Thanksgiving Blessings from the Wild Ones

Fighting the Good Fight

In many Native American cultures, wolves are revered teachers. They believe that wolf medicine is in the East and the yellow eyes of the wolf rise every day with the yellow sun to teach us all day long. Their social and survival skills surpass us completely when it comes to taking care of each other as a whole. It is part of my philosophy to see through troubled times, knowing there is an invisible, mysterious force that only knows good; fueled by good intentions it is quite powerful and we are powerful allies to this force.

Since the news for wolves in the Rocky Mountain States is very troubling and critical, I am going to know that they, our teachers, have a higher lesson to teach us right now than their survival in that region. If so, wolves could be the answer, not only for a healthier ecosystem, but could commence the eradication of the corruption happening in our government. I know that sounds very dramatic, but here is what is happening…

Wolves in 5 states (Idaho, Montana, Utah, Oregon, & Washington) have been removed from the Endangered Species List. Much has happened against and for the benefit of wolves in the wild; albeit legally complicated, I will do my best to explain what we have learned. It has been both enlightening and excruciating.

Last Spring, Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana wrote and attached a rider that was buried in a 459 page Congressional budget bill that he knew would pass both houses and President Obama signed into law on April 25, 2011. Although the rider did not mention the words “grey wolves” or the Endangered Species Act, he successfully accomplished his mission to take wolves in the Rocky Mountains off of the endangered species list. We believe that Congress thought it was just agreeing to reissue a 2009 delisting rule (not knowing what it was) even though a District Court ruling had already over turned the delisting rule and returned the wolves to the Endangered Species List in July of 2010.

The language of the rider did use phrasing that “prohibits all judicial review” and what District Court Judge Donald Malloy in Missoula Montana called “magic words” that prohibited him from declaring the rider unconstitutional even though he called it “a tearing away, an undermining and a disrespect for the fundamental idea of the rule of law.” It is now in the hands of the 9th District Court due to a precedent set by them in two previous cases. However there are fundamental differences which call in question the Separation of Powers Doctrine. On Tuesday, November 8th, Shadowland Foundation supporters held a support rally outside the court and attended the hearing and heard arguments. We are anxiously awaiting their ruling.

Statements made to the press by Senator Jon Tester make it clear that he designed the rider to circumvent the District Court’s decision without amending the ESA, which is unconstitutional. He is that blatant about it. This is a U.S. Senator! Similar statements have been made by Republican Representative Mike Simpson from Idaho who has also attempted similar legislation. This is an outrage, not just because of the wolves, but as Americans, we are personally incensed at this corruption and abuse of our legislative process and know that the abuses are much broader than just saving this precious species.

How is it possible for approximately 1,650 wolves over a 5 state area to amass such devastation as to prompt an act of Congress to obliterate them? Just to give some perspective…there are approximately 5,000 coyote’s in Los Angeles County alone, 750,000 in the state of California. Hunting in these states represents about 5% of the population, Ranchers and Oil interests about 1%. These are million dollar industries along with Fish & Wildlife agencies, in place to safeguard wildlife, but their salaries are paid by seasonal hunting licenses. They are using the rhetoric, “States Rights” as their rallying call, even though wolves are living on Federal Land, which is the real issue; who gets to use it and thrive on it. Not an endangered species! Would it surprise you to know that Ecotourism brought in over a Billion dollars in 2010 just to Yellowstone National Park alone? This business serves 93% of the people and seems of no interest to these politicians.

As a result of the passing of this deliberate unconstitutional piece of legislation, wolves are now being hunted in Idaho and Montana and have been since late August, 2011. Over 37,000 permits have been sold to kill 1,000 wolves…two thirds of the entire population. The count to date of wolves killed is 201. Hunting season in Idaho ends March 31, 2012, when pregnant females and pups will be available for killing also. They call this a “Harvest”.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar claimed the wolves were recovered and created the 2009 delisting rule saying they could sustain such hunts. In a television interview recently, when asked why we would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to recover the wolves only to annihilate them again, he made no comment.

He wasted no time in giving the 5 states rights to “manage” wolves themselves and although Wyoming was not listed as one of the states in the rider, Mr. Salazar delisted them there as well on his own. As I write this, Wyoming legislators are drafting legislation to allow wolves to be shot on site over 90% of the state and also includes very contagious language “prohibiting all judicial review” in their proposal. U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming successfully inserted a no-litigation rider into a 2012 congressional appropriations bill, as well as a clause that would immediately put Wyoming wolves under state control similar to the one just passed in April. Never before has any elected or appointed official dared to take an endangered species off the endangered species list, violating its very essence with a complete disregard for its provisions and specifications.

