May 22, 2017
Speak Out in Defense of the Wolves of Yellowstone and Grand Teton!
In December of 2012, the alpha female of the Lamar Canyon Pack – the most viewed and photographed wolf pack in Yellowstone National Park – wandered outside the Park a short distance and was shot to death by a trophy hunter. This was during a brief window when wolves had lost their Endangered Species Act protections in Wyoming and just before the courts reinstated federal protections. But in March of this year, a federal appeals court overturned the earlier ruling, turning control of wolf hunting back over to the State of Wyoming. Today, the state’s wolf management plan once again puts wolves wandering out of Yellowstone in the line of fire.
It’s time to speak out for stronger wolf protections in Wyoming!
This Wednesday, the indigenous rights groups will file a formal petition to the State of Wyoming to create a no-kill buffer zone of 50 kilometers (31 miles) around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. At Western Watersheds Project, we oppose wolf hunting of all kinds, but the least that the State of Wyoming can do is to establish this no-kill buffer zone so that wide-ranging National Park wolves won’t be shot the moment they leave the sanctuary of Park Service jurisdiction.
Raise your voice at 6 pm this Wednesday in defense of wolves, by attending the gray wolf hunting seasons meeting of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 528 S. Adams Street in West Laramie. There are also meetings on May 25th in Casper and in Lander, and on June 1st in Pinedale.
The state wolf management plan sets aside a relatively small area, mostly designated as wilderness, as a Trophy Game area where wolves can be hunted with a permit during a designated season. Outside this area, wolves are classified as a Predatory Animal, where they can be shot in unlimited number, at any time of year, without any kind of hunting license or permit.
If you’re unable to share your thoughts in person at one of these public meetings, you can send written comments to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at this link. Comments must be received by June 19th, 2017.
Thanks for speaking out on behalf of our treasured western wildlife!
