Gray Wolf about to Lose Endangered Species Act Protection

A few weeks ago the Obama Administration announced they were putting a hold on their plans to de-list the Gray Wolf from its Endangered Species Act protection.  Things seemed hopeful at the time, but now apparently the de-listing is a done deal.

In some ways I’m relieved Obama got elected instead of Romney.  In other ways, all I can think is “WTF is the difference?”  Obama is all but certain to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, and who knows whether the EPA will prevent the Pebble Mine from destroying one of the world’s largest salmon habitats in Bristol Bay, Alaska?  Obama can prevent this disaster with the stroke of a pen, but will he?

Concerning the Gray Wolf, this New York Times guest editorial says it all.  It was written by the three founding members of Living With Wolves.

As the editorial states, the Gray Wolf “has long been in the cross hairs of powerful hunting and livestock interests.”

There are about 1,700 Gray Wolves left in the western states, mostly in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.  As the editorial says:

“Wolf management in those states is often driven by politics, and wolves are being killed at alarming rates in the name of sport in all but Michigan.”

This is a sport?!?  What kind of gun does the wolf have?

In Idaho and Wyoming, hunters and trappers have gone into an orgasmic wolf-killing frenzy.

Michigan may not be hunting and trapping wolves yet, but they’re about to get in on the fun.  A Michigan state legislator, Tom Casperson (R—Douchebag) introduced a bill — SB 288 — that would deny Michigan voters the right to allow or disallow the “sport” hunting of any species.  All of those decisions would be made by an unelected unaccountable 7-member board.  This bill would automatically invalidate any future referendums regarding hunting.  And the bill itself can never be overturned by a referendum because it has an appropriation attached to it.

Every Republican in the Michigan legislature voted in favor of  SB 288, and the bill has been signed into law by Rick Snyder, Michigan’s teatard excuse for a “governor.”

This seems a little inconsistent with the Tea Party’s previous rhetoric — you know, people wearing tri-corner hats and shouting “We The People!”

The New York Times editorial concludes with:

“Where management has been transferred to the states, America’s wolves have fallen under an assault of legislation, bullets and traps. A conservation victory is quickly turning into a conservation tragedy. Now the Obama administration is proposing to remove virtually all remaining protections. Have we brought wolves back for the sole purpose of hunting them down?”

Power Grab by Michigan State Legislature

Voters in Michigan, as in lots of other states, have made frequent use of the initiative process.  Among other initiatives, voters enacted a ban on the target shooting of Mourning Doves — which passed by a landslide in 2006.

And an organization called Keep Michigan Wolves Protected has turned in their petition — with over 250,000 signatures — to the Secretary of State’s office.  This group has a referendum, to ban the hunting of wolves, which is expected to be on the November 2014 ballot.

And now, state senator Tom Casperson (R—Inbred) is trying to squelch those pesky treehuggers.  Tom Casperson sponsored the 2012 law that allows wolf hunting in Michigan, and his law could be overturned in the upcoming referendum sponsored by Keep Michigan Wolves Protected.

Can’t let that happen now, can we.  Tom Casperson has introduced a bill, SB 288, which would take these decision-making powers away from the voters, and even from the state legislature.  If SB 288 becomes law, the state Natural Resources Commission — which is heavily stacked with ranching and trophy hunting advocates — will have the sole power to determine which species are protected and which ones are fair game for hunting, trapping, poisoning, you name it.

The Natural Resources Commission could open a new hunting season on ANY species, with no public input whatsoever.

SB 288 also contains a million-dollar appropriation, which means that if this bill gets passed, it can’t be overturned by a citizens’ referendum.  Sleazebag.

Here is a link asking Michigan residents to call and/or e-mail their state legislators and ask them to oppose SB 288.