After twenty years of trying to raise awareness about REWILDING, it’s really depressing that so many people still don’t get what’s going on and what’s at stake. Forgive me for repeating the obvious, but the basic facts cannot be over emphasized.
Gray wolves and grizzly bears provide our best examples of how the Endangered Species Act has been misused as a weapon to promote range expansion for two high impact predator species that are not biologically threatened or in danger of extinction.
FACT: The gray wolf currently has the widest circum-polar range of any large terrestrial predator on the planet. The IUCN officially lists gray wolves as a “Species of Least Concern”. Based on scientifically verifiable, measurable and observable facts, we can determine that the global population of gray wolves is not only stable, but is in fact growing.
However, as large as the current range and population of the gray wolf might be, their range and numbers used to be even larger. Gray wolves are officially listed by the USFWS as “endangered” in nearly all states simply because they used to live there, not because the species is threatened or in danger of extinction.
GRAY WOLVES are listed as “ENDANGERED” in all of AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IN, IL, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, and WV; and portions of AZ, NM, OR, UT, and WA as follows: (1) Northern AZ (that portion north of the centerline of Interstate Highway 40); (2) Northern NM (that portion north of the centerline of Interstate Highway 40); (3) Western OR (that portion of OR west of the centerline of Highway 395 and Highway 78 north of Burns Junction and that portion of OR west of the centerline of Highway 95 south of Burns Junction); (4) Most of Utah (that portion of UT south and west of the centerline of Highway 84 and that portion of UT south of Highway 80 from Echo to the UT/WY Stateline); and (5) Western WA (that portion of WA west of the centerline of Highway 97 and Highway 17 north of Mesa and that portion of WA west of the centerline of Highway 395 south of Mesa). Mexico [Source- https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=A00D%5D
The legal status of a species, and by that we mean whether it qualifies for legal protections based on a determination that it is either “threatened” or “endangered”, is being arbitrarily determined not by the actual health of the species, but by a comparison of the species current range with their “historic” range. By using “historic” range as the primary measure of what constitutes species health, the USFWS has violated the purpose of the Endangered Species Act. Congress intended the ESA to prevent species extinction. The ESA should not be used as a sledge hammer to promote range expansion for “Species of Least Concern”.
The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) enjoys the second widest circum-polar range of any large terrestrial predator species on earth. Yet the bears are officially listed as “threatened” or “endangered” by the USFWS in the lower 48 states. Like gray wolves, the global population of grizzly/brown bears is stable and expanding. Based scientifically verifiable facts grizzly bears are not now, nor ever have been, in any danger of extinction. In fact, like wolves, Ursus arctos is listed by the IUCN as a “Species of Least Concern”.
To understand the REWILDING agenda, one has to come to grips with the fact that grizzly bears, like gray wolves, are not now, nor ever have been, a species at risk of extinction.
Lines on a map or comparisons of current range with the historical regional distribution of a species, should not be used to determine whether or not a species is entitled to legal protections. In other words, just because there are fewer bears in one particular region than another, is not a sound scientific rationale to list the species as “endangered”. Factors such as the current range, population trends, and the health of the overall population should be the deciding factors on whether or not a species is “endangered” rather than arbitrary comparisons to a species historic range.
So why does the USFWS and State wildlife agencies spend tens of millions of dollars and collude with radical environmental groups to expand the ranges of these two high impact predators into areas near human settlements? Why list gray wolves as “endangered” in states such as Florida and Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont, and Nevada? Why promote grizzly bear expansion through an inter-connecting corridor system throughout the western United States? Simple. Range expansion and legal protection of high impact predators is a punishment for the sins of humanity. We are told that people have moved in and pushed these innocent wild animals to the brink of extinction. They were here first. We need to give them back their homes. It’s only fair that wolves and bears are returned to the land that was unjustly taken from them by hordes of evil people building homes, communities, and cultivating the land.
The mindset that wild untamed nature is the measure of all things is applied by incorporating a philosophy known as REWILDING, a philosophy that has worked its way into our legal framework. We are no longer concerned with saving species at risk of extinction. REWILDING is about reducing the global human footprint and letting nature rule. REWILDING is not about restoring balance. REWILDING is about making man’s needs subservient to the needs of wild beasts. If you’re okay with that, then simply do nothing. Go back to sleep. Those claw marks on your door are just a reminder of your place in the order of things.
omots page 
Thank you so very much!.. we have been dealing with “Rewilding” in our area- Plumas County, CA , do some time and how we stop this we have no idea.. it is insanity. We now have wolves and Grizzlies are soon to follow.. we are told we can do nothing to protect our livestock and all animals and to just learn to live with it. These extremeist groups have ruined our forests, with the reintroducing of otters or fisheries are gone.. we are so aware of this.. but to stop it that is our Question?????
Thank you again.
