From a press release: The Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance (NIWA) will conduct a candlelight vigil to honor 337 fallen Idaho and Montana wolves, and protest the war against wolves, this evening starting at 4:30 – the night of “The Full Wolf Moon.”

They will gather near the Independence Point parking lot in Coeur d’Alene and walk through downtown from there.

NIWA is joining Howling for Justice and Wolf Warriors to make The Candlelight Vigil for Wolves under the Full Wolf Moon a “Howl Across America” event, encouraging wolf supporters to hold their own vigils across the country on this special night.

Idaho’s wolf “hunt” is cruel and unjustified, according to NIWA. IDFG claims they need a wolf hunt in order to

1. alleviate livestock depredation,

2. protect elk herd numbers,

3. public safety.

4. To control wolf numbers.

NONE OF THOSE REASONS HOLD ANY WATER.

1. Livestock depredation by wolves is relatively uncommon.

Recent history has not seen a single case of livestock depredation by wolves in the Panhandle.

Idaho’s wolf hunt is not targeting areas with a high concentration of livestock ranches.

Last year, throughout Idaho, out of 2.2 million cattle, only 75 were killed by wolves. (source: USFWS)

Compare this to 86,900 losses from non-depredation !!! (Source: NASS)

2. Elk numbers are at or above objectives in most of Idaho. Idaho’s elk population actually GREW last year by 2000 animals to 103,000, despite repeated claims of devastation by wolves.

In the three major “wolf states”, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, elk populations grew by 5% , 35% and 66% respectively from 1984 to 2009. (RMEF 25th anniversary report 2009)

On the other hand, losses due to Crop damage from prey species like elk and deer amount to three times as much as losses from livestock depredation due to predators! (SOURCE : NASS)

3. In regards to public safety, there have been NO fatalities caused by wolves in the lower 48 in the last 100 years, and only possibly 2 in all of N. America. Unverifiable stories of so called “wolf attacks” where no one ever actually gets attacked should get no consideration or press.

Cougars and Bears kill people every year so why do you allow for THOUSANDS of them to live in State, yet only 150 wolves??? Anti wolf groups attempt to boost hysteria by claiming children will be attacked at school bus stops. While that hasn’t happened, at least two children WERE shot by hunters at bus stops this school year.

4. Wolves are a self-regulating species. Because the wolf is an apex predator, once suitable habitat is filled in, wolves disperse or their population growth slows.

From the study “The Ecology of the Timber Wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park,” by D. H. Pimlott : -

“Wolves were not hunted in the park during the study, and their population remained stable. The estimated number of deer also remained the same.”

The researchers’ summary says, “The data that have been reviewed show that wolf populations which are not exploited (hunted), stabilize and maintain a much lower percentage of young than they are capable of producing.”

“…our work in Algonquin Park and the research on Isle Royale have shown that stability of populations develops even when wolves are completely protected and when they have an adequate food supply.”

Since the reintroduction in ‘95 and ‘96, Idaho’s wolf population growth rate had gradually slowed down to an 8% by 2008, the year before the first wolf hunt.

In addition, not only can we afford to have wolves on our landscape; we NEED them in our wild lands ! There is no better wilderness manager than the wolf.

CA Wolf Inspires New Webpage

About 100 miles north of Los Angeles, 19 wolf dogs from Alaska are learning how to walk and run, without being tethered to a post.

“They all have a little bit of a limp, walking up and down the hillside,” said Dr. Lorin Lindner, who runs the Lockwood Valley Animal Rescue Center. “They are walking on different terrains, walking on rocks. Their (paw) pads will stiffen up pretty quick though.”

The wolf dogs had been on display at an Anchorage-area roadside attraction, spinning in circles on their 10-foot-long chains.

Rumors swirled like snow drifts that the wolf dogs might have to be destroyed because of a criminal investigation into Wolf Park U.S.A., which charged $5 for visitors to walk alongside the animals and take pictures.

Alaska has severe restrictions on owning wolves, and the 19 captive wolf dogs’ fate was up in the air.

Wolf Park U.S.A. told CNN the wolf dogs were well treated and no laws were broken.

“Once we learned that there were 29 wolves in jeopardy, we knew we had to take action,’ said Lindner, who runs the animal sanctuary with her husband, Matt Simmons.

Predatory wolves are helping restore the ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park more than 15 years after their reintroduction to America’s oldest national park, researchers report.

The wolves eat elk, which mean the elk aren’t eating young trees, and in turn there are more mature trees creating better living conditions for animals from fish to birds to beavers to bears, according to the report from researchers at Oregon State University.

“The wolves have made a major difference in Yellowstone,” Robert Beschta, an Oregon State professor emeritus of forestry and co-author on the study said in a statement.

Wolves historically inhabited the Yellowstone area, but they were considered dangerous predators to livestock and humans and were eliminated from the park by 1926, when the last known wolf in Yellowstone was shot.

Gray wolves were reintroduced to the park in 1995.

A wild wolf has been back among us for a week now, the first in nearly 90 years. True to form, he is beginning to cause a stir.

The 2-year-old male wolf known as OR7 crossed from Oregon into California’s Siskiyou County on Dec. 28. Initial speculation that he might soon turn back to Oregon has been laid to rest.

The wolf has, in fact, roamed deeper south into Siskiyou County in recent days, according to data provided by the GPS collar it wears. The trek began in September when the wolf left its home pack in northeastern Oregon on a walkabout now nearing 800 miles.

“We still have a California wolf,” said Mark Stopher, a special assistant to the director of the California Department of Fish and Game, who is leading the state’s initial wolf management efforts.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/05/4163846/lone-wolf-causes-stir-as-it-stays.html#storylink=cpy