Oregon Congressman Blumenauer Supports Growing Wolf Numbers...

Recently, Oregon resident Cathy Keach wrote to Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer in regard to the growing impact of wolves in that state. Cathy and her husband Mike are ranchers, and have concerns about the negative impact wolves will have on their livlihood. They are also extremely outdoor oriented people, and are also worried about how wolf depredation will rob them and others of the opportunity to hunt elk and other game - as it is robbing sportsmen in Idaho and Montana right now.

Typical of extremely out-of-touch politicans these days, Representative Blumenauer sent her back the following form letter.




Dear Mrs. Kaech,

Thank you for contacting me about the fate of gray wolves. I share your concern about undermining the wolves' protection under the Endangered Species Act, and I strongly opposed the inclusion of this policy rider in the recent budget deal. I am especially concerned about the precedent of Congressionally delisting species from the Endangered Species Act, as I believe these decisions should be made by wildlife experts and scientists, not members of Congress.

I have been inspired by the recovery of the gray wolf in Yellowstone, and have watched the positive impacts it has had on the rest of the ecosystem. While I support state efforts to manage wolves, they must do so in a way that ensures healthy wolf populations over the long term. Especially in light of lax state protections, I strongly support the wolves' protection under the Endangered Species Act and I will continue working with my colleagues to ensure that the gray wolf makes a full recovery.

Thanks again for contacting me about this important issue. Please continue to be in touch.

Sincerely,

Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress



LOBO WATCH used the form on Congressman Blumenauer's website to send the following message...which we're sure never got read...by him or even his staff. But...it is here for you to read.


Dear Congressman Blumenauer;

This morning, I read a letter that you sent to one of your constituents about all the positive and beneficial things that growing wolf populations have done for our environment.

Earl, it's quite clear that you don't know squat about wolves...and it's what you don't know which is bad for the State of Oregon and its
residents.

I will post that letter on the popular LOBO WATCH website tomorrow...along with a very long list of NEGATIVE impacts that wolves have on our wildlife populations, on rural residents who rely on livestock production, as well as on outdoor recreation, along with the health and safety threats that wolves present to humans. (You are aware that wolves carry and spread more than 30 infectious diseases...don't you?)

By any chance, are you up for re-election in 2012?

If you are, you may really want to get a darn site more educated about wolves. As I said, it is very apparent that you don't know anything about this apex predator...and it's impact on human life. Wolves are the wildlife equivalent of cancer...or plague. To boast that you support the full recovery of the wolf population in this country is akin to supporting the spread of rabies, cystic hydatid disease, trichinosis, and many other "living" viruses, bacterias, and infections which wolves spread widely.

I would be very interested in hearing just what benefits you feel wolves bring to an ecosystem that was rich with wildlife before the forced introduction of non-native, and non-endangered, Canadian wolves. If you want that side of your argument of why wolves belong here included, please get (by e-mail) that information to me today or tonight. If I do not receive that information, tomorrow I will share with everyone what it is that you DO NOT KNOW about wolves. And why you have absolutely no business adressing this issue.

Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH
Missoula, MT


LOBO WATCH will publish ALL that Representative Earl Blumenauer apparently does not know about wolves on the LOBO WATCH website this evening - May 25, 2011.

Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH

www.lobowatch.com

Have You Left Any Comments With MT FWP In Regards To The 2011 Wolf Hunt?

Montana Fish, wildlife and Parks is now seeking comments in regard to the wolf quota, season dates, hunt units and boundaries.

Following are the comments I sent yesterday.



"When is MT FWP going to get honest about the number of wolves in this state? To say that killing
220 wolves will reduce the state wolf population by about 25-percent, to around 425, is pure hogwash.

Why do you people continue to lie to the hunters of this state?

Last year, when proposing the 2010 hunt (that did not take place), FWP had no problem proclaiming that a
quota of "186" wolves represented a 13-percent decrease in the state's wolf population. Perhaps you guys
need calculators...or at lease take off your boots when ciphering numbers, so you have more digits to work
with. If "186" represented 13-percent of the population, that means there were around 1,430 wolves in
Montana LAST YEAR. Now you are saying that a quota of "220" represents 25-percent of Montana's wolf
population...or in other words, you are now saying there are 880 wolves in Montana.

