Photo courtesy of the Harmony Fund

“The stars hang expectantly above the summer meadow on Gledic Mountain in Serbia, a place which is about to become the cradle of recovery for 25 wolves aching for freedom. The wolves are living in small household nooks, a basement and backyard pens which have been salvaged by their rescuer Dejan Gacic, a man who would lay down his life for any animal in need.

Dejan began as a dog rescuer. Working alongside his mother Svetlana, he saved nearly 300 dogs who had been in dire need on the streets of Serbia. The dogs were housed at a home-based sanctuary and at a second sanctuary on the grounds of his deceased grandfather’s home.
Daily care of the dogs was a team effort, but when Svetlana (right) died quite unexpectedly during routine surgery, Dejan was suddenly alone in caring for the dogs. At the same time, local residents who had heard of his heroic efforts for the dogs began to ask if he might help with a wolf who had been in captivity for quite some time and the “owner” was about to release her to a canned hunt.

Dejan thought to himself, “What would my mother do?” and then he did the only thing he could. He leapt in with both feet. He purchased the wolf from the man for a single bottle of liquor.

“They usually call and tell me to come and take the wolf or it will be killed,” Dejan explains of the many times he has been granted permission to rescue a ‘defective’ wolf who simply won’t bring in a premium price when released from his cage and sent running into the woods to be chased by hunters. “I just have no strength to watch them suffer and I have no power to stop it. I never met a hunter who feels sorry for the wolves or for any other animals.”

Over the last three years, more than two dozen wolves have made their way into Dejan’s custody. And though he didn’t have a solid plan on what to do with them, Dejan couldn’t stand to see the wolves come to a terrible end. More times than he can count, he has simply hung his head and walked through a group of amused spectators who can’t fathom why on earth this man has arrived to save some “dumb” wolf.

“I’m going early in the morning at 4am to see injured wolves,” Dejan told us recently. “I am going with my uncle and a vet will come with us. God knows what we will find there. I’m very worried. The last information I have from 2 hours ago is that both injured wolves are still alive and have a chance to survive.”

How We’ve Been Helping …

“Without you all these animals would be lost,” Dejan told us at the Harmony Fund last year after receiving his first round of emergency funding to feed both the dogs and the wolves. “To live a hundred lives would not be long enough to thank you. I wish that my mother was alive to see all this. My animals just had their first proper meals after a long, long time.”

Over the past year, the Harmony Fund has provided monthly supplies of food and veterinary care for all of the animals at Dejan’s sanctuary. We’ve also relocated all the dogs to a single location. After a series of inquiries and applications at the goverment level, we are now poised to begin getting the wolves out of their cages and into the mountain air.

Please Help Us Build Them A Sanctuary!

Though it will not be possible to completely release the wolves, they will have a “soft” release in which they will be grouped in packs and set free on large, fenced enclosures. In the reality we’ve been handed, we will do absolutely everything in our power to return them to a natural habitat and keep them safe from those who wish them harm.

Harmony Fund has taken this on as their latest challenge in a planetary mission to “Love the Underdog”. Because we are simultaneously addressing crisis situations for shelters in the Ukraine, the closure of a decrepit zoo in Indonesia and a multitude of anti-cruelty operations, we are deeply concerned about how soon we can get the wolves out. If the Harmony Fund is able to raise sufficient funds to begin construction in mid-August, the first paws should touch ground here by October, just in time for the wolves to be welcomed by crisp autumn air.

Some people think that charities enjoy asking for money, but the truth is, it’s always uncomfortable for us. No matter how many ways we try to find free supplies, equipment and services, there is always a cost for the work we do – and for that- we have only you.”

**Special thanks to “Harmony Fund” for providing this information!  

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Photo courtesy of “Speak for Wolves.”

“Hi everyone,

Speak for Wolves: Yellowstone 2014 is a mere 2 weeks away and we wanted to send you another important update!

The event kicks off Friday evening June 27 at 7pm, with film-producer Bob Landis screening his newest film about the infamous ’06 Alpha Female that was the fearless leader of the Lamar Canyon Pack in Yellowstone National Park until she was shot and killed in Wyoming. The footage from the documentary has only appeared on the National Geographic Channel. We are incredibly excited to have Mr. Landis kick-things-off, to say the least. The film is free and will be screened at the Gardiner Community Center.

