RMEF Position on Wolves and Wolf Management

[huntrights]

I have noted a few posts questioning the RMEF’s position on wolves and wolf management.  This seemed odd to me, so I decided to investigate.  I would suggest getting information directly from the source.  The RMEF has clearly stated their position in the following link:

http://www.rmef.org/NR/rdonlyres/B5773431-39F6-4028-8BA6-2AF3EF8E7A31/0/RMEFLtrDefenders410.pdf

Below is the link to the RMEF web site where you can see what wolf advocates have written to RMEF and what the RMEF response was.  The RMEF is definitely on track to promote managing wolf numbers and save our ungulate populations.  Make sure you read the RMEF responses.  Don't confuse the letters to the RMEF as the RMEF statements; they have posted the letters written to them so all could see what they are responding to.
 
http://www.rmef.org/NewsandMedia/Wolves/WolfGroups.htm

I would suggest taking a few minutes to read the “RMEF Reply to Defenders of Wildlife”.  The “RMEF response to op-ed from MWF” is also worth reading; it points out how “the National Wildlife Federation over the past 15 years has sued the government some 427 times in environmental lawsuits.”  “Two federal programs, the Judgment Fund and Equal Access to Justice Act, have reimbursed plaintiffs for legal fees in sums reaching well into the billions of dollars.”  This relates to the recent post ( http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,85545.0.html ) requesting we write our representatives to support and sponsor this bill (H.R.1996) regarding attorney’s fees.

Direct link to the bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.01996:#

[pianoman9701]

Here is the response I got back just now from Tom Tolman at RMEF conservation. I'm not so TO'd at them as at first. We need all of the allies we can garner.

"John,
I just got back in the office from total knee replacement surgery and am playing catch up.  Sorry about the lateness of this reply.  We have actually been engaged in this issue from the start.  In early summer our President and CEO and several staff members met with Director Phil Anderson regarding the wolf plan and several other conservation topics.  We have had staff attend at least two meetings.  I attended the meeting in Ellensburg in September while on vacation and it really helped me put together our formal comments.  One of our staff and several of our members attended one of the meetings in Olympia as well.  We sent our formal comments on November 4 and had a confirmation that they were part of the public record.    After receiving our formal comments, Director Anderson met with our VP of Lands and Conservation, Blake Henning and requested an opportunity to discuss our letter in more detail.  I hope that this clarifies where RMEF stands on the Washington wolf plan.  If you have any further questions, please advise.
Best regards!"

[pianoman9701]

I let Tom know that the original plan is being adopted with few revisions, and about how disheartened many of us are for our diminishing hunting opportunities and the future of our ungulates.

[CedarPants]

My intent of contacting RMEF was not to question their position on wolves and wolf management, but instead to question their apparent lack of involvement in this whole process in Washington.  And trust me,  I went to the source, have read everything you've provided links to, and am not confusing letters to the RMEF with responses from the RMEF 

Never hurts to ask for info.  Contacting them prompted them to issue a letter to WDFW and the Commission, but it just seemed like too little too late.  We all know their official position .... I guess I was just asking them why they seemed to fail to sink their teeth into the proposed plan here in Washington when they had the chance.

They even admitted they weren't even aware of the meeting in Spokane.  Not quite on top of things in my opinion, and honestly .... to me .... at the end of the day they seem to have come across as not wanting to step on any WDFW toes

[pianoman9701]

I'm not sure I disagree with you, Cedar, but they do represent our opinions on the issue, as opposed to conflicting with ours. I guess I take what I can get in this battle. That doesn't mean I'll be renewing my membership with them next year, though.

[CedarPants]

I'm not sure I disagree with you, Cedar, but they do represent our opinions on the issue, as opposed to conflicting with ours. I guess I take what I can get in this battle. That doesn't mean I'll be renewing my membership with them next year, though.

Maybe I'm being too hard on them, I don't know.  I just feel them putting "we are RMEF, and his is how we feel" on their website for everyone to read is completely different than showing up at one of these meetings and saying "hey we are RMEF, now you listen here".  They clearly share and represent our opinions, I don't question that at all.  They clearly fight for the management of plans that are already in place that are being challenged by environmental groups (by management plans I mean they fight to allow hunting of wolves).  I guess I just feel they had the opportunity to proactively be as aggressive with our proposed plan as they are with how aggressive they are with plans that are already in place - and they didn't really do that.