To The Wolves
Thank you all for your testing and input on MorningstarHall.com. I'm still getting the hang of it.
Looks like I sold my first box from the site today, so I pulled it down and put a new one up in its place. Busy, busy, busy. In fact, I've been painting all day, and the next box should be done on Monday.
I'm going to take a minute to talk about my next project by talking about why I'm doing it. I'm working on a set of charity pieces to benefit wild wolves in Idaho.
Since that's taking me a while, I want to make you aware of the situation, right now, today.
Long story short, the state of Idaho is removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list, and the state government has declared that they wish to eradicate up to 75% of the state's wolves, leaving only enough to keep the species off the endangered list. Estimates vary as to how many wolves would be killed, but the number could be in the hundreds.
A quick Google search on the phrase "Idaho calls for wolf kill" will net you the story a hundred times over.
Another Googling for "Idaho wolf hunt" reveals the possible cost for an Idaho resident to kill a wolf: $26.50.
The former Governor Kempthorne called for the eradication of wolves "by any means necessary" in 2001, and attitudes have not changed. Today, the current governor stands ready to bid on the first hunting license himself. He does not care.
More information can be found here, on the Defenders of Wildlife website. I suggest you read up on it. There are multiple updates, releases, and ways to take action.
My friends, I have no problem with hunting, even the hunting of predators. But this is not hunting. This is not even the "controlled management" of "resources" to preserve ecological balance. This is wholesale slaughter, the eradication of a species from an area where it has only recently regained a foothold. This is blind ignorance and fear.
You can email the United States Fish and Wildlife service about this travesty at contact@fws.gov or contact them online through this form on the Department of the Interior website.
You can donate to the Defenders of Wildlife here, directly.
You can email the Governor of Idaho via this form or you can write to him the old-fashioned way: P.O. Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720. If you are feeling particularly lively, you can call him at 208-334-2100. I don't suggest swearing or screaming, I suggest being just as reasonable as you can be, so that there is no way you can be dismissed as a nut case. Express your concern, and demand to know exactly how many licenses will be issued, when the hunting will begin, and why the state of Idaho is allowing the persecution of the wolf to continue. Tell them you'll be donating the cost of a hunting license to the wildlife protection group of your choice.
The letter I sent versions of to both Fish and Wildlife and to Gov. Otter is below and under a cut, should you wish to read it. I hope, in any case, you decide to do something. Even writing a short note is better than keeping quiet about this. Donating money is great. I did, and I'm about to do a whole lot more.
Because I'm planning a benefit auction, I'm trying to get hold of someone at Defenders who can tell me more specific details about the proposed hunting, especially about the results of the Idaho meeting on January 25th. If anyone in Idaho is reading this and can give me accurate information, I'd be grateful.
I'm also tentatively feeling out artsy acquaintances who might have wolf or nature-themed stuff to donate, to sweeten the deal -- I'm gathering goodies to go with a set of four boxes I'll hopefully be auctioning off individually through an online dealer people trust, probably eBay.
Again, this is tentative; I need more solid information about what's happening on the wolf front in Idaho, I need interest from buyers, and I would like to make this about more than just my work. I think a collective offering would be swell.
Give this some thought. I've been thinking about it very hard, and though I don't have a lot to go on, I'm trying to find a way to do some good.
To whom it may concern --
I am writing to express my disgust and dismay about your recent decision to hand over management of gray wolves to the State of Idaho.
The wolf, one of the most spectacular predators in all of nature, is slowly recolonizing its former range at great opposition from humans. Opposition like that which will soon be mounted against them in Idaho. If the wolf is ever to reclaim its former territory and exist as more than a mere curiosity, it must be allowed to spread without wholesale slaughter by the ill-informed and ignorant.
The wolf depended upon you, and you have turned it over to those who would destroy it.
Do you really believe that it was the best thing to do, given how people in Idaho clearly feel about wolves?
The Idaho Anti-Wolf Campaign told the Los Angeles Times that they will "get rid of" the wolves "one way or another." How convenient for them that you've made it so much easier.
In 2001 Idaho legislators passed -- and the governor signed -- a resolution calling for the elimination of wolves "by any means necessary." How convenient for them that you've played into their hands.
Was this the best decision? Why did you allow these animals' fates to be put into the hands of those who would destroy them out of simple fear and ignorance? If you cannot answer the first question, perhaps you should think about it. I hope you can answer the second. I hope you will.
