Lynx Saved From
Cruel Trapping

Lynx now have less to fear from trapping in Montana thanks to a WildEarth Guardians' legal settlement. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the settlement on July 9, establishing a “lynx protection zone” in northwest Montana and the Greater Yellowstone region. The settlement stems from a WildEarth Guardians’ 2013 lawsuit against Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to protect Canada lynx from trapping. Rules within the “lynx protection zone” prohibit use of fresh meat or feathers as bait, restrict the size and placement of traps intended for other animals that sometimes catch or kill protected lynx, and require bobcat trappers to check their traps at least once every 48 hours. We are committed to creating more places where incredible carnivores like the lynx can roam freely without fear of traps, and are succeeding thanks to your support!

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Win For Climate Preserved

This month, Interior declined to appeal our precedent-setting ruling on mining coal from public lands, adding major momentum to our campaign to rein in coal and safeguard the climate and public health. In May, a federal judge ruled the Department of Interior illegally ignored the environmental impacts of approving more coal mining at the Colowyo mine in northwestern Colorado. The court held the agency inappropriately turned its back on the fact that more coal mining leads to more coal burning, ordering the Department to complete a new environmental review within 120 days or shutdown mining. Stay tuned for a final decision on this case impacting us all.

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Grizzlies Are Improving,
But Not Recovered Yet

In mid-June WildEarth Guardians witnessed firsthand the uphill battle endangered grizzly bears face when we attended a meeting of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. At the meeting, federal and state agency members received the results of the most recent biological studies from the field. Although grizzly bear numbers are increasing in select ecosystems, these bears clearly have a long way to go before we can consider them recovered throughout their range. Despite the science, some committee members are actively seeking the species’ removal from protection under the Endangered Species Act. With your continued advocacy and support, we won’t let grizzly recovery efforts be undermined by the very managers who are supposed to be working on their behalf. Guardians is keeping a close eye on recovery efforts and will ensure that any attempt to delist the species is based on science and abides by the full mandates of the law.

Getting Away With Murder

Government officials announced earlier this month that the hunter who fatally shot the first gray wolf to wander through the Grand Canyon’s majestic landscape in over seventy years—Echo—will walk away unpunished. This merciless and unethical outcome results from the continued implementation of the long-standing McKittrick policy, which requires authorities to prove a hunter identified and intended to shoot a protected animal in order to criminally prosecute an illegal killing under the Endangered Species Act. WildEarth Guardians’ ongoing legal challenge to the policy seeks to ensure that the federal government does not continue to treat the senseless murders of our imperiled wandering wolves as accidents.

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Mexican Wolves
Are Essential

WildEarth Guardians sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on July 2 for refusing to consider the only wild population Mexican gray wolves, whose population numbers little more than 100, “essential” to the species’ recovery. We are challenging a recent rule that arbitrarily caps the endangered Mexican wolf population at a number far below what is needed for recovery; prohibits wolves from accessing vital native habitat in northern Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah; and makes it easier for government agents and private landowners to kill wolves. With only 109 wolves in the wild, the government must place science ahead of politics to give this gravely imperiled species a chance of recovery. We will see to it that wild wolves are given the essential protections they need to survive and thrive.

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Gigantic Coal Plans Challenged

At the end of June, we challenged the U.S. Interior Department’s proposal to open the door for massive amounts of new coal mining in the western U.S. Together with our partners, we challenged proposed management plans for the Bureau of Land Management’s Miles City and BuffaloField Offices, which encompass the Powder River Basin region of northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana. In total, 80 billion tons of coal would be made available for mining, threatening to release more than 130 billion tons of carbon pollution, 20 times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released in the U.S. in 2013. Our hope is that Interior will put the climate and human communities first, and reverse course.

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Lynx Get Court Reprieve
from Snowmobiles

Native wildlife and winter wildlands in the Northern Rockies will get a break thanks to a recent legal victory secured by WildEarth Guardians and partners. The ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is the first ever appellate court victory on the Forest Service’s requirement to minimize over snow vehicle impacts to wildlife. Moose, grizzly bears, wolves, wolverines, lynx, and a broad variety of other wildlife will benefit as a result. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana originally opened over 60% of the forest to snowmobiles, a decision which we challenged. Tucked into the southwestern corner of the state, this national forest is an important piece of the “Spine of the Continent”, a vast wild landscape where winter wildlife still thrives.

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photo credits: (Left column) lynx kitten—photos.com; coal pile at Craig, CO coal operation—WildEarth Guardians; grizzly bear—Sam Parks Photography; Echo the wolf—AZGFD; Mexican wolf—photos.com; Decker coal mine—WildEarth Guardians; Canada lynx—photos.com.  (Right column) Activist spotlight—Carly Bonwell; gala—WildEarth Guardians; pride festival—WildEarth Guardians; lesser prairie chicken—Jess Alford.

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Activist Spotlight

Carly Bonwell, a high school senior, is one of our summer interns. Carly comes into the Santa Fe office twice weekly and has quickly become indispensable. This week she is working on our Montana, Utah, and Arizona events—see details below. Thank you Carly!

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Join us at our office in Missoula on August 14 for a happy hour meet-n-greet with our Wildlife Program Director, Carnivore Advocate, and our Senior Staff Attorney who will share updates on our efforts in Montana and across the West. RSVP here for more details.

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Save the date of August 18 in Tucson for an informal conversation at a local watering hole. Meet our Wild Places Director and Gila Fellow. Find out more about our work to protect the Mexican wolf and create our nation’s next great protected landscape in Arizona and New Mexico’s Greater Gila. RSVP here for more details.

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Join us in Salt Lake City the week of August 24 for food, drink, and an update on our work in Utah. We will share how we are rapidly expanding our presence in the state and how you can be involved. RSVP here for more details.

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Buy your ticket for our twelfth Annual Guardians' Gala on September 25 at the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market Pavilion. Acclaimed ecologist and author Dr. Sandra Steingraber is this year’s featured speaker. A renowned anti-fracking activist, Dr. Steingraber explores the links between human rights and the environment, with a focus on chemical contamination, climate change, and the threats posed by fracking. Plan a trip to Santa Fe and purchase your tickets today. 

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So, How'd it go...

Speaking of defending the Endangered Species Act, we had a record-breaking response to our alert asking Senators and congressionals to block anti-wildlife riders on the federal budget. We delivered over 21,300 emails to decision makers; click here if you’d like to add your voice, and thank you!

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