Help our dogs ancestor

FYI The post by noushka05 is inaccurate (baloney? compost? trying to find a polite word here!)  Particularly the number of wolves that could be killed and the methods.

polarexpress

FYI The post by noushka05 is inaccurate (baloney? compost? trying to find a polite word here!)  Particularly the number of wolves that could be killed and the methods.

Yup.  The actual story on this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23275622/

http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=3CDF97D5-F405-0551-E357499D39440B2B

http://www.greateryellowstone.org/ecosystem/wildlife/gray-wolf.php

noushka05

The facts are the Bush administration revised an important rule to the ESA,

That makes it sound like the endangered species act was revised, why don't we say the wolves were taken off the endangered species list.

 it now means that each state only has to protect 20 breeding pairs & 200 total wolves, that could allow as many as 900 recently protected wolves to be slaughtered.

No, it doesn't. The minimum recovery goal for grey wolves in the designated Rocky Mountains Recovery Area was set at a minimum of 30 breeding pairs or 300 wolves for three straight years. The numbers have to stay above that for the wolves to be considered "recovered" in that area.

That doesn't mean the states are going to cut the wolf populations back to those levels.

Idaho has the largest number of wolves (about 800) and their plan is to keep the population between 2005 and 2007 levels (512-732 wolves.)  So will they allow some wolf hunting? Yes. Do they intend to wipe out all but 100 of the wolves in Idaho? NO.

 With no protection from the ESA its obviously going to be a free for all for all the wolf haters, since the 28th of march 10 wolves have been slaughtered in the Northern Rockies alone at this rate numbers are going to drop dramatically.

So 10 wolves have been killed and you think this indicates they are going to be quickly wiped out? I believe the wolves you are talking about were killed in Wyoming. Do you know why they were killed? I can't say about all of them but I do know some of them were killing calves. Do you know how many wolves were intentionally killed by humans last year in Wyoming? Almost 70.

Out of all three states, I think Wyoming has the loosest regulations for wolves and the smallest number of packs, and yet they have committed to keeping a minimum of 15 breeding pairs---that SINGLE state will probably meet and exceed your inaccurate 20 breeding pair number.

I believe each of the three states has times when they accept public comment and create the rules for each hunting season---why don't you learn some more about what is going on and use that knowledge to urge a conservative approach to wolf management? I think it is a far better approach than adding your name to a petition aimed at stopping something that has already happened.

Wolves were delisted through a loophole in the law the 10(j) rule which allows government to kill endangered species.

I actuelly said EACH STATE only has to protect 20 breeding pairs & 200 total wolves.

According to more than 200 scientists there needs to be several thousand wolves in the northern rockies to ensure their long term survival ,genetic diversity will be lost, with fragmented populations you will get inbreeding & eventually they will die out.

In Wyoming they are allowed to shoot & trap 250 of the 350 wolves