HELP SAVE OREGON'S WOLVES, oppose HB 4158

[Edited & Updated, links added; 2/21/12]
The Oregon House passed a bill, HB 4158 (Sponsored by Rep. Cliff Bentz, District 60, from cow oriented Malheur, Baker, Harney, and Grant Counties) on Friday, February 17, 2012, that would allow another legislative end run against an endangered species act, this time Oregon's. HB 4158 still must be passed by the Senate, and Democrats outnumber Republicans there by 16-14. The intent is to relieve Oregon ranchers from the responsibility to protect their livestock from wolves by using non-lethal measures, and allow the killing of wolves who prey on livestock, regardless of the circumstances, before recovery has been achieved. In other words, the ranchers, and their legislative sponsors, don't want to change the way ranchers do their destructive business on the lands of Oregon: Ranchers, thinking only of their profits after having grown accustomed to the wolf-free environment they and the government created by killing off the wolves many years ago, refuse to spend the money necessary to protect their livestock. See also:
"Keeping Wolves Out of Harm's Way."


The bill was requested by the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, and here are its sponsors:

Representatives
BENTZ, R District: 60
SMITH; R  District: 57 Union, Wallowa, Umatilla, Morrow Counties
ESQUIVEL, R-Medford District 6
GARRARD, R  District: 56 Klamath Falls
JENSON, R  District: 58 Pendleton
JOHNSON, R  District: 52 Hood River
KRIEGER, R  District: 1 Gold Beach
SCHAUFLER, D  District: 48 Happy Valley
WHISNANT, R  District: 53 Sunriver

Senators
BOQUIST, R  District: 12 Dallas
FERRIOLI, R  District: 30 John Day
GEORGE, R  District: 13 Sherwood
GIROD, R  District: 9 portions of Clackamas, Linn and Marion
KRUSE, R  District: 1 Roseburg
NELSON, R  District: 29 Pendleton
TELFER, R  District: 27 Bend
THOMSEN, R  District: 26 Hood River
WHITSETT R  District: 28 Klamath Falls

ODFW Photo

Why the rush to kill endangered wolves?

By Robert Klavins of Portland, Oregon. Robert is a Wildlife Advocate for Oregon Wild. Last June, Robert contributed "Pay up (and) the wolf gets it!"

There is a lot of bad news coming out of Salem and the state legislature on the environment these days. One deeply cynical ploy—taking health care in Oregon hostage to try and force more clear-cutting on state lands—has generated headlines and public outrage, but it isn’t the only attack on the environment this session. The worst may be HB 4158, a measure that would declare a “state of emergency” in Oregon in order to immediately exempt our state’s 29 wild gray wolves from state Endangered Species Act protections so they can be shot.

After exterminating wolves from Oregon in 1947 to pave the way for a more lucrative livestock industry, the Beaver State is now home to only 4 known packs.

In a state that prides ourselves on our conservation ethic and connection to the outdoors, the elimination of wolves in the last century is an environmental tragedy. Their recovery has the potential to be one of our greatest conservation success stories. But that won’t happen if the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) and their allies in Salem have their way.

In what’s become an annual affair, the OCA and the legislators who promote their agenda have introduced a wolf-kill bill and more tax breaks for their already heavily subsidized industry. In previous years, we’ve seen bills that would make poaching laws unenforceable or allow them to be killed if they get too near a structure. This year, rather than the Three Little Pigs bill, they’ve introduced the Chicken Little Bill.

HB 4158 is a hysterical piece of legislation, but not in a funny way. Not only does the bill threaten Oregon’s fragile wolf recovery, it sets a dangerous precedent for all wildlife. HB 4158 declares that the 29 wolves now residing in Oregon constitutes a “state of emergency”, and as a result immediately strips them of state Endangered Species Act protection. This would pave the way for members of the Imnaha Pack (or any other wolf pack in the state) to be shot despite their endangered status. In a bit of Orwellian double-speak, the original text of the bill declared that shooting wolves is the same as conserving them.

