“Here, beneath this tree, she had lain on her back in the sun and watched the butterflies. Part of her would linger there for ever: a footstep running tip-toe to the creek, the touch of her hand on a tree, the imprint of her body in the long grass. And perhaps one day, in after years, someone would wander there and listen to the silence, as she had done, and catch the whisper of the dreams that she had dreamt there, in midsummer, under the hot sun and the white sky.” — Daphne du Maurier, Frenchman’s Creek.
Art by Lucy Campbell
Three of my favorites in one painting: a wolf, a raven, and trees. I’d love to curl up and hibernate in a mighty oak guarded by my beloved animal family — to dream of butterflies and seashells and other simple but profound bearers of joy.
That orange POS and his puppet master, Muckrat, are doing their level best to destroy America.
Not only have they fired thousands of government employees, in 2020 his administration delisted the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Some Federal protections for gray wolves were restored across much of the United States a couple years later, but a new threat to decimate the entire wolf population is real.
Regarding the environment and according to Defenders of Wildlife, President Biden took sweeping, historic action to permanently protect more than 625 million acres of United States ocean waters — and the wildlife living there — from the threat of offshore drilling.
Now the target of a Trump administration executive order to reverse course, coastal protections will be fought out in the courts, Congress and through engagement with the American public. At stake are protections for the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean in Alaska. Wildlife is caught in the balance.
You might think that’s bad enough, but this is chilling... Have you heard of the SAVE Act?
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would require all Americans to prove their citizenship status by presenting documentation—in person—when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information. Specifically, the legislation would require the vast majority of Americans to rely on a passport or birth certificate to prove their citizenship. While this may sound easy for many Americans, the reality is that more than 140 million American citizens do not possess a passport and as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name.
Because documentation would need to be presented in person, the legislation would, in practice, prevent Americans from being able to register to vote by mail; end voter registration drives nationwide; and eliminate online voter registration overnight—a service 42 states rely on. Americans would need to appear in person, with original documentation, to even simply update their voter registration information for a change of address or change in party affiliation. These impacts alone would set voter registration sophistication and technology back by decades and would be unworkable for millions of Americans, including more than 60 million people who live in rural areas.
Additionally, driver’s licenses—including REAL IDs—as well military or tribal IDs would not be sufficient forms of documentation to prove citizenship under the legislation.
In short, the SAVE Act is disastrous legislation. The flawed leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has declared that passing the legislation is one of their top priorities for the 119th Congress.
These are the actions of the amoral architects of destruction. The people who have now seized power are determined to throw the United States into mayhem.
Are you scared yet?
P.S. By the way, it will always be the Gulf of Mexico and Mt. Denali. We all know that those stupid decisions were just smokescreens for the real damage to our constitution, right?
This little Jewish girl from Detroit dancing around in a pink tutu and satin toe shoes harbored a secret desire to live among the wolves and become accepted as a pack member.
Crazy, right?
Crazy because the only wolves I encountered in Detroit were the hormone-addled little boys at the Jewish Community Center.
“The gaze of the wolf reached into our soul.” Barry Lopez
It wasn’t until we moved to California and I was in college that I did anything about it.
Back in the 1970s, I joined the fight to save the wolf from extinction by advocating for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
In college, I studied predators and made plans to accompany research scientists and live with wolves in Minnesota and Michigan but never fulfilled that dream because I couldn’t (obviously) bring my dog, and I didn’t want to leave her.
Another dream unfulfilled. Oh, well.
Wolf print, Yellowstone
I was lucky to finally get to Yellowstone National Park and see IRL several of the wolves who make up the Lamar Valley pack, but never heard the song of the wolf, probably because we camped right on Slough Creek and the water, while beautiful, drowned out most animal sounds.
I’m still involved in the never-ending fight to save, defend, and protect this magnificent animal; read about my experiences in Sacramento when I testified at the Fish and Wildlife Service‘s wolf delisting hearing: Saving Wolves.
From my testimony: “At 6:00 a.m., a few miles outside our camp at Slough Creek, we followed others to a bison carcass, and our efforts paid off with a multiple sighting of many wolves, including 755. There was an overwhelming sense of awe among the dozens of us who silently watched him cross the road and then a collective sigh of relief when he disappeared safely over the ridge.