I'm sure you are getting many email messages, perhaps phone calls, from people expressing "dismay" and "concern." I believe that it goes without saying that this situation is deeply dismaying and a cause for great concern.
In fact, I am beyond "dismay" and "concern."
I am physically revolted by your ill-advised decision to turn over management of Idaho's fragile wolf population to those who would destroy them. I am forced to conclude that this is what you wish: for the slaughter of these beautiful animals to continue as though they were a deadly menace and not the quiet, peaceable creatures they are.
As a lover of wildlife, I am sickened by the thought of the slaughter to come, and I hope you are, too. As a hunter myself, I am repulsed by the senseless, stupid waste of it. And as a feeling human being, I am hurt by the thought of the suffering this will cause. Wolves are social animals that form strong and loving pack bonds. They are, indeed, capable of feeling pain, and of missing one another.
Strong federal protections are still needed to safeguard our wolves. YOU are still needed. And there is still hope. There is still time for you to act.
Please act.
Why would you turn over the custody of a species to people determined to eradicate it? The fate of the American wolf should not rest in the hands of those who would destroy this precious symbol of America's strength and resilience.
They are marvelous animals, and exemplify so many of the things that humans aspire to. They are loving with their families and excellent caregivers to their young, they are intelligent, they are strong. They cooperate with one another, and packs exist peacefully alongside one another with comparatively little strife. They sing, as we do. They love the forest, as we do. They hunt as we once did. We see beauty in them because we have so much in common.
Too much to allow this to happen.
Please take action to prevent this appalling slaughter. Please don't prove yourself one of those who can see no value to an animal unless it can be sold or eaten. Show that you understand the value of the wolf, and support its return to our country. Show that you understand your duty to protect our wolves against those who are too blind to see how precious they are.
I would love to hear their song in my own state someday.
Thank you for your time,
Amanda Gannon
Sentimental? Yeah. A bit. But I mean it. They're better than us. American wolves do not slaughter humans. There has never been a verifiable attack of a healthy wild wolf attacking a human being in America.
Why, when they are reviled as devils, are we the ones exhibiting unconscionable behavior?
Looks like I sold my first box from the site today, so I pulled it down and put a new one up in its place. Busy, busy, busy. In fact, I've been painting all day, and the next box should be done on Monday.
I'm going to take a minute to talk about my next project by talking about why I'm doing it. I'm working on a set of charity pieces to benefit wild wolves in Idaho.
Since that's taking me a while, I want to make you aware of the situation, right now, today.
Long story short, the state of Idaho is removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list, and the state government has declared that they wish to eradicate up to 75% of the state's wolves, leaving only enough to keep the species off the endangered list. Estimates vary as to how many wolves would be killed, but the number could be in the hundreds.
A quick Google search on the phrase "Idaho calls for wolf kill" will net you the story a hundred times over.
Another Googling for "Idaho wolf hunt" reveals the possible cost for an Idaho resident to kill a wolf: $26.50.
The former Governor Kempthorne called for the eradication of wolves "by any means necessary" in 2001, and attitudes have not changed. Today, the current governor stands ready to bid on the first hunting license himself. He does not care.
More information can be found here, on the Defenders of Wildlife website. I suggest you read up on it. There are multiple updates, releases, and ways to take action.
My friends, I have no problem with hunting, even the hunting of predators. But this is not hunting. This is not even the "controlled management" of "resources" to preserve ecological balance. This is wholesale slaughter, the eradication of a species from an area where it has only recently regained a foothold. This is blind ignorance and fear.
You can email the United States Fish and Wildlife service about this travesty at contact@fws.gov or contact them online through this form on the Department of the Interior website.
You can donate to the Defenders of Wildlife here, directly.
You can email the Governor of Idaho via this form or you can write to him the old-fashioned way: P.O. Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720. If you are feeling particularly lively, you can call him at 208-334-2100. I don't suggest swearing or screaming, I suggest being just as reasonable as you can be, so that there is no way you can be dismissed as a nut case. Express your concern, and demand to know exactly how many licenses will be issued, when the hunting will begin, and why the state of Idaho is allowing the persecution of the wolf to continue. Tell them you'll be donating the cost of a hunting license to the wildlife protection group of your choice.