If passed, HB 4158 would set an awful precedent and open a Pandora’s box of copy-cat measures exempting other inconvenient species. Endangered salmon getting in the way of a plan to clear-cut forests? Declare a state of emergency! Protection for humpback whales restricting energy development on the coast? Emergency! Want to pave over an old-growth forest that contains spotted owls? Go to the legislature and declare an emergency!
. . . .
Feb. 17, 2012 | | 9 comments

See Why the rush to kill endangered wolves? for rest of article.

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Here is the Petition, that was Created By Brandy Cassandra, Summerville, OR:

SAVE OREGON'S WOLVES, oppose HB 4158 (Click on Petition Letter)

Greetings,

We, the undersigned, urge you to oppose HB 4158, a bill proposed by the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, which allows killing of wolves to address livestock depredation and declares a "state of emergency." With less than 30 wolves in the entire state, we find this declaration absurd. We, and most Oregonians, highly value our wildlife and strongly support endangered species protection and the return of wolves to Oregon, and their strong recovery. 



Oregon has less than 30 confirmed wolves in the entire state and approximately 1.3 million cows. We feel that a Bill establishing a “state of emergency” over the presence of a tentatively recovering endangered wolf population is an attempt to bypass the Oregon Endangered Species Act and would set a dangerous precedent which could be used to circumvent protections of other endangered species at the behest of special interests. Furthermore, we believe it is an effort to short-circuit current litigation which aims to clarify the relationship of the state Endangered Species Act with the Oregon Wolf Plan.



Statements by Oregon Cattlemen's Association members and officers constantly stress the aim of lethal removal over the use of non-lethal measures and tools, which they routinely disparage. As quoted in the Lewiston Tribune Online, 7/2/11, OCA Wolf committee Chair Rod Childers said, “To be able to move to lethal control we as producers have to show we tried nonlethal actions. I can't say if it works or not, it is just things we have been told we have to do, and the whole key to me is getting them to move to lethal control,...” With this in mind, we believe HB 4158 to be an attempt to weaken the commitment to non-lethal measures.



With so many critical issues before this short session of the legislature, devoting precious time to this controversial and unnecessary Bill is a mistake.



Please oppose HB 4158.



Thank you.
[Your name]
[Emphasis Added]
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Why This Is Important
Oregon has less than 30 confirmed wolves in the entire state. While a majority of Oregonians support wolf recovery, the livestock industry and hunting organizations have been fighting tooth and nail against protection of the Oregon Endangered Species Act and the Oregon Wolf Plan. The proposed bill HB 4158 declares a "state of emergency" and allows for the killing of wolves to address livestock depredation. We vehemently oppose the slaughtering of endangered native wolves to appease the cattle industry, and we find the declaration of a "state of emergency" absolutely absurd. Please join us in urging our Governor, Senators and House Representatives to oppose this offensive bill. Thank you. 

My Comment:

"The only "emergency" needing to be addressed is to have Oregon ranchers begin using all the non-lethal measures that are available for them to avoid conflicts with wolves. The majority of Oregonians and Americans support wolf recovery for the ecological/environmental benefits they provide. Ranchers, thinking only of their profits after having grown accustomed to the wolf-free environment they and the government created by killing off the wolves many years ago, refuse to spend the money necessary to protect their livestock. It is time to stand up and confront the damage caused to our lands by livestock grazing. One might call it an "emergency."
"Fladry" ODFWPhoto

Please see also: Carter Niemeyer, "Wolfer," and the story, at "The Story."

Sign the petition here if you haven't already: The Governor of OR: SAVE OREGON'S 29 WOLVES, oppose HB 4158
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February 17, 2012

Oregon cougar hunting bill is dead. Long live cougars!

GREAT NEWS!

GOVERNOR KITZHABER HAS INFORMED REP. SPRENGER, THE SPONSOR OF THE BILL HB 4119 TO REPEAL MEASURE 18 AND BRING HOUND HUNTING OF COUGARS BACK, THAT HE HAS NO INTENTION OF SIGNING IT!

