To: Sally Jewell, Secretary of Interior and President Donald Trump
Citizen's Wolf Recovery Vision
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, call for the return of the wolf to its rightful place in the North American landscape, and we call upon the FWS to protect wolves as an endangered species until they are fully recovered.
We envision the following standards of recovery for wolves in North America:
Restoration of wolves in suitable habitats across North America, from the Northern Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico to the Canadian Rockies, and from the U.S. Pacific Northwest and California to the Upper Great Lakes, the Northeast, and the Southeast.
Protection and restoration of all suitable wolf habitats and the crucial corridors that link these habitats together, at the local, regional, and continental levels, allowing wolves to roam freely across a network of interconnected wild lands.
Restoration of wolves in ecologically and evolutionarily effective populations so that they may fulfill their natural keystone role of ecosystem regulation, aiding the continued diversity of native flora and fauna.
Increased social acceptance and appreciation by humans for the role that stable wolf populations play in reestablishing healthy landscapes across North America.
Why is this important?
Beautiful, strong, and wild, America’s wolves once ranged across most of the United States. More than a symbol of wilderness, wolves have kept nature in balance and have helped maintain healthy populations of other important species. But centuries of hunting, trapping, and poisoning, and a government-sponsored eradication campaign, had essentially eliminated wolves from the American landscape.
Today, thanks to the Endangered Species Act, wolves are finally beginning to recover in wild places and are once again a vital part of America’s natural heritage. Yet the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has no plans to restore wolves to substantial areas of wilderness where they once lived. And, even more disturbing, FWS no longer wants to protect wolves as an endangered species. We have a responsibility to use the best available science to leave behind a legacy of protecting all endangered species for our children and future generations. We are gravely concerned that actions by state and federal agencies aim to undermine wolf recovery.