AUGUST 2016
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ISHA and RAKSHA
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NEWS FROM CENTER for BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Long-studied Alaskan wolf pack may be dead after years of aggressive hunting
Your contribution to the Wolf Defense Fund will go toward this critical work for wolves.
East Fork wolf pack, found near Denali, was first researched in the 1930s and had shrunk significantly this year – and it’s now believed all may have perished
• • • www.biologicaldiversity.org • • •
• • • www.theguardian.com • • •
Few animals evoke the wild like wolves. Majestic, rangy and highly social, wolves play a crucial role in driving evolution and helping to balance nature’s complex relationships. The news out of Washington state is grim: A helicopter gunman paid by the state has killed at least two wolves of the Profanity Peak pack, including the family’s matriarch. This is the third time in two years that the breeding female of a pack has been killed due to state action, even though this is known to destroy wolf families and leave pups to die abandoned in their dens. The Center for Biological Diversity is leading the fight to stop these kinds of wolf killings, and we need your support with a contribution today to the Wolf Defense Fund. The decision to gun down these two pack members is part of a long-running war on wolves in which the profits of the cattle industry are placed above the well-being of wildlife. It’s the third time a wolf family has been shattered in this corner of Washington state in the past four years -- the Wedge pack was wiped out in 2012, in 2014 the killing of the Huckleberry pack breeding female resulted in the pack splitting in two, and now the matriarch of the Profanity Peak pack has been gunned down. This stretch of public land is perfect habitat for wolves because it’s rough, wooded and remote. But the cattle industry wants to operate it like a publicly subsidized feedlot, setting up conflicts that lead to needless deaths. Whether they’re up against ranchers, hunters, or timber and mining companies, the needs of wolves always seem to come last.
And it’s not just in Washington state. The war on wolves across America has never really stopped since the 19th century. In Alaska’s Denali National Park, the legendary East Fork pack, which biologists have continuously monitored since 1939, was just declared extinct. Because Alaska allows wolves to be shot or trapped as soon as they step outside the park, this pack was whittled down one by one until the last pups disappeared this spring. In a particularly infamous incident, a wolf hunter dumped a horse carcass at a site just outside the park and surrounded it with traps, capturing and killing the pack’s breeding female, who was most likely pregnant at the time. These vicious assaults on wolves must end. That’s why we’re asking you to contribute to the Wolf Defense Fund, so our lawyers and activists can take on the powerful interests invested in the extermination of wolves at taxpayer expense. At the Center we’ve made wolves a focus of our work for more than a quarter-century. From fighting to bring back the lobo to the Southwest to ending Wyoming’s gruesome wolf hunt, we’ve won more battles for wolves than anyone. In Washington, we’re combating anti-wolf forces and lobbying hard to change rules that have led to these recent, ruthless wolf killings. We need your help to keep up this fight and prevent what’s happened on public lands in northeast Washington from happening to other wolf packs across America.