PLEASE CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AND THANK HIM FOR STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE FOR OREGON VOTERS AND COUGARS.

http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/contact.shtml
503-378-4582

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Louise du Toit - Ode to the Wolves - Wolf Paintings by Vincent A Kennard

North East Oregon Wolf News

In This Edition:
[Most of this News is From Wally Sykes, Northeast Oregon Ecosystems, wally_sykes2000@yahoo.com]

- Billboard Keeps the Heat on Wolf Poacher

- Congressional Bills Concerning Endangered Wolves

- Letters to the Editor in Oregonian & OP-EDS--RE: Ferrioli & Wolves
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Billboard Keeps the Heat on Wolf Poacher


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2011

Contact:
Wally Sykes, Northeast Oregon Ecosystems, wally_sykes2000@yahoo.com
(Phone number available upon request)
Suzanne Stone, Defenders of Wildlife, 208.424.9385, sstone@defenders.org
Greg Dyson, Hells Canyon Preservation Council, 541.963.3950 x22, greg@hellscanyon.org
Rob Klavins, Oregon Wild, 503.283.6343 ext 210, rk@oregonwild.org

Billboard Keeps the Heat on Wolf Poacher
Groups advertise $10,000 reward in hopes of catching wolf killer

La Grande, Ore—Local citizens and conservation groups today announced a new effort to bring the poacher who illegally shot an endangered wolf in Oregon to justice. Starting tomorrow, drivers traveling East on Hwy. 82 from La Grande will see a billboard with the image of the young wolf killed in September and the phone number to call with information about its death. The advertisement highlights a $10,000 reward being offered or information about the poaching and the statement “whatever you think of wolves…poaching is wrong!”

Wally Sykes of Joseph, Oregon is a founder of the community group Northeast Oregon Ecosystems which spearheaded the effort to raise funds from neighbors, friends, community members, and wildlife advocates in Wallowa County upset by the illegal killing. The group has also funded predator management presentations for ranchers and the range rider program implemented by Defenders of Wildlife in partnership with local ranchers.

“Tourism is vital to this area.” said Sykes. “People come to see spectacular wild landscapes and wildlife. Just like in Yellowstone, the return of wolves to Oregon has the potential to draw visitors from all over the country. Anti-wildlife attitudes and rhetoric that result in the illegal killing of endangered species are counterproductive and give our community a black eye.”

The wolf killed in September was collared by biologists in early August in an effort to track the Wenaha pack – one of only two known packs in Oregon. In a monthly wolf update, ODFW claimed the collaring effort began in 2007 and represented the agency’s single largest wolf collaring effort. Photos of the silver male were circulated widely. The wolf was found dead on September 30th by wildlife agents and represents the third illegal wolf killing since the species first returned to Oregon after being exterminated over 60 years ago. Oregon’s confirmed wolf population now stands at 24 wolves in 2 packs.

In response, local citizens, conservation groups, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have offered a combined reward of $10,000. High profile wolf poachings have also recently occurred in Washington.

“There is room in the West for both wildlife and people. Old attitudes of intolerance and fear don’t get us anywhere,” said Sykes. “Wolves were shot on sight until they were all gone. Living with wolves is going to require some adjustments, but it’s the right thing to do in a state that prides itself on its conservation values.”

A press release about the reward can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ORwolfreward. Anyone with information about this wolf poaching should contact Special Agent Cindi Bockstadter at 503.682.6131
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Congressional Bill Concerning Endangered Wolves

SENATE BILLS
S 249 – The Orrin Hatch Bill would remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act forever nationwide.

S 321 - The Baucus/Tester (D, Mont.) bill would make the 2009 delisting rule law in Idaho and Montana, but would additionally allow Idaho to reduce their wolf population to 100 animals as directed by the Idaho legislature. Montana's plan calls for at least 342 wolves. It makes no mention of state management plans conforming to any prior delisting agreement between the states and the USFWS, which was part of the 2009 delisting agreement since overturned by Judge Malloy.

HOUSE BILLS
HR 509 – One of two Rehberg (R, Mont.) bills, it would delist all wolves nationwide and prevent them from ever receiving protection under the Endangered Species Act.

