In 2019, 120 Tribal Nations signed “The Wolf: A Treaty of Cultural and Environmental Survival.” Their Wolf Treaty urges the U.S. government to protect wolves from extinction. The Trump administration declined to receive the treaty or even meet with a delegation of some of the signers, including tribal presidents, chairpersons, councilpersons, and prominent water and earth protectors. Instead, the Trump administration delisted wolves across the Lower 48 from Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection. That ill-advised delisting opened the door for a killing spree that took the lives of hundreds of wolves in no time. And the slaughter will surely continue and grow into thousands.
But the Global Indigenous Council, an organization behind the Wolf Treaty, has not stopped trying to be heard and to protect wolves. The Council recently produced a short video entitled “Family” that urges current Interior Secretary Haaland to receive the treaty and discuss concerns on the wolf crisis. A number of conservation organizations have partnered with the Council.
To date, Secretary Haaland has declined to meet with tribal leaders or receive the Wolf Treaty. Her avoidance--like that of the Trump administration--is contrary to the legal obligation that the federal government has to consult with Tribal Nations on any ESA delisting.
Secretary Haaland is missing an opportunity to read a thoughtful and comprehensive argument for protecting wolves. This Wolf Treaty is one of the best documents about the wolf’s past, present, and future I’ve ever read. I say this after reading and rereading the treaty and after almost a decade of learning and writing about wolves.
I have excerpted portions below. These excerpts—and the entire Wolf Treaty—are worth your time to read and consider. I also list a number of actions you can take today to help protect wolves.
EXCERPTS FROM THE WOLF TREATY
THE WOLF IS KNOWN BY MANY NAMES . . .
“The wolf (Canis lupus) is known by many names and for time immemorial has held an esteemed place in the cultures and lifeways of the original inhabitants of this continent. The wolf taught many to survive by the hunt and to live in a spiritual compact of reciprocity. The wolf provided guidance for environmental stewardship and ecological balance. The wolf is a teacher, a guardian, a clan guide – a relative.”PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE OF THE TREATY
“Today the grey wolf is functionally extinct in most of its historic range. In our collective efforts to protect and recover the wolf – and by doing so protect, preserve and perpetuate indigenous cultures – this treaty is analogous to the ‘United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)’ and the principles of the ‘Rights of Nature & Mother Earth.’”ARTICLE I – CONSERVATION
“Recognizing the wolf as a practitioner of conservation, we, collectively, reaffirm that our ancestors were conservationists before the term existed in the Western lexicon, and that in their honor we agree to perpetuate their principles of caring for Mother Earth that is today called conservation. Where the wolf exists, so does balance: without overpopulations of elk, trees such as cottonwood, aspen, willow and serviceberry regenerate, providing crucial nesting and roosting sites for songbirds; enhancing root strength which protects streams from soil erosion, and in turn provides food and building elements for beavers whose dams then create ponds needed by fish; and finally, to enabling the growth of berry shrubs that provide sustenance for grizzly and black bears.”ARTICLE II – CULTURE
“The wolf taught us to hunt and imparted that ‘those with hooves and horns’ would sustain us physically, but ‘those with paws and claws’ were to provide spiritual sustenance. Realizing that the wolf is a foundation of our traditional ways, we commit to the ideal of preservation and restoration in all aspects of our respective cultures related to the wolf, including customs, practices, naming, beliefs, songs, astronomy and ceremonies.”ARTICLE III – MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
“The federal government has never developed a national strategy to recover wolves in the contiguous United States that is in accord with expanded protections. Recognizing that our collective objective is to see the wolf returned to areas of biologically suitable habitat on our traditional lands within the wolf’s historic range pre-colonial contact, and for linkage zones to be established between the existing, fragmented populations, wolf management plans for Tribal/First Nations will be formulated from a cultural foundation, while accommodating the ‘best available science.”’ARTICLE V – GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION
“The federal government has a fiduciary obligation to Tribal/First Nations, which includes providing government-to-government consultation on any Endangered Species listing or delisting decision that impacts Tribal/First Nations. Any proposal to delist the grey wolf fits that criteria. Government-to-government consultation must not only be ‘thorough’ and ‘meaningful’ as mandated by Executive Order 13175, but it must adhere to the standard of ‘free, prior and informed consent.”’ARTICLE VI – NATIVE AMERICAN ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (NA-ESA)
“It has become the norm that federal agencies place a far greater emphasis upon the input of energy companies - with considerable influence being accorded extractive industry executives - in Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing and delisting decisions than is accorded Tribal/First Nations. That disregard of the federal-Indian trust responsibility has prompted tribal nations to explore the formulation of a Native American Endangered Species Act (NA-ESA). In the present political climate, for some species an NA-ESA may be the only viable path to survival.”ARTICLE VIII – EDUCATION
“Education and outreach are essential to wolf recovery. We will seek to counter popular myths that have become talking points to justify the eradication of the wolf from large parts of its historic range. Contrary to popular mythology, domestic dogs pose a greater threat to people than wolves. Of an estimated 115,000 wolves worldwide, there are only ten recorded cases of fatal encounters with non-rabid wolves in the last half-century, two of those having occurred in North America. By comparison, dog bites are responsible for sixteen deaths per year in the US, with an estimated 4.7 million domestic dog bites reported annually.”ARTICLE IX – HUNTING
“At the inception of our relationship with the wolf, this sacred guide instilled the values of the hunt to our ancestors. Generally, current federal, state and provincial management plans that enable and elevate trophy hunting of species of immense cultural importance are antithetical to those ancient principles.”ARTICLE X – RESEARCH
“We will seek input from the leading, independent biologists qualified in the study of the wolf to ensure that we continue to lead in the preservation and recovery of the wolf.”ARTICLE XI –THREATS
“Multiple studies have concluded that the existing wolf populations in the Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes and Southwest are below the minimum, viable population sizes to ensure their survival. These populations are also below levels considered necessary to avoid genetic inbreeding. Like threats facing the grizzly bear, the loss of genetic diversity due to small, isolated populations is a threat that must be addressed through recovery plans that prioritize connectivity.”ARTICLE XII – CONFLICT REDUCTIONS
“There is, however, consensus that proactive non-lethal conflict deterrence methods are crucial to containing wolf and livestock losses. Employing range riders and shepherds, incorporating livestock guardian dogs into conflict reduction strategies, and erecting barriers, be that fencing, fladry, penning or a combination, are effective tools in conflict reduction. Reducing attractants – particularly the removal and disposal of carcasses and separating diseased or ailing livestock – is vital to reducing potential livestock depredations. Livestock – wolf conflict has proven to be predictable and will often reoccur in the same areas. The insightful management of range units and leased lands is necessary to further minimize livestock conflicts, but it should be accepted that when livestock are released onto range units, they are vulnerable, like indigenous species, to a multitude of harms. Where the wolf presently exists, livestock depredations impact less than 1% of available livestock and less than 1% of ranchers in currently populated wolf habitat experience losses to wolves annually. Following the precedent set by some of our sister Tribal/First Nations, we recognize the need for closures to areas that offer the wolf sensitive habitat, particularly for denning sites.”ARTICLE XIII – PARTNERSHIPS
“Tribal/First Nations seek to be equal partners with federal, state and provincial authorities in the true recovery and future management of the wolf. We, collectively, invite representatives of those sovereigns and Non-Governmental Organizations, corporations and others of the business and commercial community, to form partnerships with the signatories to bring about the manifestation of the intent of this treaty.”ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY
ASK Secratary Haaland to meet with a Tribal delegation regarding the wolf treaty
JOIN Rick in his latest writing adventure, a free weekly letter to subscribers entitled Love the Wild
Indie author Rick Lamplugh writes, speaks, and photographs to protect wildlife and preserve wild lands.
Rick's bestselling In the Temple of Wolves; its sequel, Deep into Yellowstone; and its prequel, The Wilds of Aging are available signed. His books are also available unsigned or as eBook or audiobook on Amazon.
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