged ranchers to kill wolves that prey on their livestock — even in areas where that is not currently allowed — and said the state will start shooting packs that hurt elk herds.

Schweitzer told The Associated Press he no longer would wait for federal officials to resolve the tangle of lawsuits over wolves, which has kept the animals on the endangered species list for a decade since recovery goals were first met.

“We will take action in Montana on our own,” he said. “We’ve had it with Washington, D.C., with Congress just yipping about it, with (the Department of) Interior just vacillating about it.”

State wildlife agents and ranchers already kill wolves regularly across much of the Northern Rockies, where 1,700 of the animals roam parts of five states. Rules against killing wolves have been relaxed significantly by federal officials over the past decade but hunting remains prohibited.

Livestock owners in southern Montana and Idaho have authority to defend their property by shooting wolves that attack their cattle, sheep or other domestic animals. And federal agents regularly kill problem wolves, with more than 1,000 shot over the past decade.

But Schweitzer is moving to expand those killings beyond what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has so far allowed, including to parts of Montana where ranchers are not allowed to shoot the predators.

Fish and Wildlife spokesman Chris Tollefson said the agency was working with Montana and other states in the region to address their concerns over the wolf population.

“We’ve been in negotiations with Montana and the other states for some time, and we’re committed to continuing that and trying to find a solution that works for everybody,” he said.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar provided by Schweitzer’s office, the Democratic governor said state game wardens will be directed to stop investigating wolf shootings north of Interstate 90, the part of the state with the strictest protections for the animals.

That follows a similar show of defiance from Idaho’s Republican governor, C.L. “Butch” Otter.

Otter said in the fall that Idaho Fish and Game agents would no longer participate in wolf management efforts, including shooting investigations. The move forced federal officials to step in to enforce restrictions on killing the animals.

Federal enforcement of laws against killing protected wolves also would be expected in Montana.

But critics of federal wolf policies appeared emboldened by the governor’s Wednesday statements. Robert Fanning, who heads a group that advocates protecting elk herds around Yellowstone National Park from wolves, sent out an e-mail urging Montana residents to “lock and load and saddle up while there is still snow on the ground.”

In the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula, Schweitzer directed Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to begin removing wolf packs blamed for driving down elk populations.

The state has a pending petition before the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove a dozen wolves in the Bitterroot. A decision on that petition is pending, according to federal officials.

But Schweitzer indicated Wednesday he was not going to wait, and would leave it to state wildlife agents to decide when to kill the wolves. He was less adamant in the letter to Salazar, which said the Bitterroot packs would be killed “to the extent allowed by the Endangered Species Act.”

Department of Interior spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said the agency agreed there was an “urgent need” to turn over wolf management to states that have acceptable management plans for the animals.

“But the governor’s letter is not the answer,” she added.

Federal wildlife officials have tried twice in the last four years to lift endangered protections for wolves and turn over management to the states. Both attempts were reversed in federal court.

A provision in a budget bill pending before Congress would revoke endangered species status for wolves in Montana and Idaho. Other measures introduced by lawmakers would lift federal protections across the lower 48 states.

Despite the bitter public divide on the issue, attacks on livestock by other, unprotected predators such as coyotes far exceed damage from wolves, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. But the lack of state control over wolves because of their endangered status has frustrated both livestock owners and elk hunters, who complain that their hands are tied by federal protections.

“This is a real-life problem in Montana — and we plan to start solving the problem,” Schweitzer said.”

The Senate announced the introduction of The American Big Game and Livestock Protection Act (S.249). This bill, follows S. 3919 by returning management of wolf populations to state wildlife agencies who were so instrumental in recovery of wolf populations. Returning balance to the ecosystem will not only benefit America’s Big Game and Livestock resources, but also ensure balanced levels of wolf populations under state wildlife protections.

The original cosponsors of this legislation are: Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and James Risch (R-Idaho). Very much like H.R. 509 introduced last week in the House of Representatives, S.249 bill would prevent further litigation and pre-empt existing lawsuits related to state wolf populations.

This legislation is officially endorsed by Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Congressional Sportsmen Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, National Trappers Association, Safari Club International, U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance, National Rifle Association (NRA), American Farm Bureau, American Sheep Industry Association, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, Public Lands Council and many other livestock and wildlife conservation organizations.

Please take a few minutes and make a phone call or send an email of support to our friends in Congress who are working so diligently to obtain passage of this important legislation. Phone numbers and emails can be found on at http://biggameforever.org on the “how you can help” page.

Working together as a nation of united sportsmen to support our champions in Congress we can be successful in this important endeavor.

Ryan Benson,
http://biggameforever.org
ryandbenson@msn.com

We are writing to request your help and support in three possible areas:

1. Help market – promote the event to your members, friends and other like-minded groups

2. Be an event sponsor – so far we have a $200 and two $500 sponsors

our event budget is about $3500

3. Donate an item for fund raising auction – outdoor item, gift certificate, adventure trip, etc.

If you can help in any way please let me know asap. We are just 3 weeks away from this important event and need people to help market and help sponsor the event. We have promises of $1200 so far and the event cost will be about $3500. We also need items for the silent auction.

