I wish to do my best to express how wonderful it feels to hear good news in the fight to save our Wolf brothers and sisters. I truly felt despair for the future of these beautiful and noble creatures when I heard about the opening up of Wolf hunting after so much hard work to keep the protections from being lifted. We are by no means out of the danger zone in this fight to save the Wolves, yet this small victory gives us heart to know we may not be fighting a losing battle. There are those who have little or no love for Wolves, and they are ready to fight for their desires to kill every Wolf for their own purposes. For those fighting to give Wolves their natural right to live wild and free, as intended by the Creator of this Earth, I wish to share some really great news I recieved from Defenders…

Dear Teri,

I was at home in Boise when I heard the news Friday: A federal judge has restored endangered species protections for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies. 

The ruling by a district court judge in Montana could save the lives of hundreds of wolves by stopping this fall’s planned wolf sport hunting seasons in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.  

I want to thank you for the crucial role that caring people like you have played in this initial victory.

It’s a huge win that couldn’t have happened without the thousands of Defenders activists and donors who have worked to support our efforts here in the Northern Rockies by contributing money to our Wolf Legal Defense Fund, supporting our on-the-ground work and much more.

But we still have a long fight ahead of us.

Idaho Governor C.L. Butch Otter – who said last year that he wanted to be one of the first in the state to shoot a wolf — immediately criticized the judge’s ruling to restore protections for wolves. Wyoming’s Governor has vowed that his state will fight the ruling.

Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition leader Ron Gillette was even more direct, telling a local reporter that “[i]t is going to be all-out war.”

Rest assured, Defenders of Wildlife will keep fighting for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the rest of the Northern Rockies by continuing to…

• Make the case in court to restore full protections for these endangered wolves;
• Pay for guard dogs, range riders, turbo fladry fencing and other non-lethal wolf management strategies to keep livestock and wolves safe; and
• Combat distortions and misperceptions about wolves to build tolerance and understanding for the vital role that wolves play in healthy ecosystems.

Teri, we have a tough fight ahead of us. For now, please accept my sincere gratitude for all you’ve done to help us save wolves.

For the Wild Ones,

Suzanne Asha Stone
Northern Rockies Representative
Defenders of Wildlife Boise Office

P.S. I take pride in know the important role Defenders of Wildlife plays in protecting wolves. If you would like to support our work, please consider making a secure online donation now.

This is such fantastic news, and it makes it all worthwhile for the time spent advocating and sending out such heartfelt prayers for the Wolves. Although Wolves are still endangered, and this is just one tiny victory in the fight to save our worlds wild creatures, I truly hope to make a difference in my own small way, and wish to do my best to create awareness and interest in helping those who dwell alongside us in keeping the balance created upon this Earth. I will sleep much better knowing we have made a positive step in the right direction, and pray there is yet hope for our four legged friends who need our help to survive the dangers presented on this beautiful planet we know as Mother Earth. We must remember.. All Life is Sacred.

Pilamaye!

When I think of the American plains, I imagine the sweet grasses blowing in the wind, and the wild Buffalo roaming with their herds. The Buffalo are most Sacred to my people. They were placed here for some very good reasons, as they spread the seeds and fertilized the land. Once they provided food and materials for shelter and clothing for the peoples of this land. It is amazing to imagine how brilliantly the Creator of this world set things in motion so very long ago. From the tiniest microbe to the mightiest predator. Each living creature having a purpose, and given the chance to evolve in a natural way. To think that the beings who believe themselves most intelligent cannot see the widsom behind this, and are the ones destroying the balance so painstakingly created to maintain Life on this Earth. Such folly can be credited to a foolish, yet supposed intelligent race, when we should be providing good stewardship in caring for the environment. Nature knows how to do her job… why is it so hard to do ours?

