Great Letters to the Editor in Southwest Papers!

From the Albuquerque Journal, Sunday, July 11, 2010

Throw the Book at Killers of Wolves

RE: (KILLING OF) Mexican wolves
Please give tough penalties to these killers! If we don’t scare them, they will continue to shoot our wolves.
      JUDY BRAM CAST
      Rio Rancho

RE: TWO wolves shot in the Gila
Did they deserve to die? I understand that this is a contentious issue and that people believe their livelihoods are at stake. I understand that it is taking a long time to find solutions. But we are finding solutions and reaching agreements and moving forward.
       
Whether you agree with the law or not, breaking it does not improve the situation. It makes everyone more positional. No one is going to “win” this. We might resolve it if we can stay clear headed.
       
My heart breaks for those two wolves, but I won’t break the law. I do expect the criminals who perpetuated this inhumane act to be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
       
      CAROL NORTON
      Wildearth Guardians
      Santa Fe

Wolf Recovery Plan Needs More Help
I RECENTLY read that two alpha wolves were killed near Las Cruces. I am dismayed that no news of arrests accompanied the article. It is very discouraging that greater measures were not taken to protect these magnificent animals, who are not only a crucial part of a healthy natural New Mexico, but a symbol of University of New Mexico and the state as a whole.

I hope my fellow citizens and conservationists will join me in encouraging senators Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman, as well as our representatives Martin Heinrich, Ben Ray Lujan and Harry Teague in further supporting U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recovery and reintroduction plan for wolves.

The biggest changes I feel are necessary are the allocations of more resources to identify the offender and stricter enforcement of penalties for the offense. If one of our state icons was a small child, every state agency would not rest. And the Mexican grey wolf is like a child of the state.

Wolf conservation is an issue that has been very influential throughout my life ever since childhood when I first saw a wolf up close. The noble quiet power they exude changed my outlook on how to live my life.

As I work in Albuquerque on San Mateo, I feel that much closer to the San Mateo pack that lost one of the alphas. I cannot stand by quietly.
        MATT VIEIRA

Many thanks and congratulations to these letter writers-your letters make a big difference in the effort to protect and recover our lobos!

To write your own great letter to the editor, Click Here for letter writing tips and editorial contacts.

To learn what else you can do to stop the killings and put in place an effective recovery program, Click Here.