On May 18, lovers of wolves and all things wild howled and stirred up a pack of action to thwart the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Trump administration from delisting the native gray wolf. The Center for Biological Diversity delivered 35,000 letters and nearly a million digital signatures to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on May 14 in opposition to the removal of wolves from Endangered Species Act protections.
In March, the Service announced plans to strip gray wolves in the contiguous U.S. of federal Endangered Species Act protection. If finalized, the plan will allow trophy hunting and trapping of wolves in some areas and essentially end wolf recovery in the lower 48 states.
More than 100 scientists sent a letter on May 7 to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt objecting to the proposal to remove Endangered Species Act protections, explaining that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal “does not represent the best-available science pertaining to wolf conservation. Delisting wolves at this time would be an inappropriate shortcut.”
“This overwhelming opposition shows that the Trump administration’s anti-wildlife agenda is out of touch with the values of most Americans,” said Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The science and law are clear that wolves still need protections, and the American people are with us in this fight. We don’t want imperiled wolves to be shot and trapped.”
Also on May 14, the Trump administration formally announced a 60-day extension on the comment period. The new deadline for comments on the proposed delisting is Monday, July 15.
Take Action!
Mail your comments opposing the delisting of wolves to:
Public Comments Processing
Attn: Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2018-0097
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: BPC
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
To comment online, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov and search for FWS-HQ-ES-2018-0097.