Alas, it tears at my heart when I try to find good news to pass along to my readers. I mean, shouldn’t there be a Balance of as much good as bad? I know the saying goes ‘it is always darkest before the dawn’, yet must so much be destroyed before the Balance can be restored? Our songs and traditions speak of such a Beautiful and Bountiful land, yet when we look around, where has the bounty gone? And what are we doing to all the Beautiful places? What legacy are we truly leaving our children and future generations? Wow… I am feeling depressed about this walk, and that is not good. I am usually so optimistic in feeling I can make a difference, and days like this cause me to feel so helpless and small in the scheme of things. How can one small being such as myself even hope to make a dent in this daunting task?

Well then, I suppose I must pass along the news which prompted my sadness in this moment…

For years, BioGems Defenders have fought to halt the U.S. government’s systematic capture and killing of Yellowstone’s bison — better known as American buffalo — as they roam beyond the boundaries of the park in search of food during the harsh winter months. But this year the rate of slaughter has reached unprecedented proportions with more than 1,400 buffalo dead — fully 30 percent of the buffalo population. In response, the NRDC Action Fund, our partner organization, is mobilizing a massive outcry to stop the killing.

» Tell the National Park Service to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone’s wild buffalo.

I would like to think we can make a difference if we put our minds to it and work together. I truly would like to spread some good news in letting people know there is a safe, bountiful and beautiful place in which the remaining Buffalo may roam and grow plentiful once again.

Let’s take a few moments to check in and see how we are doing in our fight to save America’s Wolves.

Yesterday, Defenders of Wildlife and eleven other conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal court and asked for an emergency injunction to stop the slaughter of Greater Yellowstone’s wolves and restore some common sense to wolf management in the Northern Rockies.

The case, Defenders of Wildlife vs. Hall, is our second legal challenge since January aimed at preserving one of the greatest conservation victories in the last century — the return of wolves to the Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone.

These legal efforts wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous support of caring supporters like you who have made more than 8,000 individual contributions to help support our work over the last weeks and months.

But our fight isn’t limited to the courts. Since the Bush Administration ended protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies, at least fourteen wolves have been killed in Wyoming — the most of any state in the region.

Help change the political climate that is driving the wolf slaughter. Call the Wyoming Governor’s Office at (307) 777-7434 and deliver this message:

“My name is ((Your Name)) and I’m calling from ((Your State)) because I’m deeply concerned about the widely reported killing of wolves in your state and urge your office to help ensure a lasting future for wolves in Wyoming by…

• Ending the shoot-on-sight policy that is now in effect in 88% of the state.

• Releasing a public statement urging restraint in wolf management

• Providing a full account of the number of wolves killed in Wyoming.

The return of wolves to the Northern Rockies was an amazing conservation achievement, but inadequate state protections for wolves in Wyoming and lax reporting of wolf kills are hurting Wyoming’s image and threatening an achievement that should be a point of pride for the state.”

Once you’re done, please take a moment to let us know that you called. Also, please remember to be civil on your call. Comments that are overly emotional or threatening can be disregarded by officials (or worse, used to undermine our efforts to save wolves).

Phone calls will be most effective, but you can also email Governor Freudenthal through his website.

Stay tuned for more ways to help, and as always, thank you for taking the time to make a difference.

P.S. We’ve almost met our May 16th fundraising goal for the Yellowstone Wolf Defense Fund. You can make your tax-deductible contribution online now via our secure website or you can call 1-800-385-9712 to make your contribution by phone.

It truly sickens me to hear about wolves being hunted down and killed! So many people have worked so hard to bring awareness to the caring public, and at times like this it seems all for nothing. What is it that makes some people believe they can dominate nature in such a cruel way? Lifting protections that took so much to bring about in the first place, and are quite necessary to save these beautiful creatures, is simple insanity! We have better things to do with our time than promoting the death of a species. There are so many positive ways we can create and promote Life instead. It truly makes me wonder why the Creator placed us on this beautiful Earth when so many humans are so set upon destroying all that has been placed beside and around us. And to think that the first to die with the lift of these protections was a wolf who has survived in the wild against all odds is a tragedy beyond belief, and brings so much sadness to my heart.

