September 26, 2012

Secretary Kenneth Salazar
U.S. Department of Interior
1849 C. St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Secretary Salazar:

On April 29, 2012, I wrote to you and to Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent on behalf of The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc. re-iterating our call for a Bi-National Northeast Wolf Recovery Plan with Canada. Some months ago we received a reply from Mr. Kent. We are still awaiting your response.

As you know, on May 5, 2011 the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service published a proposed rule to de-list gray wolves in the eastern United States due to a lack of evidence that this species is native to this region. The Service based this proposal on two wolf pelts collected in the 19th century, both of which were analyzed and found to be what some now refer to as eastern wolves. Our organization testified at a public hearing in Augusta, Maine that northern portions of the northeast were formerly inhabited by moose and caribou, both of which are preyed upon by the larger gray wolf. The smaller eastern wolf preys predominantly on white-tailed deer which did not exist in northern New England until 19th century agricultural and land use practices promoted its northward expansion.

As a reminder of the widespread support for all wolves in the northeast, enclosed please find the PETITION IN SUPPORT OF WOLF RECOVERY AND CONTINUED ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROTECTION FOR WOLVES IN THE NORTHEAST UNITED STATES. The petition was signed by 397 people, most of whom reside in the northeast U.S. Because of the evidence that two wolf species once occupied this region and because of increasing evidence that wolves are attempting to recolonize the northeast and eastern Canada, we ask for continued ESA protection for ALL wolves in the northeast and a Northeast Wolf Recovery Plan.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

John M. Glowa, Sr., President
The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc.
30 Meadow Wood Drive
South China, ME 04358

Cc: Martin Miller, USFWS, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035-9589

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