HR 510 – The second Rehberg (R, Mont.) bill would delist wolves only in Montana and Idaho but would not require the states to follow their own management plans, leaving the door open for wolf eradication if directed by the legislatures of each state.

Note: Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson said he will add a provision to the continuing budget resolution necessary for the government to continue that would reinstate the 2009 decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the gray wolf in Idaho and Montana. This would also include recovering wolf populations in eastern Oregon and Washington.

Text of the Provision: SEC. 1713. Before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this division, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule published on April 2, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 15123 et seq.) without regard to any other provision of statute or regulation that applies to issuance of such rule. Such re-issuance (including this section) shall not be subject to judicial review.
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Letters to the Editor in Oregonian RE: Ferrioli & Wolves

Howling over wolves
Regarding "Wolf input from EU gets Oregon hackles up" (Feb. 10): State Sen. Ted Ferrioli is a throwback to frontier days, when the land existed solely for exploitation by resource extractors, and hang anyone who stood in their way. If the people he represents cheer his swagger and applaud his bare-knuckle arrogance, clearly it is Grant County, not Greece, that has become a "haven for morons."

He will no doubt bristle at this suggestion and redirect his vitriol to "outsiders" from western Oregon. But before he defends his knee-jerk reaction to world opinion, perhaps he would be wise to learn about the remarkable ecological recovery wolf reintroduction has brought to the rivers and valleys of Yellowstone National Park.

Perhaps then he would tone down his rhetoric. Perhaps he would work for the balanced approach we need if we hope to avoid joining the long list of endangered species we are driving to extinction.

DAVID HEDGES
West Linn
*****

The incivility and immaturity shown by state Sen. Ted Ferrioli in response to the letter from the out-of-state (and out-of-country) wolf advocate boggles my mind. It was the adult equivalent of a 6-year-old folding his arms, stamping his foot and saying, "You're not the boss of me!" I certainly hope the only way this person represents the denizens of John Day is by his presence in the Legislature.
KAREN MAYFIELD
Southeast Portland
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Editorial: What e-mail needs: a delay

Add Ted Ferrioli, the state Senate minority leader, to the victims of impulsive e-mailing. That’s the ailment that causes people to answer an annoying e-mail with a snarky remark and hit the send button before they’ve cooled down. [Hey Ted, I do that too!]

There’s a bill pending in the legislature removing wolves from the state’s endangered species list. Somebody from Europe, a singer living in Greece, e-mailed Ferrioli urging him to oppose the bill.

Ferrioli could have ignored the message. He could have thanked the singer for her concern even though she’s as far removed from the facts as she is from the location of the issue.

Instead, he snapped that input from residents of the European Union made no difference to him on this or presumably any other issue. And by way of illustration or example, he added that maybe he should write to the EU and recommend that it no longer subsidize Greece since it had become a “haven for morons.”
[See link above for more. ...]
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Scotta Callister
Editor, Blue Mountain Eagle |

A heated e-mail from Sen. Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day) to a wolf advocate in Greece last week sparked howls of protest and eventually elicited an apology from the senator to people of Greek descent, wherever they reside.

It also made it pretty clear that this county should never appoint Ferrioli to be its Minister of Tourism.

The uproar began after the senator got an e-mail from a woman in Greece, urging him to oppose an Oregon Senate bill that would remove wolves from the state’s endangered species list. Ferrioli shot back that he supports the bill, but added that “perhaps I should be writing to EU ministers to stop bailing out Greece. Clearly, it has become a haven for morons. Go away!”
. . . .
The senator may have shot himself in the foot, but we’re catching the ricochet. Maybe he should apologize not just to Greeks, but to this community. And perhaps next time, rather than telling foreign correspondents to “go away,” he should be inviting them to visit Grant County and see rural life for themselves. Our county leaders and Extension agents took that approach few years with their urban-rural exchange, an award-winning program that arose out of verbal clashes over – what else? – wolves.
. . . . [See link above for more. ...]

