Your Government at Work

You know what this stupid move is all about? Big GOP "game hunters" and "sportsman" like Dead-eye Dick Cheney. These guys want to be able to go out and kill wolves and they will pay big bucks to do it. The excuse that ranchers need to control the population is bullshit since the Endangered Species Act allows them control if livestock are endangered. Since 1980 over 700 gray wolves have been killed legally by ranchers and an equal number illegally by poachers. In spite of this the population is growing but it is still a fraction of what is needed to return balance back to the ecosystem. No one is mentioning the annual programs in these states to cull the herds of elk, deer and antelope that are too large for the habitat. A natural population of wolves would make this unnecessary. Currently the estimated 1,500 wolves cover a range of about 113,ooo sq. miles which is pretty scarce if you ask me. These wolves need to left alone and allowed to expand their range into Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.

BILLINGS, Mont. - Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies will be removed from the endangered species list, following a 13-year restoration effort that helped the animal's population soar, federal officials said Thursday.

An estimated 1,500 wolves now roam Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. That represents a dramatic turnaround for a predator that was largely exterminated in the U.S. outside of Alaska in the early 20th century.

"Gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains are thriving and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act," said Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett. "The wolf's recovery in the Northern Rocky Mountains is a conservation success story."

We need to get our government back in the worst way.