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Defenders News Briefs: Winter 2008
Saving Alaska's Wildlife
With wolves and bears in increasing jeopardy from state-sponsored airborne shooting in Alaska, Defenders is seeking passage of a new bill in Congress that will end the use of airplanes in hunting. The Protect America's Wildlife (PAW) Act, sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), would close a loophole in the federal Airborne Hunting Act that Alaska officials are exploiting to shoot wolves from planes or to chase them to exhaustion and then land and shoot them. In some areas, hunters also use planes to kill bears. Alaska officials have sanctioned the killing of hundreds of wolves from planes in recent years, and officials in other states with wolf populations have indicated interest in such programs. Learn more airborne hunting.
Giving Lynx a ChanceThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to revisit its decision to virtually exclude all Canada lynx habitat from protection, following a notice of intent to sue from Defenders. The agency admitted its 2006 critical habitat decision had been influenced by meddling from a political appointee, rather than being based on the needs of the lynx. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior Julie MacDonald, a political appointee who resigned last year, had revised the lynx's critical habitat designation to exclude U.S. Forest Service lands and state and private lands. Learn more about the lynx.
Watch Out for WildlifeEvery year an estimated 1.5 million animals are hit on U.S. roads, more than 200 people are killed in collisions with wildlife, and property damage insurance claims for such accidents amount to $1 billion. To help make roads safer for both animals and people, Defenders has launched the "Watch Out for Wildlife" campaign. Visit www.watchoutforwildlife.org for tips on how to avoid collisions, what to do if one occurs and more.
New Montana Field Office Opens
To more effectively coordinate efforts to conserve wolves, grizzly bears, lynx and other wildlife and important habitats in the Rocky Mountain region, Defenders opened a new field office in Bozeman, Montana, in September. Located just north of Yellowstone National Park, the office serves as a hub for other Defenders' field offices in the region. Staff there will work with other local and regional conservation organizations, government agencies, tribes and the public to further Defenders' conservation mission.
