New WY wolf info...

[BuzzH]

Found this on another board...not sure if its true or not??? Sounds like its from BGF/SFW...

"They are sticking it to us again.

Congress released their spending bills for the next year. Good news and bad news. The good news is that Congress knows that WOLVES are the priority. Only two issues were listed in the spending summaries for US Fish and Widlife Service. Wolves was one of the two. Here is the language:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) – The FWS is funded at $1.5 billion in the bill, a cut of $28 million below last year’s level. Funding for mitigation fish hatcheries is restored, which returns $28 to the economy for every federal taxpayer dollar invested. Wolf monitoring and livestock loss programs are continued.

Now for the bad news.

While this shows Congress is hearing that wolves is a top priority, much better wolf language was stripped out of the bill at the last minute. Word from multiple sources is that Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island and the White House removed language that would have stopped lawsuits for pending wolf delisting in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Here is what happened.

The Republican controlled House of Representatives sent bipartisan wolf language intended to stop the litigation and return wolves to state management. Key house members fought for this language. (See language below)

The Senate stripped out this wolf language at the last minute. We have been told that Senator Klobuchar from Minnesota was the only Democratic Senator to ask for this language to remain in the bill. Here is where the Senate missed the boat. The wolf issue can't be fixed by just paying for livestock kills. The issue can't be fixed by "monitoring" wolves. The only way to fix the issue is to stop the litigation and return wolves to true state control.

It is time for Sportsmen to ask their Democratic Senators to deliver. Where was Michigan's Senator Stabenow? Where was Minnesota's Senator Franken? Where was Wisconsin's Senator Kohl? Why is the White House listening to Rhode Island instead of Senator Klobuchar from Minnesota?

Rhode Island? It is time to start listening to the people of each state affected by the growing wolf problems. It is time to acknowledge that out-of-state special interests should not dictate wildlife management in our states. Don't they get it? Sportsmen can be trusted. The states can be trusted. America's hunters and outdoorsmen have shown tremendous patience. Have we shown too much patience?

Why doesn't the White House Support state management? Why doesn't the White House support protection of all wildlife? Why does USFWS want to spread the destructiveness of unmanaged wolves across America?

It is time for sportsmen to take a stand. Help us reach the goal of 100,000 signatures on our petition. We need an army of sportsmen in this fight. The system is failing America's wildlife. Each one of us need to make clear that the future of wildlife, hunting and our outdoor heritage is OUR priority.

Here is the text of the wolf language that was stripped by the US Senate:

Sec. 119. Hereafter, any final rule published by the Department of the Interior that provides that the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the State of Wyoming or in any of the States within the range of the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment of the gray wolf (as defined in the rule published on May 5, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 26086 et seq.)) is not an endangered species or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), including any rule to remove such species in such a State from the list of endangered species or threatened species published under that Act, shall not be subject to judicial review if such State has entered into an agreement with the Secretary of the Interior that authorizes the State to manage gray wolves in that State."

 

[Ben Lamb]

Holla Holla, Dolla bill, y'all.

 

[Oak]

Yes, it was sent in email out by Ryan Benson yesterday.

 

[BuzzH]

Wyoming wont be having a wolf hunt in 2012...the marlboro man rides again!

Wonder what Wharff/SFW has to say?

Got the same email...wonder how I got on their email list? Must be all the positive things I say about them!

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I'm wondering the same thing because I've started getting their emails recently too!!! I read a little bit of their BS just to see if the have changed course---NOT, and then hit delete!!!

 

[wgiles]

I don't understand the discussion here. Too much insider language. I understood the email to say that Congress had sided with the wolves against hunters an ranchers, but the discussion seems to skirt around that and derides the group that sent the email. How come?

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Because many of us that hunt don't feel that the two organizations mentioned in the OP are out there to benefit the everyday OYOA people based on their dealings over the time they have been in existence. Others can enlarge on this if they so desire, but all I will say is that what they say and what it appears they are doing in many instances is just the opposite, most of which isn't helping the average guy!

 

[JoseCuervo]

I don't understand the discussion here. Too much insider language. I understood the email to say that Congress had sided with the wolves against hunters an ranchers, but the discussion seems to skirt around that and derides the group that sent the email. How come?

