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New council represents many interests

July 29, 2010 12:35 am

SECRETARY OF THE Interior Ken Salazar and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Friday the appointments of 18 people to the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council. The group was created in February to advise about recreational hunting and shooting sports activities and associated wildlife and habitat conservation.

Members serve two-year terms (see list). The new council replaces the Sporting Conservation Council (a 12-member council established in March 2006) and reflects a broad range of interests.

While previously represented organizations Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association are absent in the new membership, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has taken a place at the table.

Other interesting additions include The Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation and the chief executive of Cabela's, as well as a representative of the Alaska Professional Hunters Association Inc.

"At the recent America's Great Outdoors conference, President Obama said that few pursuits are more satisfying to the spirit than discovering the greatness of America's outdoors. I look forward to working with the council to help fulfill my generation's obligation to ensure that the next generation enjoys a thriving wildlife heritage," Salazar said.

Added Vilsack: "Maintaining and conserving wildlife habitat and water resources that are so important to America's hunting and angling heritage in the face of today's conservation challenges requires a coordinated effort between federal, state, and local officials and partners in the private sector."

Salazar noted that revenue from hunting licenses, duck stamps and excise taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment provides billions of dollars to purchase and maintain habitat for wildlife across the nation. Revenues also provide the principal source of funding for state wildlife agency conservation work.

Wolves at the Door?

How would you like wolves roaming the farms and forests of Virginia?

One topic likely to be on this new council's agenda over the next year is the issue of wolf reintroduction and continued protection.

A 19-page petition filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week by the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity is calling for gray wolf introduction across America.

American ranchers, homesteaders, farmers and other settlers waged life struggles against other apex predators, such as wolves and grizzly bears. Both species were dramatically reduced in the 20th century, but reintroduction programs in western states in the 1990s resulted in flourishing and spreading populations.

Predictably, increased wolf numbers are resulting in declining big game herds, attacks on livestock, and pointed criticism by many who live in or access the northern Rockies.

"If the gray wolf is listed as endangered, it should be recovered in all significant portions of its range, not just fragments," said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, in a press release announcing the petition.

"Wolves are an engine of evolution," Robinson added. "They help feed bears, eagles and wolverines with the leftovers from their kills; they help pronghorn antelope and even foxes survive by controlling coyotes. A continent-wide approach to wolf recovery is necessary both to save the wolf and to restore ecosystems across the United States."

The petition also credits wolves with helping riparian areas by controlling elk and affecting their ability to damage trees and vegetation.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation warns this latest petition is a signal that animal rights activists are preparing to sue for federally mandated release of wolves in every state. Wolf population growth rates have been estimated as high as 30 percent annually.

Noting there are now about 100,000 gray wolves in the U.S. and Canada, David Allen, RMEF president and CEO says each wolf is a "cash cow" for activists. Animal rights groups learn they can exploit the Endangered Species Act and taxpayer-funded programs that cover lawyers' fees to raise funds while pushing their agendas in court.

Allen said undermanaged wolf populations in the northern Rockies are compromising the health of other wildlife species--especially elk and other prey. In areas of Montana and Idaho where wolves share habitat with elk, calf survival rates now are too low to sustain herds for the future.

Idaho and Montana began limited public wolf hunts last year. Both states intend to increase their hunt quotas this fall. Wyoming was blocked from having its first planned hunts and is challenging the ruling in federal court.

Reportedly, there is no deadline for the Fish and Wildlife Service to respond to the petition, although an internal review is ongoing to ascertain where wolves once lived and where they might be returned. The review is expected to be complete by late 2010 or early 2011.

Ken Perrotte can be reached at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia Street, Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, by fax at 373-8455 or e-mail at
Email: outdoors@freelancestar.com.