Say goodbye to Idaho's last remaining wild reindeer. Under pressure from that state's Republicans, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service drastically reduced proposed protections for woodland caribou, also known as "Selkirk reindeer."
America's Selkirk reindeer exist only in the northernmost regions of Idaho and Washington State. Scientists believe the herd is only 27 strong, at most. This reindeer species has been on the Endangered Species list since 1984. And yet, some Idaho lawmakers and special interest groups fiercely petitioned against setting aside 375,000 acres of public land to save these reindeer. Saving reindeer would interfere with snowmobiling, logging, and hunting, Republicans claimed.
Tell Idaho's legislature not to sacrifice its few remaining reindeer to snowmobiles!
We the undersigned are saddened to hear that the right to crash through virgin forest on a snowmobile has trumped the Selkirk reindeer's right to survive.
Scientists believe there are only 27 Selkirk reindeer remaining in the northernmost United States. These reclusive animals require old-growth forests and the lichen which grows there. Lichen is their chief form of nutrition. That is why the US Fish and Wildlife Service originally proposed designating 375,000 acres of Idaho and Washington State for reindeer habitat. Now, thanks to the efforts of some of your law makers, that habitat has been reduced by 90 percent.
Your reindeer are a precious asset and one you should protect! Don't sacrific your reindeer population to snowmobiles!
