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Defenders News Briefs: Fall 2008
Defenders Sues to Restore Healthy Elk Herds
Defenders and other conservation groups are suing the Interior Department over its decision to continue the harmful feeding of elk on the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming. Interior's artificial feedings have caused an elk overpopulation problem that poses a disease risk, disrupts natural elk migration and also alters the natural ecosystem dramatically. The agency's decision goes against the advice of its own scientists, who have recommended creating a plan that better protects the health of the refuge's habitat and wildlife. Learn more >>
Lead Ban Leads Condor Toward Recovery
California's new law that gets the lead out of endangered California condor habitat went into effect July 1. The state legislature passed the historic measure last year after pressure from Defenders to keep the big birds from becoming poisoned after swallowing lead bullets or bullet fragments when they feed on animal carcasses that have been shot. More than 275 cases of lead poisoning have been documented in condors in the past eight years. From now on, all hunters of big game, nongame mammals and nongame birds in condor territory must use state-certified, nonlead ammunition. Learn more >>
Defenders Sues to Save the Mexican Wolf
With only 52 Mexican wolves left in the wild, Defenders and other conservation groups filed a lawsuit recently asking an Arizona federal court to order the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take back its leadership responsibilities for the wolf's recovery. In 2003, the agency created an oversight committee of federal, state and tribal agencies to lead recovery efforts, but since that time wolf removal has increased significantly—19 wolves were killed in 2007 alone. Learn more >>
Alaska Vote Means More Gunning of Wolves
Alaskans chose
not to ban aerial gunning of wolves and bears when they went to the polls on
Aug. 26. The 55 percent to 45 percent vote means that the Alaska Department of
Fish and Game may continue to issue permits to private gunners and pilots to
shoot wolves from the air or chase them to exhaustion before landing and
shooting them. The current plans allow the killing of all the wolves in some
areas and 60 percent to 80 percent in other areas. During the past five years,
nearly 800 wolves have been killed under the program.
