Column: Montini: Siding with real wolves over political ones

• The commission seems to be missing some facts — new research shows Mexican gray wolves ranged into Colorado and southern Utah, and wolves of one type or another were everywhere in the North America at one time.

• For over 10,000 years, gray wolves lived throughout the Southwest and played an important role in shaping the landscape and maintaining balance in nature.  Under state management, most subspecies of wolves were hunted and trapped to extinction.  The highly endangered Mexican gray wolf is the most appropriate surviving subspecies for recovery in Utah and Colorado, and they cannot recover without help from all four states.

• Historic range is irrelevant. Mexico and the Western U.S. have been transformed by human settlement and varying laws.  Recovery of Mexican gray wolves cannot occur wholly in Mexico.  There are no large blocks of public lands, there is not a great deal of suitable habitat and prey, and there may not be enough resources to do the job.

• If wolves “fundamentally alter the ecosystem” as Commissioner Davis suggests, it will be for the best, as they’ve been absent too long. We need wolves, be they Mexican gray wolves or northern wolves, to help repair wildlands.  Yellowstone has taught us the important role of top predators in ecosystems with the return of songbirds, beavers, fish and trees.  Why shouldn’t the Grand Canyon have the same benefits seen in Yellowstone?

• It’s hypocritical for the governors to argue that Mexican wolves should be excluded based on whether they are “native.”  The state game agencies have no problem moving game species and fish into places they never lived simply for the convenience of hunters and fishermen.

• Governor Ducey is setting himself and his commission apart from the majority of Arizonans who support our wildlife — including predators. Governor Ducey would love to have the polling numbers wolves enjoy in Arizona.

• Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a scientific integrity complaint in 2012 saying that US Fish and Wildlife Service allowed politics to interfere with the new Mexican wolf recovery planning process by encouraging scientists to lower or forgo the numeric target for recovery, responding to state demands to exclude Utah, Colorado, and Northern Arizona from suitable habitat, and attempting to prevent the science subgroup from issuing final Mexican wolf recovery criteria – http://www.klamathconservation.org/docs/carrolletal2013.pdf – . The state is using out of date information — newer studies support a more northward range for Mexican gray wolves historically.  Genetic research has found evidence of Mexican wolf genetic markers in Utah and Colorado, and as far north as Nebraska.

• The Endangered Species Act does not require recovery to occur within species’ historic range.

• States have failed to manage wildlife as a public trust for current and future citizens.  State wildlife policies, which kill off predators to supposedly support game populations, are rooted in the 1800s. Fortunately, our national policy is to restore and preserve all forms of wildlife, including predators.  Until the states get serious about balancing conservation vs. consumption, they should recuse themselves from decisions about endangered species.

• The US Fish and Wildlife Service needs to stop letting anti-wolf state officials obstruct wolf recovery.  The last effort to create aMexican wolf recovery plan stalled precisely because the states were given opportunities to weigh in before the work of the scientific experts was released for public comment. The most recent recovery planning process, which began in 2011, ended amidst allegations of political interference by these same states with the science.

• Thank the paper for this article and make sure to reference the article in your letter.

• Submit your letter as soon as possible. The chance of your letter being published declines after a day or two since the article was published.

• Do not repeat any negative messages, such as “so and so said that wolves kill too many cows, but”¦”  Remember that those reading your letter will not be looking at the article it responds to, so this is an opportunity to get out positive messages about wolf recovery rather than to argue with the original article.

• Keep your letter brief, no more than 200 words. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

• Include something about who you are and why you care: E.g. “I am a mother, outdoors person, teacher, business owner, scientific, religious, etc.” Don’t be afraid to be personal and creative.

• Provide your name, address, phone number and address.  The paper won’t publish these, but they want to know you are who you say you are.

• Submit your letter to The Arizona Republic HERE.

Please also call or email the Governor.
Tell him/his staff that as an Arizona resident and wolf supporter, you are disappointed in his actions to obstruct wolf recovery. Ask him to respect the peer-reviewed research of the Mexican gray wolf science and planning subgroup and to use his influence to ensure the wolves’ recovery, for their own sake and for the sake of the lands they will help restore.
Phone: 602.542.4331602.542.4331
Email

Click here to join our email list for Mexican gray wolf updates and action alerts.

Visit us on Facebook here.

Donate to support our work here.