This diary is my first, and will be a little on the brief side.
Wolves are near and dear to me, hence the handle. This update is from my email from the NRDC:
We only have three weeks left to protect hundreds of wolves from a plan that would pave the way to their slaughter in the northern Rockies.
On May 9, the Bush Administration will stop accepting Citizen Comments on its proposal to strip Greater Yellowstone's gray wolves of life-saving federal protections and leave them at the mercy of Wyoming and Idaho. (snip)
Take Action NRDC
They are hoping to get 200,000 signatures, and are only about halfway there.
This is the text of the message they want you to sign, or you can simply delete it and send your own message.
SOURCE
I urge you not to delist the gray wolf in the northern Rocky Mountains until adequate plans are in place to ensure these magnificent animals will thrive for generations to come.
The recovery of these wolves is a success story that is still unfolding, and turning wolf management over to state agencies at this juncture is irresponsible. Wyoming's and Idaho's current management plans call for killing over two-thirds of the Yellowstone and central Idaho populations which total roughly 1200 wolves and could push the wolves in these populations back to the brink of extinction.
Wolves are an essential part of healthy ecosystems, and if there is one place in this country where they should be allowed to flourish, it is in and around Yellowstone -- our nation's oldest park -- and the remote Selway Bitterroot ecosystem in central Idaho. Since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone and the central Idaho wilderness in 1995, they have helped plant and animal systems come back into balance. Willows and aspen now grow, beavers and riparian bird species thrive, coyotes and bears benefit from food sources provided by wolves. Moreover, wolves are vital to the economy; each year, people who come to see wolves contribute millions of dollars to the region's communities.
Wolves once thrived in much of the lower 48 states; today they hang on at only 5 percent of their former numbers. It is unwise to jeopardize the full recovery of a species that has suffered such a dramatic decline. Please maintain federal protection for this icon of the American West.
The majority of a wolves diet is rodents like prairie dogs. Even when the predate on larger ruminates, they improve the gene pool by taking the sick and weak.
They generate tourist income, and are an innate part of our West. Wyoming and Idaho will start killing hundreds of wolves in Yellowstone and central Idaho, should the Bush Administration let them.
Please, please, take a moment to sign the petition!
Thank you.