After a federal judge restored Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and other state and federal officials criticized the decision while advocates for the predator reacted with joy.By JOHN MILLERAssociated Press WriterBOISE, Idaho — After a federal judge restored Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and other state and federal officials criticized the decision while advocates for the predator reacted with joy.U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy granted a preliminary injunction late Friday in Missoula, Mont., restoring the protections for the wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.Molloy will eventually decide whether the injunction should be permanent. It was sought by groups including Defenders of Wildlife to prevent planned hunts later this year in all three states.In January 2007, Otter said he planned to bid for the first wolf-hunt tag when they became available. Otter spokesman Mark Warbis said Friday the state would carefully consider its options.“The governor disagrees with the decision and is disappointed,” Warbis said. “The wolf population in Idaho is strong. The state of Idaho has developed a sound and responsible plan for managing wolves to maintain a sustainable population.”A new wolf hunting season adopted by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in May set a goal of 518 predators - about half the roughly 1,000 wolves estimated to be in Idaho. The three-state region has an estimated 2,000 wolves.Steve Nadeau, large carnivore coordinator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said his agency had delayed the start of tag sales for the state’s first wolf hunt - planned to start Sept. 15 in Idaho - while Molloy’s decision was pending.With the decision, the future of the hunts has been thrown into uncertainty.“We disagree with the results, obviously,” Nadeau said. “I haven’t read the case, so I’m in no position to comment on that further.”The news left Defenders of Wildlife spokeswoman Suzanne Stone in Boise elated and emotional. After learning of the decision in a phone call from The Associated Press, she let out a scream and tried not to start crying.“I don’t think you can print whooping and hollering,” she said. “I’m so emotional right now. We were facing the loss of more than half of our wolf population in Idaho without this injunction, so this is fabulous news. This will enable the wolf population to remain stable and not be eradicated during the time that this lawsuit is reviewed, and that’s the most important thing that we were hoping for.”Still, Ed Bangs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who led the wolf recovery effort, said in an interview from his office in Missoula, Mont., that the three-state wolf population had grown so successfully that delisting or hunts had no chance of threatening its survival.“For an injunction, you have to show irreparable harm,” Bangs said. “The hunting of wolves clearly wouldn’t endanger threatened wolf populations. We thought our delisting was a very biologically sound package.”AP writer Rebecca Boone in Boise contributed to this report.
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July 19th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I said there would be no wolf hunts this fall in these three states. I expected this delay, another year with the “estimated” 1000 wolves in Idaho will further the already out of control decimation of elk and deer, I have been out in the forest hiking, biking, and legging up my pack team for the high country, elk/deer are a rare sight these days, what stands out is I see no elk calves where I should be seeing them, just small groups of cows running like hell at the snap of shod hooved stock clicking on the rocks of the mountain trails. The decimation will continue to the de-light of emotional wolf lovers believing preconcieved bullshit having nothing to do with factual science which was presented by biologists for the de-listing, This ruling was bought and not proven, this Judge is a scoundrel, this was fixed from the word de-listed so few months ago, FWS looks like they tried to appease the unhappy populance meanwhile FWS controlled opposition got the wolves returned to the ESA list, stalling the case and the hunts, if there are ever hunts, for another year. Look for these groups who pulled this crime against their own country-men to attack hunting in the future when they come out and claim that human hunters have created the crisis in which elk and deer are suffering. YOU JUST WATCH. THE FIX WAS IN AND I TOLD YOU SO, damn these fools for their TREACHURY.
July 19th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Absolutely dead on Greg. This is not about science, it’s not about facts or the truth. It’s about an agenda of radical organizations that really desire humans to be herded into cities, except for them of course, and let nature take its course. The problem is, it never has been that way. The landscape has been modified and molded by humans even before we discovered fire. But, they won’t listen and liberal judges are everywhere. Esp. in the west it seems. I do not know what the solution is except keep telling the truth. The facts.
Thank God for Laura and Wolf Crossing.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Their already blaming hunters, and the article from Montana shows they want to blame ranchers as well, because hunters are wiping out big game not wolves, and ranching will not allow the packs from the three states to interbreed. LMAO, I plumb for a living folks and I’ve been knee deep in it before but this takes the cake.
http://blog.sunvalleyonline.com/index.php/2008/07/19/no-wolf-hunts-in-idaho/
Here we go again, no touchy the wolfie.
July 21st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Ya you can blame some of it on these liberals that run washington state. Its an around about way to say we got predators we don’t need hunters. So then the anti-gun people can step forward and say no hunting, so they don’t need guns. I think this could be a big turning point for all of us people who love hunting. And it makes me sick!
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:36 am
Bill,
The duplicity of the USFW, USFS, DoWL, and all the rest. Along with our own judicial system is apparent. However, they miss one glaring point. Back in the late 1800’s the Gumment was huntin’ a fella by the name of Geronimo. You may of heard of him?
Anyway, the pony soldiers hunted him for years before they figured out that to catch an Apache you had to use an Apache. So, Apache scouts were inlisted to help bring the renagde to heel. The scouts all thought this a grand thing. Each one got some money, fresh ponys as needed, food, a blue coat, rifle and ammunition. PLUS THE ADDED BONUS Once ol Geronimo was gone they would have all of Apacaria to themselves! But wait. The Gumment had other plans. Once the radical Geronimo was captured, the scouts were no longer needed. They quit gettin’ money and bullets, The coats with shiny buttons were taken away, they were all of the sudden afootback and got shoved up on the wagons with all the other Apaches and were off to Florida.
