More than 1,000 wolves have been hunted down and murdered in the States just this year alone. At this rate Wolves will soon become extinct, and will only be found in legends and tales of history. Is this really the fate we wish to deal these beautiful four leggeds? Not only are they a vital part of the natural ecosystem, yet they are living creatures placed upon this planet so very long ago, to coexist with all the other creatures that make up life on this planet Earth.

I personally cannot even imagine a world in which Wolves no longer exist. This is a sad fate for a creature which has survived throughout time, living by their wits and courage. As humans, we can learn much just by watching the Wolf as she interacts with her cubs and pack mates. Their cunning and loyalty to the pack, endears them to a wild and free heart such as mine.

Seriously, there is plenty of room for these wild ones. They would not encroach upon human settlements, if we were not such poor stewards as to kill off their natural prey through mismanagement on the part of humans. We do not utilize the gifts on this planet in the manner in which it was given. The world is pretty messed up, and it makes me wonder how we can be in such a sorry state! The view of this entire planet, all the waste wanton destruction, and pollution, is simply apalling!!

Let’s keep our eyes open, educate ourselves, and make it our business to be aware of our surroundings. We cannot bring back the thousands of creatures which have become extinct in the past 50 years alone, but we can take responsiblilty and save those in danger here and now!

Check around and see what you can do in your own area, and please consider supporting Defenders of Wildlife in their quest to protect these wild beauties. Superior strength does not qualify us to play gods with the natural world.

How is this possible? Most educated humans are well aware of the changing climates around the planet, as things warm up. Yet are we equiped to address this problem? There must be actions we can take, as good stewards of this planet which is our Life Giver. Perhaps this is something which is now completely out of our control. Perhaps not.

If we do not at least give it our best shot, those of us with the compassion and foresight to care, then we will never know until it is too late. Please consider joining myself, along with Jeff Corwin, in taking action to defend and protect the creatures on this planet during these transitions into a new global climate.

Please visit Jeff Corwin and Defenders of Wildlife and help us with this struggle to help wildlife threatened by global warming. We all carry the responibilities for good stewardship on this planet, whether we believe so or not. This is our home, and there is a reason for every season, and every creature on this planet.

I worry deeply about what kind of world awaits my two young daughters if we fail to address this threat.

– Jeff Corwin

In a perfect world, humans would know better than to blatantly abuse the gifts this Earth once boasted in great abundance. We would not hunt animals unless they present a danger to our lives or our little ones. Wolves could coexist alongside us, surviving in their remote regions, in which they were placed upon this planet to roam. Life on this planet, in the natural realms, would continue to evolve in a manner consistant with the nature of things. This is what creates the natural balance in our lives as well. This is how Life on this planet was meant to be.

It is clear to me that there is no reason good enough to condone such brutal behaviour as the senseless slaughter of Wolves, young and old. It is such a waste of time, energy, and the intelligence we are granted with. This is not even a battle we should be fighting. The World has much greater issues, and our focus should be on the positive, as well as creating a viable world in which to live in. A world in which Wolves are an integral part of.

I am here to share the latest news from Defenders of Wildlife. The battle to save our four legged friends is still going strong, and we cannot let the killing continue! Please find it in your heart and spirit to pass the word along, and do what you feel you can to save these beautiful, graceful beings we name Wolves.

Teri,

Wolf packs in Alaska again face savage slaughter from death squads using helicopters and airplanes to kill these helpless animals.

Please help Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund win the Congressional votes we need to end this unnecessary and cruel practice once and for all.

More than 1,000 wolves have been shot dead by aerial shooters who chase the poor animals to exhaustion in the deep snow. The animals are shot from the air and left wounded to die a slow and agonizing death or pursued and shot at point-blank range after the plane has landed.

We’ve had success telling this horrible story to more and more representatives and senators and securing their votes for the Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act — H.R. 3381 and S. 1535 — federal legislation to end Alaska’s awful, unscientific and unnecessary aerial wolf killing and prevent this brutal practice from spreading to other states.

Our vote count stands at 121 representatives and 4 senators. But with another deadly aerial wolf killing season on the horizon, we must redouble our efforts to get the votes to stop it.

Donate today to help save the lives of wolves from Alaska’s aerial wolf-killing programs.

