The Power of Protected Lands

We spend a lot of time talking about the importance and value of animals in the wild. What is sometimes missed is the importance of protecting the very lands they need to thrive. Our National Forests in Montana and Idaho have become the buzzsaw of logging with new and old superintendents of the Forests practically cutting the lumber themselves. Wildlife continues to be an afterthought and profit is the symbol of capitalism and the management of these forests reflects that vacuous mindset.

It's why Bold Visions is not content with just fighting for wildlife, but rather protecting the lands that allow them to flourish. That is why on the 27th of March we will be speaking to all the Tribes of Montana and Idaho to let them know and ask questions about our proposed National Monument that will encompass the Gallatin range in Montana and reach down into Idaho.

These lands are vital for wildlife but also for people to recreate and take some of the pressure off of Yellowstone and their 4 million visitors each year. These lands are vital corridors for wolves, grizzlies, bison, elk, and deer. The forest service continues to degrade the lands, opening them for logging and motorized recreation, something that does not work well with wildlife. Wolverines call this range home, and with the state trying to stop the protection of wolverines, creating a National Monument of these lands is even more vital.

National Monuments are a means of protecting lands, one that is designated by the President by his use of the Antiquities Act, something that every President has used except for President Trump. By doing this, we avoid the current state of Congress and our delegation’s willingness only to end wilderness protections of lands.

Protecting lands is never easy, and the Antiquities Act remains a tool that can, with a signature, change the protection of lands and often relates to history and antiquities.  But as it is with many ocean National Monuments, wildlife is at the core of their creation, and so too will it be with this Monument proposal.

 At a time when wildlife is being lost worldwide, we can and must work to protect their habitat, especially when species like grizzlies, wolves, etc., are being set up for slaughter by our state Governments and wildlife agencies. This is a tool to fight back!

On April 9th, I will present this concept to the people of Bozeman at the public library and take their questions. I hope those of you in the area will come and take part in a night that will likely open some eyes, have detractors, and hopefully inspire the majority.

Fighting for wildlife means fighting for the lands that allow them to thrive. These lands, some 1.6 million acres, are essential for species found in few other places. This land is vital to the long-term survival of our incredible animals.

Gianforte, Daines, and others will likely scream about a government takeover, but the truth is they must be silenced by the voices of hope and reason. It’s about the wildlife! Seeing it alive and thriving, not mounted on a wall.

It will not be easy, and may not come quick, but we will work long and hard to see this to fruition. Together we can change hearts and minds. Let’s get to work!

Controlling the Livestock Industry Before Wolves Perish

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Lately, our focus has been on the wolf situation in Colorado. We are not forgetting Idaho or Montana. But what is occurring continues to show the power of the Livestock industry moving on a path towards making public lands private and using wolves and other wildlife as pawns in their profitable relationship with trophy hunting interests.

We have seen this move forward in Montana under Greg Gianforte's radical agenda, large blocks of land by billionaires like the brothers who made their fortune in fracking: the Wilks Family. In Montana, they own more than 358,837 acres of land and profit from hunting those lands; in Idaho, they own more than 300 square miles of property. People like this are waiting to buy public lands and support trappers and trophy-hunting interests. They are no friend of wolves.

These are indications that make what is occurring in Colorado so avoidable. Historically, in Colorado, only one person nominated by the Governor to be on the Game Commission has ever been turned down; this past week, western slope Democrats and all Republicans turned down two in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The two were Jessica Beaulieu and Gary Skiba. Beaulieu manages the University of Denver's Animal Law program, which aims to "protect the interests and well-being of non-human animals. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation worked hard to prevent these appointments as the group is radically anti-wolf. The irony is that ranchers and these groups felt the nominees did not support the outdated North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and supported animal rights. Imagine the irony, given that the Game commissions of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming are controlled mainly by ranching interests and trophy hunters, with no interest other than killing wildlife. Governor Polis was working to create more balance on the commission.

This was after the nominees groveled themselves to ranching interests and made it clear they supported a hunting season on wolves, and still, that was not enough. Their future will hang in the full legislature, but a no-vote now does not bode well.

The media and legislature in Colorado are being swayed by the same old, tired rhetoric of ranchers, and they are controlling the messaging. The conservation community, as usual, was pushing hard to get wolves on the ground, but again, they were making a critical error. The endless push to work with livestock interests is a failed mission. It has failed throughout our history, especially in these new times. Ranchers have a long history of killing predators without logic and science. Many ranchers on the western slope had grandparents who wiped out wolves 80 years ago and take it personally that wolves are returning to their range.

