Letter from a New York wolf lover

[bearpaw]

Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:22:21 -0400
 
Dear President Obama, Government Officials of U.S. and Idaho:
 
With Idaho's proposed 2011 Wolf Hunting Season on the table, the plight of American wolves goes from bad to worse. It seems that national public outcry falls upon deaf government ears. Still, I ask you to note that I am wholly opposed to lethal "wolf management."
 
First, a rider passed on the coattails of the federal budget bill that stipulates delisting of Western gray wolves from Endangered Species Act immunity. This action bypassed Endangered Species Act protocol and ignored a prior judicial ruling that struck down delisting of Greater Yellowstone and Northern Rockies wolves. Did legislators who voted to delist wolves by budget rider -- leaving their fate in the hands of state game departments -- even consider the repercussions?
 
As a result of the rider, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed safeguards for gray wolves in Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, Washington, and northern Utah. Congress, with President Obama's approval, essentially opened the floodgates to wholesale slaughter.
 
Idaho's Fish and Game Department calls for a 7-month kill season (Aug. 30, 2011 to Mar. 31, 2012) that lets hunters use rifles, handguns, shotguns, and bows to kill up to two wolves each. During a planned 10-week trapping season (Dec. 1, 2011 to Feb. 15, 2012), trappers may kill as many as five wolves. Wolves may also be killed incidentally throughout fall's bear baiting period. Idaho's proposal lists no statewide kill quota on wolves.
 
Idaho hopes to "manage" its 705 wolves down to 150 animals, enlisting federal hunters and airborne gunners if the state can't slay enough wolves on its own.
 
I urge Idaho's governor and state agencies to focus on cohabitation rather than ways to kill more wolves and boost revenue from hunting licenses. Please shift to a nonlethal approach for the preemptive reduction of wildlife conflicts, including livestock loss.
 
I am appalled by both the federal government's apathy for wolf protection and Idaho's violent tactics. In fact, I will steer my tourism dollars away from Idaho attractions as long as the state maintains this cavalier attitude about wildlife.
 
With no definitive conclusion on the "right number" of wolves to constitute recovery, Idaho's 2011 Wolf Hunting Season shows reckless disregard for the long-term preservation of Western gray wolves and the ecosystem they inhabit.
 
Sincerely,
Patricia Rathbone
Oneonta, NY

[UBA]

"Ill steer my tourism dollars away from idaho"  ha ha I bet one single hunter spends more money than her. Plus idaho doesn't want her kind running around anyways

[docsven]

No, please don't steer your tourism dollars away 

[rebal69972]

to irratated to respond.   . ok took a second clamed down. i agree with her idaho will not get my tourist dollars but i will take 2 wolf tags   

[Killmore]

Patricia is so concerned about saving the wolves, what about all the other wildlife they kill? Idaho here i come with my tourism dollar!!!

[ICEMAN]

Maybe she feels guilty carrying her Family Name of "Rathbone" from the baptismal name of Rawbone. Killers in her family tree for sure. She is trying to make ammends for it now... 

[bearpaw]

heres a reply from an Idaho resident............

Re: Letter from New York
 
(email July 15th)
 
Boy is my blood starting to boil!  This lady Patricia Rathbone of NY, is jumping up and down about the open season for reducing the Wolf populations of Idaho {clear across the US} from where she lives.  I would like to show her pictures of the very large Elk and Deer herds that I loved to see when I visited here and then when I moved here 8 years ago.  It was also very enjoyable to see the Elk grazing here in my yard every morning, and having the Deer come thru my yard in the afternoon. 
 
I would like to ship a dozen Wolves [that she wants to protect] to surround her house.  Then have her worry that her cats would disappear, her dog disappear, and for her to venture into her yard without fear that she would be harmed with the wolf pack, surrounding her when she tries to get into her car. Also consider the safety of small children for her friends to come over and let play in her yard.
 
I also would like her to come and spend a summer here in Yellow Pine and look for wildlife that the wolf has eradicated.
 
You know, it is very easy for people to express their opinion about something that does not direct effect them.  She has no worries because she does not live with the Wolves;  We do!
 
Darwin
Yellow Pine