Your donation today will help us convince Congress to pass the PAW Act and educate more Americans about the awful practice championed by former Governor Sarah Palin. 

Palin’s handpicked Board of Game has escalated the aerial killing of wolves, and we need your help to mobilize more citizens (we’ve already generated tens of thousands of messages to senators) to win passage of the PAW Act and stop brutal and unnecessary aerial wolf killing.

To make sure these voices are heard, our staff will be collecting messages from constituents and delivering them in personal meetings with representatives and senators. We will dedicate literally hundreds of work hours in the coming weeks to this important effort.

Will you help support our work to save these magnificent wolves?

Our wolves don’t have a voice, but Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund does. With your help, we can ensure that the story of these magnificent animals is heard on Capitol Hill. Please make your contribution to save wolves today. 

For the wild ones,

 

Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

P.S. Aerial gunners will soon be taking to the sky in helicopters and airplanes to slaughter defenseless wolves. With your help, we can end this cruel and unnecessary killing by passing the PAW Act. Please make a secure donation online now. 

 

Of all the horrors on this planet, I find the use of animals for the pleasure of humans (those with a very sick nature), to be one of the most despicable. It is rather disgusting to think people actually pay money to view a creature being used in ways that totally disrespect their nature, and dishonors our guardianship over those less capable of protecting themselves.

The atrocities commited on a daily basis really makes me wonder which is the better role, being a human, or being an animal. At least animals, when left alone in their true habitat, are true to their own basic nature and have no wish to control the world around them. Some humans behave in such a way as to show they are more inhuman than they would like to think. Pehaps if this treatment by humans, of animals against their will, were reversed… well then one might take a step back and see just how sick some people really are.

I would like to point the way to a rather disturbing example of why I find a world where humans mistakenly believe they have the power over animals to do things that go against their basic nature so abhorrent. 10 Animals Being Used for Human Entertainment is just a very small example of how widespread this travesty truly is.

I find no amusement in the disrespectful treatment of those beings the Creator has placed upon this planet as part of the Great Balance. Who are we to take advantage of the wild ones who live alongside us? There is only shame in such treatment. We can stop this simply by not participating, and letting our voices be heard in protest of these bizarre practices. Most people don’t even think about it, but it is the darker part of human nature which turns a blind eye to the dishonor we show when we condone such behaviour.

After working so long and hard to enable protection for our Wolves, it is quite frustrating to see there are still so many ignorant and heartless people who are trying to devastate the Wolf populations in the Greater Yellowstone park and other places. Some people do not seem to understand that the Creator placed the animals here to help keep the Balance on this planet, and humans do not have the right to destroy and elimate at will, or to their own pleasure. Please step up with compassion to help put a stop to the wanton slaughter of our beautiful Wolf brothers and sisters who have the right to Life and Freedom as much as Humans do. I would like to share a letter and plea for help that I just recieved from Defenders of Wildlife. This is vital, and we do not have the time to mess around on this one, as Wolves will die if we do not put a stop to the madness…

Dear Teri,

I have some terrible news. Today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that he would follow the discredited path of the Bush Administration and delist wolves in the Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone region.

This is a stunning development, just six weeks into the Obama Administration. This delisting paves the way for almost 1000 wolves to be killed under deadly state management plans in Idaho and Montana.

The killing could begin in just weeks.

As I write this, we are already preparing an emergency legal challenge to this harmful proposal — and we’ll be in court as quickly as possible. But we need your help for the legal fight ahead.

Please make an emergency donation now to support our Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone Wolf Legal Defense Fund.

This delisting will put the fate of our wolves in the hands of state governments that want to slaughter nearly 1,000 wolves. Last year, when federal wolf protections were temporarily lifted in the region, more than 100 wolves were killed in just a short time – including the world renowned “Limpy.”

In addition, regular wolf hunting seasons could begin as early as this fall in Idaho and Montana — and Idaho Governor “Butch” Otter said again today that he still wants the first available hunting tag to shoot a wolf himself.

We can’t allow the out-of-control killing of wolves to happen again.

Please donate now to support our emergency legal challenge to protect our wolves in the Northern Rockies.