Things will pick back-up at 10am on Saturday June 28 at Arch Park, with inspirational speakers, live music, children’s activities, education booths and food. The speaker list includes: Tom McNamee, Nathan Varley, Louisa Willcox, Ken Cole, George Nickas and Mike Hudak, with Anja Heister delivering an anti-trapping/snaring demonstration to close out the afternoon. Neil Haverstick will be providing music.

Grilled meats and veggies will be for sale and water will be provided for free. The afternoon’s festivities conclude at approximately 4pm.

After a short break, the event swings back over to the Gardiner Community Center for another film series starting at 7pm. There will be two film screenings on Saturday night: EXPOSED: USDA’s Secret War on Wildlife and Coexisting with Wildlife: The Marin Livestock & Wildlife Protection Program. Camilla Fox, Louisa Willcox and Dr. Robert Crabtree will lead a panel discussion following the films. The screenings are free.

Day-2 of the event will begin at Arch Park on Sunday June 29 at 9am with Jimmy St. Goddard providing a morning blessing and story of the buffalo. The list of speakers to follow include, Mike Mease, Doug Peacock, Dr. Catherine Feher-Elston and Bill Chamberlain. Goodshield Aguilar will be providing music, grilled meats and veggies will be for sale and water will be provided for free. The event wraps-up at approximately 2pm.

Please support the event:

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today towards Speak for Wolves: Yellowstone 2014. All donations help pay for the event.www.speakforwolves.org/donate.html. We appreciate your support!

Keep spreading the word America! Wolves and our native wildlife need our voices right now. Hope to see you at Arch Park in lovely Gardiner, Montana in 2 weeks!

Sincerely,

Brett Haverstick
Organizer”

**Special thanks to Brett Haverstick of “Speak for Wolves” for providing this information!  You can visit the link below to help donate!  This is “AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO UNITE AND DEMAND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT REFORM AND TAKE STEPS TO RESTORE OUR NATIONAL HERITAGE.”

http://www.speakforwolves.org/donate.html

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(photo above: Great Pyrenees protecting its flock at the Marcia Barinaga Ranch in Marin County, CA – Keli Hendricks/ProjectCoyote.org )

“In the picturesque community of Marin County California- just North of San Francisco- public controversy over the use of poisons, snares, “denning” (the killing coyote and fox pups in their dens), and other lethal methods led to a majority decision by the Marin County Board of Supervisors to stop contracting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services predator control program in 2000. Instead the Board approved an alternative community-based program to assist ranchers with livestock-predator conflicts known as the Marin County Livestock and Wildlife Protection Program (hereafter MCLWPP), a collaborative effort involving multiple stakeholders from local wildlife protection organizations to ranchers, scientists, and county government officials (Fox 2008).

The MCLWPP initiated cost-sharing to help ranchers install or upgrade fencing and other livestock-protection infrastructure, install predator-deterrents and detectors, and purchase and sustain guard dogs and llamas, coupled with indemnification for any ensuing verified livestock losses to predators.  Improved animal husbandry practices combined with these economic and technological incentives led to its early success (Agocs 2007, Fox 2008). Participants do not give up their rights to kill predators consistent with state and federal laws. Rather than contract with the USDA Wildlife Services (WS) for the provision of personnel to kill coyotes and other wildlife, the county assigns personnel and allocates money to help stock-owners prevent depredations solely through non-lethal means. To qualify for the MCLWPP, ranchers must have 25 or more head of livestock and must utilize at least two non-lethal predation deterrent methods verified through inspection by the office of the Marin County Agricultural Commissioner, thereby becoming eligible for cost-share indemnification for any ensuing losses to predation.

