ALBERTA
Wolves have been shot from helicopters, trapped, and poisoned by the Alberta government in the Hinton and Grand Cache areas for several years now, all the while selling essential caribou habitat to industries for resource extraction and even allowing pipelines to be created in the middle of land critical for long-term survival of caribou. Wolves are once again being targeted as scapegoats. While little else is being done to protect dwindling caribou herds, by February 2010, 35 wolves had already been shot from the sky this year.
To view the history of the decline in Alberta's caribou herds, and for background information visit: www.albertawilderness.ca/issues/wildlife/caribou/history
Use this sample letter below for either Alberta of BC government decision makers. The issues are the same: caribou need REAL long-term habitat protection from human activities BEFORE predator culls can begin to even be considered. CONTACTS at bottom.
HELP PROTECT THE WOLVES OF BC & ALBERTA!
Wolves in these provinces are once again under attack. New and ongoing Wolf Culls, No Bag Limits and extended hunting seasons have been implemented in BC and AB.
AB: Wolves have been culled in the Grand Cache and Hinton areas since 2006 using traps, poison, and helicopters. As of Feb. 2010, 35 wolves have been shot from a helicopter this year.
BC: Pilot program to sterilize wolves begun in the Caribou region and proposal to begin attacking from helicopter as well. Already 35 wolves killed by government “for Mountain Caribou recovery”.
Please write to the ministers who represent us and let them know that this is unacceptable wildlife management.
Dear Name of Minister, (contact information at bottom of page)
I am writing in to voice my opinion against wolf control programs in the name of caribou recovery where long term habitat protection is not being implemented. Human activity is the number one factor responsible for the declining caribou populations in Canada. We must prevent and limit logging, gas and mineral exploration and extraction, road building, snowmobiling and backcountry activities that destroy habitat, fragment herds and create snow pack. We cannot blame the wolf for feeding on caribou if humans have made them more susceptible to predators through their activity.
Wolves are an important species in our forests. They are a keystone species, essential in helping to maintain balance and biodiversity within ecosystems. The destruction of wolves is unacceptable and can only result in further disruption of the delicate balance between predators and prey.
I do not support increased wolf harvests, sterilization programs, nor wolf culls. Sacrificing one species to save another demonstrates poor and outdated wildlife management. Caribou populations have continued to decline where predator control programs have begun, indicating habitat protection measures must be stronger and enforced. Culling wolves in an area only acts to open up the territory and other wolves may soon move in and continue to predate on the dwindling herds.
I fully support the recovery of caribou in this province, but would like the efforts to be focused on the restoration and long-term protection of the old growth forests caribou depend on to survive. Preventing activities that disrupt the natural balance is a much more effective and long-term solution to the problem.
I also encourage adding caribou to herds that are at imminent danger of being extirpated. This step should be a priority in recovery efforts, long before the needless killing of natural predators. Please note that culls and shortsighted management techniques that have proven ineffective in the past will not go unnoticed.
Sincerely, _____________________________________
Your name here
British Columbia...which species are really at risk?
Wolves in BC are once again under threat from the provincial government. Sterilization projects have begun, and wolves have been killed. Regions are being encouraged to hunt and trap wolves, and increased season lenths as well as No Bag Limits have been added to the already lenient wolf hunting regulations. There are no closed hunting seasons in many regions below 1100m, which does not foster safety for wolves who spend most of their time in valley bottoms. Not even a specific game seal is required to hunt wolves in this province, as well as others. Learn more about the situation mountain caribou are facing, and keep in mind that they have been in decline since the 1960's for the very same reasons. Have wolves changed? Have caribou? How about habitat? Has the ballance been lost?
Also see sidebar Caribou and Predator Control for timeline, resources, and LOT'S more information....
Learn about British Columbia's Mountain Caribou Recovery Program:
Visit: http://www.mountaincaribou.ca/
NOTE: BC's Premier and Minister of Environment have been responding to hundreds of concerned letters and e-mails with a form letter that is inadequate to say the least. Go to the left sidebar, CARIBOU AND PREDATOR CONTROL - RESOURCES AND LINKS to see the letter and the rebuttal Valhalla Wilderness replied with. Make sure these points are covered in your own letter, first, second, or third...keep on it!
BC Sign-on letter for public use, created by Valhalla Wilderness Society and Animal Alliance of Canada, signed by 19 environmental groups. Please cut and paste this letter, then sign and SEND!
The Honourable Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia
Box 9041, Station PROV GOVT
Victoria, BC
Phone Number: (250) 387-1715
Fax Number: (250) 387-0087
Dear Premier Campbell,
I am writing to ask you to stop the killing of wolves to in BC. The BC government blames the wolves for the decline in the mountain caribou. Instead of blaming the wolves, please stop the human activities that negatively impact and destroy the caribou and their habitat.
Killing wolves does not increase the number of caribou. As Nature Trust BC points out, "The BC government has "killed 798 wolves, 16% of B.C.’s wolf population at the time. If culls are effective in saving the caribou, than populations should have been increasing over the past 20 years. However, caribou numbers have dropped significantly…"
Wolf populations are susceptible to extermination programmes. By the middle of the 20th Century, wolves were largely exterminated in the lower 48 states in the US. Wolves remain an endangered species, even though they have been protected since 1973.
Finally, chasing wolves to exhaustion with helicopters and shooting them from the air is cruel as is leaving the wounded to die an agonizing death..
Therefore, I urge you to adopt the following recommendations:
1. Stop clear-cutting and road building in all mountain caribou habitat;
2. Ban snowmobiling and heli-skiing in all mountain caribou habitat, including their historical wintering areas;
3. Restore habitat that has already been clear-cut; and
4. Reduce the speed limit on roads near the critically imperiled herds to prevent caribou fatalities.
Sincerely,
Signature
Name
Address
City Province Postal Code
Date
Contact Information for Decision makers:
The Honourable Barry Penner, BC Minister - Water Land and Air Protection
PO Box 9047, Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2
Phone:250-387-1187
Fax: (250) 387-1365
Email: env.minister@gov.bc.ca
Honourable Gordon Campbell, BC Premier
Box 9041, Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9E1
Fax: (250) 387-0087
Email: premier@gov.bc.ca
Honourable Ed Stelmach, Alberta Premier
Room 307, Legislature Building
10800 - 97th Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427 2251
Honourable Rob Renner, Alberta Minister of Environment
Room 425, Legislature Building
10800 - 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427-2391
E-mail: rob.renner@assembly.ab.ca