For more than 35 years, Defenders of Wildlife has fought for our wolves. We were there when the first wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park and we’ve been there to defend them ever since. We’ve beaten back efforts to prematurely delist these wolves in the past, and I’m confident we can do so again.

Just this week, we celebrated a hard-fought victory made possible with your help as the Senate voted to overturn the Bush Administration’s last-minute gutting of the Endangered Species Act. We now need to beat back another deadly Bush-era plan that will open the door to the slaughter of nearly 1,000 wolves.

Please donate what you can today to save the lives of wolves in the Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone.

Together, we can win our legal challenge of the same bad plan originally put forth in the last throes of the Bush Administration — and ensure that our wolves will continue to be around for future generations.

Sincerely,

Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. Your donation through our secure website will ensure that your contribution will be put to immediate work. You can also donate by calling 1-800-385-9712.

Let’s take a look at what’s going on with the amazingly graceful and beautiful creature known as the Sea Turtle…

Did you know that Sea Turtles are some of the planet’s most ancient and endangered creatures? Unfortunately, in recent years, hundreds of these Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico have been killed or injured by an indiscriminate fishing practice known as bottom longline fishing. This is a cruel way to die, and we must put a stop to it!

Please help us save sea turtles. Take action online at – Defenders of Gulf Turtles. Sign the petition, so we can avoid a costly court battle, which will leave the Sea Turtle extremely vulnerable, as time is wasted on such a venture.

Between July 2006 and the end of 2007, the government estimates that the Gulf of Mexico bottom longline fishery, which targets reef fish like grouper and tilefish, resulted in the capture of nearly 1,000 threatened and endangered Sea Turtles — and that in more than 80% of these incidents, the turtles were injured or killed.

Six of seven species of Sea Turtles are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and indiscriminate fishing practices are a grave threat to sea turtles around the world. Loggerheads nesting on Florida beaches — the same turtles captured in the Gulf of Mexico bottom longline fishery — have plummeted by more than 40% over the last decade.

We need to take action right now to save Sea Turtles. Please take action online today at – Defenders of Gulf Turtles.

Thanks for taking the time to help save this endangered species…

Our fight to save the wild places, and those that inhabit the lands all around us, is still in full swing. We have much to do to turn around the devestation caused through neglect and natural disasters. Our future depends upon how well we Steward this planet, whether people are aware of this or not. Education is as important as bringing about awareness of our surroundings and the plights of the Animal Kingdom. Here is some news that I feel is vital to pass along…

As soon as tomorrow, President-elect Obama will give what is being billed as a major address on creating jobs and stimulating America’s economy.

Here’s a forward-looking, wildlife-friendly way that he and Congress can create tens of thousands of green jobs: Saving wolves, river otters and other imperiled wildlife and safeguarding our public lands.

Urge President-elect Obama and your U.S. Representative and Senators to support smart investment in wildlife conservation to create green jobs to protect endangered wildlife, habitat and public lands.

Investing in America’s conservation infrastructure could help…

• Keep local construction, electrical, landscape and other companies working throughout 2009;
• Provide the next generation of workers with the skills they need to lead a green revolution in our economy; and
• Support vital efforts to safeguard river otters, other imperiled wildlife, habitat and our national wildlife refuges, forests, monuments and other public lands.

In fact, America could put nearly 60,000 people to work within 90 to 180 days… all while protecting the wildlife, habitat and public lands that help make our country so special.

These projects are especially important in places like Louisiana’s Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, which was devastated by Hurricane Rita and is currently closed to the public.

The Refuge once hosted more than 280,000 visitors each year and is home to wildlife like river otters, American alligators, pelicans and egrets. But now Sabine is in dire need of repair. Clean-up and restoration efforts could create good local jobs that help Sabine’s wildlife.

And that’s just one example. Across the country, many national wildlife refuges and other public lands have been effectively shuttered as essential projects have been left unfunded and vital wildlife conservation staff positions left vacant.

Transportation projects can also provide great benefits to wildlife and local economies. Done properly, they can create jobs and reconnect wildlife habitat across highways to allow safe passage and help animals migrate in response to climate change and other pressures. 

For instance, building wildlife crossings like those proposed in Washington State’s Snoqualmie Pass would help animals like wolves, grizzly bears, cougar, elk and bobcats move safely through their habitat without endangering their lives — and those of motorists — by crossing the highway.