I will pass along a sad, yet so very important, message I have recieved…

Dear Teri,

The killing in the Greater Yellowstone region has already begun.

One of the first victims: Wolf 253M — a celebrity wolf, affectionately known as “Limpy.”

Help us stop the senseless killing of Greater Yellowstone wolves now. Please make a tax-deductible contribution today.

Limpy was many things to many people – to wolf-watchers, he was the hobbling member of Yellowstone’s famous Druid Peak Pack. To Utahans, he was the first wolf to be seen in the state for more than 70 years.

But wolf 253M’s celebrity didn’t save him in the end. Limpy and two other wolves were shot dead in an elk feeding ground, part of Wyoming’s brutal shoot-on-sight policy that covers virtually the entire state.

The killing has already begun. Please donate now to support our work to save wolves in the Greater Yellowstone area.

Limpy’s death was just the beginning. It’s been 26 days since wolves were stripped of federal protections in the Greater Yellowstone area — and at least 17 wolves have already been killed in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. And there are surely more to come.

Officials in Idaho changed their state law on the day wolves were delisted, making it far easier for anyone to kill wolves near livestock or domestic animals.

In Wyoming, state officials stripped all protection from wolves in 88% of the state. Locals have organized weekend eradication “wolf hunts” to kill any wolf that they find. One group tracked a wolf for 35 miles on snowmobiles before shooting it dead.[1]

Your contribution will help us…

• Fight for our wolves in court;

• Confront flawed state wolf policies with science and common sense;

• Help ranchers reduce conflicts with wolves using non-lethal methods;

• Debunk the myths and misinformation about wolves through on-the-ground education and outreach; and

• Much, much more…

Will you make a tax-deductible emergency donation right now to help?

We can win the battle to save our wolves. But we can’t do it without your help.

Sincerely, Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. You can make your tax-deductible contribution online now via our secure website or you can call 1-800-385-9712 to make your contribution by phone.

 The Buffalo Field Campaign–a campaign to protect Yellowstone’s buffalo–is currently in 1st place but is losing ground fast! If they win they will get a pledge drive done. Voting ends in less than two days. Please vote – you can vote every two minutes here : Vote for The Buffalo Field Campaign.

The Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) is the only group working in the field, every day, to stop the slaughter and harassment of Yellowstone’s wild buffalo. Volunteers from around the world defend buffalo on their traditional winter habitat and advocate for their protection. Our daily patrols stand with the buffalo on the ground they choose to be on, and document every move made against them. Volunteers spend all day, from sunrise until sunset, watching and documenting actions taken against the buffalo. We run patrols from cars, skis and snowshoes to protect buffalo outside the park. Tactics range from video documentation to nonviolent civil disobedience. BFC enjoys incredible support and participation from the local community. Residents allow us to post signs on their property designating them as ‘Buffalo Safe Zones.’ We offer a fence repair service to mitigate damage caused by wildlife. Locals join us on our daily rounds, and many support our patrols with hot drinks and food. All of our work happens because people are willing to take a break from their usual schedules and come help. Over 3000 people from all over the country and around the world have joined us in our log cabin on Hebgen Lake to help stop the buffalo slaughter. We feed and house all our volunteers in our cabin and Gardner satellite camp. Volunteers patrol for buffalo by skis, snowshoes, or cars. Everyone communicates by a network of hand-held radios, and also carries a video camera. Our office runs outreach programs, including slide and video presentations, summer tabling in Yellowstone Park, website and e-mail updates, and national media coverage through press releases and video.

Come defend the buffalo by joining us on the front lines! We have had over 2400 volunteers from across the country and around the world join us on the front lines to help save the Yellowstone buffalo. The Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group living and working in the Yellowstone Ecosystem full time. We are on patrol all day, everyday, when buffalo are out of the park and in danger. Buffalo Field Campaign patrols defend the buffalo on their critical, native Montana habitat and document every move made against them.

Please consider becoming a The Buffalo Field Campaign Volunteer. The future of America’s last free-roaming herd depends on you!