Hunters and Welfare Ranchers are not on the same side. Once you realise that, it makes it easier to see who is actually looking out for the best interest of hunters, and who is looking out for the best interests of their bank accounts (Welfare Ranchers and SFW).

 

[BuzzH]

Hey, you left out BGF...they want a piece of that wolf money.

By the way...where's Mightyhunter?

Pouting and licking his wounds while searching for a clue is a my guess...

 

[wgiles]

Thanks for your answers. That is what I was wanting to know.

 

[Big Fin]

wgiles - BGF and SFW have been a thorn in the side of wolf delisting since they showed up to be a pimple on the butt of progress a few years ago. They are just making too much money from it to let delisting happen. How do you raise money if the other guys solve your supposed crisis.

They claim to have solutions for wolf management and beg for money to implement such.

Their silver bullet is complete repeal of the Endangered Species Act. Ain't happening, and everyone knows it, except the poor suckers who sent money to these groups. Anyone with even a fourth grade civics lesson knows that repeal of the ESA is political suicide in any urban or suburban district. Yet, SFW/BGF continue to peal money from well-intended people promising they will deliver ESA repeal.

The ESA roll backs were tried during a time when the Republicans controlled the House, the Senate, ANS the White House. The guy who sponsored it got his butt handed to him and lost his seat. If they couldn't get it passed with the supposed supporters controlled all three houses, they don't have a chance to do so in this political climate.

Urban politcians, whether R or D, will not touch that. Yet, SFW and BGF make is sound like these urban Republicans are on their side and only Democrats are the problem. Those urban Republicans run to the doors when you even mention ESA reform.

SFW in MT has turned into nothing more than a political spin machine for Denny Rehberg. Rehberg, currently serving in the house, is running for Senate against the Senate incumbent, Jon Tester.

Rehberg has laid the pipe to MT hunters whenever he can. Now, seeing how powerful hunters can be as a voting block, he is doing all he can to firm his support among hunting groups. Only one hunting group has come to his aid - Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife, who is a sibling organization to Big Game Forever.

That is no big surprise, as SFW is the Johnny Come Lately to hunter issues in MT. They have been around for not quite two years. Last legislative session was their first and they got a thorough schooling on MT hunting politics, being on the wrong side of every hunting bill I was aware of.

Example - Their President called to ask why I was hammering legislators on this site about a bill that was to supposedly fund predator control. It was a welfare check to the sheep and wool industry. He was unaware by diverting license dollars to the sheepmen, it was going to cost us $9 million of Pitman-Robertson funds.

Needless to say, this is one of the few sites where SFW and BGF are not welcome. Their BS doesn't fly around here. The guys on this site have been involved in conservation and hunting politics since Moby Dick was minnow. Those two groups are new to the game, are a bunch of political hacks, and go off half cocked and poorly informed on every issue.

If your default stance it to see where SFW and BGF stand on an issue, then take the opposite position, you will look smarter in the end and sleep much better.

Having just spent three days hunting wolves in MT, and thinking about how hard it was to get delisting, partially because of those parasites at SFW/BGF, I am a little steamed to read their most recent releases. I have no use for them, and will go out of my way to tell people of the SFW/BGF history in MT wolf delisting. Once the facts are on the table, hunters quickly draw their own conclusions.

They are as culpable for the delays in wolf delisting as the wolf lovers. Yet, they love to make people think they are the savior.

Imagine this - you lead an organization that claims to represent hunters. When the MT and ID delistings come through Congress, you side with the wolf lovers and try to get the bill killed. You lead the only two hunting groups who did NOT support the bill and find yourself in the sack with the wolf nuts. Don't need to roll the covers back much further than that to know what kind of stink is in those britches.

Time to sort the buckwheat from the BS when it comes to the actions of these groups. This site and the very informed guys who hang out here, is a good platform to do such.

 

[wgiles]

Big Fin,

I appreciate your explanation and especially appreciate your clear language. I was aware of BGF, but only heard of SFW a few days ago. It's important to me to know which organizations are reputable and which are not. Living east of the Mississippi, I don't know all that much about western politics. I now know a little more than I did before. You can be certain that I will not be supporting these organizations.