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The world’s longest-studied wolf pack may have been wiped out, wildlife officials fear amid an escalating battle between federal and state authorities in Alaska over the aggressive hunting of predators such as wolves and bears. The East Fork wolf pack, found near Denali, North America’s tallest mountain, was first researched in the 1930s and provided the first detailed accounts of wolf behavior and ecology. But years of hunting, trapping and habitat disturbance reduced numbers to just one known female, a male and two pups earlier this year. It’s now believed all may have perished. Bridget Borg, a biologist at the National Park Service, said that the body of the radio collared male wolf was seen at a hunting camp and there appears to be no sign of the female nor pups. “We investigated a den site after,” Borg told Alaska Public Media. “There was clear evidence it was not being used as evidenced by vegetation that was growing around the entrance to the den site.” Three of the four pack members fitted with tracking collars have now been killed by hunters in the past year. The possible demise of the entire pack, which was once a common sight for visitors entering Denali, also America’s largest national park, is likely to heighten criticism of Alaska’s intensive hunting of its largest predators. Recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that hunters will not be allowed to conduct “predator control” in Alaska’s vast national refuges unless there are exceptional circumstances. National wildlife refuges span more than 73m acres of Alaska, including the 20m acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – the largest land-based protected area in the US. The move prohibits controversial practices such as the killing of bear cubs or their mothers, bear baiting and the targeting of wolves and coyotes during the spring and summer denning season. The shooting of bears from a plane or helicopter will also be restricted. However, subsistence hunting by indigenous communities will still be allowed. Alaska reinforced the trapping and shooting of predator animals after the Republican senator Frank Murkowski was elected as governor in 2002. His successors, including Sarah Palin, have all supported a policy of “intensive management” that removes wolves and
bears with the goal of boosting moose and caribou numbers for hunters. This stance has led to significant numbers of bears and wolves being killed if they wander away from national park land. But the state has repeatedly clashed with the FWS, which has now decided to clamp down on hunting on federal land. Dan Ashe, director of the FWS, said “special interest groups” have worked to undermine the protection of species and landscapes. Public lands are “not game farms managed for a slice of their diversity for the benefit of a few people who would call themselves hunters”, Ashe said. “Nor are they places where we can or should allow the practices authorized under Alaska’s ‘intensive predator management’ initiative. “In the name of hunters and hunting, [Alaska has] approved shooting of brown and grizzly bears over bait; shooting mother bears with cubs, and even the cubs themselves; targeting bears and wolves from planes; and killing wolves and wolf pups in their dens. This is not sportsmanship.” Conservationists and some scientists welcomed the decision, pointing out there is little evidence that culling bears and wolves actually leads to a big increase in prey species. “Alaska’s economy depends on the lure of grizzly bears, wolves and other megafauna, and this rule will go a long way toward keeping the living capital in place, ”said Michael Haukedalen, Alaska state director for the Humane Society But Alaska’s department of fish and game claimed the the new FWS regulations “override the state’s sovereign authority” to manage wildlife. “This is continued erosion of the state’s authority to manage fish and wildlife for the benefit of Alaskans,” said Bruce Dale, director of Alaska’s division of wildlife conservation. “Moose, caribou, deer are important sources of natural food and food security for many Alaskans and cornerstones of the subsistence way of life.” Alaska Republican congressman Don Young said he will “work every angle in congress” to repeal the new FWS rule, arguing that it is against the law. “If this rule is allowed to stand, we could see an opening for future jurisdictional takings by the federal government, transforming a cooperative relationship between Alaska and the Fish and Wildlife Service to one of servitude,” Young said.
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New law prohibits states from labeling GE fish We knew the Food and Drug Administration would not require that new genetically engineered salmon be labeled to let consumers know what they’re buying, but now states are no longer allowed to label the fish! Since our legal challenge of government approval of GE salmon for human consumption, the House and Senate passed a bill prohibiting states from labeling these fish. And on Friday, July 29, the bill was signed into law. Additionally the FDA is still failing to analyze and prevent the risks these fish can cause to wild salmon and the environment. We’re challenging this decision in court, and we need your help! Millions of people took action to oppose the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a genetically engineered fish for human consumption. Unfortunately, the agency ignored these comments. Now we’re fighting in court, but we’re up against powerful forces trying to bring these fish to market at any expense. The fish in question are the spawn of a company called AquaBounty Technologies and are engineered in laboratories to grow twice as fast as wild salmon. AquaBounty plans to produce the GE salmon eggs on Prince Edward Island, Canada, and send the salmon on a 5,000-mile journey before they reach U.S. supermarkets. The salmon will be grown to market size in a facility in Panama, processed into fillets, then shipped to the United States for sale. That complicated scheme is only for the initial approval, however. AquaBounty has publicly announced plans to ultimately grow its GE fish in the United States and other places around the world. Despite this, the FDA has chosen to limit the scope of its review to the Canada and Panama facilities.