Five years after implementation of the MCLWPP, a research assessment was conducted (Fox 2008) that compared the former Wildlife Services program to the MCLWPP, with regard to rancher satisfaction and preferences, lethality to predators, livestock losses, use of non-lethal predator deterrent techniques, and costs. The study, conducted through a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, including a comprehensive survey of ranchers who participated in the MCLWPP, documented the non-lethal cost-share program (1) had support from a majority of participating ranchers, (2) was preferred over the USDA Wildlife Service’s traditional predator management program by a majority of participating ranchers, (3) helped to reduce livestock losses, (4) resulted in an increase in the use of non-lethal predation deterrent methods by a majority of participating ranchers, (5) likely reduced the total number of predators killed to protect livestock, (6) reduced the spectrum of species of predators killed to protect livestock, and (7) fewer species of predator were killed.

In 2012, the San Francisco Chronicle (Fimrite 2012) reported that 26 Marin County ranchers participated in the County program[1] utilizing 37 guard dogs, 31 llamas and over 30 miles of fences, to protect 7,630 sheep that were pastured on 14,176 acres. Coyote depredation on sheep in the county, though it fluctuated, declined steadily from 236 in fiscal year 2002-03 to 90 in fiscal year 2010-11 – a 62% reduction – with fourteen ranchers recording no predation losses and only three ranchers losing over ten sheep during the following year. According to Marin Agricultural Commissioner, Stacy Carlsen, who oversees implementation of the non-lethal cost-share program, “losses fell from 5.0 to 2.2 percent while program costs fell by over $50,000. For the first couple of years we couldn’t tell if the loss reductions were a trend or a blip. Now, we can say there’s a definite pattern and livestock losses have decreased significantly.” Carlsen also noted “This innovative model sets a precedent for meeting a wider compass of community needs and values where both agriculture and protection of wildlife are deemed important by the community. The success of our county model has set the trend for the rest of the nation.”

The heart of Marin County’s results-driven program lies in its eschewing of a governmental role in assisting in the destruction of wildlife, which makes the assistance in preventing depredations all the more attractive and ultimately successful. Though some specific methods in the MCLWPP may not prove equally efficacious or even feasible in other environments – for example fencing on federal lease lands that could disrupt wildlife migration corridors – the MCLWPP provides a provides a cost-effective and ecologically beneficial model to address carnivore-livestock conflicts by integrating modern science, ethics, and economics. Such innovative prototyping that incorporates adaptive management strategies provides a template to guide the development of other non-lethal programs across differing landscapes to address the age-old predicament of raising livestock in an environment that includes predators (Fox 2008).

LITERATURE CITED:

Agocs, C.  2007.   Making Peace with Coyote.   Bay Nature (January 1, 2007). Berkeley, CA. Available from: http://baynature.org/articles/making-peace-with-coyote/   (accessed May 5, 2013)

Fimrite, P.  2012.  Ranchers shift from traps to dogs to fight coyotes.  San Francisco Chronicle (P. 1, April 27, 2012). San Francisco, CA. Available from: http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Ranchers-shift-from-traps-to-dogs-to-fight-coyotes-3514405.php  (accessed May 5, 2013)

Fox, C. H.  2008.  Analysis of the Marin County strategic plan for protection of livestock and wildlife, an alternative to traditional predator control. M.A. thesis, Prescott College, AZ. 120 pp. Larkspur, CA.

Project Coyote is a national non-profit organization based in Marin County, California promoting compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science, and advocacy. For more information visit: ProjectCoyote.org

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**To take action for Mexican Wolves, please use this linkhttp://www.mexicanwolves.org/index.php/news/1046/51/Take-Action-Comments-Needed-to-Ensure-Mexican-Wolves-Future and send your comments!!  WOLF PRESERVATION supports Lobos of the Southwest and their efforts!

Proposed USFWS Rule changes regarding reintroduction into the wild of the Mexican Gray Wolf:

“Recently the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed changes to the rules guiding the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction. The proposed rule is very important to the future of Mexican wolves in the wild. Please comment, using the following points:

The good change is to allow direct releases of Mexican wolves into parts of New Mexico and additional areas in Arizona.  This change has been recommended by experts for over 10 years and can be made faster and with less bureaucratic delay than any other part of the proposed rule

• TELL USFWS TO PUT THE REST OF THEIR PROPOSED RULE ON HOLD AND SPEED UP APPROVAL FOR MORE DIRECT RELEASES INTO ADDITIONAL AREAS.

