Public Comments: Oppose Road in Selkirk Mountains DUE JULY 16

Photo courtesy of USDA Forest Service

The US Forest Service is considering building a road for "national security" purposes through prime grizzly bear habitat in the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho. The road will be located approximately two miles from the Canadian border. 

Submit your public comments via email to SPWBogCreekEIS@cbp.dhs.gov no later than midnight EDT on July 16. 

WHAT TO SAY:

   - I oppose the plan to build the Bog Creek road. This road will be located in prime grizzly bear habitat. 

- Studies have repeated shown that building roads in grizzly bear habitat is extremely detrimental to grizzly bear population. A recent study by Clayton Lamb, from the University of Alberta, demonstrated that more roads equals fewer grizzly bears. Bears also tend to avoid habitats with roads through them.  Further, roads invite poachers into habitat, putting the recovering grizzly bear population and other wildlife at risk. 

- For these reasons, I oppose the construction of a national security road at Bog Creek. The construction and use would be too disruptive to the grizzly bears in the region.

Write a Letter to Celebrate Endangered Species Day

Celebrate Endangered Species Day by speaking up for the Yellowstone grizzly bears - saved from extinction by the Endangered Species Act. This population was removed from the protection of the Endangered Species Act less than one year ago. Already, Wyoming and Idaho have scheduled trophy hunts of this isolated population. Up to 13 female bears could by killed in Wyoming, endangering long term survivability.

Although these bears live within the states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, they belong to all of us. American taxpayers devoted tens of millions of dollars to saving the Yellowstone grizzly from extinction. We will be damned if a few trigger happy trophy hunters are going to take them away from us!

Please take ten minutes today - or this weekend - to write a personalized letter (We are told that Governor Mead writes back!) or email asking that the trophy hunt be called off.

WYOMING:

Mailing address:
Governor Matt Mead
Idelman Mansion
2323 Carey Ave.Cheyenne, WY 82002-0010

Email: use THIS FORM


Please write in your own words. Ideas are below. If you are out of ideas, copy and paste:

I write to oppose Wyoming's plans for a trophy sport hunt of grizzly bears. I have visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I visit primarily to view wildlife - especially grizzly bears! When I visited your state, I spent my tourism dollars at local businesses. I am so upset that Wyoming is not following Montana's lead and abstaining from a grizzly hunt. These majestic animals bring in millions of dollars to the tourism economy. They are important to wildlife watchers who, like me, come from all over the world to view them. Please re-think the planned hunt and cancel it! If not, I will make sure that the next time I visit the Yellowstone region, I stay in Montana. 

OR

I strongly oppose a trophy sport hunt of Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears. Bears that leave the national park and are the pillars of a billion dollar a year tourism industry could be shot and killed. This would negatively impact the tourism industry and reflect very poorly on Wyoming. The state of Montana has opted to refrain from such a hunt to gain the trust of the public after de-listing of this iconic species. Please consider doing the same and canceling plans for a hunt. 

OR

I write to oppose the trophy sport hunt of Yellowstone area grizzly bears. Wyoming's plan to all the killing of 24 of these bears is excessive. In particular, I am concerned that up to 14 females could be killed. There are no regulations on the sex of bears that could be killed outside of the DMA which is dangerous and could have a drastic impact on the population. Further, I find it abhorrent that the state would allow the baiting of bears. At a minimum, please eliminate the use of bait, which is unsportsmanlike and unethical. It is also dangerous and grizzlies fiercely protect their food and hikers that stumble across a bait station could be injured or worse. In addition, I ask you to intervene to create a buffer zone around the national parks and on the John D Rockefeller Memorial Parkway. These bears have no fear of humans, have learned to tolerate humans and are, in fact, celebrities. It is downright cruel to open them up to hunting after decades of coexistence. Moreover, what will this do to the tourism industry if popular park bears are killed. As a lover of Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears, I ask you to work to make these changes.

