A Note from Our Executive Director
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July holiday, and that you amazing advocates who work so hard to protect imperiled wildlife are rested up! Because June was pretty rough on our wildlife movement and the battles are surmounting…
The same special interests and their paid politicians are pushing every angle to delist the wolf from the Endangered Species Act. All so that the least ethical hunters and trappers can kill 60%-70% of our wolves. So far, we have no protections in place to stop them from repeating the slaughter of 2021, except one thing — you are a soldier in upcoming battle in an never ending war on wolves.
The good news is, this organization is successful because of our willingness to take risks. We can’t be afraid to ruffle some feathers. We have never been more powerful to mobilize and organize. We are ready!
I spent the entire holiday weekend focused on your feedback, to ensure the infrastructure of GLWA supports each of you. Not only did I take a deep dive into this organization but I reflected on myself as well. We all deserve to focus on our strengths and be respected for it, while we work on the things we can improve.
This kind of work is often chaotic with incredibly short react and attack. When those 4:45 Friday afternoon press releases drop, our rapid response team has loads of energy and is ready go. I for one, love the chaos of it all. It inspires spontaneous ideas and tactics to move forward. However, many people need planning, reflection and peace around them to showcase their strengths. We want to match our staff, board members and advocates and create boundaries to make EVERYONE feel seen, heard and appreciated.
Our Fireside Chats have been a phenomenal way to communicate, learn and feel part of our pack. We also have several board members and an executive director who enjoy public speaking. We have a wealth of experience, science and advocacy on our side. And we want to give you that opportunity to use your strengths to continue to build a powerful pack!
This time of reflection was a welcome distraction from thinking about bears being chased by hounds, trucks and men in 90 degree unhealthy air. We are going to stop this practice. The arrogance I saw on Tiktok and other social media demonstrates how much it’s like the wild west out there with no oversight or regulations.
Educating folks about wolves and wildlife is a large task to take on. Our organization works on behalf of our shared values and against the special interest groups determined to impose cruelty and environmental imbalance to our forests.
Many do not know that National Wildlife Federation and it’s affiliates are hunting organizations first, whose policies and emphasis on game species shows they don’t actually care about biodiversity. They have a 97 million dollar budget. And that’s only one group we are up against — Safari Club, Farm Bureau, NRA, Sportsman’s Alliance etc…we don’t accept PAC money or extractive industry money or pipeline money. They do.
Even with a tiny budget compared to the groups who oppose us we often win because we are passionate and really good at what we do.
To those who donated to protect bears, thank you. Our goal for this month is to raise $6,500 to keep on budget and support our programs. If you haven’t yet, please consider giving to our crowdsourcing on trapping or setting up a monthly contribution. Your support helps us mobilize and organize before the attacks on wolves continue to build momentum. We have yet another match donor for these funds if we can do it!
Hold onto your hats folks….they are coming for our wolves again.
Our Wolf Rally on July 1st reached a lot of folks, mostly through our beloved Robo Lobo, Luna. It was a great time and everyone was smiling and connecting with other advocates for the entire duration of the event. We also generated 54 #ProtectWisconsinWolves tweets to Baldwin, Johnson and Governor Evers with photos of supporters posting for selfies with Luna. Howls of thanks to all our advocates who volunteered and participated!
If you would like us to table an event in your community or you know of any upcoming tabling opportunities, please contact us! We will be going back to 30 on State again and also plan to table at the Monona Farmers Market in the near future…stay tuned!
In collaboration with Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila from Project Coyote and our Scientific Advisory Board, we recently published an incredible op-ed in the Chicago Sun Times holding Senator Tammy Baldwin and other politicians accountable for their moves to delist the grey wolf. The Chicago Sun Times has 8 million readers so this was an incredible opportunity to advocate for wolves through a substantial platform. Please continue to help us amplify this message by sharing on social media and forwarding to your email contacts! You can read the full op-ed here:
The comment section along with this LTE is full of pro-wolf folks who were inspired to write their own commentary in response to our article. Several of our own advocates wrote incredible Letters to the Editor and some for the very first time! Shout out to Kim Hollis, who was patient, persistent and managed to get her following LTE published in THE CAP TIMES:
BALDWIN MEETING RECAP
Howls of thanks to the advocates who attended our meeting with Senator Tammy Baldwin’s Office. Her staffer, Justin did follow up directly with Senator Baldwin and recommended that we continue to write her regarding wolves. You all did a great job keeping her accountable and letting her know that votes for wolves matters. Please continue to pick up the phone and call. I call every single Monday to remind my representatives that our 8000+ advocates don’t want to see wolves delisted.
Senator Tammy Baldwin’s legislation would require the administration to throw wolves to Big Ag and Big Hunting by removing protections in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. And now, Congressional Representative Tom Tiffany has also put forth legislation that would decimate wolf recovery.
You probably remember the state-sanctioned hound hunt in 2021 where whole packs were wiped out. The hunt resulted in being over “quota” and was closed in just 3 days. Wisconsin is the only state to mandate a wolf hunt and permit the use of hounds to chase wolves. Senator Baldwin’s bill would ultimately permit these practices to take place legally again, so we must be prepared to act NOW.
Our lawsuit stopped the wolf hunt of 2022 but it cost a substantial amount of funds. We’ll need to be ready to litigate again soon so please consider a donation today and continue to contact your legislators!
Our press release on banning recreational trapping and hunting of beaver
Lawsuit over killing beavers and refuting science in Wisconsin
Be sure mark your calendar for this month’s Fireside Chats. Your questions and suggestions are always welcome. We hope to see you there!
Wild Cat Coexistence Webinar w/ International Wildlife Coexistence Network – REGISTER HERE
Bear Management in Wisconsin
Please review the Wisconsin DNR Learn to Hunt Bear webinar in preparation for this Fireside Chat discussion.
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