Dear Director Hagener and staff, As a wolf and wildlife advocate, I am writing to offer my thanks for your efforts to engage the non-hunting public in the form of a proposed Montana Wolf Stamp, and to offer some suggestions to improve the proposal: I strongly urge the Department to clarify in the final language of the proposal that the wolf stamp revenue will not be used for lethal control. The Department already has many lethal wolf control measures at its disposal, including quota-less hunting and trapping in most of the state. I would like an opportunity to help contribute to other non-lethal, important wolf conservation programs as stated in the Wolf Stamp proposal, including habitat conservation, wolf education and outreach, enforcement, and livestock depredation prevention, but I need reassurance that the revenue would only be spent on non-lethal wolf conservation activities. I also strongly urge the Department to substitute the term “conservation” for “management” in the final title and language of the Wolf Stamp. The latter term has often been used synonymously with wolf hunting or lethal control, and if it were included in the final language, it would concern me. Finally, I would ask that the Department include annual reporting on the expenditure of Wolf Stamp revenue, so that I can be assured that it was spent in the way that it is intended. The gray wolf is an important piece of the ecology of Montana and the northern Rockies, and its return to the region has been a remarkable Endangered Species Act success story. To the extent that the small changes outlined above are included in the final wolf stamp proposal, I would certainly consider purchasing one and contributing my money to wolf conservation in the northern Rockies. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this proposal. Best regards, FÁTIMA PESTANA
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 12:53:47 +0000
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