The letter I sent versions of to both Fish and Wildlife and to Gov. Otter is below and under a cut, should you wish to read it. I hope, in any case, you decide to do something. Even writing a short note is better than keeping quiet about this. Donating money is great. I did, and I'm about to do a whole lot more.
Because I'm planning a benefit auction, I'm trying to get hold of someone at Defenders who can tell me more specific details about the proposed hunting, especially about the results of the Idaho meeting on January 25th. If anyone in Idaho is reading this and can give me accurate information, I'd be grateful.
I'm also tentatively feeling out artsy acquaintances who might have wolf or nature-themed stuff to donate, to sweeten the deal -- I'm gathering goodies to go with a set of four boxes I'll hopefully be auctioning off individually through an online dealer people trust, probably eBay.
Again, this is tentative; I need more solid information about what's happening on the wolf front in Idaho, I need interest from buyers, and I would like to make this about more than just my work. I think a collective offering would be swell.
Give this some thought. I've been thinking about it very hard, and though I don't have a lot to go on, I'm trying to find a way to do some good.
To whom it may concern --
I am writing to express my disgust and dismay about your recent decision to hand over management of gray wolves to the State of Idaho.
The wolf, one of the most spectacular predators in all of nature, is slowly recolonizing its former range at great opposition from humans. Opposition like that which will soon be mounted against them in Idaho. If the wolf is ever to reclaim its former territory and exist as more than a mere curiosity, it must be allowed to spread without wholesale slaughter by the ill-informed and ignorant.
The wolf depended upon you, and you have turned it over to those who would destroy it.
Do you really believe that it was the best thing to do, given how people in Idaho clearly feel about wolves?
The Idaho Anti-Wolf Campaign told the Los Angeles Times that they will "get rid of" the wolves "one way or another." How convenient for them that you've made it so much easier.
In 2001 Idaho legislators passed -- and the governor signed -- a resolution calling for the elimination of wolves "by any means necessary." How convenient for them that you've played into their hands.
Was this the best decision? Why did you allow these animals' fates to be put into the hands of those who would destroy them out of simple fear and ignorance? If you cannot answer the first question, perhaps you should think about it. I hope you can answer the second. I hope you will.
I'm sure you are getting many email messages, perhaps phone calls, from people expressing "dismay" and "concern." I believe that it goes without saying that this situation is deeply dismaying and a cause for great concern.
In fact, I am beyond "dismay" and "concern."
I am physically revolted by your ill-advised decision to turn over management of Idaho's fragile wolf population to those who would destroy them. I am forced to conclude that this is what you wish: for the slaughter of these beautiful animals to continue as though they were a deadly menace and not the quiet, peaceable creatures they are.
As a lover of wildlife, I am sickened by the thought of the slaughter to come, and I hope you are, too. As a hunter myself, I am repulsed by the senseless, stupid waste of it. And as a feeling human being, I am hurt by the thought of the suffering this will cause. Wolves are social animals that form strong and loving pack bonds. They are, indeed, capable of feeling pain, and of missing one another.
Strong federal protections are still needed to safeguard our wolves. YOU are still needed. And there is still hope. There is still time for you to act.
Please act.
Why would you turn over the custody of a species to people determined to eradicate it? The fate of the American wolf should not rest in the hands of those who would destroy this precious symbol of America's strength and resilience.
They are marvelous animals, and exemplify so many of the things that humans aspire to. They are loving with their families and excellent caregivers to their young, they are intelligent, they are strong. They cooperate with one another, and packs exist peacefully alongside one another with comparatively little strife. They sing, as we do. They love the forest, as we do. They hunt as we once did. We see beauty in them because we have so much in common.
Too much to allow this to happen.
Please take action to prevent this appalling slaughter. Please don't prove yourself one of those who can see no value to an animal unless it can be sold or eaten. Show that you understand the value of the wolf, and support its return to our country. Show that you understand your duty to protect our wolves against those who are too blind to see how precious they are.
I would love to hear their song in my own state someday.
Thank you for your time,
Amanda Gannon
Sentimental? Yeah. A bit. But I mean it. They're better than us. American wolves do not slaughter humans. There has never been a verifiable attack of a healthy wild wolf attacking a human being in America.
Why, when they are reviled as devils, are we the ones exhibiting unconscionable behavior?