If you have some spare time........

[Ballistic64]

If you have some spare time,you might consider contacting the states legislatures and governors offices expressing your support of the wolf reduction plan in AK,ID,WY,UT&MT.
The Defenders of Wildlife and others of the same ilk are already trying to petition for the end of any wolf management plans.You can email the states representatives by typing the office in the search bar,example; Alaska governor or Idaho congressman.Just make sure you send it to the latest elected official,the former officials are still listed.Feel free to use this letter or make your own,but voice your support because your opposition is voicing thiers.

Im contacting you to voice my support of letting the United States Fish & Game Depts. manage our wildlife.Im sure you may have already recieved contacts on/through behalf of special interest groups such as the Defenders of Wildlife calling for an enforcement of the Federal Airborne Hunting Act.
I dont believe for a second this group and others like it have any interest in proper management of the United States wildlife resources.Enforcement of the Federal Airborne Hunting Act is restricting a useful management tool from the state's game dept.I believe, and hope you do too,that the time has come to stand against these special interest groups and let the US Fish & Game Dept. professionals manage wildlife as they have been educated and hired to do.This same special interest group is calling for an end to the wolf reduction plan in ID,WY, & MT before it has even began.Idaho's big game populations have been devistated by wolf protection acts and Wyoming and Montanas are fast following suit.It is obvious the Defenders of Wildlife have no interest or education in wildlife management as a whole,but are trying to call attention to useless legislation which restricts proper wildlife management.The US Fish & Game Depts. in conjuction with sportsmen and thier dollars made available to wildlife management through hunting licenses, have and always will be the real defenders of wildlife.I have yet to see any of these special interest groups contribute anything to wildlife mangement other than restrictive legislation which cripples the US Fish & Game Depts ability to do thier jobs.

 

[ss7mm]

This from Washington state.
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WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

January 8, 2007
Contact: Rocky Beach, (360) 902-2510

Working group named to develop
state wolf plan

OLYMPIA - Eighteen citizens have been selected as members of a working group to guide the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in developing a plan for conservation and management of gray wolves that are expected to make their way to this state from growing populations in neighboring states and Canada.

Ten of the working group members are from eastern Washington, and eight are from the west side of the state. They represent livestock ranching and agriculture, local government, conservation groups, biologists, the timber industry, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts.

The working group members are:

* Daryl Asmussen of Tonasket, cattle rancher
* John Blankenship of Tenino, Wolf Haven International executive director
* Duane Cocking of Newman Lake, sportsman
* Jeff Dawson of Colville, cattle rancher
* Paula J. DelGiudice of Seattle, sportswoman, National Wildlife Federation Western Natural Resource Center director
* Gerry Ring Erickson of Shelton, former Defenders of Wildlife Washington state field representative
* Jack Field of Ellensburg, Washington Cattlemen's Association executive vice-president
* George Halekas of Deer Park, retired Forest Service biologist
* Kim Holt of Snohomish, Wolf Recovery Foundation secretary-treasurer
* Derrick Knowles of Spokane, Conservation Northwest outreach coordinator
* Colleen McShane of Seattle, consulting ecologist
* Ken Oliver of Newport, Pend Oreille County Commissioner
* Tommy Petrie, Jr. of Newport, Pend Oreille County Sportsmen's Club president
* John Stuhlmiller of Lacey, Washington Farm Bureau assistant director of government relations
* Arthur Swannack of Lamont, Washington Sheep Producers president
* Bob Tuck of Selah, consulting biologist, former Washington Fish and Wildlife Commissioner
* Greta M. Wiegand of Seattle, retiree, outdoor recreationist
* Georg Ziegltrum of Olympia, Washington Forest Protection Association wildlife biologist

"This is a diverse group of people representing a wide range of interests that could be affected by future resident wolf populations in Washington," said Jeff Koenings, PhD., director of WDFW. "We selected individuals who have a track record of building consensus."

A total of 56 people submitted applications or were nominated for the working group.

Although gray wolves were largely eradicated in Washington by the 1930s, sightings have increased since federal wolf-recovery efforts began in Idaho and Montana in the mid-1990s. The success of those efforts has prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to propose removing gray wolf populations from the federal list of endangered species in three states and parts of four other states, including Washington.

"If gray wolves are removed from federal species protection status, Washington and other western states will have primary responsibility for managing their wolf populations," Koenings said. "We need to prepare for that possibility by developing a conservation and management plan that works for people and wildlife."

The gray wolf is also designated as a state endangered species in Washington, so the plan must identify population objectives and appropriate conservation and management strategies, as well as addressing wolf management in Washington after the species is removed from the federal list of endangered species.

The working group will convene next month and will meet approximately every other month over the coming year. A draft plan is scheduled for completion by Dec. 30, and will be followed by a public review period. The final plan is expected by June 30, 2008.

A separate technical advisory group of biologists from state and federal agencies also will be formed to provide information and expertise to the citizen working group.