VICTORY IN WYOMING COURT
On September 21, 2021 a Wyoming federal court agreed with us and our partner organizations that the supplemental winter feeding of elk on the Bridger-Teton National Forest must receive additional environmental analysis. The court found that the agency improperly permitted feeding elk on two of the three feedgrounds under review, and that the claims made by the agency in defending its decision were “unpersuasive,” “implausible,” and “unreasonable.”
After our win in our Alkali Creek Feedground case, this win comes as no surprise. The Forest Service is not doing its due diligence to investigate the full environmental impacts feedgrounds have on all species. They will now be required to do an analysis of the impacts feedgrounds have on the environment and native species.
And, of course, the proponents of feedgrounds are trying to keep them operational. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department applied for a new permit to feed at Dell Creek after pressure from outfitters and some ranchers. There is a scoping period open until Sunday, October 24. Please submit comments at the link below that the permit should be denied due to the lack of assessment of the threat of continued operation of the feedground and the impending threat to our elk from chronic wasting disease.
Send written comments to the address below or click the link below to email comments.
Gregory Brooks, Acting District Ranger
Big Piney Ranger District Bridger-Teton National Forest
P.O. Box 218
Big Piney, WY 83113
Lands of the Alkali Creek Feedground in the photo below.
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Sadly, three of the most watched wolves in the world from the Junction Butte Pack of Yellowstone have been killed outside of the park due to the removal of wolf hunting quotas in hunt units in Montana. Two of the wolves killed were pups just born this spring and one was a yearling who was often seen taking care of the pups outside the den this year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed that with these new threats to wolves, the species deserves a status review, BUT, that could take up to a year. Many, many wolves will be dead by then. Efforts are still ongoing to enact an emergency relisting of wolves and tribes will soon be meeting with Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior. We still need to submit comments on the status review. Please take a few minutes to comment about the threats that exist to wolves across the U.S.
What: Comment on status review of wolves in the lower 48
When: Comments will be accepted until Thursday, December 16, 2021
Who: Anyone concerned with the threats to wolves
How: Click the link below to go to the USFWS to comment
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WWA OBTAINS INFORMATION ON WOLVES KILLED IN WYOMING
New laws passed in both Montana and Idaho have opened up killing opportunities for wolves that will lead to hundreds of wolves being killed in these states. However, we can't forget that Wyoming committed from the start to keep a minimum population of wolves and continues to allow unregulated killing of wolves in 85% of the state year-round. Just this year alone, 28 wolves have been killed in the predatory zone. We submitted a Wyoming Public Records request for the methods used to kill wolves and numbers of wolf kills in the predatory zone in the state this year. The information gathered is below. The "other" category is likely pups gassed in dens and/or other ways of killing wolves and their pups.
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State game programs are supported by federal funds collected under the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act -- the total amount of funding transferred to states in FY2021 was $678,894,449. Please join us in submitting a rulemaking petition to the Secretary of the Interior demanding that the eligibility of these states be subject to public comment and review as to whether their game programs are consistent with federal conservation policy.
This review will ensure that state wildlife management is consistent with the goals of sound conservation policy and maintaining healthy and naturally diverse wildlife populations, including predators, as required under Pittman-Robertson – requirements not heretofore enforced. On a wide variety of issues, eligibility for federal funding is used as a way to leverage states to comply with federal policies. For example, federal Highway Trust Funds have been restricted in
states that failed to comply with the national drinking age or establish speed limits. Similarly, we are urging that the Secretary of Interior withhold federal funds from states that undermine national wildlife protection policies.
Please sign this petition below to update the regulatory language for distribution of federal Pittman-Robertson funds.
Sign it by Monday, October 25.
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Yellowstone Nat'l Park in Wyoming is almost
completely surrounded by CWD positive deer hunt areas; the newest being deer hunt area 148 north of Hwy 26, just south of the Yellowstone National Park border. This is the first year that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has made CWD testing mandatory for some hunters. This, however, is only in two deer hunt areas home to the Sweetwater Herd near Lander. Until testing is mandatory statewide, we won't know the true prevalence rates of CWD. Some mule deer herds in the state are above 50% prevalence rates which is already having an impact on mule deer numbers.
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Four grizzly bears have been killed in Teton County this year, including one inside Grand Teton National Park due to human behavior. Two were subadult cubs of the famous 610, and another was 399's daughter, 962 (pictured here). Black bears are also getting human food rewards and are in danger of being killed. Now is the time we need to act for all bears as this is a community-wide issue that will require us all to work together to stop bears from dying preventable deaths. Keep an eye out in your inbox for a special report from us about this problem and how we are working toward solutions and a goal of zero dead bears.
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Led by Kevin Bixby and the Southwest Environmental Center, Wildlife for All is a nationwide initiative to reform wildlife management to be ecologically-driven, democratic, and compassionate.
WWA has been active since the beginning of this initiative and continues to engage in helping to advance these policies nationwide as well as in Wyoming. We recently led an effort to encourage all the democratic members of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus to reconsider their affiliation with the caucus as it is supported by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF). The CSF continues to support the caucus and are proponents of the most egregious, unsportsmanlike, and publicly unsupported wildlife practices as part of its zealous "pro-sportsmen" agenda. The CSF is in favor of wildlife killing contests, bear baiting, hound hunting, wolf hunting, trapping, and lead ammunition. No member of Congress should support these practices or an organization that condones them. However, Democratic Senators and Representatives who have shared our desire to increase the diversity of our democratic processes and preserve wildlife for the benefit of all of us should especially reconsider their involvement in a caucus that is non-inclusive, and does not represent Americans' values toward wildlife.
If you are a constituent of a Congressperson who received the letter, we encourage you to reach out to them and follow up on this request. See the full list of recipients below.
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The mighty North American brown bear, most often referred to as the grizzly, is an iconic symbol of power and strength. Mostly found in the Western United States and Canada, the still-endangered bruin has made strides into a tenuous sustainability. The strikingly beautiful photography, and the essay woven through the pages of Bears: The Mighty Grizzlies of the West, showcases this beautiful, smart, and incredible species. Julie Argyle explores their behavior, their family dynamics, and what it means to be a grizzly in the wilderness of the greater Yellowstone area. She includes stories about individual bears: Raspberry and Snow, The Beryl Sow, The Obsidian Sow, Snaggletooth, and 791 (a famous boar), and looks at the issues of increasing conflicts between humans and the grizzlies and what the future holds for them.
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Photos credits (in order of appearance):
Elk: Stock Photo
Alkali Feedground: Lloyd Dorsey
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