I recently took a drive to the Mojave Desert town of Lucerne to spend a few hours at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Tonya Littlewolf.
Many wolves call this sanctuary home, and while I finally heard the haunting song of the wolf, the whole experience could only be described as sad.
Why sad?
Sad because these magnificent creatures NEED to be rescued.
Sad that humans think they have the right to try and make pets out of these wild animals. (Not gonna work.)
Sad that the wolves can’t roam free, sad they’re hunted, tortured, hated, vilified.
Wolves are among the most intelligent species.
HOW DARE WE DESTROY THEM.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
So yes. Sad. Very sad.
From Wolf Mountain Sanctuary website…all volunteer educational organization dedicated to the preservation, protection, and proper management of wolves in the wild and in captivity. We are a forever home for all of the wolves we rescue. We rescue wolves from the movie industry, private owners, and from breeders. The impression a 180 pound wolf leaves on you is everlasting. To look into their knowing, wise, amber colored eyes is a moving, spiritual experience. When you look into the eyes of a wolf, you see your soul…
“We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself.” Farley Mowat
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Denali (Deh-Nah-Lee) (“Great One” or “Highest Mountain”) was one of two pups born in the wilds of Alaska. He was rescued from the wolf-killing that was taking place in that state, both by private citizens and government agencies.
He’s a beautiful wolf with a golden sand coat. Denali’s personality is very sweet, curious, and friendly.
The wolves at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary seem to be well cared for and healthy.
When I met this handsome guy, Holan, he immediately jumped up, put his front paws on my shoulders, and licked my face. See my joy? This is the smile of someone who loves wolves.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“The wolf is neither man’s competitor nor his enemy. He is a fellow creature with whom the earth must be shared.” L. David Mech
Look at him. The eyes. Amazing.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“Throughout the centuries we have projected on to the wolf the qualities we most despise and fear in ourselves.” Barry Lopez
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“Inescapably, the realization was being borne in upon my preconditioned mind that the centuries-old and universally accepted human concept of wolf character was a palpable lie. On three separate occasions in less than a week I had been completely at the mercy of these “savage killers”; but far from attempting to tear me limb from limb, they had displayed a restraint verging on contempt, even when I invaded their home and appeared to be posing a direct threat to the young pups.” Farley Mowat, Never Cry Wolf
WHY SAVE THE WOLF? Look at them: they are so noble, so beautiful. The wolf, as well as other endangered species, are ecological indicators. It is by studying these species and learning how to preserve them that we learn the main factors affecting our environment.
Perhaps in so doing, we will learn undiscovered ways to benefit mankind!
Unfortunately, there are those who deny the wolf’s place in the ecosystem. Wolves are gunned down from airplanes and snowmobiles (which some consider “sport”). Sometimes the fur is taken; however, more often than not, the animal is simply left to decay.
The wolf is poisoned “en masse,” trapped by leg-hold traps, used as adornments for the idle rich.
Today, the wolf’s range is limited to Alaska, Canada, the upper Midwest, and in Yellowstone National Park. Some of the YNP wolves have traveled into adjoining states, which allow hunters to kill wolves on sight and for little to no reason. In the 1930’s, there were approximately 50,000 wolves roaming the North American continent. By the 1940’s, that number had been decreased to 1,000. Today, mostly because of conservation efforts, there are approximately 3,000 wild wolves on the entire continent. They have made a small comeback, but because of the recent delisted from the Endangered Species Act, wolves are once again under attack.
Wolf lovers need to band together and do all we can to help them. TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
Only you can save the wolf from extinction. Proper management procedures must be put into action.
Someone once told me I was a wolf in a former life and I wasn’t actually all that surprised. Even as a little girl in Detroit. somehow I always knew that wolves and coyotes were my spirit animals.
During my lifetime, I rescued a wolf hybrid, studied wolves in college, and worked with wolves at a wildlife refuge.
There’s nothing to compare with the feeling of deep intelligence when a wolf looks directly into your eyes. It’s transcendent.
