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By Nathan Lyle | Published November 30, 2016 | Full size is 550 × 412 pixels
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Wolves with too much in common:![]()
Prince of Wales Island wolves breed with close relatives![]()
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Few wolves are swimming to Prince of Wales Island from other islands or the mainland. New research found this wolf population on Prince of Wales Island (POW), at the southern end of the Southeast Alaska Panhandle, has limited genetic connectivity with neighboring populations and has high levels of inbreeding.
An Existential Crisis at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service![]()
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The fates of California condors, red wolves, black-footed ferrets, and countless other imperiled wildlife are now murkier than ever. Over the past few months, the Trump administration has been carrying out a laundry list of attacks against the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), one of the two federal agencies that manage the foundational conservation law.![]()
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Members of Congress are also taking aim at the nation’s plants and animals. In March, Representative Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Arkansas, introduced the ESA Amendments Act, which proposes dozens of detrimental changes to how the country addresses the extinction crisis. Meanwhile, other bills are targeting protections for individual species, such as the gray wolf and the lesser prairie-chicken.![]()
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For many species, the future may well rest on the definition of a single four-letter word: harm.![]()
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Since its passing in 1973, the act has stated that it is illegal “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect” an endangered species. Regulations implementing the ESA further define harm to include “habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding or sheltering.”![]()
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So, you can’t mess with endangered species themselves. And you also can’t mess with the things that endangered species require for their survival—essentials like food, nesting sites, and other important habitats. It’s this part of the definition of harm that the Trump administration is looking to obliterate. ![]()
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Eliminating protections for habitat would make it easier for developers to clearcut forests, bulldoze over important habitats, and mine, drill, and pollute the places that endangered wildlife call home.![]()
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“The primary threat to species is habitat loss, fragmentation, and modification,” says Noss, who is also the chief science advisor with the Southeastern Grasslands Institute. “All biologists agree with that. There is no debate.”![]()
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Wolfwatcher note: Though it seems like "not enough", write, email, or call your legislators in Washington and let them know you don't want the ESA gutted.
An Existential Crisis at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
tinyurl.com
During an extinction crisis, the Trump administration takes aim at endangered species—and the people and laws who help protect them.NWC Business Office
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