Defenders' Experts
Over 35 Years of Northern Rockies Wolf Conservation
Legal Action for Wolves
Defenders of Wildlife and 12 other conservation groups filed a
lawsuit asking the courts to reverse the ill-timed and unwarranted removal of Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies.
Read the latest news >>
Stay up to date by reading our blog, My Yellowstone Wolves.
No other organization in the United States has a longer history, as many resources or as much success in protecting wolves as Defenders of Wildlife.
Since these majestic animals were first listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1973, we have been a leader in wolf conservation. Defenders of Wildlife was the first wildlife organization to advocate for the return of the wolf to Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere in the northern Rockies, and our staff was there in 1995 and 1996 assisting in the effort to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone and central Idaho.
Today, Defenders of Wildlife continues to champion expanded wolf recovery throughout the region, working on many fronts to safeguard wolves in the northern Rockies:
Advocating for Wolves
Defenders of Wildlife continues to advocate for strong, sustainable wolf populations throughout the northern Rockies and beyond.
- Citizen Action: Defenders generates public comments for every proposed rule threatening to reduce protections for wolves in the northern Rockies. In 2008, we organized our supporters to generate nearly half of all of the public comments opposing the latest attempt to delist wolves in the northern Rockies – more than any other environmental organization. Our staff and dedicated volunteers also spoke on behalf of the wolves at public hearings throughout the region.
Expanding Wolf Restoration:
Defenders report, “Places for Wolves,” presents a vision for extensive wolf
restoration. The report identifies key habitats for wolf restoration in the
Northeast, Southern
Rockies, Southwest and
Pacific
Northwest, Northern
California,
Nevada and
Utah, and provides specific action
recommendations to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- Testimony: Defenders spoke on behalf of the wolves at state and federal hearings, and at commission meetings, and is mobilizing the public to testify at local and regional hearings regarding wolf management proposals.
- Coalition Work: Defenders helped establish and participates in a regional coalition of conservation groups working to ensure the continued recovery of wolves in the Greater Yellowstone and northern Rockies region.
Legal Efforts to Protect Wolves
We not only build support for common-sense wolf management policies, we also work to ensure that those laws and policies are enforced.
- Enforcing the Law: From state agencies to Congress to international wildlife treaties, Defenders works to ensure that court orders meant to protect wolves are followed and enforced.
- Endangered Species Reward Fund: Defenders rewards individuals and organizations who help to apprehend and convict individuals who kill wolves illegally.
- Challenging Anti-Wolf Policies through Litigation: Litigation is an important component of our strategy, and our legal team works to establish safeguards for wolves and to fight efforts to roll back environmental protections. We successfully stopped the Bush/Cheney Administration from prematurely delisting wolves in 2008 with the ill-conceived delisting plan that opens the door to the slaughter of as many as 70% of the region’s wolves. Unfortunately, Secretary Ken Salazar approved that delisting plan in April 2009, again forcing us back into court to fight this plan.
Working with Ranchers
The challenges faced by livestock owners in wolf country continue to be one of the most significant barriers to widespread acceptance of our wolf restoration goals. We are working on the ground with ranchers to help them better understand and implement ways to reduce livestock conflicts with wolves.
- Proactive Fund: Through The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Proactive Carnivore Conservation Fund, Defenders provides technical assistance to ranchers and funding for fencing and other deterrents. This program helps to reduce the source of likely wolf/livestock conflict before it occurs and helps to resolve other conflicts through the use of non-lethal preventative methods.
Livestock and Wolves: Our guidebook, a product of nearly 10 years of working in-the-field with livestock producers and agency officials, highlights proactive nonlethal tools and methods to
reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock.
- Compensation Trust: When livestock are lost to wolves, Defenders provides fair-market compensation for verified losses. We created this innovative program twenty years ago and have stood by our promise to reimburse ranchers for these losses while wolves are listed as a federally protected species.
- Livestock Producer Advisory Council: Defenders established an advisory committee, comprised of cattle and sheep growers who live and ranch in, or near, areas with wolves and some in areas with wolves and grizzly bears. The council advises us on our proactive and compensation programs.
- Training: Defenders has held collaborative training workshops for state, federal and tribal biologists and wildlife managers, and livestock producers to share information about proactive methods to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock, and to help develop new methods and technologies.
Educating the Public
Gaining a greater understanding of the wolf is a key to winning widespread acceptance for this magnificent creature.
- Public Education Events: Defenders staff conducts educational events throughout the U.S., at diverse forums including livestock producer annual meetings, rallies, conferences, schools, and other public forums.
- Wolf education kits: A Defenders-created wolf education curriculum and hands-on learning tools are available for loan to schools and other educational institutions.
- Wolf Awareness Week: Every year, Defenders sponsors events during the third week of October to celebrate wolves and educate the public.
- North American Wolf Conference: Defenders hosts a scientific conference in the northern Rockies which attracts more than 150 participants, offering presentations on the science and management of northern Rockies wolves.
- Carnivores conference: These events, sponsored by Defenders, began as wolf conferences before expanding to cover other major predators. The Carnivores conference continues to have multiple sessions on wolves, particularly the northern Rockies population.
- Media Outreach: Defenders works with reporters and editorial boards to encourage balanced, accurate coverage of wolf issues both regionally and nationally.
- My Yellowstone Wolves Blog: Defenders' blog offers the latest news and views from the wolf experts at Defenders of Wildlife.
- Action Alerts: We regularly inform our activists via email about wolf recovery efforts in the northern Rockies and around the United States.
Advancing Sound Science and Economics
The best arguments in favor of protecting wolves are based in the science that demonstrates the important role that wolves play in their ecosystems.
- Demonstrating the Need for Wolves: Our team of scientists, wildlife conservationists and economists study and report on wolves and their behavior as well as the “keystone” role that wolves hold at the top of the ecosystem.
- Providing Incentives: Defenders continues to pursue the development of new economic and other incentives that promote tolerance of and appreciation for the wolf.
Help save these wolves and other wildlife with your tax-deductible contribution today!
|
|