The only reason for the drop in Yellowstone grizzlies was NPS closing all of the garbage dumps at one time, forcing the griz into inhabited areas out of Yellowstone. On the other hand wolves were not even seen in Yellowstone for years, there is no mention of wolves by the those who wrote up the Washburn Expedition, including Lt. Doanes report. He made a point of documenting every species they saw, even to the point of hearing but not seeing buffalo from Pelican Valley. Later when President T. Roosevelt went to the dedication of the arch, he reported seeing a lion on an elk kill and interrupting his shave one morning to watch a herd of “about 3000 elk” in the Tower area.
Heather, thanks for your comment. There are many things that can be done to derail the worst effects of the REWILDING agenda. Education is of course key. Make sure your local county sheriff and state reps are informed and supportive. If you haven’t done so already, join a livestock association and/or private property rights group and begin lobbying efforts to protect your rights. Network with like minded people locally and across the country.
Focus on the REAL economic costs associated with wolf proliferation. For example, WDFW spent $1.27 million just for agency wolf “management” activities last year alone. That figure doesn’t include the $8000 per day spent on hiring Francine Madden, a professionally trained UN facilitator to manage the so-called “wolf advisory group” over a multi year period. Her contract alone is well over a million dollars. Nor do WDFW’s costs include the economic burden on ranchers who incur all sorts of additional costs that are not reimbursable, from decreased weights for the entire herd, to fence repairs caused by panicked cattle, to abortions and missing animals, and fuel costs for additional patrols and carcass clean up operations. In France, the estimate to manage less than 200 wolves for one year is in the tens of millions of dollars. Imagine what the economic cost will be for 500 or 1,000!
Most importantly- The Trump administration has provided an opportunity to examine policies that harm rural Americans. They want your feedback. One of the first things Trump did was sign an E.O. promoting and protecting traditional rural lifestyles. That’s a good sign. Errant USFWS policies, such as the “significant range” definition and resulting policy, which has led to listing “non-endangerd” species as “endangered”, is far easier to change than the law itself. A lot of times arbitrary or errant policies can be changed just with a change of leadership and public outcry. I have spent the last year examining USFWS policies related to the ESA that are in need of revision and I am passing that information on to people who can make a difference.
The Wolf and Grizzly have been shoved down our Throats, I have personally lost Horses and neighbors have lost dogs and cattle to the Wolves and nothing can be done. It is total bullshit.
Another great article! Keep up the good work!!!
I’m sorry about your losses Ron. Inflicting painful or unsustainable losses that will lead to rural cleansing was the plan from the very beginning. The philosophical roots of REWILDING go back to Hitler’s green killing machine and the Nazi obsession with recreating ancient Europe. See my earlier post on the subject, “The NAZI ROOTS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT” and/or watch this video: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2u49p5
‘Rewilding is about making man subservient to the needs of wild beasts.’
As opposed to what? Putting the needs of humanity above the Earth’s millions of other species? Even if that what rewilding is about (which in my experience it isn’t) I’d say making man above other species is narcissistic.
Who put humans in charge of whether or not to burn down forests that have existed for centuries, if not millions of years? Oh yeah, that invisible man in the sky.
PS: You talk about the supposed Nazi obsession with recreating ancient Europe. Europe is an incredibly ecologically arrested part of the world. It has traditionally lacked wild predators such as bears and wolves. However thankfully those species are coming back across Europe and I hope the trend continues.
Here in Europe we have a well organized group with that Agenda.
https://rewildingeurope.com/
Another well written and expertly researched essay Steve. One day I will we will have to get together and visit.
Thanks Steve, Great job. We are dealing with forced coexistence right now. Unfortunately, we are the only ones making the effort, others just go push soft propaganda and the animals themselves do nothing but kill and eat your stock.
Ask any visitor to YNP what they want to see . The top 5 answers are Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, Buffalo ( Bison ] Grizzly Bears and Wolves. Money speaks volumes and the Park revenue depends on Catering to the Visiting Public. The more chance to SEE the unique wildlife , the more visitors, the more MONEY ! Economics 101 !
Anonymous 6:14 AM,
Your comment has nothing to do with my post, or the REWILDING agenda. Yet it does remind us of the fact that grizzlies and wolves are negatively impacting state economies. State wildlife agencies do not have the funds or personnel to manage increased predator populations. Local business are suffering. One of our local area ranchers measures his losses due to wolf depredation at a hundred thousand dollars annually, and may close his operation. This will result in increased food costs, and a lack of revenue for the county and state. Many hunting units, especially in north and central Idaho, no longer support viable ungulate populations thanks to the over abundance of wolves. This fact has resulted in an economic downturn in hunting revenue, guide services, hotels, restaurants, taxidermy services, retail services, etc. If you knew anything about the North American Model of Wildlife Management, which has been a huge success and is the single greatest factor responsible for the conservation of multitudes of wildlife species, you wouldn’t post such a stupid comment. Seriously, you need to go back to school and retake Economics 101. While you are at it, take a few wildlife management classes.