Twelve years ago the MacDonald family visited us for the first time, with their young son, who’s middle name is Wolf! The visit never left his memory, and wolves have meant a great deal to him ever since. In the “now” photo, he is holding a footprint of Chinook that he got during his childhood visit. He is now going on twenty, and just became certified in welding. In July, the MacDonalds returned with their young daughter, to complete the circle. Sadly, their son could not join them as he was in welding school. His little sister brought him back some Colorado Wolf & Wildlife stickers for his welding mask. He was very pleased. Dad had to take a photo that brought things full circle, 12 years apart. Howling kids? Yes, it’s a good thing.
earthjustice.org
U.S. Atlantic salmon, and many populations of Pacific salmon, are protected by the Endangered Species Act and in danger of extinction. A keystone species, salmon have unique runs that have been treasured by human cultures for thousands of years. But the FDA has failed to study and prevent impacts to these imperiled salmon runs should GE salmon escape or be accidentally released into the environment. Not only can these engineered salmon crossbreed with wild native fish, they can also threaten wild populations by out-competing them for scarce resources and habitat, or by introducing new diseases. The time to analyze and prevent those risks is now, before introducing GE salmon. In addition to challenging the agency’s failure to consider these broader impacts, our lawsuit challenges the FDA’s claim that it has exclusive authority to approve and regulate GE animals as “animal drugs” under the 1938 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. This law was meant to ensure the safety of veterinary drugs administered to treat disease in livestock, such as antibiotics used by farmers in pigs or chickens. The law was never intended to oversee GE animals that can pass along their altered genes to the next generation. The FDA’s move sets a dangerous precedent for the future of our food. We can’t let this happen! Now more than ever, we need your help to stand up to powerful companies and fix our broken food system. Make an urgent donation today at earthjustice.org to help us fight back to protect native fish, consumers and the wild.
NOW
Michael Leibla-Gonzales 8 years old Showing off his Arctic Wolf Project
Sincerely, Steve Mashuda - Managing Attorney for Oceans
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CONSERVATION CORNER
Pangolin If you have been online any time in the last two months, you probably know that Pokemon is making a popular come back thanks to a new app. One Pokemon that is loved by many people is called Sandshrew., but what you may not know is that Sandshrew is based off of a real life animal called the Pangolin.
The Pangolin is one of the world’s most endangered mammals. There are eight species of Pangolin, living in parts of Africa and Asia. They are usually smaller than cats, generally ranging between 3.5-7 pounds, though some species are as large as 70 pounds. Unlike many mammals that have typical fur, the keratin on Pangolins forms protective scales, giving them an almost reptilian appearance. They have short, stout, bodies that are well adapted for digging and burrowing, and some of the burrows that Pangolins create are large enough for a grown man to crawl inside and stand up in. Pangolins are nocturnal and solitary,
which makes them difficult to study, but unfortunately their elusiveness is not enough to save this unique species. Their meat is considered a delicacy in some countries, and their scales are used in traditional medicines, causing the Pangolin population to essentially be in a free fall despite the fact that they are protected by law everywhere they exist. According to the World Wildlife Fund, “between 2011 and 2013, an estimated 116,990-233,980 pangolins were killed, which represents only the tip of the trade. Experts believe that seizures represent as little as 10 percent of the
actual volume in pangolins in illegal wildlife trade.” This means Pangolins are considered to be the most illegally trafficked animal in the world. So why has this charismatic critter gone so long without adornment by the public? Many folks in developed countries are well aware of conservation threats to other mammals world wide, and are directly involved in helping conservation efforts. Unfortunately the Pangolin does not get this same attention, partially because Pangolins are nearly impossible to care for in captivity, meaning they are rarely seen in zoos, therefore they have little public exposure. San
Diego zoo is one of the only places in the U.S. That cares for a Pangolin, and because of the special care he needs, he is not part of a public exhibit. Since wild Pangolins are so elusive, there are not many documentaries highlighting them either. So what can you do to help save one of the worlds most unique mammals? Tell your friends and family about the Pangolin and their plight. Help raise money to donate towards conservation efforts, have your kids talk about them for show and tell at school, and encourage others to become involved in saving this incredible species.
