Wildlife and People

Montana’s Wolf Recovery Act: An Exercise In We The People

by Tom Remington, Black Bear Blog, March 9, 2009 [here]

Selected excerpts:

I’m sure the majority of Americans know absolutely nothing of Montana Senate Bill 183, the Short Title being, “Montana Wolf Recovery Act”. As I understand the proceedings, the bill is up for second reading in Committee as small items get tweaked.

The Montana Wolf Recovery Act may be a preview of more of what is to come in this country as more and more people are becoming completely fed up with the shenanigans that go on in Washington and the takeover of environmentalism. Just today I posted a YouTube video of a reporter in the U.S. Senate building asking Senator Charlie Rangel to explain his current tax cheating, among other things. His response, “Why don’t you might your own god damn business!” It’s this sort of tyranny that is beginning to get to the people. It’s supposed to be “We the people” not mind your own god damn business.

SB 183, if passed as currently written, is a very tough action and I hope that when the lawmakers of that great state debate this bill, they will remain tough and stick to their demands no matter how far it must go. …

SB 183 will declare Montana a sovereign entity and that the United States government has not dealt in good faith with the state concerning the introduction of gray wolves. It has broken nearly every promise ever made and now with a wolf population that far exceeds any number the government promised, Montana is suffering in several ways.

This bill claims that the United States government lacks any legal authority to force wolves upon its people while at the same time forcing protection of wolves resulting in public safety concerns, property losses, economic hardships and loss of hunting opportunities. The presence of the wolf in Montana has put a financial drain on the state in many ways. …

The Montana Wolf Recovery Act seems to cover a lot of bases. Essentially the bill tells the federal government to get out. Informs them they acted illegally when introducing wolves and have not lived up to any of their promises. They are informing the feds they will deal with the wolves in their own manner and that the U.S. government will pay the bill and be liable for future expenses and any liability including property damage or loss and public safety and lawsuits. …

I know some people will be outraged to think that the state of Montana is presenting such a bill. I say, it’s about time and you can expect more bills to mirror the Montana one. Some will exclaim that it was just announced that the wolf will be removed from the ESA list. We have absolutely no reason to believe this will actually happen as the courts fully love the wolves as much as the wolf lovers who protect them. And even if the wolf was delisted, the management plans that the feds require for delisting allow for far too many wolves putting elk, deer and moose populations at risk and requires the states to fund those plans.

We cannot blame Montana for being forced into taking this kind of action. They, along with Idaho and Wyoming, have been lied to, they’ve had just about every promise made to them broken and in the onslaught of lawsuits by animal rights and environmental groups, the federal government has not worked for the states in which they released their wolves. In short, the U.S. Government has not lived up to any part of their agreements. …

Those pushing the wolf protection and funding the lawsuits don’t live where the wolves got dumped, nor do they really care what happens to the people. This is one aspect of the Endangered Species Act that is so un-American and why the federal government should never be given that kind of power over a sovereign state. …

If you’re not from Montana, maybe it’s time to get a movement started in your neck of the woods. Let’s return America to the people and out of the hands of big government and the animal rights/environmental machines. We can do this. … [more]

Tom Remington