Humans really really need to stop murdering sentient beings. Really. It breaks my heart.
Will this senseless murder of a species never end? What the hell is wrong with Oregon?
From Defenders of Wildlife:
“It’s a heartbreaking world we live in when even a pair of weeks-old wolf pups aren’t safe. We’re enraged at these senseless killings of wolf pups just barely out of their dens. We know you haven’t given up hope that we can save the wildlife who need us most. These wolves are counting on us – and we can’t do this alone.”
Our ability to fight back depends on US. Please donate.
Rep. Peter DeFazio or Oregon released the following statement in response to a report that the State shot and killed two wolf pups on Sunday.
“The state of Oregon killed two 3-month-old wolf pups under the irrational premise that it would somehow lessen the food needs of the pack. Wolf pups are no threat to livestock,” said Rep. DeFazio. “Nearly 80 years after a federal extermination campaign nearly wiped out the species, I will not sit by and allow the reimplementation of cruel, inhumane, and unscientific policies that degrade local ecosystems. I have called on Interior Secretary Haaland to expeditiously relist the Gray Wolf under the Endangered Species Act to prevent their likely extinction.”
In July, Rep. DeFazio led a bipartisan group of 85 representatives in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland urging her to reconsider the decision to delist the Gray Wolf under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Members emphasized the support of over 400 scientists in calling for federal protections for wolves, citing new state laws allowing for hunting practices that have resulted in the killing of hundreds of wolves in the span of a few months – threatening the species’ survival. The Members also stressed that decimating the wolf population would be detrimental to local ecosystems. Full text of the letter can be found here.
DONATE NOW:
Today is the last day to make your urgent gift to protect vulnerable species that we love!
Wolf Protection Fund Fundraiser by Defenders of Wildlife:
As if 2020 couldn’t be any worse with Covid, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and oh, I don’t know, simply the death of our entire DEMOCRACY, THIS happened and I am truly distraught…
From my friend, Jamie Rappaport Clark, President of Defenders of Wildlife:
It’s a sudden and tragic end to what should have been one of the great wildlife comeback stories of all time. Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially stripped gray wolves in the lower 48 states of their federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
This ruthless decision leaves gray wolves at the mercy of states, some with increasingly hostile anti-wolf policies – even some where we’ve already seen wolves slaughtered. This isn’t over.
We’re taking this administration to court to defend gray wolves fighting for their lives. Will you help?
We cannot and will not allow wolves to be abandoned, and their recovery to be cut off after decades of work. Wolves occupy only 10% of their former range and need continued federal protection to fully recover. There are still vast areas of suitable habitat in the lower 48 states where wolves have not recovered, including Colorado.
As recently as last year, a wolf spotted in Colorado brought a spark of optimism for the future of wolves in the Southern Rockies. That hope could now be smashed. Delisting wolves is the wrong move at the wrong time. We’ve already seen a wave of violence as some anti-wolf states have allowed even more barbaric methods to trap, shoot and kill gray wolves – and things could get a lot worse for these wolves without our help.
We’ll never stop fighting against anti-wolf extremists and politicians working to turn back the clock on wolf recovery. Today’s setback isn’t the end of the gray wolf story.
Thanks for your compassion and your steadfast support for the wildlife we love.
On a personal note, I’ve been fighting to save and protect wolves pretty much my whole life and while we rejoiced when wolves were originally placed on the endangered species list, it didn’t stop the senseless murder of wolves and their families.
To survive, they need the basics: food and shelter and medical care.
We can relate, right?
And that’s why Mel needs help for his rescued (abused) wolves and wolf hybrids.
From an enlightened reader who made me realize I had not included very important information about these animals: “…They were rescued from fools who keep animals like tigers, monkeys and wolves as pets. And then decide they’re not cute anymore, or they’re too much work, or whatever…”
And it’s really, really, REALLY true…even just a few dollars helps.
*A week of Starbucks.
*Spare change.
That kind of thing.
It shouldn’t hurt to give, ya know?
If all of my 3,000 followers and friends were able to #give just a little bit, it would help SO much and you’d be doing SO MUCH GOOD.
