#endangered species – @diegueno on Tumblr

Help Secure a Future for Mexican Gray Wolves - The Petition Site

www.thepetitionsite.com

After a brush with extinction, Mexican gray wolves still haven't been able to regain their footing in the wild. (16015 signatures on petition)

After a dangerously close brush with extinction, Mexican gray wolves were reintroduced to New Mexico and Arizona in 1998. But they haven't yet been able to regain their footing in the wild. Stigmatized by ranchers, trapped and shot by the government, and starved of new genetic material by federal reluctance to release wolves from captivity, the wolves today number just 83, with only five breeding pairs. Fortunately the Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to release more Mexican gray wolves into a bigger area in coming years which will help address the genetic crisis and allow them to roam more freely. But the agency plans to couple those reforms with more loopholes allowing wolves to be killed under more circumstances. Urge the Service to adopt a modified version of its proposal, which would give the wolves more room but not subject them to increased killing. And tell the agency these wolves must be able to recolonize the Grand Canyon and southern Rockies for recovery to be successful.

#environment #endangered species #desert #southwest #wolves

diegueno

dallas.culturemap.com

(via Dallas Safari Club's absurd black rhino hunt draws international scorn - CultureMap Dallas)

The Dallas Safari Club's twisted idea to auction off a black rhino hunting trip — ostensibly to raise money to save an endangered species — is raising eyebrows the world over. During the October 24 episode of The Colbert Report, comedian Stephen Colbert laid into the conservation club.

"It's like the old saying, If you love something, set it free. Then, when it has a bit of a head start, open fire," Colbert quipped after quoting Eric Nicholson's article in the Dallas Observer.

The Dallas Safari Club is working with the Government of the Republic of Namibia to secure the special hunting permit. All proceeds from the deadly auction will be earmarked for "rhino conservation" in Namibia.

"I'm just super stoked about this. It is worth it, folks. The money goes to something incredible, the trophy. It is just astronomical. I cannot imagine having a black rhino," a Dallas Safari club spokesman says in a video.

In a feeble attempt to defend the decision to hunt in the name of conservation, the website Ammoland.com says, "Science has shown that removing certain individual animals can help rhino populations grow." It's not the first time this exact same kind of hunt has been hosted. But the idea of auctioning off a rhino's head to the highest bidder is hard to swallow, especially coming from a group supposedly dedicated to protecting endangered animals.

"The more you shoot, the rarer it gets," Colbert said. "This is the only practical way to save the species."

The hunt, which has been reported as far away as the UK, already has a petition against it.

The Dallas Safari Club will auction off the hunting permit in January at its annual convention. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reportedly promised to cooperate fully with the buyer.

You can contact them:

Dallas Safari Club 13709 Gamma Road Dallas, TX 75244 (972) 980-9800

Source: dallas.culturemap.com

#wildlife #environment #endangered species #black rhinos #Namibia #Dallas #Texas

diegueno

The Wild War to Protect Bluefin Tuna In Libyan Waters, and Obama's Troubling Role

feeds.feedblitz.com

The waters off Libya are a NATO no-fly zone, which is good news to poachers: No inspectors. No surveillance.

#environment #endangered species #libya

diegueno

Emergency: Don't Let Salazar Sell Out Our Wolves and the Endangered Species Act

dfnd.us

Recent reports suggest that President Obama's Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, is prepared to agree to, and is actively promoting, legislative language that would eliminate Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for all gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, including those in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah. Not only would wolves lose protections, they would also be put beyond the reach of the ESA forever unless the Secretary, at his sole discretion, chooses to restore them to the list of threatened or endangered species. Even worse, under the language, there would be no ability for the American public to petition for these protections in the future... regardless of how egregious state wolf management plans become. The proposal is arbitrary and strikes a blow at the very foundation of the Endangered Species Act. Hundreds of wolves -- maybe more than a thousand -- could be killed. And you and I could lose America's most effective tool for protecting imperiled wildlife. We don't have much time to stop Secretary Salazar's plan. Please urge your senators to reject Interior Secretary Salazar's backroom deal to remove protections for wolves and harm the ESA.

#wildlife #endangered species #Wolves #Rocky Mountains