Because these are wolves we are talking about…there have been no consequences for their actions. Tyranny is a word I learned from the writings of J. Madison lately, and it is alive and well and living in Washington DC; crossing both party lines, unchecked and most likely happening on an even bigger level on other vital issues leaving Americans without freedoms which our government is set up to protect. We do not know yet what the 9th District Court will decide, but we know that we are doing everything in our power to expose and speak up about these abuses for wolves and as proud Americans. We ask for your continued support and applaud your participation to help stop injustices of all kinds in all areas of our lives. I still believe in WE THE PEOPLE, and I still believe in ALL THE PEOPLE.

There were hundreds of riders attached to the “must pass” bill in April and even more to come in 2012. The appeal filed by 4 conservation groups to the 9 District Court where we rallied, was not about wolves, although it directly affects them; it was about corrupt, unconstitutional legislation. This is an opportunity for these judges to “Man Up” as my husband Paul Pondella puts it. These judges have lifetime appointments, but they were appointed and approved by the very legislators they would have to rule against. It is a time for courage.

The first appeal in 2010 that put the wolves back on the endangered species list was brought by 14 conservation groups. Ten of the biggest and most lucrative bowed out of the process after the April delisting in fear of losing protections for other species. The very politicians that are behind these betrayals are the ones they are now wooing for future favors. Isn’t that like inviting a snake into your bed thinking it won’t bite you?

Our neighbor and good friend, Bob McKinley had some wise words. He said, “You have to continue to fight the good fight; for wins are never permanent but neither are losses.” We are fighting with our gentle pack of eight. This is the best we can do at this time. As for the wolves in the Rocky Mountains, their current sacrifice may teach us how to stand up to Tyranny with courage and faith, for our freedoms, before it is too late.

Colette Duvall Pondella
Co-Founder of Shadowland Foundation
Lake Hughes, CA

SAVE THE WOLVES FROM GUNS WITH BINOCULARS AND CAMERAS

As you may know, we recently lost our beloved black wolf Shadow, who inspired and fueled our passion to save wolves. We are determined to be as committed and resilient as she was in our mission.

This past May, in an unprecedented act, Congress removed Northern Rocky gray wolves from the Endangered Species List, stripping them of their federal protections. Currently, legal action is being taken by leading environmental organizations to prove that act to be unconstitutional and an abuse of the legislative process.

The legal process is extremely time consuming, and their success will come much too late for the wolves in Wyoming or Idaho and Montana, where wolf hunting season begins in August! Two thirds of the wolves are designated targets and Idaho is preparing to enact state laws that would guarantee them the right to enact similar laws as Wyoming where just last week, wolves were delisted and Secretary of State Ken Salazar and newly appointed head of Fish & Wildlife, Dan Ashe approved the state's current management that allows wolves to be shot on site at any time.

We believe that the only way to meet the immediate need to save these wolves is to launch a campaign demonstrating how very crucial they are not only to the environment but to the local economies; to show that they are more profitable alive than dead.

Ecotourism is a billion dollar industry for the Yellowstone National Park. In 2010, close to 4 million visitors that traveled there specifically to see wildlife, especially the wolf. Research suggests that visitors to the park stay an average of 3.2 days spending $108 per day. That equals approximately $1,382,400,000 and benefits local businesses, private citizens and local governments. Significantly more than revenue collected from hunting and fishing licenses combined. In spite of this, Congress voted to protect special interests that falsely blame the wolf for their economic losses. We want the people of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and all visitors and friends of wildlife to speak up and let it be known that the wolf is good for business.

If you have not yet planned your summer or winter vacation, we ask that you take a trip to Yellowstone National Park, by way of Idaho or Montana and shout from the rooftops that you are there to see the wolves - armed with cameras and binoculars, instead of guns.

Because this is our first introduction of this campaign idea, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. We also urge you to participate by telling your friends and booking your trip for an exciting rescue and recovery mission...the wolves need your help!

Our Letter to Obama to Save the Wolves

Dear Friends,

We are outraged and also deeply saddened that the recently passed budget bill included the rider taking Northern Rocky gray wolves off of the Endangered Species Act, leaving their survival up to those very states that want to see them eradicated.

Please see our letter to President Obama below. If you so choose, please print it out, sign it and fax or mail it to the White House. Even better, please write a letter in your own words.

