U.S. wants to lift protections for wolf and grizzly

[WV Hunter]

Hadn't seen this one posted yet.....

U.S. wants to lift protections for wolf and grizzly

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – The Obama administration is seeking to lift Endangered Species Act protections from two of the most iconic symbols of the American West, the gray wolf and grizzly bear, in moves likely to spark fierce resistance from environmentalists.

The administration intentions emerged in an interview on Wednesday with two top-ranking officials from the Interior Department, whose agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, oversees federal safeguards for the bulk of imperiled species.

Here is the rest of the article.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101202/us_nm/us_endangered_usa_rockies

 

[belly-deep]

Well I guess I'll have to give Obama credit on this one. He said sportsman should vote for him when he came to MT. I didn't believe him, but it looks like he's trying to make good on his promise. He could have avoided it completely and nobody would have been surprised.

 

[Moosie]

He wants to get Re-elected and realized this is the key to get Idaho, Montana and Wyoming votes

 

[Sytes]

Interesting... I suppose everything from a politician is to get re-elected... Though I am surprised Obama would want to see this through as well.

Wyoming, Montana and Idaho have the combined total electoral points as.... Missouri.

Not sure if this is really a "good" political move for him with respect gaining points - In fact, I would think this move would hinder his position as the mass impulsive raisin heads / cuddy wolf puppy lovers - those that voted for him will be really put off. Will it be offset by hunters / pro wildlife management? Meh, we will see.

Good move though. State management of this wildlife would be great! One thing it does present is the general direction of the US FWS... A good sign.

 

[stillkickin]

I agree, seeing the USFWS take their stand is substantial!

 

[Moosie]

Stytes...... I remember when we used to be able to Joke with you

 

[Sytes]

Haha! Used to? We still do - no?

I took it as a bit of humor - It just got me thinking about it - why the hell would he endorse such a direction... when he could have laid low and kept the public's direction towards the ESA, WY, Molloy... etc.?

I am a bit baffled by this move - wondering if Obama was even in the loop before such an announcement was made? Haha! I guess it is obvious Rahm Imanuel is no longer present - to hell if he would have allowed such to occurr - Too many dead fish would have been mailed out....

Dan Strickland, assistant interior secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, said on Wednesday that the Obama administration planned to propose lifting Endangered Species Act protection for wolves in all three states, and would seek congressional action if necessary.

Stytes...... I remember when we used to be able to Joke with you

 

[Moosie]

Haha! Used to? We still do - no?

99.9% of the time amigo

 

[shoots-straight]

Anyone ever thought that this was the right thing to do, without strings attached!

 

[belly-deep]

Anyone ever thought that this was the right thing to do, without strings attached!

That's what I thought. I gotta give the Pres credit on this one.

 

[Moosie]

Anyone ever thought that this was the right thing to do, without strings attached!

HA HAHAHAHAHHAHAH HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAA

OHHH wait, your were serious ??!?!!?

 

[drahthaar]

Why are the grizzlies in the Yellowstone region the only ones talked about being delisted? They are an isolated group. We have far more griz up here, we have Glacier Park(sort of a stronghold and preserve), and this group of bears is contiguous with Canada, BC, where populations are easily strong enough to be hunted. Is it more of a "feather in the cap" to just get the Yellowstone bunch off the list?

 

[shoots-straight]

drahthaar, if they de list them, it's state wide, they just can't delist an area.

 

[belly-deep]

drahthaar, if they de list them, it's state wide, they just can't delist an area.

Yes, and its actually more than state wide...Molloy made that quite clear in his last decision.

 

[----]

I for one, am going to assume Don Peay took the right guys out golfing and worked his magic.
Check is in the mail Don!

This is kind of a head scratcher though, though I won't complain.
If I remember right, a couple years ago, when they first discussed taking Grizzlies off the list, they were going to try to only de-list the NW population, and leave the Yellowstone bears protected. (nevermind, just read the whole article and it looks like I was backwards).

Are you sure about the needing to be state-wide thing Shoots?

 

[Ben Lamb]

Why are the grizzlies in the Yellowstone region the only ones talked about being delisted? They are an isolated group. We have far more griz up here, we have Glacier Park(sort of a stronghold and preserve), and this group of bears is contiguous with Canada, BC, where populations are easily strong enough to be hunted. Is it more of a "feather in the cap" to just get the Yellowstone bunch off the list?

The NCDE population (NW MT) doesn't have the body of science behind it to defend a delisting, unlike the Yellowstone population. Current work (the study that McCain lambasted during the last election) is getting the data together that will be instrumental in getting that population delisted, and stay delisted.

It's all about the litigation, and being able to withstand it.

As for the woofs,the SFW bills aren't getting the kind of traction that they'd hoped with democratic leadership, and with everything stalled out due to lame duck, it's likely that a bill will get through next session.

Independently of that, Salazar is working with Freudenthal, Schweitzer and Otter to come up with a plan that could be incorporated in to the delisting legislation. Hopefully that means we can come to an end of this soon.

I wouldn't be surprised to see this continue in to next session, but I also don't think that a permanent exclusion to the ESA for wolves will happen. I can't see it getting through the senate, even with a bunch of trading and deals.

The wolf issue is pretty fluid right now back east, and it seems to change from day to day.

 

[belly-deep]

. I can't see it getting through the senate, even with a bunch of trading and deals.

I would disagree. I think right now is the best time we've had to strike a deal. The country is in rough times and believe me, 97% of our country doesn't give damn about wolves right now. Everybody has an opinion, but its not a big enough issue to fight over. If it came down to make-or-break on some issue and the Dems got what they wanted because of a rider bill that includede wolf delisting, it would pass, and with two Democrat Senators and a Democrat Governor, I think we have a good shot at getting it in there.

In quieter times, this would be a much bigger fight.

 

[dszymo]

"Wildlife management decisions are supposed to be made based on science, not politics," said Mike Leahy. it would be nice if he really believed that.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Agreed that the issue is ripe, just not the approach taken by some groups. The amount of pressure and influence being wielded by the enviro community is huge on this, and a number of committee chairmen need to take that constituency in to account. The exemption from the ESA is not going to happen, but the approach taken by Baucus and Tester has a better chance, since it doesn't set nearly the precedent that the Hatch bill (or the other three) do. It's also localized, and much like public land legislation, that is pretty important for senatorial procedure and protocol.

The fight isn't really about wolves, it's about the ESA. Two different issues altogether, and the ESA is still wildly popular in a large portion of the country.