IDAHO:

Mailing Address:
Governor Butch Otter
State Capitol
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720

Email: Governor@gov.idaho.gov

Please write in your own words. Ideas are below. If you are out of ideas, copy and paste:

I strongly oppose a trophy sport hunt of a Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bear. Bears that leave the national park and are the pillars of a billion dollar a year tourism industry could be shot and killed. This would negatively impact the tourism industry and reflect very poorly on Idaho. The state of Montana has opted to refrain from such a hunt to gain the trust of the public after de-listing of this iconic species. Further, Idaho grizzly bears are important because they help connect the population of Yellowstone with northern Idaho and Montana. Finally, Idaho has taken no measures to ensure that the bear killed is a male. If a female is killed, this would violate the mortality limits set forth in the hunting agreement between the three states. There is a 50/50 chance that Idaho will violate this agreement due to its failure to take any meaningful steps to prevent a female from being killed. Please reconsider and cancel the hunt.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Oppose the IDAHO Trophy Hunt of Yellowstone Grizzlies by MAY 3

Please submit your public comments on Idaho through this form. Comments must be in by the close of business on May 3, 2018. 

What to say:

- Although Idaho was allocated less than one male bear, it has no safeguards in effect to ensure that a male bear is targeted - versus a female bear. Rather, there is 50/50 likelihood that a female bear will be killed. If this happens, Idaho will violate mortality limits in the hunting agreement between the three states in the region.

-  Idaho grizzly bears are especially important in establishing connections between the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem population and the bears of northern Montana and Idaho. Killing these bears in a trophy hunt would lead to further isolation and flat population growth of the Yellowstone population.

- Idaho should follow Montana's example and not trophy hunt its grizzly bears. Rather, Idaho should wait to gain the trust of the public and prove that it can manage its bears so soon after they have been removed from the federal Endangered Species list.

- Mortality due to human causes has been at an all time high and, as a result, the Yellowstone ecosystem population has not grown since the early 2000s. This, combined with the fact that grizzlies have a very slow reproductive rate means that killing bears, particularly females, can have a rapid, detrimental impact on the overall population. A trophy hunt this soon after removing the bears from the Endangered Species list would be reckless and threaten years of slow recovery.

HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN THE FORM:

The proposal is clear and understandable: select neutral or disagree
The proposal does not conflict with other hunting, fishing or trapping opportunities: select neutral or disagree
I support the proposal: select disagree
I would support the proposal if it met my concerns: select disagree

* There are a series of other questions at the very bottom of the form. Select neutral for all of those.


PETITION: Please sign and share.

Greater Yellowstone Coalition
One Protest

TWITTER: If you are on Twitter, please retweet:

https://twitter.com/dontdelistgrizz/status/990246878070521856

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Oppose the Wyoming Trophy Hunt of Yellowstone Grizzlies by APRIL 30

Public comments are due by 5pm Mountain Time on April 30, 2018 and may be submitted electronically. Submit an online comment here.  Please personalize your public comments using these talking points from Center for Biological Diversity.

Tweet Sheet: Stop the Wyoming Trophy Hunt of Yellowstone Grizzly Bears

1) Wildlife watching tourists contribute 1.8x as much as hunters to #Wyoming economy yet their voices ignored as state preps for #TrophyHunting of grizzlies outside of #Yellowstone #GrandTetons National Parks. #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW @GovMattMead pic.twitter.com/sjkqVazmHU

2) .@YellowstoneNPS SELLS OUT Park grizzly bears! Has no concerns about #Wyoming trophy hunt! Bears that leave National Parks can be killed outside park boundaries. #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #FindYourPark #TrophyHunting #TW 💔🐻 https://bit.ly/2J5OvTs

3) As soon as 1st day of September, 24 vulnerable grizzly bears could be killed in #Wyoming for a trophy on a wall.  Sign to tell .@GovMattMead to step in and stop #Yellowstone grizzly trophy hunt! #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW https://bit.ly/2HsM1hD pic.twitter.com/VUmvZxtpSN

4) Wyoming is using #TrophyHunting to extinguish any chance of grizzlies colonizing potential suitable habitat in Uinta Mountains of Utah, Bighorn Mountains of #Wyoming. #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #endangeredspecies #TW https://bit.ly/2uZnpuk