By labeling all of the wild wolves as “nonessential” the USFWS ignores science and the reality of 15 years of experience with reintroducing wolves
The USFWS claims that even if all of the 75 wolves in the wild are wiped out this is not “likely to appreciably reduce the likelihood” of recovery of Mexican wolves in the wild.
When the current rule declared wolves in the wild “nonessential” there were only 11 wolves, recently released from a captive breeding program and they made up only 7% of all Mexican wolves in the world.
Now the 75 wolves in the wild have up to four generations of experience in establishing packs and raising pups and are over 22% of all of the Mexican wolves in the world.
After four more generations of captive breeding with few releases (only one in the last five years), scientists warn that there may be serious genetic problems making captive wolves less able to thrive in the wild.

• TELL USFWS THAT THE FOURTH GENERATION WILD LOBOS ARE NOT EXPENDABLE AND ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF RECOVERING THIS UNIQUE SUBSPECIES OF WOLF

The proposed rule puts the cart before the horse and should come with or after – not before – an updated recovery plan
USFWS admits that their present, typewritten, 1982 recovery plan is not scientifically sound and does not meet current legal requirements – yet in its proposed rule USFWS continues to emphasize a woefully inadequate population of only 100 wolves in the wild
When USFWS published the current rule in 1998 they said they expected to put out a new recovery plan for the public to comment on later that year; 15 years later, there still is no scientific or legally adequate recovery plan!

• TELL USFWS TO QUIT STALLING AND COMPLETE A COMPREHENSIVE RECOVERY PLAN – AND LET THE PUBLIC SEE IT – BEFORE DOING ANY TINKERING WITH THE CURRENT RULE (except for allowing wolves to be reintroduced into additional suitable places)

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Comments needed on proposed Rule changes regarding reintroduction into the wild of the Mexican Gray Wolf.

“Recently the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed changes to the rules governing the Mexican wolf reintroduction. The proposal, with one very good and many very bad changes, is very important to the future of Mexican wolves.

Please comment on the proposed changes and include the following key points:

1. The good change is to allow direct releases of Mexican wolves throughout the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area.  The USFWS should put the rest of their proposed rule on hold and speed up approval for more direct releases in expanded areas.

This change has been recommended by experts for over 10 years and can be made faster and with less bureaucratic delay than any other part of the proposed rule.

2. The proposed rule effectively prevents wolves returning to the Grand Canyon region, including northern Arizona and southern Utah, or to northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The USFWS should eliminate boundaries to the wolves’ movement.

Scientists say some of the last best places for wolves are in these areas, but currently wolves who set up territories outside the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area are recaptured and moved back. Under the proposed change, the USFWS will recapture Mexican wolves just for going outside of the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area whether they establish territories or not. Additional populations of Mexican wolves are necessary to their recovery and genetic health, as is the ability for wolves to move between populations.

Capturing and moving wolves is always a risky business that can result in death or trauma to the wolf. And a bigger box is still a box.

3. The USFWS should not re-designate Mexican gray wolves as experimental, non-essential. By labeling all of the wild wolves as “nonessential” the USFWS ignores science and the reality of 15 years of experience with reintroducing wolves.

The USFWS claims that even if all of the 75 wolves in the wild are wiped out this is not “likely to appreciably reduce the likelihood” of recovery of Mexican wolves in the wild. When the current rule declared wolves in the wild “nonessential” there were only 11 wolves, recently released from a captive breeding program, and they made up only 7% of all Mexican wolves in the world.

Now the 75 wolves in the wild have up to four generations of experience in establishing packs and raising pups and are over 22% of all of the Mexican wolves in the world. And after four generations of captive breeding with few releases, scientists warn that there may be serious genetic problems making captive wolves less able to thrive in the wild.

The fourth generation wild lobos are not expendable and are essential to recovering this unique subspecies of wolf.

4. The USFWS needs to quit stalling and complete a comprehensive recovery plan – and let the public see it – at the same time as or before changing the current rule (except for allowing wolves to be reintroduced into additional suitable places).

