It's happened. The Fish & Wildlife Service has made it easier to kill wolves in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Rockies region -- even while they remain protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Take action now. Tell Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne that this rule change is unacceptable.
Dear Secretary Kempthorne,
I am deeply disturbed and outraged with your agency's rule change that makes it easier to kill wolves in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana -- even while these wolves are supposed to remain protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Your department has an obligation to ensure a sustainable population of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies. Yet your agency has opted to change the Endangered Species Act's "10j" rule, making it much easier for officials in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana to kill wolves just for being wolves.
The states would only need to prove that wolves are a "major cause" of the inability of elk and deer to meet state management goals. Wolves could be killed even if they only have an effect on how elk herds move or behave -- not just if they affect herd numbers.
Making it easier to kill wolves in the region, especially while they remain an endangered species, makes no sense. I strongly urge you to reconsider the "10j" rule change for Idaho, Wyoming and Montana -- and to maintain strong federal protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies.
Thank you for considering my comments.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
