Somehow anytime SFW/BGF say something stupid, their ~3 supporters run to wolves as the be-all and end-all. We can be talking about stream access, National Parks, or the privatization of public land and wildlife... yet, the supporters somehow bring up wolves. I've ignored it because it is completely not germane to the conversation and understanding the complex history of the wolf fight is not for the faint of heart. But since I was specifically called out about it, here we go. Time for a little history lesson...
Start here:
(
https://onyourownadventures.com/hun...98-OYOA-at-the-Western-Hunting-Expo-SLC/page2). Post 31 is quite good. It talks about SFW/BGF supporting the Rehberg bill, HR 509, which never made it out of committee, instead of the Simpson-Tester rider that actually was successful in delisting wolves.
Then read this thread (https://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?250214-Wolf-wing-nuts-lose-again!) and you will see the response to the delisting from RMEF followed by an email from BGF claiming responsibility for the victory.
Then read this thread (
https://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?246130-Imagine-that). Go to post 2 and you'll see the following email sent to BGF supporters...
A number of you have heard of the decision by the government not to appeal Judge Johnson's decision in support of Wyoming's wolf management plan. Congratulations to the people of the state of Wyoming and all of the attorneys who have been working on this litigation for the last several years.
A year ago, the experts told us the only solution was to change Wyoming?s plan, capitulate, wait for the next Wyoming plan to be challenged in the courts in a couple of years and continue to fight the Judge Malloy decision in the Ninth Circuit court of appeals in San Francisco ? basically a BIG losing strategy for five years - all the while wolves would continue to destroy game herds of the West. When no one else wanted to fight, and even told us, it couldn't be done, SFW and Big Game Forever said, we will see if Congress will act. Now with 61 Co-sponsors in the house and senate we have shown restoring states rights is a viable possibility. In so doing we have put a lot of pressure on lots of people, in lots of places to do the right thing and get wolves delisted now. So, another major victory in the wolf war. US Fish and Wildlife decided not to appeal Judge Johnson?s ruling, which validates Wyoming?s wolf plan. Deciding not to appeal represents a common sense approach in support of science and good public policy. This is not only a victory for Wyoming, but for every state. It is a definitive legal decision which shows that the Federal Government may not usurp state management decisions. A very hard fought victory in support of the sovereignty of state wildlife management.
Don Peay
Big Game Forever
Then read this(
https://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/NRA_SCI_CSF_Disavow.pdf) and you will see where NRA/Safari Club/Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation tells the media to...
"exercise caution in accepting as fact, or repeating, any claims made by Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Big Game Forever or any person claiming to represent them. Due to the blatant misrepresentation contained in the press release circulated by these two groups, any claims they make in the future should be thoroughly investigated and independently confirmed."
Then read this (
http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/story/1300697820a6c76kh830f) to see the BGF response that includes the following excerpt,
"The Joint Press Release focused on private communications that were purportedly leaked to the public. We welcome the opportunity to set the record straight. The draft communications from Big Game Forever were sent to a very limited group of trusted individuals. Any dissemination was without the permission or knowledge of Big Game Forever. Additionally, such draft communications were not only preliminary and non-final in nature, but were prepared in an effort to increase collaboration based on conversations with third parties."
To help tie it together, read this thread (
https://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?246173-Wolf-Twist-4).
As you can see none of these words are my own, but merely a compilation of emails and press releases. These do however represent what I believe, due to a preponderance of the evidence, to be a fair representation of the facts. I know most people won't take the time to familiarize themselves with all this, but its out there for those who care to.
Now that this info is out there, maybe people can focus on the issues at hand instead of trying to drum something up from years ago.
Grizzly
PS. My feelings about certain "conservation" groups should in no way be construed to say that I support wolf reintroduction anywhere, as that is simply not true.