5) #Wyoming will allow #TrophyHunting of grizzly bears that leave #Yellowstone and #GrandTetons National Parks this fall! Even tho wildlife watching tourists contribute 1.8x as much as hunters! 🐻💔 #WhatsWrongWithWY #NoGrizHunt #TW Why @wyomingtourism? pic.twitter.com/Khe9rGFnOW

6) WUT?! Wyoming wants to hunt 24 grizzlies this fall. Tell @govmattmead hunting and baiting are how grizzlies ended up endangered to begin with. Let’s focus on coexisting with these animals, not killing them for a trophy. #whatswrongwithWY #NoGrizHunt #TW https://sc.org/2Idzgqg

7) .@GovMattMead Call off Wyoming trophy hunt of #Yellowstone grizzlies that leave safety of national parks. 24 bears to be killed this fall! Wildlife watchers contribute 1.8x more to Wyoming's economy than hunters! #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW pic.twitter.com/RbDdi5cBSh

8) Other than in small buffer proposed around part of Grand Teton, any grizzly bear that steps over national park boundaries could be shot 💔🐻 #Yellowstone #FindYourPark #Wyoming #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #BanTrophyHunting #TW https://bit.ly/2JEzHM3  pic.twitter.com/9UkGJqH5Bv

9) Stop The Trophy Hunt of Wyoming Grizzly Bears 🐾🐻❤️ - Sign ✍️ the Petition! https://chn.ge/2F1KGQc  #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #ThatsWY #BanTrophyHunting #Yellowstone #GrandTetons #TW

10) Killing just one female could impact the local grizzly population for the next decade; killing 14 could be devastating. #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #ThatsWY #BanTrophyHunting #TW @GovMattMead 🐻🐾💔https://bit.ly/2HaGQTi pic.twitter.com/I754aqb1R1

11) #Wyoming to allow #TrophyHunting of grizzly bears that leave National Parks this fall! Even though wildlife watching tourists contribute 1.8x as much as hunters! 🐻💔 #ThatsWY #NoGrizHunt #Yellowstone #GrandTetons #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW @GovMattMead pic.twitter.com/Khe9rGFnOW

12) #Wyoming grizzly bears need your voice! Please ✍️ and share to urge .@GovMattMead to call off #TrophyHunting of #Yellowstone bears. 🐻❤️🐾 #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW https://bit.ly/2JDcTfi  pic.twitter.com/sBgCflsnGa

13) Grizzly bears don't cause significant conflicts w/livestock. Statistically speaking, zero livestock died from grizzly predation. So why is #Wyoming killing 24 of them outside of #Yellowstone? https://bit.ly/2GRTCJA  #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW 🐻 pic.twitter.com/HUMHwvj6WR

14) Sign ✍️ and share. Tell Wyoming Governor Mead to put a halt to this short-sighted proposal to bait and kill Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears. #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #ThatsWY #TW @GovMattMead 🐻💔 https://bit.ly/2qoZYpB pic.twitter.com/GjJI3dSTCB

15) Wildlife watching tourists contribute 1.8x as much as hunters to #Wyoming economy yet voices ignored as state preps for #TrophyHunting of grizzlies outside of #Yellowstone #GrandTetons National Parks. #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW @wyomingtourism pic.twitter.com/sjkqVazmHU

16) 🚨 For the first time in half a century, # Wyoming is planning a grizzly bear hunting season. ✍️ and RT to demand that these bears be safe from #TrophyHunting! 🚨 #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW https://bit.ly/2Gr3RAb  pic.twitter.com/zj59NXBZ9Y

17) 🚨🚨 #Wyoming is holding a trophy hunt of #Yellowstone grizzly bears this fall but working to hide it from tourists. Why is that @wyomingtourism? Bc people like me will go to Montana or BC instead? #NoGrizHunt #BanTrophyHunting #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW pic.twitter.com/WbgNWrARSe

18) Yellowstone-area grizzlies should NOT be hunted. Tell Wyoming's @GovMattMead to put an end to this senseless plan via @NRDC  https://on.nrdc.org/2uy2XQR 🐻❤️🐾 #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW

19) There is nothing good to say about shooting a grizzly bear over piles of human food dumped into otherwise pristine wilderness for the purpose of easy trophy kill. #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #ThatsWY #TrophyHunting @GovMattMead https://bit.ly/2GRTCJA pic.twitter.com/1Mt6hVQj50

