Action Centre by the Raincoast Conservation Society

A plan that calls for a total removal of wolves and cougars within 400 square kilometer buffers of marmot colonies on Vancouver Island will resume this winter. Up to 30 wolves, the equivalent of at least three wolf packs, and 20 cougars will be killed. The government's Fish and Wildlife service says the cull is needed to protect the Vancouver Island marmot, Canada's most endangered species. Raincoast Conservation Society is calling for the plan to be scrapped, and is calling for the government to employ non-lethal methods of predator control to protect the marmots.

To send an email just follow these easy instructions:
Please read the letter below.
Edit the letter to reflect your own views.
To: Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection
email <joyce.murray.mla@leg.bc.ca>
CC: Doug Janz, Vancouver Island Fish and Wildlife Science and Allocation Section, Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection
email <Doug.Janz@gems2.gov.bc.ca>

Adding your comments to the letter, in particular in the first paragraph, will make your correspondence more effective.

Dear Minister Murray,

I am writing in regards to your decision to lethally cull wolf packs on Vancouver Island in an effort to support the recovery of the Vancouver Island Marmot. Independent wildlife biologists contend that the killing of wolves is unnecessary to ensure survival of the marmots, and removing wolves will create additional problems for both marmots and wolves. I urge you to consider alternatives that will not kill wolves, and that will also protect the Vancouver Island marmot from wolves and cougars.

Research cited in the Marmot Recovery Plan makes clear that any possible increased wolf predation is directly linked to human-caused changes to the landscape such as clear cut logging, and human-caused reductions in the wolves primary prey species, namely deer. Most importantly, the recovery plan states "data show no clear association between marmot survival rates and predator abundance." Given an increased ecological understanding and relatively enlightened value system held by most biologists and the people of British Columbia, and Canada, killing predators as a management prescription is viewed as unacceptable in this century.

Lethal control of predators should be avoided on ecological, logistical, and ethical grounds. Reasonable interpretation of publicly available evidence does not support the conclusion that predator control is necessary. Moreover, scientists agree that top predators serve an important role in the ecosystem, and their removal often has negative community wide consequences.

Assuming the objective is to ensure the persistence of the remaining marmots, then forest practices must change, as destruction of habitat is the ultimate cause of endangerment. In the long-term, restoration of habitat also needs to be undertaken. I understand, however, that the benefits of this long-term strategy may not be realized quickly enough to protect the marmot population. In the interim, I support scientists' recommendations for fladry (flagging), livestock guardian dogs, shepherds, barrier fencing, and electric fencing as reasonable alternatives for reducing predation by wolves on Vancouver Island Marmots.

Vancouver Island, British Columbia and Canada pride themselves on our wildlife. I urge you not to damage this reputation by a cull of the very animals that attract visitors to the area. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

(your name and address)

Or send your letter online from http://www.canadianwolves.net/takeaction.asp?a=whatyoucando&s=takeaction&p=vancouverisland