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Defenders News Briefs Winter 2005
Proposal to Drill Rocky Mountain Front Shelved
The federal Bureau of Land Management has backed away from plans to allow drilling in Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, which stretches about 100 miles from Glacier National Park to Helena. Conservationists greeted the decision with cautious optimism, pointing out that more permanent protections for the land are necessary. The area is considered to be in the top 1 percent of wildlife habitat in the lower-48 states and is home to wolves, grizzly bears, lynx and many other species. Nearly 9,000 of Defenders’ online activists sent in comments opposing the government’s plan to drill along the front.
Plan Drafted for Return of Wolves to Oregon
Oregon could become the first western state to independently accept the return of wolves, if a recently written plan is adopted. The plan, created by a 14-member panel of stakeholders that included Amaroq Weiss, western director of species conservation for Defenders, could provide protections for several breeding pairs of wolves. At press time, Oregon officials were soliciting public comments on the proposal. Many biologists feel it is only a matter of time until wolves migrate from Idaho and elsewhere to reclaim their historical range in Oregon.
Visit Wolves in Oregon to learn more.
Carnivores Conference Deemed Success
About 700 people attended Defenders’ fifth biennial carnivore conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in November. The conference, “Carnivores 2004: Expanding Partnerships in Carnivore Conservation,” featured three days of sessions on grizzly bears, wolves and other carnivores, ambassador wolf workshops, a banquet and a silent auction benefiting The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Proactive Carnivore Conservation Fund. Defenders also used the conference to kick off celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone and Idaho.
Defenders Receives Award for Grizzly Work
For the second time in a year, Defenders has been recognized for its proactive work on grizzly bear conservation. Presented to Minette Johnson, Defenders’ northern Rockies field representative, the award was given at the biannual meeting of the Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee—a group responsible for grizzly bear recovery in Yellowstone. The award was for “outstanding cooperative efforts to promote recovery of the grizzly bear in the Yellowstone ecosystem by compensating ranchers for livestock losses, supporting sanitation efforts and cooperating in partnership efforts to retire key grazing allotments.”