See also Fallout for Ferrioli: from the hometown paper
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Oregon GOP leader cries wolf over emails from abroad

When singer and Greek resident Louise du Toit wrote to Oregon Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day) urging him to oppose a GOP-sponsored bill that would weaken environmental protections in the state, she probably didn’t expect her voice to carry much weight overseas.

But she certainly didn’t expect the sheer boorishness of Sen. Ferrioli’s answer:

"Are you kidding? Why do you expect that input from [European Union] residents make any difference at all to me? I'll be supporting Dr. Whitsett's bill (he is a VETERINARIAN). By the way, perhaps I should be writing to EU ministers to stop bailing out Greece. Clearly it has become a haven for morons.

"Go Away!"
[See link above for more. ...]
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From Defender's of Wildlife:

Sneak attack on wolves.

There’s not a lot of love for wolves or wildlife on Capitol Hill today.

In fact, some in Congress are trying to use a must-pass spending bill to eliminate lifesaving protections for gray wolves across the U.S., opening the door to widespread trapping and poisoning of wolves in the Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone.



Worse, they are proposing deep funding cuts that could be disastrous for wildlife protection in the U.S.

Don’t let them get away with it. Urge your U.S. representative to oppose attempts to attach anti-wolf, anti-wildlife legislation to a bill intended to keep the government running.

The spending bill, called a continuing resolution, is designed to ensure that military and government workers continued to get paid, that social security recipients receive their checks and that the government continues to function.



Unfortunately, some in Congress are using this legislation as a vehicle to attack protections for wolves and enact some of the deepest cuts in recent memory for the agencies that protect our wildlife and environment – a move that would have dire consequences across the country for your wildlife and for the quality of your environment .



Some of the crucial programs that will be slashed include those that protect imperiled species, acquire key habitat around the country, including for our national wildlife, refuges, parks, forests and other public lands, help state protect wildlife before they decline to the point where they are endangered, and assist wildlife in surviving climate change.



It’s a sneaky, backdoor assault on protections for wildlife, and I need your help to stop it.



It’s up to caring wildlife supporters like you to stop this assault on the precious natural treasures we all love. Please take action now.

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider the continuing resolution this week, and we need to make a strong showing against this assault on our wolves, wildlife and environment.

Help us send 65,000 messages to Capitol Hill by Wednesday. Please take action, forward this email and share our message on Facebook.

We can protect our wolves, wildlife and environment, but only if we work together. Will you take just a few moments to help today?

For the Wild Ones, 

Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

 © Copyright 2011, Defenders of Wildlife
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Oregon Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli Brings More Shame To Grant County

I lived in Grant County for about five years, off and on when I could bear it, and I met a lot of decent people there. Unfortunately, the local government seemed to serve as little more than a variety of protection racket run for the ranching and timber industry. Timber lobbyist and John Day resident Ted Ferrioli was easily elected to serve Grant, Baker, and other struggling Counties as State Senator in District 30. I know that he does not represent the views of many in Grant County, or here, but his views do a lot to discredit Grant County and Eastern Oregon in the eyes of other Oregonians, and now, after his latest comments, in the eyes of the whole world.

Before posting the articles concerning his recent opinions, please watch the following video by the the most recent victim of what I believe to be his sometimes arrogant, bigoted, and insensitive views.

Louise du Toit - Ode to the Wolves - Wolf Paintings by Vincent A Kennard

Watch on YouTube



When the Greece based South African singer, Louise du Toit, sent him an email asking that he oppose State Sen, Doug Whitsett's recent proposed anti-wolf bill, Ferrioli responded with, among other things, "By the way, perhaps I should be writing to EU ministers to stop bailing out Greece. Clearly it has become a haven for morons."

Here are two Oregonian articles concerning his statements:

Ferrioli to European wolf advocates: Go away, morons!

Sen. Ted Ferrioli: 'I offer my sincere apology to the citizens of Greek extraction'

Grant County deserves better.

See Also:
FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2007
SENATOR FERRIOLI PROMOTED AS CHAMPION OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PERMANENTLY STRANGLE THE G.S.P.C.