Sponsor donations of any amount may be mailed to Idaho Freedom Foundation, PO Box 2801, Boise, ID 83701. Put wolves in memo.

You can go to this site to RSVP or for more information http://www.facebook.co/event.php?eid=148285101894174

The Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho For Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Idaho Outfitters and Guides and a host of other groups are working together on a public policy event on wolves in Idaho on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at Boise State University in the Jordan Ballroom at 7:00 pm. Our featured presenter will be Mr. Jim Beers. See his bio below.We are writing to request your help and support in three possible areas:

1. Help market – promote the event to your members, friends and other like-minded groups

2. Be an event sponsor – so far we have a $200 and two $500 sponsors our event budget is about $3500

3. Donate an item for fund raising auction – outdoor item, gift certificate, adventure trip, etc. If you can help in any way please let me know asap. We are just 3 weeks away from this important event and need people to help market and help sponsor the event. We have promises of $1200 so far and the event cost will be about $3500. We also need items for the silent auction. Sponsor donations of any amount may be mailed to Idaho Freedom Foundation, PO Box 2801, Boise, ID 83701. Put wolves in memo. You can go to this site to RSVP or for more information:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148285101894174

We encourage all sportsmen to help out and do their part to help out these groups and help save our wildlife from being wiped out by wolves. – Hunters Against PETA

“RENO, Nev. — Animal rights activists are lashing out at plans to remove about 2,000 wild horses from the range near two northeastern Nevada ranches that the wife of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens purchased to serve as a mustang sanctuary.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management planned to begin rounding up the horses Sunday near philanthropist Madeleine Pickens‘ ranches, which are in the 1.3 million-acre Antelope Complex near the Utah line, roughly 70 miles southeast of Elko.

Pickens’ Saving America’s Mustangs, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other groups urged the BLM to postpone the roundup, saying it makes more sense financially to leave the animals on the range in Pickens’ sanctuary instead of shipping them to the Midwest.

“Why disturb them and move them to another state?” Pickens asked. “It’s a slap in the face to every taxpayer in this country. I don’t think the BLM has come to grip with the fact that America is out of money.”

The BLM offers horses gathered from the range for adoption to the public. Those too old or considered unadoptable are sent to long-term holding facilities in the Midwest, where they can live for decades.

Spokesman Tom Gorey in Washington, D.C., said Pickens’ plan to send those horses to her sanctuary is not a practical alternative at this time, and the agency was waiting for more details from her to determine whether it would be feasible.

The BLM has a mandate under federal law to remove some horses to sustain the health of herds, rangelands and wildlife, Gorey said.

Horse herds can double in size about every four years, he added, and the BLM has determined the Antelope complex can handle 427 to 788 of the animals.

“There’s nothing new in their arguments. They oppose gathers, period,” Gorey said of the activists. “They say there’s no need and let the population explode. Their laissez-faire management philosophy would result in cataclysm on the range, both to the range itself and the animals that depend on it.”

Pickens last year purchased the 14,000-acre Spruce Ranch and adjoining 4,000-acre Warm Creek Ranch to serve as a sanctuary that would keep mustangs on the range instead of in government-funded holding facilities.

The Elko County ranches, which she has renamed the Mustang Monument preserve, come with grazing rights on about 564,000 acres of public land.

Activists are calling for a reallocation of grazing rights in the Antelope complex, saying the BLM annually authorizes the equivalent of more than 2,000 privately-owned cattle and nearly 7,000 privately-owned sheep to graze in it.

“The bias favoring welfare livestock is shocking,” said Ginger Kathrens, director of the horse advocacy group Cloud Foundation based in Colorado. “It is time to re-slice this pie and give wild horses their fair share of our public rangelands.”

BLM spokeswoman Heather Emmons said some of those with permits in the Antelope complex have been forced to scale back or cease grazing in allotments because of scarce forage caused by an overpopulation of horses.

The federal agency has a multiple-use mandate for public lands, she said, and has authorized about 2,400 cattle and 10,500 sheep annually in the complex.

“I wouldn’t say we’re catering to anyone, but we’re trying to follow the law and do what the land can sustain out there,” Emmons said. “We’re way over with horses out there. We want to get in there and manage them correctly with the right numbers.”

Activists also contend that winter roundups — involving helicopters that drive horses to corrals — expose the animals to the risk of respiratory illness. They noted more than 100 horses died in a roundup north of Reno last winter.

BLM spokeswoman JoLynn Worley said mustangs are easier to gather in the winter because they move from mountains to valleys and stand out better with snow on the ground.

Some 33,700 wild horses roam freely in 10 Western states, about half in Nevada. The BLM set a target level of 26,600 horses and burros in the wild, and removed 10,637 of the animals from the range in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Of the $63.9 million designated for the BLM’s wild horse and burro program in the last fiscal year, holding costs totaled about $37 million.

More than 40,000 horses are in government-funded holding facilities, Gorey said.”