Thank you, and please continue to support Shadowland Foundation and help us protect those magnificent and loving beings, the wolves.

Gratefully yours,
The Shadowland Pack



President Barack Obama

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: (202) 456-1111
Fax: (202) 456-2461

Dear President Obama,

The rider attached to the newly signed budget bill that takes Northern Rocky gray wolves off of the Endangered Species List is an outrageous travesty. There is no practical or sane reason that anything about wolves, or any other species, should have been included in a bill dealing with the budget. Especially a provision that completely jeopardizes the general welfare and survival of a fellow species, and one that as a keystone species is integral to the overall health of its environment.

When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, from near extinction in the 1990s, trees, songbirds and beavers have also flourished. Turning back the clock on this magnificent and grossly misunderstood animal, in favor of already heavily subsidized ranchers, hunters and developers was immoral and unethical. What does it say to our children and yours that we sacrificed the wolves to a lobbyist and industry agenda? What does it say that we allowed them to be exterminated just when they were beginning to recover? As of now, the Northern Rocky gray wolf population is only 10% of what it once was worldwide. It is only because of recent and intense recovery efforts that the population is sustainable at all. Allowing these states to manage the populations is to give them a death sentence; not in my opinion, they have said this is what they intend. They will be hunted and slaughtered for sport.

Any arguments that wolves are a threat, and have a negative impact upon livestock, elk and business are completely false; perpetrated by those who have had decades of relatively free range to prosper on public land without having to take any responsibility to protect their own property or replenish the land they desecrate. The facts are that wolves, as a natural predator, keep elk, deer and caribou populations in check, preventing them from overgrazing the land. Livestock are much more likely to be killed by coyotes, feral dogs and disease than by any wolf. When livestock are killed by wolves, ranchers are reimbursed with money that is supposed to go towards preventative measures to keep livestock safe from wolves in the first place.

Millions of tax dollars were invested reintroducing the wolves to the Yellowstone National Park. Not only was it a success for the failing ecology, it more than paid off in the millions brought to the region by ecotourism. The economy of the states also flourished and will continue to do so by the addition of wolves to the region. Wolves actually stimulated the economy in those states without any political or partisan stimulus package. According to recent polls, 87% of the public strongly agrees that the gray wolf is a vital and part of America’s wilderness and natural heritage. Who speaks for these citizens who have benefited from the wolves’ presence, certainly not the elected representatives who attached this rider, nor anyone else who voted for it?

Despite your promises to return science to the heart of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), it is under your watch that for the first time ever, Congress has voted to remove endangered status for a species by sneaking it into this budget bill. This was blatantly a back door manipulation and abuse of our legislative process by these devious politicians. Now that it is done, what now? We desperately need some kind of protection in place to keep wildlife safe from special interests before they need the ESA just to survive mankind.

I implore you to do all in your power to ensure the safety of the Northern Rocky gray wolf, and to maintain federal protections for the Great Lakes gray wolf as well as all other endangered species. Reject lobbyists and extremist measures that place profit before preservation and protection, and politics before science on all matters of our natural world. Kindness, Conservation and Stewardship are American Values. Let’s keep it that way.

Sincerely Yours,

Paul, Colette, Gwenn, Shadow, Alaska, Takoda, Keme, Kachina, Cochise, Chenoa, Ogin and Tehya

New Budget Resolution Allows for Western Wolves to be Slaughtered

We may have a government that’s still open, we may have a budget of sorts, but will we have wolves? For, their fate and their ensured survival under the Endangered Species Act, was one of the fatalities of Friday night’s budget “compromise” - included within the Continuing Budget Resolution, was the provision to strip federal protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies, reinstating a 2009 rules that was based on bad science and was declared unlawful by a federal district court.

This marks the first time ever in the history of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that Congress has removed protections for one specific species. In doing so, this provision not only endangers wolves, who are already endangered, but threatens all species protected under the ESA. And once again, a decision that should be based on good, sound science has been decided by politicians and their corporate friends who will profit from the state’s wolf management system’s i.e. killing sprees. Who will be the next?


Mother Nature should ‘manage’ the populations as she has done for millennia, not the hunters and ranchers and realtors, and those who are just misguidedly frightened of the “big bad wolf.”

Our fight for wolves and for our environment continues. Please send a message to Western governors to protect wolves, and please continue to support Shadowland Foundation and other organizations that safeguard our wild and natural world.