There's gruesome news out of Idaho: Sharpshooters in helicopters just gunned down 23 wolves and state lawmakers are gearing up to spend $2 million to kill hundreds more.



Wolves in Idaho lost federal protections in 2011 and already 954 have been killed by recreational hunters and trappers. Earlier this year, Idaho officials hired a wolf-killer to mow down two entire packs in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.



Now they've taken to the skies, sending wolf-killing sharpshooters from U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services over the Lolo district of the Clearwater National Forest. Not content with the latest death tally of 23, Idaho now wants to use bait to draw in and kill wolves, in the same wilderness area where the state sent its hired gunman.



Wolves in recent years have made a remarkable comeback. But the recovery of these incredible animals will be tragically undercut if state and federal officials continue to insist on hired killers and gunners in helicopters.



Please take action now and send a letter to the U.S. Forest Service and Idaho agency heads, commissioners and elected officials to demand an end to Idaho's wolf extermination campaign.

Dear [Decision maker],I am writing to express my shock and outrage about wolf management tactics in the state of Idaho. I demand that Idaho officials with decision-making authority rescind the war on wolves that is taking place in your state.When wolves were federally delisted in Idaho, the state agreed to manage wolves responsibly to ensure a sustainable wolf population for the long-term future. Instead Idaho is engaged in a wolf eradication campaign.[Your comment will be added here]Idaho's wolf management policies and practices are designed to please elk hunters who would rather see all of Idaho's wolves dead rather than share any elk with wolves, even though most of Idaho's elk management units are meeting agency-established population objectives. The decline of elk herds in limited areas, like the Lolo District of the Clearwater National Forest, has been scientifically attributed to changed habitat conditions, and elk herds there were in steep decline before wolves ever reestablished in the area. Wolf-haters are blaming wolves and, shamefully, IDFG is following in lockstep, annihilating Idaho's wolves to satisfy the people whose license and permit fees pay the salaries of agency staff.Following federal delisting in 2011, extremely aggressive state-sanctioned wolf hunting and trapping seasons have caused the deaths of more than 950 wolves, reducing the population by 30 percent from 2009 levels.Yet the state of Idaho continues to dream up and enact even more severe actions against wolves which have no scientific justification, are unethical, and are a throwback to a century ago, when no one yet understood how important wolves are for there to be healthy wild ecosystems.In January, IDFG resurrected a ghastly horror of the past, by hiring a killer to annihilate two wolf packs in the federally-designated Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. When sued by conservation organizations, the state pulled its hired gunman out but, soon afterwards, contracted with USDA/Wildlife Services' sharpshooters, to eliminate 23 wolves in the Lolo District of the Clearwater Forest. A bill pending in the Idaho legislature would authorize $2 million to kill Idaho's wolves down to 150 animals, the bare minimum the state can have before the federal government can relist. Idaho officials stood by in December while private parties conducted a wolf and coyote killing contest, and have done nothing to shut down a private foundation's $500 bounty for each wolf trapped and killed by private trappers.From the 1600s through the 1900s, wolves were nearly eradicated from the lower 48 states, with many of them slaughtered by government-hired wolf-killers. Idaho's actions toward wolves are a regression to predator management tactics employed a hundred years ago. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is a taxpayer-funded agency that serves all citizens -- not the objectives of one constituency. Yet, less than three years into state management authority over wolves, after federal delisting took place in 2011, Idaho state policies and practices towards wolves are a horrific stain on the state's reputation.I urge you to end the large-scale killing of wolves in Idaho and instead focus on policies that promote sustainable wolf populations and are in line with modern wildlife management science.Sincerely,[Your name]