National Wolf Awareness Week, October 13-19 Events Scheduled Throughout United States
"The history of the wolf in the United States has been one of misunderstanding and persecution, long shrouded by myth and superstition. This week provides an important opportunity to set the record straight," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife.
According to Schlickeisen, "Defenders of Wildlife made Wolf Awareness Week a national event in 1996, modeling it after a regional celebration by the Timber Wolf Alliance of Wisconsin. This year, 22 states have proclaimed the third week of October as Wolf Awareness Week. Our goal is eventually to have the governors of all 50 states, as well as the President, proclaim a National Wolf Awareness Week."
Defenders of Wildlife is sponsoring regional events during the week of October 13 in many areas across the country, including Arizona, California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington state. Activities include presentations by wolf experts, children's activities, guided tours of wolf facilities and more.
In addition to the regional events, Defenders of Wildlife has launched a website. Visitors can learn more about ways to get involved with wolf conservation and receive a schedule of events for the various Wolf Awareness Week activities.
Wolves historically inhabited most of the lower 48 states, until government extermination programs and unrestricted hunting killed almost all of them by the early 1900s. In recent years, wolves have made a remarkable recovery in the Greater Yellowstone, Northern Rockies, Great Lakes and Southwest regions. Suitable habitat remains for further wolf restoration opportunities in the Southern Rockies, California, Nevada, the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest. The United States Department of Interior is in the process of drafting plans to remove federal protections from wolves and turn management of the species over to state wildlife agencies.
"Handing wolf management over to the states right now is a bad idea, not least because several key state governments seem caught up in the reflexive hatred of some of the most strident of anti-wolf voices," Schlickeisen said. He noted that Minnesota developed a state management plan that includes a $150 reward for killed wolves, eerily resembling the bounties of old that contributed to the species' decline in the first place, that Idaho's legislature recently voted to remove wolves from the state "by any means necessary," and that Colorado still has a wolf bounty on the books, among others.
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading non-profit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 430,000 members and supporters - 100,000 of whom are in California - Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues. To stay current on hot topics in wildlife conservation, please visit www.defenders.org.
Contact(s):
Brad DeVries, (202) 682-9400 x237
