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Letters of Support Needed for Wolf Management Bill

August 31st, 2012

We reported recently that House Bill 5834 was introduced by Representative Matt Huuki (R – Atlantic Mine) that would designate the wolf as a game species in Michigan. This bill marks the next step in the historical recovery of the wolf species in Michigan and the upper Great Lakes region.

 

Historical as it may be, this bill needs your help and support to get its wheels moving in the Michigan House of Representatives.

 

If you or your organization is supportive of designating the wolf as a game species in Michigan, please send a letter of support to Representative Matt Huuki at the address below:

 

State Representative Matt Huuki

S-1489 House Office Building

P.O. Box 30014

Lansing, MI 48909

 

You can also e-mail your letter to Rep. Huuki at matthuuki@house.mi.gov

 

Letters should not just simply state your support, but should highlight:

  •         the need for good management of the wolf now that its populations have more than surpassed their recovery goals;  
  •         the Michigan wolf population is abundant enough to where it should be managed across the entire range, not just on a case by case basis; and
  •         that the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation should be applied to wolf management, which includes hunting and trapping as a means of management.          

Letters should also be sent to the House Natural Resources Committee Chair, Representative Frank Foster. You should list your reasons for support, and state clearly that you are requesting a hearing for this bill in September.  Letters to Rep. Foster can be sent to:

 

State Representative Frank Foster

S-1486 House Office Building

P.O. Box 30014

Lansing, MI 48909

 

Or e-mailed to frankfoster@house.mi.gov

 

If you are going to do this much, you might as well send a copy of your letter to your own Representative and Senator as well!

 

Their contact information can be located by clicking on the following links:

 

 

This bill is the key to the best available management for the wolf species under the North American Model, but it will not likely move forward at a good pace without your help!

  • clearcut1

    Dear Representative [insert surname]:

    *

    Concerning HB 5834 (wolves being designated as a game species) introduced by
    Matt Huuki (R), I believe we need to consider more than just the voices of those who
    let their hunting dogs run on state land for training purposes and during
    hunting season. Frankly, I want 600 wolves in the U.P. and at least 150 in the
    northern L.P. to keep the hoofed rats under control year round. Foresters are
    paid to grow trees, not white-tailed deer, and we can use all of the help we can
    get wrangling the white-tailed deer population back under some sort of proper
    control.

    *

    Wolves have no compunctions about taking a doe or a
    small-bodied, young-of-the-year animal and they don’t give a damn about the
    number of antler tines a buck might possess so long as the aforementioned tines
    aren’t being stuck into the ribcage of the wolf in question. The same can’t be
    said for most of us who purchase hunting licenses every autumn.

    *

    Worry
    less about wolves doing their part in the ecosystem and more about over-browsed
    forests because without habitat regeneration you lose the white-tailed deer
    through starvation and you lose the economic contributions of the forest
    products industry. And a combined economic contribution to the state of
    Michigan of over $12 billion is worthy of notice, even if [insert county name] County isn’t a
    hotbed of this timber-related economic activity. Link: http://www.michiganforest.com/index.php?pid=12

    *

    Respectfully,

    [insert your name]

    *

    Ready to copy & paste, just remove the asterisks & insert the names. Nice & simple. Did you think that we wouldn’t notice that our responses from last time had been removed when you revised this “hot button” posting? ;-)

    • MichiganOutofDoors.com

      The comments were not removed. We actually prefer that responses such as this remain public to help further the efforts.

  • NormMackey

    Disgusting that people are hunting these few thousand big shy dogs for sport and pleasure. We don’t usually kill dogs in the US for pleasure and have the state take a cut of the dogfighting profits because we “have to” to pay for managing the 70-80 million domesticated ones, why tolerate it being done to these canines, with double-digit percent larger brains and some abilities to live free without human interference, merely to provide someone with a pelt or a rug symbolizing the grief and loss suffered by the other members of the pack? This has to be the epitome of bad taste – I wouldn’t confront the killer, but if he should complain about Michael Vick’s alleged acts or similar things I would not be able resist pointing out that they had done worse, were displaying the fact, and ask them how the family of wolves are currently doing without the “trophy” that once helped provide the others with food, protection, and companionship.

    The USA has some 70-80 million domesticated wolves. The mere handful of wild wolves could very well be treated much as the other dogs are, even though the wolves have brains that are double-digit percentages larger and have a few instincts needed to live in the wild, which people removed to fill those roles themselves. At least with something near the same consideration, not a resource to be “harvested”.

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