Friday, January 31, 2014

Howling for Wolves Update on 01/28/2014 MN Hearing

January 28th Hearing Recap


A hearing on wolf management in MN was held on Tuesday night by the MN House Environment and Natural Resources policy committee. The hearing room was packed; many wolf supporters attended. Many people spoke for their allotted 3 minutes and gave compelling voice to suspending the wolf hunt.  We extend our deep gratitude to those who ventured out on a cold night to show their support for Minnesota wolves. We know legislators took notice. Click here for highlights and to watch video of the hearing.

Lawmakers can stop the DNR: The hearing exposed significant deficiencies in the state Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) ability to manage wolves as they are not following their own wolf management plan. But they will not change course, unless they are ordered to change course. The leadership and the DNR would love to keep things quiet. We can stop them by pressuring our lawmakers.

Now is the Time: We have a bill that is still “alive” and able to be moved toward becoming law this legislative session (SF 666). This bill is for a moratorium on wolf hunting and this bill passed a senate committee last session.  This bill has not had a vote in committee in the house and it will not move forward unless we engage our lawmakers and keep theirs and the public’s attention for the rest of this legislative session.  Remember that Governor Dayton said that the legislature must pass a bill for him to suspend the wolf hunt?  This is what he meant, and this is what we can do. Here are actions you can do to keep momentum going forward and suspending this hunt.

 
  • Call and write your district legislators if you are Minnesota based. The Representative and Senator from your district are your access points to the legislative process. Get in contact with them, stay in contact with them, urge them to act to correct DNR mis-management of wolves. Click here to find contact information for your representatives. Recruit others too!
     
  • Attend Wolf Day at the Capitol on February 27th. We are organizing an all-day event that includes meetings with legislators and an organized rally in the Capitol Rotunda. Take the time to participate and meet with your district officials. It’s their job to listen to your concerns and act for you. Click here to learn more and rsvp.
     
  • Letters to the Editor: These are effective. Allow us to help you publish a letter in a newspaper. In particular, we need letters published in districts of committee members.  We can help you do this. Contact us.
     
  • Stay tuned to our emails for more actions.
Please keep in mind, always be respectful when communicating your thoughts with elected officials and others. Nothing hurts our efforts more than poor behavior. Fair or not, the good and the bad become attributed to Howling For Wolves around the Capitol because it’s convenient.
Click here for highlights and to watch video of the hearing.

Thank you and let’s all move forward together.

Keep howling,

Howling For Wolves

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