Bush after the wolves....if only

If only the wolves could go after Bush!

In what the National Resources Defense Council calls a cruel parting shot, Bush has removed Endangered Species Protection from gray wolves in Montana and Idaho.

Bush removed their protection last year, also, and 110 wolves were slaughtered in the aftermath. Remember Hoppy? NRDC and other groups went to federal court and stopped Bush, but now, with only a few days left...

NRDC will be headed back to court next week.

Photo from Harlequeen's photostream at Flickr.

Wolves back on endangered list-- for now

In the 100 days since the Interior Department removed gray wolves from the endangered species list, 106 wolves have been killed in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. On Friday, Federal District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy issued a temporary injunction returning them to the list and casting serious doubt on the Fish and Wildlife's decision to remove them in the first place.

This decision came too late to save Hoppy-- wolf 235-- and the other wolves that have been killed. Earthustice is leading the legal challenge and the informational campaign to save the Northern Rocky wolves; check them out to see what you can do to help.

Letting the Buffalo Roam/ Hoppy: The Story of Wolf 253

Earth Justice reports on one of the casualties of the loss of Endangered Species status for gray wolves in the northern Rockies-- Hoppy, or, officially, Wolf 253,

part of the wolf population brought back from the verge of extinction in the Northern Rockies, and one of 1,500 gray wolves that lost federal protections in March when the federal government "delisted" wolves from the Endangered Species Act.

And on March 28, he was shot dead.

Hoppy wasn't just any old wolf. His distinctive gait, walking on three legs, made him one of the more easily recognized wolves in Yellowstone. Among his pack, too, he was unique: he was taller than Wolf 21, his father and the alpha male of the Druid pack that roamed the open fields in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley.

You can read more of his story here.

Defenders of Wildlife is reporting on what's happening to bison who wander out of Yellowstone National Park-- more than 1,300 of them have been killed just this year. That's more than a quarter of the park's population! You can go here to email Montana's Promotion Division to protest this needless slaughter.

Where the buffalo are afraid to roam

U.S. GOVERNMENT PLUNDER OF THE WEEK: FEDS SLAUGHTER OF WILD BISON BEATS 20th CENTURY RECORDS Over 1,000 wild buffalo have been slaughtered in the Yellowstone National Park area since November of 2007, representing the largest kill since the 1800s. "It would seem as though history was not learned the first time, for here we are today, watching these same government entities enacting the same policy," said Nez Perce tribal member James Holt. According to those monitoring the situation, namely the Buffalo Field Campaign, the total kill-off number will likely exceed 2,000 for the year. While the government's official reason for the slaughter is to prevent the spread of brucellosis from wild bison to cattle, no such transmission has ever been documented, and the bison being sent to slaughter are not being tested for the disease. Learn more and get involved: Organic Consumers

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Starting today, it's open season on wolves in Greater Yellowstone

Wolves have just been discovered in Utah! And a female from an Idaho pack was found in Oregon!

And, starting today, gray wolves can be killed in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, because federal protection for gray wolves in Greater Yellowstone has been stripped away.

You can sign a petition to support a national wolf recovery plan at the Care2 Petition Site here: