Secretary Haaland, Please Protect Wolves

Secretary Haaland has the power to issue an emergency relisting of wolves and protect them temporarily while the Fish and Wildlife Service decides whether they need more permanent protection. We have been waiting and waiting for Haaland to act. Over the months I've encouraged myself and many others to be patient. But after I studied what Haaland said while interviewing for this job, I decided to write her a letter on how her actions do not yet live up to her words.

Dear Secretary Haaland,

About a year ago, during your confirmation process for Secretary of the Interior, you made your opening statement to and answered questions from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Your statement and answers described the approach you would take as head of the department. Your words rekindled hope for me and many other conservation-minded Americans. Unfortunately, on the issue of protecting wolves, your actions have not yet lived up to your words.

In your statement to the Senate committee, you described struggles you had faced and overcome as a single parent, and you added,  “It’s because of these struggles that I fully understand the role Interior must play in the president’s plan to build back better, to responsibly manage our natural resources to protect them for future generations so that we can continue to work, live, hunt, fish, and pray among them.”

Wolves are one of the animals we live among, but their future is in question. In September of last year, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said that wolves in the West may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. While the agency initiated a year-long comprehensive status review, it declined to immediately restore wolf protection on an emergency basis. This means that while the FWS ponders, hundreds of western wolves are being slaughtered during this year’s hunting season. If the FWS finally decides that relisting under the ESA is warranted, those wolves will have died for no reason. 

You have the power to stop the killing, but you have taken no action. Is that managing responsibly and with an eye toward the future?

During your confirmation hearing you said that you will listen to and work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. You also said, “I will follow the science and the law on listing decisions, and work with farmers, ranchers, states and tribes.”

I wish you had listed conservationists in the groups you would work with. That omission aside, let’s look at whether you’re following the science. 

Remember that in 2020 the scientific peer reviews commissioned by the FWS found that their proposal to delist wolves contains numerous errors and did not have adequate scientific support. In that same year, 1.8 million Americans submitted comments opposing the delisting of wolves. So did eighty-six members of Congress, 230 businesses, 367 veterinary professionals, and 100 scientists. 

While all that happened before your confirmation, a letter to you in July of 2021 from a bipartisan group of 85 members of Congress reads, “We write to ask that you revisit the decision to delist the Gray Wolf, as we believe the science supports listing the Gray Wolf as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act. That letter emphasized the support of over 400 scientists in calling for federal protections.

In October of 2021, twenty-one US senators wrote to you and stated, “We urge you to immediately issue an emergency listing to establish temporary federal protections for gray wolves. An emergency listing, which extends for 240 days, will prevent more wolves from being killed before the Service makes a determination about whether relisting is warranted.”

Yet another letter, this one sent in December from a bipartisan group of 78 members of Congress also urged you to consider an emergency relisting. That letter notes that more than 800 scientists have called on the Biden Administration to take immediate action against laws in various states that threaten gray wolves and ignore science.

There have been even more letters from legislators, conservation groups, and scientists. But to date, I have not seen or heard any response from you to these requests to follow the science and work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

On January 19, Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon issued a press release. He said he had called you and stressed the dire need for you to issue an emergency relisting. He added, "The Secretary assured me that she understood my grave concerns regarding the current slaughter of gray wolves happening in several states, yet she would not commit to declaring an emergency relisting." 

Another group you said you would work with—tribal leaders—sent you a letter in September demanding that you relist wolves. They wrote, “Had either the Trump or Biden Administrations consulted tribal nations, as treaty and trust responsibilities require, they would have heard that as a sacred creature, the wolf is an integral part of the land-based identity that shapes our communities, beliefs, customs and traditions.” 

Tribal leaders also stated that they wanted to meet to discuss the FWS approach to wolf management. As Tom Rodgers, president of the Global Indigenous Council said, “The problem is the FWS and its antiquated culture when it comes to the management of the wolf. We requested a follow up meeting to address FWS with the Secretary of Interior in the room,” 

But repeated efforts did not bring you into the room. As Native News Online reported: “On October 29, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) opted out of a scheduled meeting with a delegation of tribal leaders. It was the second time Secretary Haaland had cancelled in a month.”

Secretary Haaland, in your confirmation hearing you vowed to lead the Interior Department ethically and with honor and integrity.  I urge you to act in accordance with that vow and other statements you have made.  Please issue an emergency relisting. We're running out of time. And wolves.

 

Sincerely,

Rick Lamplugh

author and wildlife advocate

Award-winning Indie author Rick Lamplugh writes and photographs to protect wildlife and wild lands. 

His award-winning book 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. 

You can also join Rick in his latest writing adventure, a free weekly letter to subscribers entitled Love the Wild. You’ll find excerpts from his books, podcasts, photo essays, opinion pieces, and more. All aim to excite your mind and warm your heart.

Photo by Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife