Public protests wolf-kill proposal
Idaho plan draws 42,419 comments, strongly negative
By Christopher Smith, Associated Press
March 2, 2006
BOISE - A national campaign against Idaho's plan to kill 75 percent of the wolf pack that's roaming a popular elk-hunting area generated tens of thousands of e-mails during the state public-comment period.
An analysis of responses to the Fish and Game Department proposal to kill as many as 43 wolves in the Lolo Pass area shows that 41,738 of the 42,419 comments - all but 681 - resulted from a campaign by the Defenders of Wildlife, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that lobbies on behalf of endangered species.
All the e-mails generated by the campaign between Jan. 23 and Feb. 17 opposed the plan.
"People from all over the world were expressing their concern," said Suzanne Stone of the group's Boise office, "because the Idaho wolves are part of the Northern Rockies wolf reintroduction, which was strongly supported by the American public. So, for Fish and Game to propose what appears to be a politically driven motive for eradicating such a large number of wolves in that area generates a lot of opposition."
Of the nearly 700 comments that were not part of the Defenders' e-mail campaign, opposition outnumbered support for the wolf kill by a 2-to-1 ratio, according to the analysis, which will be presented at the Idaho Fish and Game Commission meeting Thursday.
The thousands of e-mails generated by the Defenders of Wildlife campaign came from around the U.S. and from foreign countries, and either repeated verbatim a letter opposing the plan or made minor changes to the letter.
"Either way, the sheer volume of the responses, original or not, is impressive," wrote Joe Hinson of the Northwest Natural Research Group, a Washington state-based firm hired by the agency to analyze the public comments.
His report notes that some of those who oppose the plan accused Idaho officials of having "Little-Red-Riding Hood wolf hysteria" and threatened boycotts of the state and its products.
Some supporters of the plan included "hunting stories" in which the narrator concludes that wolves are impacting big-game herds and threatening public safety.
"I used to go to the mountains and enjoy walks through the hills," read one letter. "I don't go now unless I'm carrying protection. One day soon, this state will see a person killed by a pack."
The state commission is expected to decide Thursday whether Idaho will submit its plan to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Though the state took over management of the 600 wolves in Idaho in January, the animals are still protected under the Endangered Species Act and the federal government must approve lethal control actions.
Idaho Fish and Game Wolf Coordinator Steve Nadeau said biologists also will be presenting the latest elk-herd population estimates to the commission Thursday. He declined to say whether these estimates differ significantly from data the agency used to come up with the plan to kill wolves blamed for limiting growth of the herd near the Montana border.
The state says wolves have been responsible for 32 percent of elk deaths in the Lolo region since 2002.
Nadeau said the commission will determine whether public opposition to killing wolves should supersede what the agency considers a biological need to reduce the size of the wolf pack, believed to contain 58 animals.
"The idea with any public-information review is fairly clear," Nadeau said. "You want to not only see the public's primary points of concerns but also the general overall sentiment.
"As for the Defenders e-mails, there's no real way to analyze 40,000 comments that say the same thing, other than to say it's 40,000 comments that say the same thing."
Rocky Mountain News
By Christopher Smith, Associated Press
March 2, 2006
BOISE - A national campaign against Idaho's plan to kill 75 percent of the wolf pack that's roaming a popular elk-hunting area generated tens of thousands of e-mails during the state public-comment period.
An analysis of responses to the Fish and Game Department proposal to kill as many as 43 wolves in the Lolo Pass area shows that 41,738 of the 42,419 comments - all but 681 - resulted from a campaign by the Defenders of Wildlife, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that lobbies on behalf of endangered species.
All the e-mails generated by the campaign between Jan. 23 and Feb. 17 opposed the plan.
"People from all over the world were expressing their concern," said Suzanne Stone of the group's Boise office, "because the Idaho wolves are part of the Northern Rockies wolf reintroduction, which was strongly supported by the American public. So, for Fish and Game to propose what appears to be a politically driven motive for eradicating such a large number of wolves in that area generates a lot of opposition."
Of the nearly 700 comments that were not part of the Defenders' e-mail campaign, opposition outnumbered support for the wolf kill by a 2-to-1 ratio, according to the analysis, which will be presented at the Idaho Fish and Game Commission meeting Thursday.
The thousands of e-mails generated by the Defenders of Wildlife campaign came from around the U.S. and from foreign countries, and either repeated verbatim a letter opposing the plan or made minor changes to the letter.
"Either way, the sheer volume of the responses, original or not, is impressive," wrote Joe Hinson of the Northwest Natural Research Group, a Washington state-based firm hired by the agency to analyze the public comments.
His report notes that some of those who oppose the plan accused Idaho officials of having "Little-Red-Riding Hood wolf hysteria" and threatened boycotts of the state and its products.
Some supporters of the plan included "hunting stories" in which the narrator concludes that wolves are impacting big-game herds and threatening public safety.
"I used to go to the mountains and enjoy walks through the hills," read one letter. "I don't go now unless I'm carrying protection. One day soon, this state will see a person killed by a pack."
The state commission is expected to decide Thursday whether Idaho will submit its plan to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Though the state took over management of the 600 wolves in Idaho in January, the animals are still protected under the Endangered Species Act and the federal government must approve lethal control actions.
Idaho Fish and Game Wolf Coordinator Steve Nadeau said biologists also will be presenting the latest elk-herd population estimates to the commission Thursday. He declined to say whether these estimates differ significantly from data the agency used to come up with the plan to kill wolves blamed for limiting growth of the herd near the Montana border.
The state says wolves have been responsible for 32 percent of elk deaths in the Lolo region since 2002.
Nadeau said the commission will determine whether public opposition to killing wolves should supersede what the agency considers a biological need to reduce the size of the wolf pack, believed to contain 58 animals.
"The idea with any public-information review is fairly clear," Nadeau said. "You want to not only see the public's primary points of concerns but also the general overall sentiment.
"As for the Defenders e-mails, there's no real way to analyze 40,000 comments that say the same thing, other than to say it's 40,000 comments that say the same thing."
posted by wolf saga at 10:51 AM
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