Thank you for helping!!
*****(Donation info at the end of this post)*****
I’ve always loved wolves; I first became active in the 70s, doing what I could to support their originally being listed as an Endangered Species, and more recently, I spoke at the Fish and Wildlife Services hearing in Sacramento.
The wolf is an amazing animal that deserves to be protected and defended.
And saved.
However,
…Not everybody is as well-funded as Capt. Watson and his Sea Shepherd defenders and protectors of ocean creatures.
…Not everybody has the fundraising savvy of PETA or Defenders of Wildlife.
…Not every organization has a Washington, DC lobbyist.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help others who dedicate their lives and sacrifice everything to save animals in danger.
There are angels all over this country who are committed to 24/7 care of abused and neglected wolves.
There are those heroes among us who DO the work, even though they might not be PR or social media savvy and have a staff to handle all the admin duties.
I admire the men and women who are in the trenches, the boots-on-the-ground caregivers who feed and love and care for these beautiful and much maligned animals.
Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary can REALLY use our help.
His mission is simple but very powerful:
” We rescue wolves and wolf-hybrids that are unwanted, abused, etc. We give them a loving home with three acres to run and play, and all the food they can eat.”
I donated a couple months ago, and I’m going to donate again.
Will you help, too?
Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary is a nonprofit organization.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearborn.wolfsanctuary
Please contact him to offer any hands on help, too.
How to donate:
Check or money order to:
Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary 31 Cox Creek Ln. Cascade, Montana 59421
A single drop of water in a lake radiates energy to become larger and larger circles.
Isn’t that what social media is all about?
Isn’t this the beauty of it?
We share a thought or a joke or a (cat) picture with our friends and followers who in turn share with their friends and followers — and the circle multiplies.
And if we share a compassionate mindset, an awareness of being more caring and kind, each of us has within us the potential to influence and change the world to make it a better place.
We took this video during a camping vacay to Northern California.
Mother Nature’s Perfect Concentric Circles of Energy
Sometimes it takes more than words to effect change.
Sometimes ACTION is the answer.
I need your help
Not for myself, but for Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary.
Simply stated, here’s his mission:
”We rescue wolves and wolf-hybrids that are unwanted, abused, etc. We give them a loving home with three acres to run and play, and all the food they can eat.”
I received an email this morning that touched my heart. (Tugboat man and I have kind of adopted Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary. His love and caring for the abused and neglected wolves and wolf-hybrids is an example of pure altruism.)
“I hate to bother u you have helped me so much and been so kind I really need help this month I had to pay $1000 for meds I’m flat broke I have no money for food for them so if u know anyone please send them to my page I use to 2 to 5 donations a month tell face book made me change my page I have about a week worth of food then they will be out they never been with out food since I started this sanctuary 15 years ago take care me.”
We can all relate to the fear of not having enough to eat, right?
Please extend a little compassion in action by donating some dollars to help him feed his wolves. Sacrifice your daily latte, any amount will help this worthy cause. If we all pitch in just a little — that’s all it takes to make a difference.
2. Please spread the word to your own circle of influence. Just a click or two will help his animals get the food they need to survive.
3. I’m also asking for help to create a GoFundMe for him. I’ve never done it before; if anybody would like to work on a more sustainable form of support, I’d love to join forces.
P.S. Join me in donating and I’ll send you a gift, a GENUINE Princess Rosebud seashell necklace! Email your address to urjentbiz@gmail.com and I’ll pop it in the mail.
I’m back from Wolf Mountain Sanctuary in the Mojave Desert.
I’ll post about our experience at the sanctuary, but it was mostly sad. Sad that these magnificent creatures NEED to be rescued. Sad that they can’t roam free, sad they’re hunted, tortured, hated. They are among the most intelligent and evolved species. How dare we destroy them. Sad. Very sad.
Check out this amazing outcropping of rocks. The Mojave Desert is also known as the High Desert because of its elevation, between 2,000 and 4,000 feet above sea level. Blue sky and rocks. Ick. LOVE this pic. Rock climber Not me.#highdesert #mojave #desert #wolves #hiking
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 