BigFin:
While your strutting around with your chest puffed out here's a few quotes from the other elites:
The following is a statement from Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies representative for Defenders of Wildlife:
?Congress? action to strip protections for wolves is an absolute and unnecessary travesty. What happens next is entirely up to the states.
?For years, western states and Idaho and Montana in particular have been demanding the right to manage wolves like they manage other wildlife. Now here?s their chance to prove that they can do so responsibly, based on the scientific principles of wildlife conservation rather than the incendiary rhetoric of anti-wolf fanatics.
?As we move forward, we will be monitoring how wolves are managed, and we'll work together with those who are willing to do their part to ensure a long-term future for wolves. We urge all Americans who care about wildlife to do the same to make sure that the wolves we fought so hard to restore are not needlessly eliminated once again.?
---Are you happy they will still be monitoring you?
? Defenders of Wildlife
Settlement reached on wolf recovery in Idaho and Montana
Wolves to remain protected in Oregon and Washington
MISSOULA, Mont. (March 18, 2011) - Ten conservation groups reached a legal settlement today with the Department of the Interior regarding wolf recovery and management in the Northern Rockies. The settlement was filed for approval with a U.S. Federal District Court in Montana. If approved by the court, the agreement would remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in Idaho and Montana and return management authority to those states, while retaining full protection in Washington, Oregon, Wyoming and Utah. It will also require Department of the Interior to withdraw a controversial policy memo used to justify not protecting imperiled species throughout their entire range.
The following is a joint statement from the 10 conservation groups:
?We hope today?s agreement will mark the beginning of a new era of wolf conservation in the Northern Rockies, as well as confirm the success of the Endangered Species Act and this country?s boldest wildlife reintroduction effort in history. The proposed settlement maintains protections in Oregon and Washington where wolves have not yet fully recovered, while allowing for responsible state management in Idaho and Montana.
?In return for allowing the states of Montana and Idaho to manage wolves according to approved conservation plans, the Department of the Interior agrees to conduct rigorous scientific monitoring of wolf populations across the region and an independent scientific review by an expert advisory board after three years. This is a critical safety net to ensure a sustainable wolf population in the region over the long run. The settlement offers a workable solution to the increasingly polarized debate over wolves.
?Wolves are a keystone species that allow many other plants and animals?from beaver and trout, to willows and migratory birds?to thrive in a way that will fascinate and benefit Americans for generations to come. Wolves have a place on the landscape, and continued conflict doesn't benefit anyone.?
The ten conservation groups that have agreed to the settlement are Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Hells Canyon Preservation Council, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oregon Wild, Sierra Club and Wildlands Network.
---This was important reading because:
From GYC:
Wolves: Congress to remove endangered species protections
What's Happening:On April 9, 2011, Montana's federal district court denied the settlement agreement reached between a coalition of 10 conservation groups ? including GYC ? and the U.S. Department of the Interior. For more background on the settlement itself to to GYC's detailed fact sheet.
The settlement would have returned wolf management to the states of Montana and Idaho while retaining Endangered Species Act protections in the states where wolves remain threatened: Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Utah. You can read the settlement agreement here.
---Careful with this next part, gonna have to change your calender...
On the same day that the court ruled, we also learned that a rider to delist wolves will be included in the budget package that was negotiated to avert a government shutdown. This rider directs the Secretary of Interior to reinstate the 2009 delisting decision and exempts this action from further judicial review. This will mark the first time Congress has intervened to remove Endangered Species Act protections from an individual species, setting an unfortunate precedent of placing politics over science in management decisions regarding sensitive wildlife.
For wolves in Greater Yellowstone, the immediate on-the-ground effect of Congressional delisting will be the same as under the settlement proposal: Montana and Idaho will manage wolves in those states, while Wyoming's wolves will remain protected until the state develops an acceptable management plan
---The same as under the settlement proposal? I would take another look at that settlement proposal before I got too excited.
From Hells Canyon:
The other big development was our move to try and settle our federal litigation, along with most the other plaintiff groups. This received a lot of press at the time. While certainly not an ideal scenario, we feel it was the best move for the long-term protection of wolves in the west. Unfortunately, Judge Molly did not approve the settlement, which means more protracted battles over the federal Endangered Species Act listing of wolves, and ... likely Congressional legislation to delist wolves across the west.
----Across the west, not just 2 states!
From Wildlands network:
The nonsettling parties allege in the court documents filed Tuesday that the only new twists in the ongoing saga are the bills in Congress that could permanently remove wolves from Endangered Species Act protections in the northern Rockies. He said the fear of those potential acts of Congress is the real motivation behind the settlement proposal. "Essentially, what has changed is they couldn't take the heat," Garrity said
----Bills in Congress that could PERMANENTLY remove wolves from the ESA! The fear of those potential acts of Congress is the real motivation... I think I mentioned that! It appears that you are the only one claiming they couldn't be passed.
Mike Clark, executive director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition -- one of the larger of the 10 groups pushing for the settlement -- readily agreed with that, saying the potential for congressional action to change the Endangered Species Act prompted everyone to take a closer look at settling the case. "I live in the real world that says when Congress talks to you, you better pay attention," Clark said. "Congress can step into, at any time, any issue and do what it wants. That's our reality. And certainly, Congress is taking an interest in this.
http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com/
Check it out yourself!
This should explain my earlier point that the pressure was being put on Congress to delist wolves before Simpson/Tester realized that it was good politics. You & I both know who was applying that pressure. I don't mention names because they do not wish to claim credit. I joined this thread because you are dividing the sportsmen with deceit and an unknown agenda. Give credit where credit is due and let the sporting community unite on this issue so that together we can finish it right with states control of their own wildlife and wildlife programs.