Yet groups with large mailing lists, like the Sierra Club, continue to dodge the issue. They are setting the stage for Colorado to follow its northern states and slaughter wolves to appease ranchers. Here at Bold Visions Conservation, we have pleaded with the Sierra Club, lobbied the legislature, and are working with representatives to introduce a sane bill of co-existence and non-lethal controls to stop such a slaughter.

What we want to make clear is that we must fight. Not for the sake of fighting but to harness the energy and drive that resulted in so many victories in the life of the conservation movement. We must fight because we are the frontline of defense of all wild creatures. Our goal at Bold Visions Conservation is not to be liked by our opposition but to make clear we are in this to win. Winning is what the earth needs now; it is what all wildlife is begging for, and we face an opposition that is filled with arrogance, contempt, and a desire to kill for fun or to destroy all that is wild.

The conservation community’s emotional withdrawal from all that is wild comes at a cost; it zaps the emotional fire from fighting for all you love and instead substitutes it with logic, compromise, and mixed messaging. It shows the weakness that has become part of a narrative of endless political correctness and resignation.

Wolves are charismatic animals, their story compelling and uplifting. To lose battles on behalf of this animal is a disgrace. It comes, as it did from the start, by trying to compromise instead of winning and moving forward. If we do not start fighting, we will soon see the reality of our nebulas march, loss of wilderness, public lands, and wildlife.

Many larger groups have opposed introducing such legislation at this point. That is their right; they feared the commission appointees might not get through confirmation, yet even without the bill, the appointments have failed.

What must change with our movement concerning wolves is we must work together instead of in separate packs, no pun intended. We must rally around one message, not fifteen. Every group profits off the backs of wolves, but the lack of fight and real media investment to push back on livestock interests and the trophy hunting industry is dooming wolves' ability to thrive, and we must bear responsibility.

Wolves deserve far better. Trying to work with livestock interests does not work on a large scale. It may be with wealthy ranchers near Sun Valley, Bozeman, Burn, or other idyllic locations. But ranchers in far more rural locations do not share such interests as predator killing, trapping, etc., as part of their daily routine. However, they can be incentivized to use tools to cut down on livestock depredation incidents.

Democrats on the western slope are not getting the pushback they need to keep voting to destroy wolves. Even representatives in liberal Boulder are on the fence, they should be pounded with calls and emails on this issue.

Let's pull back the curtain on the wolf issue, let's start fighting, and stop trying to pretend that we can all work with ranchers. We could wear a cowboy hat and buck hay. Such actions are degrading and are received by ranchers as bogus. Our work on wilderness and National Monuments made that very clear.

Ranchers are not helping public lands; they are enjoying tremendous subsidies paid by taxpayers. Many despise the very government that gives to them so generously. Riparian areas and landscapes in places like New Mexico are being destroyed by such grazing.

It's not about putting them out of business but beginning to push back if we are going to allow wolves to thrive. If ranchers are enjoying such largess from the federal government, and in Colorado, they will be paid $15,000 for a cow killed by a wolf, a ridiculous sum; why are they allowed to kill predators, period? They should be banned from such activities as part of their grazing lease. With the co-existence offers that ranchers can receive for free, why do they continue to push to kill? My belief is that up until now, the conservation community's response has been weak. Our goal at Bold Visions aims to change that.

What continues to happen in Idaho and Montana is a disgrace; ranchers, hunters, and rural misinformation are clouding recovery, wolves are being tortured, and family packs are being destroyed. How, then, can we not fight like hell for wolves in Colorado, a state with a liberal governor and a legislature that is 65% Democratic-controlled? If we cannot here, then we are libel in the wolves' suffering.

We at Bold Visions Conservation refuse to play by such standards; like us or not, we want to work with other groups and support the long-term reintroduction of wolves that do not turn into hunting seasons. Wolves are self-regulating. Not for the sake of fighting but because history is full of mistakes made due to collaboration.

Colorado voters clearly voted for wolves to return to the land; we must work hard for these beautiful and dynamic creatures. They define the wildness that must never leave our public lands, and we cannot allow our public lands to be sold to the highest bidder. That requires our focus and our fight.

What is so Wrong with Fighting?

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Having worked in conservation for thirty-plus years, I have been front row to the demise of the conservation movement. Conservation, which was once a calling, is devolving into nice jobs for people to have, perhaps starting a family and following what is somehow referred to as professionalism. In other words, don’t rock the boat.

