h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

(copied in it's entirety from my thread at www.floor42.com)


I don't know if this will interest any of you, but I just recieved an
email from Defenders of Wildlife that said this:

Dear DEN Wolf Activist:

I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some great
news!

Just hours ago, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled

unanimously in favor of our appeal to leave the wolves in
Yellowstone

National Park and central Idaho. The decision overturns a lower
court

ruling which would have forced the wolves to be removed from the

park. "Removal" in this case would have meant killed, for there was

no place for them to go. The decision also finally puts to rest

efforts led by the American Farm Bureau Federation to end the

Yellowstone wolf recovery program, which has been hailed by

conservationists as the most important wildlife victory of the 20th

century.

Thanks to all of you who helped generate more than 140,000
responses

to the American Farm Bureau opposing their law suit and supporting

wolf recovery. Your efforts helped. This week the American Farm

Bureau announced that the organization elected a new President,

ousting former President Dean Kleckner, who was one of the most

outspoken opponents environmental protection in general and wolf

recovery in particular.

Thanks again for your enthusiasm and commitment on this
important

issue. I am including a press release that we issued on today's

momentous decision.

Sincerely,

Rodger Schlickeisen

President

Defenders of Wildlife

I am a wolf activist, and I have been monitoring this case with
fingers crossed for months now. I am so glad that justice prevailed
and the Wolf Recovery Program can continue it's successful
reintroduction. My dream is to see the wolf run wild from sea to sea
for the first time in over a century before I die, and the Wolf
Recovery Program has shown that it is an attainable goal, by
educating the public about what wolves are really like, passing
protective legislation, raising money to compensate livestock owners
for losses, and sucessfully reintroducing the wolf into Yellowstone
and Idaho. Our job is to keep the wolf-haters at bay, and the
wolves do the rest. The results have been
overwhelming--populations have grown faster than even the most
optimistic predictions. (See www.defenders.org for statistics). I
was worried about this court case, but now I am confident that this
beautiful and intelligent animal will make a close-to-full recovery if
only we let them. Organizations like Defenders and the WERC (
www.wolfcenter.org ) are helping to teach our nations youth that
wolves should be admired and not feared. (There has never been a
single documented case of an unprovoked attack on a human from a
healthy wolf.) I just wanted to share my joy with you this day.