Wolverine Listing - If you ride out west, you could be limited to trail riding "only".

[TreewellDweller]

Be prepared and educate yourself!​

I am not one to post such things on this format but I believe folks need to be made aware of what is going on. Any area in the West that has snow on the ground after February could be determined to be in an area that would be drastically affected if the Wolverine is listed as "endangered"! Get yourself educated and contact your people in Congress. The science does not support the rationale of this decision. The biologists that did the study will admit that they don't have enough data to support this drastic of a decision. That is why the Federal Fish & Wildlife had previously pulled their request. They still don't have enough data. But, this is just another challenge the liberals are pushing because they can. Isn't it time to show them that "enough is enough"? We can't just sit by and wait to see what happens. If we do, we might as well sell our sleds and snowbikes because we won't be allowed to leave the groomed trail.​

NATIONAL TRAPPERS ASSOCIATION​ 429 H STREET​ BEDFORD, INDIANA 47421​ Phone: 888-680-8727 Fax: 812-277-9672​ Website:www.nationaltrappers.com​ November 17, 2023​ ​ The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service (USFW) has entered into the official record the official listing of the wolverine. We are very interested in conserving wolverines but we don’t believe they warrant listing because:​ - Wolverines are doing better now than they were 30 years ago when the serial environmental litigants said the situation was dire.​ - Most of the push to list wolverines has come from entities that stand to benefit financially and otherwise from a listing.​ - Most people have faith that “listing” by itself with “solve the problem”, but they have not thought about what actions are needed on the ground and whether listing is the most effective way to get them to happen. The entities that want listing cannot tell you anything specific that needs to happen, instead they hide behind vague, stereotyped statements like “stopping logging and trapping” which is enough to deceive most people into believing they know what they are talking about.​ - The result of listing will include wasteful, agenda-driven litigation where limited conservation dollars are used in court rather than on the ground. And, the public gets locked out.​ - The USFW’s 2013 proposal clearly stated that listing will not give the EPA the power to regulate emissions.​ - Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) has proven they know how to recover and maintain wolverines and is already making progress on it. Monitoring is occurring without listing. Connectivity can be better addressed without listing. Restoration efforts would benefit from a pre-listing 10j policy that allows designation as an experimental non-essential population PRIOR to being listed. If the wolverine is listed the result will include wasteful, agency-driven litigation where limited conservation dollars are used in court rather than on the ground.​ - Wolverines are a clear example of 21st century conservation challenges, but those challenges can be met more effectively with partners who work outside of the courtroom.​ ​ The National Trappers Association would like to invite like minded groups who share our opinion to reach out to us and join us to help oppose this decision.​ ​

 

[1962Cat]

Well that would be a shame. No one really knows what's going on in that case. You will have to take the government experts word for it. The government's policy is (outcomes) then develop policies to get there.
They make up (fake) research results that no one can challenge. So much for (by the people for the people government. Sightings like this will not be allowed.

 

[ragincajun]

Pretty disgusting what a bunch of money and a bunch of mouths with nothing else to do but attend meetings will get you. Hopefully the silent majority will stand up and tell our government that this is total horse $hit

 

[ragincajun]

I know for a fact the FS and FWp have accounts on here so feel free to put them on blast so they can read it.

 

[TreewellDweller]

Well folks, it is happening! The wolverine has officially been proposed to be listed as "Threatened" and the process for controlling their destiny begins.
Here is the link for the official statement from US Fish & Wildlife: https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2...s-federal-protection-threatened-species-under
The land representative for the Idaho State Snowmobile Association (ISSA) just sent me this statement:

What this document does. This document is both (1)a final rule listing the contiguous U.S. DPS (Distinct Population Segment) of the North American wolverine as a threatened species under the Act; and (2) an interim rule issued under the authority of section 4(d) of the Act (an “interim 4(d) rule”) providing the prohibitions, and exceptions to those prohibitions, that are necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the contiguous U.S. DPS of the North American wolverine. The basis for our action. Under the Act, we may determine that a species is an endangered or threatened species because of any of five factors: (A) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (B) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (C) disease or predation; (D) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or (E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence. We have determined that the contiguous U.S. DPS of the North American wolverine is a threatened species due primarily to the ongoing and increasing impacts of climate change and associated habitat degradation and fragmentation. Section 4(a)(3) of the Act requires the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to designate critical habitat concurrent with listing to the maximum extent prudent and determinable. We have not yet obtained the necessary economic information needed to develop a proposed critical habitat designation for the contiguous U.S. DPS of the North American wolverine. Therefore, we find that designation of critical habitat for the DPS is currently not determinable. Interim 4(d) Rule The need for the regulatory action and how the action will meet that need. Consistent with section 4(d) of the Act, this interim 4(d) rule provides measures that are tailored to our current understanding of the conservation needs of the North American wolverine. Under section 4(d) of the Act, the Secretary of the Interior has discretion to issue such regulations as she deems necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the species. The Secretary also has the discretion to prohibit by regulation with respect to a threatened species, any act prohibited by section 9(a)(1) of the Act. Summary of the major provisions of the regulatory action. This interim 4(d) rule will provide for the conservation of the contiguous U.S. DPS of the North American wolverine by prohibiting the following activities, unless they fall within the specific identified exceptions or are otherwise authorized or permitted: importing or exporting; take; possession and other acts with unlawfully taken specimens; delivering, receiving, carrying, transporting, or shipping in interstate or foreign commerce in the course of commercial activity; or selling or offering for sale in interstate or foreign commerce. The interim 4(d) rule will also provide for the conservation of the species by allowing exceptions to the general prohibitions against “take” of the species in support of conservation actions and otherwise lawful activities that could take wolverines but at minimal levels not likely to have a negative impact on the species’ conservation. The exceptions include take due to scientific research conducted on wolverines by a Federal or Tribal biologist in the course of their official duties, incidental take resulting from forest management activities for the purposes of reducing the risk or severity of wildfire, and incidental take resulting from legal trapping conducted consistent with State and Tribal trapping rules or guidelines that contain steps to minimize the potential for capture of wolverine.

FYI:
The difference between threatened and endangered species is:
· Endangered species are those plants and animals that have become so rare they are in danger of becoming extinct.
· Threatened species are plants and animals that are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
· Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), plant and animal species may be listed as either endangered or threatened.

 

[Ox]

Well if I read that one single paragraph correctly, they are making it illegal to hunt or trap them (apparently even if a nuisance animal?) or to have their carcass?

Michigan is known as the Wolverine state, yet there hadn't been a single wolverine sighted in the state for the last 100 years, until just 2-3 years ago.

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