20) Reject #TrophyHunting of #Yellowstone grizzly bears. 🐻🐻 #Wyoming will allow baiting of the bears and killing female bears, even if they have cubs. Sign to say NO! 💔 #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW @GovMattMead https://bit.ly/2EEszLQ pic.twitter.com/5uU0B9SN9p

21) Hunting bears during fall when eating heavily to gain weight for hibernation costs precious energy. For females, having to flee hunters may negatively affect ability to successfully reproduce over her entire lifetime. #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TW 🐻💔 https://bit.ly/2ENin3C

22) #Wyoming Game and Fish now want to wage war on very grizzly bears that make #GrandTetons and #Yellowstone national parks their home —the same animals that make these places so special for the rest of us 💔🐻 #NoGrizHunt #WhatsWrongWithWY #TrophyHunting #TW https://bit.ly/2GRTCJA

23) If Wyoming and .@GovMattMead look at @WGFD’s own data, they’ll see the wildlife-watching economy is triple the state’s hunting economy. #ThatsWY it makes no sense to host a cruel grizzly trophy hunt. #NoGrizHunt #TW #WhatswrongwithWY pic.twitter.com/FwNMMSQo0c

24) Wyoming & Idaho’s aggressive plans for #TrophyHunting of remaining 700 or so #Yellowstone-area grizzly bears this year are unscientific and – unless stopped — will set bear conservation back by decades. #WhatsWrongWithWY #NoGrizHunt #BanTrophyHunting #TW https://bit.ly/2HhB7yx

CALL TO ACTION: Contact Wyoming Office of Tourism re Grizzly Hunt

A recent study by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department found that wildlife watchers contribute 1.8 times as much as hunters to the Wyoming economy. That means we should have at least as much voice!

Let the Wyoming Office of Tourism know that you oppose a grizzly hunt and you won't visit the state as long as there is a hunt planned.

FACEBOOK COMMENTS: 

Please leave a civil comment on the Wyoming Office of Tourism Facebook page HERE. It is best to leave a comment on an existing post. Use the #NoGrizHunt hashtag and a photo or a GIF to draw more attention to your comment. Also try to like or reply to other posts about the trophy hunt while you are there.

TWITTER: Click to Tweet

#Wyoming will allow #TrophyHunting of grizzly bears that leave #Yellowstone and #GrandTetons National Parks this fall! Even though wildlife watching tourists contribute 1.8x as much as hunters! 🐻💔 #ThatsWY #NoGrizHunt #FindYourParks @wyomingtourism pic.twitter.com/Khe9rGFnOW

#Wyoming is holding a trophy hunting of #Yellowstone grizzly bears this fall but working to hide it from tourists. Why is that @wyomingtourism? Bc people like me will go to Montana or BC instead? #NoGrizHunt #BanTrophyHunting #ThatsWY #FindYourPark pic.twitter.com/WbgNWrARSe

Wildlife watching tourists contribute 1.8x as much as hunters to #Wyoming economy yet their voices are ignored as state preps for #TrophyHunting of grizzlies outside of #Yellowstone and #GrandTetons National Parks. #NoGrizHunt #ThatsWY @wyomingtourism pic.twitter.com/sjkqVazmHU

INSTAGRAM COMMENTS:

Please leave a civil comment on the Wyoming Office of Tourism Instagram page HERE. Use the #NoGrizHunt hashtag.

EMAIL:

Email the Office of Tourism tourism@wyo.gov and ask them to apply pressure to call off the grizzly bear hunt. Here is a sample script but it is better if you personalize it and mention that you have plans or were going to make plans to visit but are opting to visit Montana or British Columbia instead.

I am devastated by Wyoming's decision to hold a trophy hunt of Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bears. I understand that the Office of Tourism is not responsible for such decisions but I believe that your office should relay to the governor and those who are responsible that tourists come to Wyoming to view wildlife. We will go to other locales instead - like Montana or British Columbia - where grizzly bears are not hunted - and we will spend our hard earned money there if this hunt is to go forward. 

PHONE CALLS:

You can may call the Office of Tourism at 307-777-7777.