Take Action
Wyoming Legislative Information
2003 Action Alert: House Bill 09
Help
Stop the Slaughter of Wyoming's Wildlife
Please Make a Quick Call to Your Representative and Urge a Vote Against
House Bill 9
House Appropriations Committee members are considering a $250,000 taxpayer subsidy for a wasteful, counterproductive predator control program that harms Wyoming's wildlife. Please take a moment now to contact Appropriations members, and your own representative, and ask them to oppose House Bill 9. Committee action could take place as soon as Monday afternoon, Jan. 20, 2003, so don't delay!
Background
Created in 1999, the Animal Damage Management Board (ADMB) kills predators
throughout the state. Hundreds, if not thousands, of coyotes and other
predators have been shot, poisoned, snared or trapped in Wyoming under
ADMB projects.
Last year, the ADMB spent:
-
$43,000 in Wyoming counties to kill 741 coyotes, often in very inhumane ways.
-
$5,000 to develop more efficient ways of killing coyotes.
The good news is the ADMB is scheduled to "sunset," or dissolve, in 2004. The bad news is that agricultural interests are pushing legislation (H.B. 9) to repeal the sunset provision, making the board a permanent fixture.
Furthermore, H.B. 9 would take a quarter-million dollars out of the state's General Fund to pay for the ADMB to eradicate coyotes and other targeted wildlife species. This one-time diversion is in addition to the $100,000 per year that the ADMB receives from the cash-strapped Game and Fish Department.
Points
to Raise With Your Lawmakers
Wyoming's legislators need to hear that HB 9 is just plain fiscally
irresponsible. So, when you call your representative, be sure to point
out these facts about the ADMB program:
-
The killing of coyotes is counterproductive. Studies have shown that lethal control in any given area can actually increase the number of coyotes by destabilizing packs and increasing the number of breeding pairs.
-
Nationwide, a very small number of cattle (3.5%) are lost to predators every year. It would make more economic sense to compensate stock growers outright for their losses than to pay for expensive predator extermination campaigns.
-
The federal government already pours hundreds of thousands of dollars into Wyoming to kill predators.
-
One project funded by the ADMB in Niobrara County spent $633.60 of the public's money per coyote shot.
Whom
to Call
House Appropriations Committee members are:
Phil Nicholas (R- Laramie) - agnspan@lariat.org
Alan Jones (R-Powell) - aljones@house.wyoming.com
Pete Jorgensen (D-Jackson) - pjorgensen@jorgensenassociates.com
Larry Meuli (R-Cheyenne) - lmeuli@house.wyoming.com
Frank Philp (R-Shoshoni) - fphilp@house.wyoming.com
Wayne Reese (D-Cheyenne) - pwreese@msn.com
Harry Tipton (R-Lander) - htipton@house.wyoming.com
You may
leave a message for your county's legislators at 1-866-996-VOTE.
To find your own elected representative's E-mail address, if not among
the above, visit the Wyoming Legislature's website at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/email/email.htm
Thank you for standing up for Wyoming's wildlife!
This action alert is distributed by the Wyoming Conservation Network, a cooperative project of Wyoming Conservation Voters, the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Wyoming Outdoor Council. You have received this mailing as a member or mailing-list recipient of one of the above organizations.Your e-mail address has not been exchanged with any organization to which you do not belong.
If you have received this message in error or against your wishes, please send an e-mail to WyoConservation@aol.com with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.