USFWS admits that their present, typewritten, 1982 recovery plan is not scientifically sound and does not meet current legal requirements – yet in its proposed rule USFWS continues to emphasize a woefully inadequate population of only 100 wolves in the wild.

When USFWS published the current rule in 1998 they said they expected to put out a new recovery plan for the public to comment on later that year; 15 years later, there still is no scientific or legally adequate recovery plan!

The proposed rule puts the cart before the horse and should come with or after – not before – an updated recovery plan

USFWS’s decisions on the proposed rule can help Mexican wolves finally thrive or can push them closer to extinction.   Please comment today, and ask others to do the same.

You can submit your comments online here: http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=FWS-R2-ES-2013-0056-0001
Or by mail addressed to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2013-0056; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203

Letters received by July 29 requesting public hearing locations can be mailed to: Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road NE., Albuquerque, NM 87113. If you request a hearing location, please also ask for at least three weeks advance notice of the hearing.

Thank you for giving these special wolves a voice in their future.”

**Special thanks to “Lobos of the Southwest,” http://www.mexicanwolves.org/index.php/news/1059/51/Act-Now-to-Ensure-Wolf-Recovery for providing this information!

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“Dear Rally attendees and supporters,

As a grassroots led and organized endeavor, we at The National Rally to Protect America’s Wolves! need your help.

The National Rally to Protect America’s Wolves! has reserved an area, just for OUR event, adjacent to the Washington Monument in Washington DC on Saturday, September 7, 2013. This historic and beautiful area is within sight of the South Lawn of the White House and the US Capitol building.

So far, we have 15 wonderful Rally Partners, they are all listed on the bottom of the Rally website, and seven excellent Rally speakers, including two Native Americans who are fighting hard to protect wolves in Minnesota. We will release the names of our first wave of speakers later this week. Additional inspiring and exciting speakers are on the way.

BUT, now we need YOU to come through for the Rally. We need funds to pay for OUR Rally for America’s wolves.

Together, we must pay for staging, podium, audio speakers, press area, trash service, portapotties, etc  along with a professional videographer who will be filming the Rally and creating a highlights DVD to post on YouTube and elsewhere and for distribution to the media. The total cost comes to approximately $10,000.

This is very doable within our devoted wolf defender community. If 500 wolf friends donate just $10 each, that equals $5,000. If twenty more wolf defenders, donate $250 each, that takes care of the remaining balance.

We are asking that you give: $500, $250, $100, $50, $25, $10, $5… whatever you can afford. ”

Please put your money where your heart is for wolves and help us pay for The National Rally to Protect America’s Wolves! As soon as we have the funds we need the donations page will be turned off.

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“Dear Rally attendees and supporters,

As a grassroots led and organized endeavor, we at The National Rally to Protect America’s Wolves! need your help.

The National Rally to Protect America’s Wolves! has reserved an area, just for OUR event, adjacent to the Washington Monument in Washington DC on Saturday, September 7, 2013. This historic and beautiful area is within sight of the South Lawn of the White House and the US Capitol building.

So far, we have 15 wonderful Rally Partners, they are all listed on the bottom of the Rally website, and seven excellent Rally speakers, including two Native Americans who are fighting hard to protect wolves in Minnesota. We will release the names of our first wave of speakers later this week. Additional inspiring and exciting speakers are on the way.

BUT, now we need YOU to come through for the Rally. We need funds to pay for OUR Rally for America’s wolves.

Together, we must pay for staging, podium, audio speakers, press area, trash service, portapotties, etc  along with a professional videographer who will be filming the Rally and creating a highlights DVD to post on YouTube and elsewhere and for distribution to the media. The total cost comes to approximately $10,000.

This is very doable within our devoted wolf defender community. If 500 wolf friends donate just $10 each, that equals $5,000. If twenty more wolf defenders, donate $250 each, that takes care of the remaining balance.

We are asking that you give: $500, $250, $100, $50, $25, $10, $5… whatever you can afford.

Please put your money where your heart is for wolves and help us pay for The National Rally to Protect America’s Wolves! As soon as we have the funds we need the donations page will be turned off.”

**Special thanks to The National Rally to Protect Wolves, http://rallyforwolves.org/donate/, for providing this information!

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