Mind you this was some time before Florida had shuffle board and was fit for bluehairs.
In our own time. Over cross the pond in Germany. Seems the Nazis were havin’ trouble roundin’ up those pesky Jews. So, they inlisted Jewish scouts…………
Those folks got put on the trains too. All they wanted was to move to Florida.
Poor deluded “wolfies” . Willing pawns, useful idiots. They think that the wilds of the west will be an eden withuot the evil rancher and rapacious hunter. An eden all their own.
“Those that forget history are doomed to repeat it”
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:53 am
So true Two-Jump. I’m afraid the poor wolfies both in agency and out are mostly just too mired in the melieu to achieve any honest perspective about history, appropriate behavior toward others, and science - all tragically compromised into PR and actions which have only a sad unrealistic semblance of the truths of the matter. In their roles as useful idiots they have been intentionally geared by those in control to abuse rural peoples and lands, forests etc. all to the apparent end of a much more sinister agenda.
They just can’t see that soon they will be in the same lifeboat or train to Florida as the case may be, with the rest of us.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:42 am
Well I intend to never make the trip to some gulag, especially riding with rounded up traitors who will be sniveling and leaking BIG TEARS as I will keep my boots on, my powder dry, and I will never forget the lesson’s learned from the historical implications of Geronimo’s surrender, he died in a cage miserable and drunk. The Apache had every thing stolen from them, the same government has turned against us. I shall choose my own death in my own time, they can steal every thing from me, but my own mind, they never had a chance at stealing my thoughts and actions, those will always be mine own. Screw em. They lied to Geronimo and stole an honorable death from him.
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I was actually being facetious about the deluded public servants being on the same train with the rest of us to make a point. But your point about the value of honerable existance is well taken here.
Reading lately a cross-section on historic indian feelings about honorable behavior I find it some what universal that maintaining human dignity means not only being honorable towards others, but also, as you say Greg, being allowed to choose your own life, and death with dignity. It seems that to live in dignity we must not only have respect for others but also vigorously protect and defend ourselves against those who would do us harm. Just how the fathers of our Constitution admonished us to behave.
It is only healthy to thrive on independance. Self sufficiency seems to be one of the strengths still retained by many in rural areas This is probably one of the underlying reasons their cultures are targeted so by those in the one-world corporate resource and people control business. One could certainly view their promotion of today’s totally phony and agendized ‘environmentalism’ for what it is. An oh so successful control and acquisition device useful to the barely human ends of their debased overlords. Rural independance defies control and thus the attempt to squash it. Just look at the scientific facts of all past wolf programs as they reach the ’stated’ population goal that musty then be the launching point for another much larger population goal in the same area till it seems that phony science woud have the entire landscape seething with wolves. The see if those pesky independant honorables can survive!
You can tell an agendized situation like this wolf program. The constant clamor of misinformation and distortion is apparent to those who have studied the reality rather than ‘promoted’ an agenda the twisting facts or outright lying to support it. The whole atmosphere around this wolf program reeks of this dishonorable behavior and its harm to the innocent people and animals alike.
If truthful information is withheld from the public they are affectively prevented from actually weighing in honestly on the real issues of this program or even comprehending it at all. We are all victimized by this low level behavior.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:03 am
Well put Mary.
A perfect example being the rather two faced behavior of Dr. Ben Tuggle. When first I met the good Dr. I thought him well reasoned and affable. However his views seem to have changed of late. Or, (and I now think more likely) at a meeting last year he was just blowing smoke and this simple rural western bumkin bought his line. It is indeed odd that the wolf program is so “dynamic”. Ever changing. The study area must be enlarged, the population expanded, rural opinion marginalized and always, always the hew and cry for more money!
Sounds like the program was poorly thought out in the first place and was never about wolf recovery and “balance”, but more about control. At that same meeting Dr. Tuggle recognized the fact that many in rural America distrusted Govt. Why would ya suppose that is?
I would never be so crude as to refer to Dr. Tuggle and his minions at USFW, AZGF and NMGF as chicken sh*t, but they sure have hen house ways. To expect any kind of honorable behavior from political appointees who must constantly change a failed program to keep it afloat, in order to justify their own position on the gumment gravy train is just more than we taxpayers should expect.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd378.htm
August 1st, 2008 at 8:45 am
Bill, you are absolutely right! Our hats are off the Laura and her Wolf Crossing website. Where would we be today without all the networking and comments from around the nation? This is without a doubt the BEST newspaper on rural living. Not only are we well educated, we are well connected and the power of these commonalities frightens the pro-wolf folks. They stand up and take notice, and they go to their war rooms and plan. We are stronger than ever before because of Laura. Our cause has reached across the west and northwest.
Laura and her husband live about as close to 19th century as it gets. They are extremely remote and rugged, they have small children and a large ranch. Buying supplies is an all day event and extremely costly, due to distance from civilization and gasoline prices. No one but her friends know the sacrifices and costs Laura and Mr. S make to put this website together, attend out of town meetings, raise a family and run a ranch.
If you ever have the privilege and honor to meet Laura at a meeting, but sure to let her know how much you appreciate her.