Never Cry Wolf

We stand here today to express our love to an animal; one we call-wolf. Wolves are not just magnificent; they are in life the symbol of beauty and grace. They are a family, a pack, a group that moves as one and makes the land their territory.

We also live in a time where ignorance, cultural hates and the loathing from rural communities is being aspired to an animal they see as a symbol of all that is wrong in our country. Wolves are the multicultural, Black lives Matters, Gay, transgender child or friend, in other words, they stretch the tolerance of those that want a life devoid of personal growth and understanding, but choose to live on the land, not co-exist. Wolves challenge their norms, but like much of American today; wolves in Montana are being met with hate, intolerance, and death at the hands of those who live to kill.

It is also a time when groups like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have gone from responsible wildlife supporters and approaches to one that has devolved into a group that demands the killing of wolves and other predators. Funding shadow groups that push state agencies to kill wolves and in the funding for paid bounties ($1000 each, Foundation for Wildlife Management) on wolves in Idaho.

So the reality we face is we have work to do and a strong need for vocal voices and boots on the ground for the critical battles ahead, which begin on February 13th in Helena. There the commission will begin the process of trying to follow the lead of the Idaho Game Commission in expanding the ability of trappers to double (triple in Idaho) their take of wolves and expand the wolf hunting season so more wolves can be slaughtered. If they get their way expect a push to remove wolves from parts of our state entirely as Idaho is pursuing.

This is not a time for silence; rather it is time to raise HOLY HELL with a Commission that seems determined to promote the destruction of wolves in Montana. This livestock industry, trapper inspired effort, needs to be crushed by the outpouring of support for wolves and a need for people to overwhelm this commission with calls, emails, and letters.

Once again we must remind ourselves of one basic question: who’s wildlife is this? Does it simply belong to trappers; is the endless control of wildlife acceptable? Is it warranted? The answer seems to be- the will of livestock interests, trumps sanity. Where is our will being represented? Where are our voices? Do we, as the clear majority, in this state not have the right to view living, breathing wildlife?

Why are trappers allowed to kill more than 200,000 animals every year? Since when is suffering part of our constitution? Why does the commission not have a single true conservationist on it?

Part of the answer is because many of us being well-meaning, believe that Fish, Wildlife and Parks is doing a good job. Many do not question that premise. The other part is simple raw political muscle being flexed by those that directly profit from the land, they are dictating policy. It’s time for sobriety.

Time and time again this agency yields to poor science, no science or political winds. They do the bidding of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and bend over backward for trapping and livestock interests. They do this because so few of us show up or demand more. February 13th is the day we can begin to right the carnage wrought by trappers, livestock interests and this agency. It is the day we can speak in one, very loud voice for wolves. They deserve our voice, our heart. They deserve our rage at a Commission that shows no courage.

Wolves are what keep the balance in nature. They are what stops chronic wasting disease, they are what keeps our elk and deer healthy and moving. They are the spirit of the land. They are what gets our heart pumping and allow us to witness true wildness. Their return was a turning point in our relationship to the wild nature and we cannot let that day, that victory, be in vain.

We must fight like never before, for those that want wolves to die are winning. We must be the blockade in the road, the voice that speaks for them and rallies our community, our state and our people to demand justice and the end of this killing spree.

We are not here to cry wolf, we are here to stand with wolves!
— Be a voice for change; join us on February 13th in Helena!
— Tell the Commission no to expanded killing, period.
—Justice begins on that day.

CALL TO ACTION!
We need everyone--an army--to protest planned wolf slaughter!
 
Montana’s FWP Commission meeting Feb. 13 will consider expansion of wolf trapping and hunting.
 
PROPOSALS:
In Region 1, NW Montana
1. NW Montana, double number of wolves allowed to be killed from five to 10 per person;
2. Extend wolf trapping season close date to March 15 from Feb. 28.
3. Extend general hunting season to begin Aug. 15 and end March 31. This makes a 7.5 month-long season wolf hunt annually. What is the rationale for this? There isn’t one given. The wolf population is already suppressed to the edge of –or beyond—the endangered list. We cannot rely on FWP for accurate numbers. The agency’s agenda is to wipe them out in Region 1.
 
Region 3:
Proposal will not reduce number of wolves (two) that can be killed in Units 313 and 316 on northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park. This absurd quota legalizes the trapping and killing of Yellowstone wolves if they step over the boundary. Wolf killers line up to get their trophies; there is no penalty for going over the quota.
 ••••
It is imperative that a multitude of people show up at the FWP Commission meeting to voice their objection to this indefensible slaughter of wolves. In Region 1, the hard winter of 2018-19 reduced the elk population according FWP’s own biologists. Yet wolf haters there demand getting rid of wolves, and the agency is doing their bidding.
 
You can attend in Helena or at the regional FWP headquarters where the meeting is live, by satellite TV, and make comments from there. FWP uses the excuse that more trappers show up than opponents to trapping so they go with the majority. It’s time we change this!
 
We expect this agenda item to be considered sometime after 2 pm.
 
Here is what we need you to do:
1) Please attend the next Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting Feb. 13 in FWP Helena office at or any Regional FWP office. It's live, so you can comment via satellite TV directly to the Commissioners in Helena. The agenda shows that the wolf slaughter will likely to be discussed after 1 pm but be aware that FWP can easily change the timing
2) Please also write the commissioners to condemn these disastrous plans. fwcomm@mt.gov

Talking points (please use your own words)
FWP Commissioners, I am asking you to reduce the number of wolves allowed to be killed in Units 313 and 316 two one or zero, to NOT accept the proposal to extend the wolf hunting and trapping seasons in Region 1, and to NOT increase the bag limit to 10 wolves. Instead, please consider the following:

Montana needs to recognize and value the importance of wolves for healthy ecosystems, in particular under the threat of climate change where healthy ecosystems are our best defense. Wolves should not be managed based on politics, but according to the best available science and with compassion.

Wolves contain Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Dr. Valerius Geist, has stated that “Wolves will certainly bring the disease to a halt … They will remove infected individuals and clean up carcasses that could transmit the disease.” He along with other biologists even theorized that killing off wolves “allowed for CWD to take hold in the first place.”

FWP caters to wildlife killers and not to the general public, who increasingly opposes killing wild animals for ‘recreation.’ Wolves should not be managed for those who enjoy killing them but rather for the majority of the public who wants to see them alive.

Indiscriminate slaughter of wolves disrupts their social systems and may contribute to greater human conflicts when killing of key family members leads to a reduced effectiveness of the wolf family for hunting or cause them to lose their territory.

Killing wolves for recreation and trophies is appalling human behavior.
    
Trapping of any animal, whether wolves or members of other species is barbaric, cruel and there is no justification this type of torture of wild animals.
FWP’s Regional Offices:
 
Helena Headquarters 1420 East Sixth Avenue, Helena, MT
Region 1: 490 North Meridian Road, Kalispell, MT 59901, Phone: (406) 752-5501

Region 2: 3201 Spurgin Road, Missoula, MT 59804, Phone: (406) 542-5500

Region 3: 1400 South 19th, Bozeman, MT 59718, Phone: (406) 577-7900

Region 4: 4600 Giant Springs Road, Great Falls, MT 59405, Phone: (406) 454-5840

Region 5: 2300 Lake Elmo Drive, Billings, MT 59105, Phone: (406) 247-2940

Region 6: 1 Airport Rd, Glasgow, MT 59230, Phone: (406) 228-3700

Region 7: 352 I-94 Business Loop, Miles City, MT 59301, Phone: (406) 234-0900
 
THANK YOU for supporting wolves in Montana. We need to take FWP back!