Not all groups fit this bill, but increasingly, it is the norm. This translates into careful communication, less pushing of elected officials, and losing what used to drive us: heart, fight, and spirit. In the past, we rewarded those who showed leadership and spirit. Sigurd Olson, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, John Muir, Marty Muire, David Brower, and Dave Foreman, to name a few.

But after years of training, many of which I attended, the message was clear. Stay quiet, do your job, raise money, sue if you can, and take lots of credit for everything. Work towards compromise. This so-called professionalism has stolen our voice as a movement, and along with college courses that push collaboration over winning, we are left with the crumbs of what we once were.

Today, groups like the Wilderness Society praise logging in Montana, The Nature Conservancy has become a giant logging operation on their vast tracts of land, and wolf issues are off-limits to the Sierra Club in Colorado. More and more groups seek compromise over victory at a time when the earth is screaming for help. We had serious concerns when we heard of the reintroduction of wolves to Colorado. We pushed a message to many groups that before we introduced it, we must fix the slaughter that is occurring in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. No groups shared such an interest; it was time to move forward; as Mike Phillips said, “Get wolves on the ground, and the rest will take care of itself.”

If taking care of itself means a twelve-month hunting and seven-month trapping season (in Idaho) on wolves with bounties, in Montana, continued slaughter, wolves are subjected to a life of fear and disruption. This, we submit, means that, as a community, we have failed.

Now, we are fighting for wolves in Colorado because that is where this whole process has arrived. Yes, wolves belong there, but we need to ensure they have a real shot at a quality of life; we must repel the worst instincts of ranchers who think they control our public lands.

The reality is simple: many groups tried too hard to appease rancher interests in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming at the expense of wolves. It is why they are being wiped out in these northern states. It is why states like Montana are fighting the relisting of wolverines to the Endangered Species list. Idaho is now calling for more slaughter of wolves even though livestock deprivation is near zero. They continue to use Ipom, the (Interagency Occupancy Patch Model), which we know increases the wolf count by 150%. They feel empowered.

In Colorado today, we have a chance to begin some important policies that will reward and enforce the idea of non-lethal measures for wolves and livestock and will allow a gateway for co-existence. As I mentioned, we have a leader in Representative Tammy Story, who is a fighter and cares about the future of wolves in Colorado. We need to support her!

What we want to make clear is that we must fight. Not for the sake of fighting but to harness the energy and drive that resulted in so many victories in the life of the conservation movement. We must fight because we are the frontline of defense of all wild creatures. Our goal at Bold Visions Conservation is not to be liked by our opposition but to make clear we are in this to win. Winning is what the earth needs now; it is what all wildlife is begging for, and we face an opposition that is filled with arrogance, contempt, and a desire to kill for fun or to destroy all that is wild.

The conservation community’s emotional withdrawal from all that is wild comes at a cost; it zaps the emotional fire from fighting for all you love and instead substitutes it with logic, compromise, and mixed messaging. It shows the weakness that has become part of a narrative of endless political correctness and resignation.

Wolves are charismatic animals, their story compelling and uplifting. To lose battles on behalf of this animal is a disgrace. It comes, as it did from the start, by trying to compromise instead of winning and moving forward. If we do not start fighting, we will soon see the reality of our nebulas march, loss of wilderness, public lands, and wildlife.

At Bold Visions, we are here to fight and to make clear that groups must work together to improve our public lands and wildlife, not compromise them away.

Please take a moment to thank Representative Story for her work to support wolves and let the other agriculture committee members know you want them to support her bill that requires non-lethal means of protecting livestock and fighting for true co-existence!

TALKING POINTS:

• Make clear the importance of this bill and the fact that grazing is not a right but a privilege, thus the importance of ranchers taking responsibility to work towards co-existence.

• The fact that non-lethal approaches will save ranchers money in the long run and prevent the reality that unstable wolf packs create more deprivation.

That wolves are here to stay and co-existence is vital.

• Wolves will benefit the environment, make wildlife far healthier, and make rivers thrive.

• Ranchers enjoy lavish subsidies, and we cannot allow them to dictate wolf policy.

• Chronic Wasting disease is a reality, and wolves are the front line of defense.

CONTACTS:

Representative Karen McCormick, Chairman

Representative Marc Catlin

Representative Richard Holtorf

Representative Mandy Lindsay

Representative Meghan Lukens

Representative Mike Lynch

Representative Matthew Martinez

Representative Julia Marvin

Representative Barbara McLaughlin

Representative Tammy Story

Representative Brianna Titone

Representative Elizabeth Velasco

Representative Ty Winter