Letters to the Editor, LTE, are the Best Way to Reach a Large Audience with Your Message...

I’ve asked every wolf advocate to take action for wolves by submitting letters to the editor in a blog post “Get Involved” and it’s getting results. Writing a letter to the editor of your local or regional newspaper is the best way to reach a large audience with your message. LTEs are printed on the editorial page. The Get Involved post includes; why write a letter, tips on writing a letter, and several links to Wisconsin newspapers. Please keep those Letters to the Editor (LTE’s) coming.

The following is a letter to the editor from Trisha Myers of McCormick from the Greenville News

We cannot let history repeat itself. Wolves were almost driven to extinction before they were placed on the Endangered Species list in 1974. Since then, wolves have started making their journey toward recovery.

When federal protections were prematurely removed from wolves in the Great Lakes region, state agencies opened up brutal hunting and trapping seasons, and more than 1,500 wolves were killed in just three years. After being placed back on the Endangered Species list in 2014, wolves in the Great Lakes are working hard to rebound.

Now, Congress wants to throw another curve ball at them. The House FY19 spending bill for the Department of the Interior includes dangerous language that directs the Secretary of the Interior to remove the gray wolf again from the endangered and threatened species list in the Great Lakes, Wyoming, and the lower 48 states. It also bars judicial review of the de-listing, undermining our right to challenge government decisions in the courts. We can’t let similar provisions get into the Senate version of this bill.

The gray wolf is an iconic symbol of freedom, the great outdoors, and the spirit of the American wilderness. A 2016 study shows that most Americans “greatly value” wolves. Wolves drive economic growth by promoting tourism, which supports local economies and small businesses. USDA data shows that wolves and other carnivores cause less than 1 percent of all annual livestock losses.

Gray wolves are counting on you to take a stand by calling our senators and telling them to oppose any anti-wolf language in the the Senate’s FY19 spending bill or any other bill.

Trisha Myers

Featured photograph credit Parks Canada

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