For more information on Pangolins and how to help conservation efforts, visit http://savepangolins.org
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ADOPTION CORNER Available from TCRAS · Teller County Regional Animal Shelter tcrascolorado.com · 719.686.7707 · NO-KILL shelter in Divide, Colorado
Available from San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society slvaws.org · 719.587.woof (9663) · Non-Profit NO-KILL Shelter
MARCY AGE: 4y 1m 3d SEX: Female/Spayed Black/Tan Poodle, Miniature/Pomeranian Hello potential family. My name is Marcy. I am a very cute girl. I am a little shy at first, but once we get to know each other, we could be best of friends. I think I would be most comfortable in a quieter home. Please come and meet me so we can start our new life together.
CHASSIE AGE: 5y 5m 14d SEX: Female/Spayed Domestic Medium Hair/Mix This sweet lady came to TCRAS as an owner surrender. She has lived with other cats and also dogs. She is shy at first but warms up quickly. Indoor cat only. Come by and visit with Chassie.
$30 THURSDAYS
There are some amazing and unique cats at TCRAS right now! We have kittens, young adults, older cats… And all kinds of personalities! For a limited time, check us out on $30 Thursdays when many of our cats (ages 6 months and up) will have adoption fees reduced to just $30! (Some restrictions do apply)
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LEFT: Mr. GG (Gentle Giant) is an affectionate sweetheart! This Great Pyrenees is best as an only dog since he is food aggressive, but we can’t hold that against him as he was emaciated and starving for several months before someone brought him to the shelter. He has gained most of his weight back but once he is full size he may be 100 lbs. He is less than 2 years old, pretty white teeth. Neutered. RIGHT: Princess is indeed a little princess of special needs. Boxer, about 35 lbs, 5-6 years old. In December she was found in the snow on a -20 degree night in southern Colorado with many Grade 3 tumors which were removed in January. A few more were removed recently. A few hours after she returned from surgery, she was acting like a puppy. She loves attention, is always happy-go-lucky and wanting to run and play, although one of her back legs does not work the best. She is well-behaved but best as an only pet. We are looking for a permanent home for her or hospice. We will supply pain meds and glucosamine for her leg. She is pictured with Ron, our shelter manager.
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IN THE GARDEN WITH KATIE
I live in the Colorado mountains, a fragile ecosystem. Rain and snow can be scarce. I have a well with a limited amount of water. Shopping and doctor’s offices are at least a ½ hour away. So I try to lessen my carbon footprint and conserve natural resources by finding more natural and efficient ways to do my daily chores. I hang laundry out on a line to dry in our clear Colorado mountain air. I have a high efficiency washing machine. I mix cleaning solutions using vinegar and baking soda. I make a plan to complete multiple errands when I drive into town from the mountains to limit my gasoline consumption. I plant drought tolerant plants in my garden. Why not put out a rain barrel under my downspout to use to water my plants? Not in Colorado! That is until August 10, 2016. Collecting rain water and using a rain barrel has been a crime in Colorado until August 10, 2016.
On that date Gov. Hickenlooper signed a bill legalizing rain barrels despite strong opposition. Last year’s attempt to legalize rain collection failed to pass through the legislature. Opponents of rain water collection in Colorado have had a strong lobby, and have strictly interpreted Colorado water laws in favor of “senior” water rights, especially for agricultural uses.
So who can use rain barrels and how can rain water be used? • Anyone who lives in a house or townhouse with fewer than 4 units can use a rain barrel • Up to two rain barrels can be used to collect up to a combined total of 110 gallons • Gardens, lawns, and outdoor plants can be watered with collected rain water • Rain water cannot be used for drinking or indoor use According to Conservationco.org using two rain barrels to water your plants could save up to 1,200 gallons a year, just from one household. So this is great news for us Coloradoans since we’ve been experiencing drought conditions for the past several years. If you live in our beautiful state and want to learn more about rain barrels and water collection, here are a few websites to get you started: water.state.co.us/DWRIPub/Documents/DWR%20Rainwater%20Collection%20Information%20Table.pdf conservationco.org/2016/07/all-about-rain-barrels/
COLORADO WOLF AND WILDLIFE CENTER