Take action to put Americans to work restoring essential wildlife habitat and our national wildlife refuges, forests, monuments and other public lands.

Projects to restore wetlands, reconnect habitat across highways, combat harmful invasive species, repair damaged watersheds, rehabilitate native forests and prairies, make facilities and buildings more energy efficient, and install alternative energy systems would have tangible benefits for imperiled wildlife and local communities. Many of these projects also would help wildlife adapt to climate change and reduce global warming pollution by making America more energy efficient.

Together, we can protect the natural legacy we’ll leave our children and grandchildren and put Americans to work. Please take action now to help put America on the right path forward.

For the Wild Ones,

Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife

As we wind down in 2008 and prepare for the new year ahead, it gives us the opportunity to look at our accomplishments throughout the year. As we live and grow, we learn much from our percieved mistakes, and try to put into perspective that which we have learned. As a person I have grown much in this past year, and I can honestly say there is more positive than negative in my Life.

One of my most passionate goals is to help protect this Earth and her inhabitants. As such I am happy to say that throughout this year one of my favourite champions of this cause, Defenders of Wildlife, has helped stop planned wolf hunts in Greater Yellowstone, secured protections for America’s vanishing polar bears under the Endangered Species Act, saved imperiled wolverines from trapping plans and won dozens more victories for our wildlife. Although there is still much to do in preserving our wild places and we have a long way to go in ensuring protection for all the wild creatures who roam this planet alongside us, I do believe we have a good chance of success. For this, I would like to extend a warm thank you to all who have helped in this important and worthy cause. Without all of you, it would not have been possible to do as much as we have thus far.

A Dangerous time for Wolves

We still have a great battle ahead of us, and it is especially alarming to note that Sarah Palin is planning what could be the bloodiest aerial wolf killing season yet in Alaska.

Already this winter, aerial gunners in Alaska have slaughtered at least 47 wolves. More wolves were killed this past November than in any November in the past five years. And, under Governor Palin’s out-of-control wolf-killing program, nearly 600 more wolves could die before this year’s season is finished.

Wolves are dying right now, and we need your help to stop the killing!!

Please let the start of 2009 be a positive move in the right direction. With new leadership in Washington and unprecedented awareness about Governor’s Palin’s senseless killing programs, we’re now in a better position to stop this terrible, needless practice and save wolves.

With the support of fellow Earth and animal lovers we can…

* Forcefully oppose efforts by Governor Palin and her Board of Game to arbitrarily kill even more wolves just to boost game populations for out-of-state hunting interests

* Shine the national spotlight on Governor Palin’s brutal wolf-killing programs and pressure her to end them

* Work with the incoming Obama/Biden Administration to close the loophole in the Federal Airborne Hunting Act that Governor Palin is exploiting to continue Alaska’s unfounded aerial wolf killing programs

* Build support in Congress for the reintroduction and passage of the Protect America’s Wildlife Act (PAW), federal legislation to end aerial killing of wolves once and for all.

With your help, I know we can succeed. Together, we were able to stop Governor Palin’s ghastly $150 bounty for the severed paws of slaughtered wolves, block Palin’s stealth campaign to stifle the voice of Alaska’s citizens on wildlife issues and spotlight Palin’s support for aerial killing and other anti-wildlife policies in the national media.

And, with the help of caring people like you, Defender’s sister organization Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund was able to help stop Palin from becoming our next Vice President and spreading her anti-wildlife politics across the country.

We can win, but we can’t do it without the help of loyal supporters like you. Please make a tax-deductible contribution of whatever you can today to help us save wolves. This is a Gift of Life in which we can all take part in.

Here’s to hoping 2009 is a Healthy, Prosperous, and Happy New Year. Let that which you do count for something, creating a positive present and future for all of us. May each of you be blessed with the fruits of Life, with many true friends to help Light your Path.

Teri
~

Please consider making a donation to help save Utah’s Redrock wilderness before it is too late! Time is running out, and the Bush-Cheney Administration is pushing through the auction of our precious wildlands to the highest oil bidder. This is serious business, and we need to stand up and let them know we won’t allow them to spoil our land.

Here is the latest news from Robert Redford, who is taking this to the courtroom to fight to keep our lands free and beautiful…