WWPBlog

Western Watersheds Project co-sponsored a poll released Monday, June 16, in which it was revealed that voters in Arizona and New Mexico overwhelmingly support the recovery of the Mexican gray wolf in the southwest.

You can see the poll results for Arizona and New Mexico on Research and Polling’s website, but in summary:

• In Arizona, 77 percent of voters support wolf recovery;
• In New Mexico, 69 percent of voters support wolf recovery

More generally,

• The majority of respondents Support stronger protections under the Endangered Species Act;
• Understand the wolf to be a benefit to the West; and
• Believe that the US Fish and Wildlife Service should manage wolves to ensure against extinction.

WWP hopes that this broad support helps the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service come back on board with recovering this important species, instead of watching the numbers decline precipitously towards the second extinction. See our webpage for more information.

This wolf was apparently legally killed near Cambridge Idaho.

Click for larger view. More photos below :

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Over six weeks ago, I wrote an account of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s (IDFG) Public “Open House” in Hailey Idaho regarding the then released Idaho Wolf Population Management Plan.

Originally, IDFG had not intended to have a meeting in Hailey. But because of the insistence of a number of citizens, dozens of people in Blaine County were allowed to turn out for the event and voice their legitimate concern overwhelmingly against the state’s plan to kill wolves. This responsiveness was made possible given the Blaine County Commissions willingness to take official oral comments from the pubic, a willingness that the IDFG had not shown in any other of their “open house” formats around the state. The public outcry was inspirational, a community of people on a dark cold night civilly engaged in opposition to the state’s plan to kill wolves. At the end of the night:

Just before the last person left, a member of the public asked the IDFG commissioner in attendance, Wayne Wright, whether he would still support killing 600 wolves and what he thought of the public’s concern.

Idaho Deparment of Fish and Game’s commissioner Wayne Wright, representing the Magic Valley Region, responded:

“God gave us the ability to manage wildlife.”
Just like that ~ Blaine county’s concern sloughed off the back of the commissioner’s conscience.

Now, there’s more.

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That places exist relatively free of human intervention remains too much for the Idaho Department of Fish & Game Commission. Even after efforts to capture and collar wolves in Idaho wilderness using helicopters have legally failed ~ Commissioner McDermott continues to “beat that dog” into sidestepping the law.

The need to manage - to control - above all else ~ and apparently behind closed doors.

This is video of Steven Nadeau’s power-point presentation of the Idaho Wolf Population Management Plan in Jerome on December 3 - this is the same presentation as is being delivered throughout the state.

To view the next selection, drag your cursor along the screen and select the next video.

Remember, comments are being accepted until December 31. We encourage you to submit your comments to IDFG via their online comments page. If you would like an idea about where to start, consider this, and visit Ralph Maughan’s Wildlife News.

If you appreciate the video being available online, please consider supporting our efforts by joining Western Watersheds Project and making a tax deductible donation on our secure online membership page.