What happened to the other 550 wolves??? Also, I guess those 1,430 wolves you acknowledged last year
didn't have any pups, eh? Come on, admit it, MT FWP has absolutely no idea how many wolves are in this state.
How could you, you do not possess the technology for counting wolves, nor do you have the personnel in the
field to get even a close count...let alone a count that's reasonably right.

What mysterious mathematical equation are you using to pull your numbers right out of blue sky? If you mad
scientists used the math presented by Dr. L. David Mech, in his declaration for the 2008 wolf delisting, you
would surely realize that the true number of wolves in this state is well over 1,500 (more like 2,500) - which
would account for the excessive depredation of big game in a number of areas.

Also, you should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves for lying to the sportsmen of Montana, who have fully
supported FWP since its start, and for the shoddy manner in which your agency continually tried to cover up the
loss of elk, moose and other big game to wolves. You've now built a wall between FWP and Montana's sportsmen.
Your actions and lies have revealed your true agenda, and that is no longer to insure the health of our wildlife
resources. FWP has sold out to the radical green environmental groups, and with the 2012 election, the sportsmen
of this state will seek revenge. They will elect a governor that best represents them...and who will have absolutely
no reservation about giving FWP a total overhaul. And that will start by skimming off the scum at the top....then
seeing who is left that's true to their chosen professions. We now realize that the top management of FWP can no
longer be trusted.

Toby Bridges
Missoula, MT"



To leave comments of your own, go to the following link, and click on "For Hunters", that will take you to a list of
topics open for Public Comment, scroll down to the 2011 Wolf Hunting Seasons, and click on "Submit Comments".

http://fwp.mt.gov/news/newsReleases/headlines/nr_3955.html

Don't hold back. It's bad enough that our wildlife agency has willingly allowed wolves to destroy hunting up and down
most of western Montana. What's even worse is that by forcing YOU to buy a tag in order to control wolf numbers, they
are now making you pay (once more) to fix their screw up.

Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH

The Wolves Are Now At MT Governor Schweitzer's Door!

In Western Montana, These Elk Calves Have Less Than A 10-Percent Chance Of Surviving To Reach 1-Year Of Age - Thanks To Wolves & A Spineless Governor!


Is Montana's "Lame Duck" Governor Brian Schweitzer running scared of the Department of the Interior and USFWS when it comes to EVER taking control of the wolf issue in this state? It sure seems so. In fact, the following letter he sent to Montana Secretary of State, Linda McCulloch, in regards to vetoing the opportunity for a spring wolf hunt definitely says that he's shaking in his undeserving cowboy boots.

I doubt if he's reading this...but just in case he is...here is an e-mail I plan to send him today (5-6-11)...

"May 6, 2011

Brian;

You continue to prove that you have very little regard for the will of Montana residents, and you certainly are no sportsman - or even a friend of the sportsmen in this state.. The following letter proves that you are so out of touch with the problem, you have absolutely no business even discussing it - or having the right to veto Senate Bill 402. This legislation would have gotten a jump start on "wolf control" - not "wolf management".

You, and your not-so-crack team of wolf "managers" with Fish, Wildlife and Parks, seem to have a problem with comprehending that Montanans DO NOT want to manage for MORE WOLVES...they want to put into action control measures that insure there will be FEWER WOLVES. Rest asured, the FWP Plan will have absolutely no effect on controlling wolf numbers in this state...or the loss of our big game herds.

FWP's approach is a joke at best...and none of us are laughing. But we will be organizing to do some serious house cleaning after the 2012 election, when your regime will become only a bad memory.

Let me put this as simple as possible - so you and FWP Director Joe Maurier may be able to comprehend what is being said.

The proposed spring hunt was in no way (EVER) intended to be a trophy wolf hunt - it was merely an opportunity to get a handle on the elk calf massacre that lays just ahead. The 2011 elk calf crop is just about to hit the ground...and waiting are the 1,400 to 1,500 wolves in this state, ready to enjoy another spring killing spree that will wipe out 90-percent or more of those calves before they have the opportunity to reach one-year of age. Due to the continual loss of young-of-the-year, our elk herds in western Montana have become geriatric, now averaging around 9 years of age. Before wolves, these herds averaged a healthy 4 years of age. They have now reached an age, that even without the stress of wolves, their chances of reproducing have become extremely slim.

Congratulations for driving another nail into that coffin. I hope you and your old college roommate buddy Joe Maurier can live with that. The sportsmen of Montana will long remember how you played a role in selling them out. I certainly hope you do not have any aspirations of remaining in politics in this state. If you do, I'd say that your chances of ever being elected again to any seat or office are even less than those of a 2011 newborn elk calf ever reaching maturity. The wolves are now knocking at your door.

Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH
Missoula, MT"


Following is Schweitzer's letter to the Secretary of State...



OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
STATE OF MONTANA
BRIAN SCHWEITZER

JOHN BOHLINGER
GOVERNOR LT. GOVERNOR

April 29, 2011

The Honorable Linda McCulloch
Secretary of State
State Capitol
Helena, MT 59620

Dear Secretary McCulloch:

In accordance with the power vested in me as Governor by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Montana, I hereby veto Senate Bill No. 402 (SB 402), "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR SPRING WOLF HUNTS; ESTABLISHING FEES FOR SPRING WOLF HUNTING LICENSES; AMENDING SECTIONS 87-1-304, 87-2-523, 87-2-524, AND 87-5-131, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."

Senate Bill 402 was introduced in anticipation of federal delisting of wolves from the Endangered Species Act. According to proponents, Montana "lost" the fall 2010 hunting season to the relisting of wolves earlier in the year, and SB 402 was an effort to allow, essentially for the purposes of just the current year, a spring hunt of wolves. This legislation provides a mandate for this single-year spring hunt, despite numerous biological, administrative, and practical difficulties associated with such a hunt.

In federal legislation recently shepherded through Congress by U.S. Senator Jon Tester, wolves have been delisted. This uncommonly helpful congressional action was passed in uncommonly quick fashion. At the moment, Montana awaits the necessary federal regulations and protocols for implementation of the recent delisting, which I understand may take up to 60 days. For purposes of a hunt, that timeline would put Montana into the middle of June, at which time the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) Commission would take up matters such as season-setting, quotas, hunting districts, public input, and license sales. The net result is that Montana would be looking at July or August for its "spring hunt," even as we expect fall wolf hunting in the backcountry to begin in mid-September. Because of these difficulties with timing, and for practical reasons involving the mingling of hunting seasons, and for the sake of public safety during the summer months when Montana families are enjoying other activities in the woods, I believe a wolf hunt outside of fall to be unworkable and ill-advised. In any event, stated otherwise, it is not practically possible for a "spring hunt" to occur, as S8 402 would require.

There are several biological and social reasons why a spring wolf hunt is further ill-advised. Female wolves with pups will be vulnerable and tied to their dens. Montana has long-avoided hunting during these times, due not only to biology, but social acceptance. The prospect of field-dressing pregnant females or the likelihood of starving, abandoned pups does not meet ethical standards of fair chase or humane treatment of animals.

Further, wolves are undernourished and in their poorest condition coming into the spring, and the young are immature through the summer. The harvest of animals in poor condition with mangy pelts and the taking of underdeveloped animals are not what most Montanans have in mind when buying a hunting license. FWP and the Commission already have the authority to set any season that is appropriate to the agency's mission, including a special season for wolves as circumstances may dictate. However, a statutory setting of mandatory hunting without consideration of these broader implications, in my opinion is ill-advised.

Additionally, FWP has a wolf management plan, and the substance of that plan helped secure passage of Senator Tester's legislation to de-list wolves in Montana. Enactment of SB 402 has the potential to jeopardize Montana's delisted status, a result none of us desire. Ultimately, delisting was facilitated by Montana's sensible and scientific approach.

Montana will indeed have a wolf hunt this fall, and I am not willing to jeopardize recent hardfought gains to put wolf management back where it belongs, in the hands of the state. I respectfully ask for your support to sustain my veto.

Sincerely,
BRIAN C. SCHWEITZER
GOVERNOR

cc: Legislative Services Division

Drop Governor Brian Schweitzer an e-mail...and give him a piece of your mind...

brianschweitzer@mt.gov


Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH