[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12] [House] [Pages 17495-17521] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 514 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the further consideration of the bill, H.R. 2643. {time} 1841 In the Committee of the Whole Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the further consideration of the bill (H.R. 2643) making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes, with Mr. Becerra (Acting Chairman) in the chair. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The Acting CHAIRMAN. When the Committee of the Whole rose earlier today, amendment No. 23 printed in the Congressional Record offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) had been disposed of. Amendment Offered by Mr. Pearce Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Amendment offered by Mr. Pearce: At the end of the bill, before the short title, insert the following: TITLE VI--ADDITIONAL GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 601. No funds made available in or through this Act may be used for the continued operation of the Mexican Wolf Recovery program. Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order against the gentleman's amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The point of order is reserved. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico. Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment to stop a program that has been a failure. Let the record be clear. After more than 10 years of failed attempts to reintroduce Mexican wolves, it is now time to call an end to this program. I am speaking of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program operated by the Fish and Wildlife Service in New Mexico and Arizona. Since the 1998 release of these captive bred wolves into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery area, this program has attempted to restore a population of wolves into the area, all while providing no compensation to ranchers for their livestock losses and all in the face of nearly unified local public opinion against the program. Promises were made that the wolves would be restricted to the wilderness area of the Gila Mountains, but instead we have seen wolves as far away as Tularosa, New Mexico, almost 200 miles away. To date this program has spent nearly $14 million and as of today has only 58 wolves in the wild; $14 million, 10 years, and 58 wolves in the wild. {time} 1845 Of these 58 wolves in the wild, we now are on a pace to remove 12 this year because they're problems. Chart number 1 that I brought up today highlights the increasing rate of removal of the wolves from the wild because they're killing too much livestock and they're endangering people and pets in the district that I represent. In 2005, the Service removed four problem wolves. In 2006, it removed eight. In 2007, we're on a pace to remove 12 wolves, 12 out of 58. If the Service has to remove 12 wolves this year, 20 percent of the wolves in the recovery area, how can anyone classify as a success a program where this many of the wolves are being a danger to ranchers and livestock? I would add that the wolves that are released into New Mexico are the wolves that have killed too many animals over in Arizona. So New Mexico gets the benefit of having the most dangerous wolves released into the Second District. Secondly, I would like to go to a chart that shows the horse, Six. In this shot, on the left side, Stacy Miller, 8 years old, is riding her horse, Six. This picture was taken 2 weeks before this picture. This picture on the right indicates her horse, Six, after the wolves finished with it. You see the ribs have been stripped completely clean. The hide is laying out here. That's 2 weeks after the picture was made. This is in the Second District of New Mexico. And for those of you who want the feel-good feeling of releasing the wolves into the wild, let us release them into your daggone area instead of the area of southern New Mexico, where they represent a danger to the people of the Second District. If you aren't willing to take them into your district, then why are you going to spend money to put them in our district and endanger our people? I would like to draw your attention to another tremendous concern, the Durango pack, particularly the female, AF924, which we speak about, is stalking the home of a young woman named [[Page 17496]] Micha. Micha Miller, not the same, is pictured here. Micha Miller is about 100 yards from her front door pointing to a wolf print that is there in the dirt. What is startling about this picture is the gun which Micha is wearing while she goes about her chores. The Durango pack of wolves have been in and around Micha's house for so long that her parents insist that she carry this gun with her while she does her chores, works or plays in the yard. I am submitting for the Record a letter from Micha asking Congress to end this program that has put wolves in her front yard. Dear Congressman Pearce: I am Micha Noel Miller the 13 year old that has to carry a firearm when I go outside. My parents and I have had the Durango Pack (AF924 & AM 973) in our yard 5 times in the last 6 weeks. I hate the wolves in our yard because I feel that I am trapped in my house! I love to ride my horse, bike and walk around outside. Since the reintroduction of the Mexican Wolf I can no longer due any of these things without being afraid. When we get home after dark my mom has to go feed our dogs and cats because I'm scared to go outside even though I know the wolves are 6 miles down the road and it doesn't make a difference, I'm still afraid they are coming up behind me. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder and being scared all the time. I have even resorted to carrying a firearm, I'm still frightened of the wolves when they come in my yard. I have gone hunting with my dad alot. We have called in coyotes and even a bear and I wasn't as scared as I was every time the wolves were in our yard. The coyotes and bears are more scared of you and will run away, but the wolves will just keep coming closer to you. They are not scared of humans!! I have had a wolf within 40 yards of me and I was so scared I couldn't move. My older sister, A.J., came out and scared the wolf off finally. I have nightmares about the wolves attacking my family & our pets. The Wolf Program says you cannot shoot a wolf if it is attacking your pet on private property. I don't understand how the wolf program expects people to stand by and let the wolves kill their pets and not do anything to stop them. They think the wolves are more important than anything else, including human life! Congressman Pearce, I wish there was some way you could get the wolf program to remove the wolves. I just want to have a normal childhood where I can go outside and play anytime I want without being armed and worrying about wolves being in my yard. Thank you for your help, Micha Miller. Mr. Chairman, we will hear folks that will follow me talk about how healthy wolves have never attacked humans; I would say that they're simply wrong. I will submit for the Record a list of recorded attacks by wolves on humans. These include healthy captive wolves, domestically bred wolves and wolf-dog hybrids. Wolf Attacks on Humans (By T. R. Mader, Research Division) It has been widely discussed whether a healthy wild wolf has ever attacked a human on this continent. In fact, many say such attacks have never occurred in North America. History states otherwise. Although attacks on humans are uncommon, they have occurred on this continent, both in the early years of settlement and more recently. Here is one report: New Rockford, DAK, March 7.--The news has just reached here that a father and son, living several miles northeast of this city, were destroyed by wolves yesterday. The two unfortunate men started to a haystack some ten rods from the house to shovel a path around the stack when they were surrounded by wolves and literally eaten alive. The horror-stricken mother was standing at the window with a babe in her arms, a spectator to the terrible death of her husband and son, but was unable to aid them. After they had devoured every flesh from the bones of the men, the denizens of the forest attacked the house, but retired to the hills in a short time. Investigation found nothing but the bones of the husband and son. The family name was Olson. Wolves are more numerous and dangerous now than ever before known in North Dakota. (Saint Paul Daily Globe, March 8, 1888) Here an account is reported which included an eyewitness and the family name. Some have reasoned the wolves were rabid. That is unlikely as these animals were functioning as a pack. A rabid wolf is a loner. Our research has never found a single historical account of packs of rabid wolves on this continent. Individual animals are the norm. Further, accounts of rabid (hydrophobic) animals were common in that day and were reported as such. The winters of 1886-1888 were very harsh. Many western ranchers went broke during these years. The harsh winter could have been a factor in the attack. Noted naturalists documented wolf attacks on humans. John James Audubon, of whom the Audubon Society is named, reported an attack involving 2 Negroes. He records that the men were traveling through a part of Kentucky near the Ohio border in winter. Due to the wild animals in the area the men carried axes on their shoulders as a precaution. While traveling through a heavily forested area, they were attacked by a pack of wolves. Using their axes, they attempted to fight off the wolves. Both men were knocked to the ground and severely wounded. One man was killed. The other dropped his axe and escaped up a tree. There he spent the night. The next morning the man climbed down from the tree. The bones of his friend lay scattered on the snow. Three wolves lay dead. He gathered up the axes and returned home with the news of the event. This incident occurred about 1830. (Audubon, J.J., and Bachman, J.; The Quadrupeds of North America, 3 volumes. New York, 1851-1854) George Bird Grinnell investigated several reported wolf attacks on humans. He dismissed many reports for lack of evidence. Grinnell did verify one attack. This occurrence was in northwestern Colorado. An eighteen- year-old girl went out at dusk to bring in some milk cows. She saw a gray wolf on a hill as she went out for the cows. She shouted at the wolf to scare it away and it did not move. She then threw a stone at it to frighten it away. The animal snarled at her shouting and attacked her when she threw the stone at it. The wolf grabbed the girl by the shoulder, threw her to the ground and bit her severely on the arms and legs. She screamed and her brother, who was nearby and armed with a gun, responded to the scene of the attack and killed the wolf. The wolf was a healthy young animal, barely full grown. Grinnell met this girl and examined her. She carried several scars from the attack. This attack occurred in summer about 1881. (Grinnell, G.B.; Trail and Campfire--Wolves and Wolf Nature, New York, 1897) In 1942, Michael Dusiak, section foreman for the Canadian Pacific Railway, was attacked by a wolf while patrolling a section of track on a speeder (small 4-wheeled open railroad car). Dusiak relates, ``It happened so fast and as it was still very dark, I thought an engine had hit me first. After getting up from out of the snow very quickly, I saw the wolf which was about fifty feet away from me and it was coming towards me, I grabbed the two axes (tools on the speeder), one in each hand and hit the wolf as he jumped at me right in the belly and in doing so lost one axe. Then the wolf started to circle me and got so close to me at times that I hit him with the head of the axe and it was only the wielding of the axe that kept him from me. All this time he was growling and gnashing his teeth. Then he would stop circling me and jump at me and I would hit him with the head of the axe. This happened five times and he kept edging me closer to the woods which was about 70 feet away. We fought this way for about fifteen minutes and I fought to stay out in the open close to the track. I hit him quite often as he came at me very fast and quick and I was trying to hit him a solid blow in the head for I knew if once he got me down it would be my finish. Then in the course of the fight he got me over onto the north side of the track and we fought there for about another ten minutes. Then a west bound train came along travelling about thirty miles an hour and stopped about half a train length west of us and backed up to where we were fighting. The engineer, fireman and brakeman came off the engine armed with picks and other tools, and killed the wolf.'' It should be noted that this wolf was skinned and inspected by an Investigator Crichton, a Conservation Officer. His assessment was that the animal was a young healthy wolf in good condition although it appeared lean. (``A Record of Timber Wolf Attacking a Man,'' JOURNAL OF MAMMOLOGY, Vol. 28, No. 3, August 1947) Common Man Institute, in cooperation with Abundant Wildlife Society of North America, has done extensive research on wolves and their history for several years. We have gathered evidence on wolf attacks which occurred in North America. A forester employed by the Province of British Colombia was checking some timber for possible harvest in the 1980s. He was met by a small pack of three wolves. The forester yelled at the wolves to frighten them away. Instead, the wolves came towards him in a threatening manner and he was forced to retreat and climb a nearby tree for safety. The wolves remained at the base of the tree. The forester had a portable radio, but was unable to contact his base, due to distance, until evening. When the call for help came in, two Conservation Officers with the Ministry of Environment were flown to the area by floatplane to rescue the treed forester. When the Conservation Officers arrived, the forester was still in the tree and one wolf, the apparent leader of the pack, was still at the base of the tree. The officers, armed with shotguns, shot at the wolf and missed. The wolf ran for cover and then started circling and howling near the two officers. After a couple missed shots, the wolf was finally shot and killed. The wolf tested negative for rabies. It appeared healthy in every respect, but was [[Page 17497]] very lean. The Conservation Officers felt the attack was caused by hunger. (Taped Interviews and a photo of the wolf on file at Abundant Wildlife Society of North America.) This is but one example from British Colombia. Wolves overran Vancouver Island in the 1980s. Attacks became so common that articles were published in Canadian magazines documenting such attacks. (Copies available upon request.) Wolf attacks on humans have occurred in national parks, too. In August 1987, a sixteen-year-old girl was bitten by a wild wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. The girl was camping in the park with a youth group and shined a flashlight at the wolf. The wolf reacted to the light by biting the girl on the arm. That bite was not hard and due to the thick sweater and sweatshirt the girl was wearing, she sustained two scratch marks on her arm. The wolf was shot by Natural Resources personnel and tested negative for rabies. (Interview with Ron Tozer, Park Naturalist for Algonquin Provincial Park, 7/25/88.) Well-known wolf biologist Dr. David Mech took issue with this attack stating it couldn't really be considered an authentic attack since the girl wasn't injured more severely. It was exactly nine years when such an attack would take place. Algonquin Provincial Park is one of several areas where people are encouraged to ``howl'' at the wolves in hopes of a response from the wild wolves in the area. In August, 1996, the Delventhal family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were spending a nine-day family vacation in Algonquin and joined a group of Scouts in ``howling'' at the wolves. They were answered by the howl of a solitary wolf. That night the Delventhals decided to sleep out under the stars. Young Zachariah was dreaming when he suddenly felt excruciating pain in his face. A lone wolf had bit him in the face and was dragging him from his sleeping bag. Zach screamed and Tracy, Zach's Mother, raced to his side and picked him up, saturating her thermal shirt with blood from Zach's wounds. The wolf stood menacingly less than a yard away. Tracy yelled at her husband, Thom, who leapt from his sleeping bag and charged the wolf. The wolf retreated and then charged at Tracy and Zach. The charges were repeated. Finally the wolfleft. Thom turned a flashlight on 11-year-old Zach and gasped ``Oh, my God!'' ``The boy's face had been ripped open. His nose was crushed. Parts of his mouth and right cheek were torn and dangling. Blood gushed from puncture wounds below his eyes, and the lower part of his right ear was missing.'' Zach was taken to a hospital in Toronto where a plastic surgeon performed four hours of reconstructive surgery. Zach received more than 80 stitches in his face. Canadian officials baited the Delventhals' campsite and captured and destroyed a 60-lb wild male wolf. No further attacks have occurred since. (Cook, Kathy; ``Night of the Wolf'' READER'S DIGEST, July 1997, pp. 114-119.) Humans have been attacked by wolves in Alaska. The late David Tobuk carried scars on his face from a wolf attack on him as a small child. The incident occurred around the turn of the century in interior Alaska. David was playing in his village near a river. An old wolf came into the village and bit David in the face and started to carry him off. Other Eskimos saw the wolf dragging the child off and started yelling and screaming. The wolf dropped the child and was shot by an old Eskimo trapper who had a gun. (Interview with Frank Tobuk, brother, Bettles, Alaska, December 1988.) Paul Tritt, an Athabascan Indian, was attacked by a lone wolf while working a trap line. Paul was setting a snare, looked up and saw a wolf lunging at him. He threw his arm up in front of his face and it was bitten severely by the wolf. A struggle ensued. Tritt was able to get to his sled, grab a gun and kill the wolf. Nathaniel Frank, a companion, helped Tritt wash the wound with warm water. Frank took Tritt, via dog sled, to Fort Yukon to see a doctor. The arm healed, but Tritt never regained full use of it. Several years later, the arm developed problems and had to be amputated. (Interview with Paul Tritt, Venetie, Alaska, November, 1988) Two wolf attacks on humans occurred in 2000. Icy Bay, Alaska.--6-year-old John Stenglein and a 9-year- old friend were playing outside his family's trailer at a logging camp when a wild wolf came out of the woods towards the boys. The boys ran and the wolf attacked young Stenglein from the back, biting him on the back and buttocks. Adults, hearing the boy's screams, came and chased the wolf away. The wolf returned a few moments later and was shot. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) officials, the wolf was a healthy wild wolf that apparently attacked without provocation. The boy was flown to Yakutat and recieved stitches there for his wounds. Later, however, the bites became infected and the boy had to be hospitalized. (Reports and Interviews on file and available upon request.) Vargas Island, British Colombia.--University student, Scott Langevin, 23, was on a kayak trip with friends. They camped out on a beach and, about 1 AM, Langevin awoke with something pulling on his sleeping bag. He looked out and came face to face with a wild wolf. Langevin yelled at the wolf and it attacked, biting him on the hand. Langevin attempted to force the wolf toward a nearby campfire, but as he turned, the wolf jumped on his back and started biting him on the back of his head. Friends, hearing his yells, came to his aid and scared the wolf away. Fifty (50) stitches were required to close the wound on Langevin's head. British Colombia Ministry of Environment officials speculate the reason for the attack was due to the wolves occasionally being fed by humans although there was no evidence that Langevin or any of his party fed these animals. (Reports and Interviews on file and available upon request.) This is but a brief summary of a few verifiable accounts of attacks on humans by healthy wild wolves in North American history. Biologists tell us that the wolves of Asia and North America are one and the same species. Wolf attacks are common in many parts of Asia. The government of India reported more than 100 deaths attributable to wolves in one year during the eighties. (Associated Press, 1985) This author recalls a news report in 1990 in which Iran reported deaths from attacks by wolves. Rashid Jamsheed, a U.S. trained biologist, was the game director for Iran. He wrote a book entitled ``Big Game Animals of Iran (Persia).'' In it he made several references to wolf attacks on humans. Jamsheed says that for a millennia people have reported wolves attacking and killing humans. In winter, when starving wolves grow bold, they have been known to enter towns and kill people in daylight on the streets. Apparently, in Iran, there are many cases of wolves running off with small children. There is also a story of a mounted and armed policeman (gendarme) being followed by 3 wolves. In time he had to get off his horse to attend to nature's call, leaving his rifle in the scabbard. A later reconstruction at the scene of the gnawed bones and wolf tracks indicated that the horse had bolted and left the man defenseless, whereupon he was killed and eaten. A Russian Linguist, Will Graves, provided our organization with reports of wolves killing Russian people in many areas of that country. Reports indicate some of the wolves were diseased while others appeared healthy. (Reports on file and available upon request.) Reports have also come from rural China. The official Zinhua News Agency reported that a peasant woman, Wu Jing, snatched her two daughters from the jaws of a wolf and wrestled with the animal until rescuers arrived. Wu slashed at the wolf with a sickle and it dropped one daughter, but grabbed her sister. It was then Wu wrestled with the animal until herdsmen came and drove the beast away. This incident occurred near Shenyang City, about 380 miles northeast of Beijing. (Chronicle Features, 1992) The question arises: ``Why so many attacks in Asia and so few in North America?'' Two factors must be considered: 1. The Philosophy of Conservation--Our forefathers always believed that they had the right and obligation to protect their livelihoods. Considerable distance was necessary between man and wolf for the wolf to survive. 2. Firearms--Inexpensive, efficient weapons gave man the upper hand in the protection of his livelihood and for the taking of wolves. Milton P. Skinner in his book, ``The Yellowstone Nature Book'' (published 1924) wrote, ``Most of the stories we hear of the ferocity of these animals . . . come from Europe. There, they are dangerous because they do not fear man, since they are seldom hunted except by the lords of the manor. In America, the wolves are the same kind, but they have found to their bitter cost that practically every man and boy carries a rifle . . .'' Skinner was correct. The areas of Asia where wolf attacks occur on humans are the same areas where the people have no firearms or other effective means of predator control. But . . . ``Biologists claim there are no documented cases of healthy wild wolves attacking humans.'' What they really mean is there are no ``documented'' cases by their criteria which excludes historical accounts. Here's an example. Rabid wolves were a frightening experience in the early years due to their size and the seriousness of being bit, especially before a vaccine was developed. The bitten subject usually died a slow, miserable death. There are numerous accounts of rabid wolves and their activities. Early Army forts have medical records of rabid wolves coming into the posts and biting several people before being killed. Most of the people bitten died slow, horrible deaths. Additionally, early historical writings relate personal accounts. This author recalls one historical account telling of a man being tied to a tree and left to die because of his violent behavior with rabies after being bitten by a wolf. Such deaths left profound impressions on eyewitnesses of those events. Dr. David Mech, USFWS wolf biologist, states there are no ``documented'' cases of [[Page 17498]] rabid wolves below the fifty seventh latitude north (near Whitehorse, Yukon Territory). When asked what ``documented'' meant, he stated, ``The head of the wolf must be removed, sent to a lab for testing and found to be rabid.'' Those requirements for documentation negate all historical records! As with rabid wolves, the biologist can say, ``There are no `documented' cases of wild healthy wolves attacking humans.'' In order to be ``documented'' these unreasonable criteria must be met: 1. The wolf has to be killed, examined and found to be healthy. 2. It must be proven that the wolf was never kept in captivity in its entire life. 3. There must be eyewitnesses to the attack. 4. The person must die from their wounds (bites are generally not considered attacks according to the biologists). That is a ``documented'' attack. Such criteria make it very difficult to document any historical account of a wolf attack on a human! Biologists assume when a wolf attacks a human, that there must be something wrong with the wolf. It's either been in captivity or it's sick or whatever. They don't examine the evidence in an unbiased manner or use historical tests. Historically, there are four reasons for wolf attacks on humans: 1. Disease such as rabies. 2. Extreme hunger. 3. Familiarity/Disposition--This is an either/or situation. Familiarity is the zoo setting, captive wolves, etc. Disposition is a particularly aggressive wolf which may not fear man as most wolves do. 4. In the heat of the chase and kill--This is where a hiker, trapper or whoever disturbs a fresh chase and kill by wolves. The person walks into the scene only to be attacked by the wolves. It is our belief that a predator's fear of man is both instinctive and learned behavior. For example, wolves raised as pets or in zoos are well documented to attack and kill humans. Alyshia Berzyck, of Minnesota, was attacked and killed by a wolf on a chain on June 3, 1989. The wolf tore up her kidney, liver and bit a hole through her aorta. One month later, on July 1, 1989, Peter Lemke, 5, lost 12 inches of his intestine and colon and suffered bites to his stomach, neck, legs, arms and back in another wolf attack in Kenyon, Minnesota. (Reports on file and available upon request.) Zoos carry abundant records of wolf attacks on people, particularly children. The child climbs the enclosure fence to pet the ``dog'' and is attacked. Zoos and domestic settings are unnatural in that they place man and wolf in close proximity and they become accustomed to each other. Consequently attacks occur. Today predator control is very restricted in scope, and as a result, attacks on humans by predators are becoming more common. In recent years, healthy coyotes in Yellowstone Park have attacked humans. Similar attacks have occurred in the National Parks of Canada. On January 14, 1991, a healthy mountain lion attacked and killed an eighteen-year-old high school senior, Scott Lancaster, in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The boy was jogging on a jogging path within the city limits of the town when the lion attacked and killed him. (Report on file at Abundant Wildlife Society of North America) ____ Other Reported Wolf Attacks in the Wild 1. Comox Valley, British Colombia--1986--While driving a tractor, Jakob Knopp was followed by three wolves to his barn. They didn't leave, but kept snarling and showing their teeth. Knopp ran to his barn, retreived a rifle and had to shoot two of the three wolves before the third left the area. 2. George Williams, a retired sailor heard a commotion in his chicken coup one night. Thinking it was raccoons he took his single shot 22 rifle and headed for the coup. He rounded his fishing boat and trailer when a wolf leaped at him. He instinctively reacted with a snap shot with the rifle and dropped the wolf. A second wolf came at him before he could reload and George swung the rifle and struck the wolf across the head, stunning it. George retreated to the house until morning and found the wolf he had shot, the other was gone. 3. Clarence Lewis was picking berries on a logging road about a mile from Knopp's farm when he faced four wolves. Lewis yelled at them, two left and the other two advanced towards him. He took a branch and took a couple of threatening steps at them. They went into the brush and stayed close to him. Lewis faced the wolves and walked backward for two miles until he reached his car. 4. Don Hamilton, Conservation Officer at Nanaimo went to investigate a livestock killing by wolves. Wolves had killed a number of sheep in a pasture and Don went out to examine the kills. He came upon the scene and saw a large gray wolf feeding on one of the sheep. The wolf looked at him, growled and started running towards him at full speed. The wolf was over 100 yards away and never broke stride as it approached Don. At approximately 15 feet, Don shot the wolf to stop its attack. Don, who has many years experience with wolves, stated that he was convinced that the wolf was going to attack him because of its growling, snarling and aggressive behavior. 5. In 1947, a man was hunting cougar on Vancouver Island and was attacked by a pack of seven wolves. The man backed against a tree and shot the leader of the pack. The pack instantly tore the animal to shreds while the hunter made his escape. 6. Clarence Lindley was reportedly attacked by a 125-pound timber wolf. The incident occurred in early November, 1992 on the Figure 4 Ranch in Dunn County, North Dakota. Lindley was hunting horseback when the wolf attacked Lindley's horse causing it to jump and fall. Lindley was able to grab his saddle gun, a lever action Winchester 94, as the horse fell. The horse recovered its balance and Lindley found himself face to face with a snarling wolf. ``My heart was pounding,'' said Lindley, ``I could see those big teeth. He was less than five feet away. . . He meant business; he wasn't going to back off.'' Lindley fired his rifle at point blank range and killed the wolf with a shot to the neck. Lindley left the wolf since he couldn't get his horse close to it. On return to his hunting camp, his hunter friends failed to believe the account. They returned to the scene and skinned the wolf. The pelt was a flawless black and gray pelt measuring seven and a half feet from its feet to its snout. Its bottom teeth measured one and a half inches; top teeth--one and a quarter inches. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF) confiscated the hide and head of the wolf and took it to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for determination of its species. Tests revealed that the wolf was non-rabid. The wolf was thought to have come from Canada. (Reports on file and available upon request.) WOLF ATTACKS ON HUMANS (domestic incidents) 1. In the 1970s, John Harris, a Californian, toured the nation with ``tame'' wolves to promote public sympathy for preserving wolves. In July, 1975, ``Rocky,'' one of Harris'' wolves, attacked a one-year-old girl by biting her in the face. The girl was brought close to the wolf for a picture, an action encouraged by Harris. 2. In Maryland, a man kept a wolf in his basement and this animal turned and savagely bit and clawed his two-year-old son. 3. In New York City, a wolf bit a woman as it approached her. 4. At a zoo in Idaho, a little girl walked up to a cage housing a wolf and reached through the bars to pet the wolf. The wolf bit the arm. The arm had to be amputated. 5. Mr. Edward Rucciuti, former curator of publications for the New York Zoological Society and author of KILLER ANIMALS, personally witnessed a 12-year-old boy savagely attacked in the Bronx Zoo. This boy climbed a high fence in order to pet the wolves. The wolves (male and 2 females) immediately attacked the boy, ripping at the boy's clothing and flesh. The boy instinctively curled up in a ball, protecting his head, chest and abdomen. He then crawled into the moat in front of the exhibit with the wolves chewing his back and legs. Once the boy made it to the water, the wolves ceased their attack. The boy crawled out of the moat and collapsed. Mr. Rucciuti was amazed that the boy was still alive due to the severity of the bites. 6. San Diego Zoo (1971) A 15-year-old boy climbed the fence and tried to take a shortcut across the exhibit. He didn't know there were wolves in the exhibit and tried to run when he saw them. The wolves grabbed him by the leg attempting to drag him off. The boy grabbed a tree and hung on. Two bystanders jumped in the enclosure and attacked the wolves with tree branches. The wolves did not attack the two men, but continued to maul the boy. Dragging the boy and swinging their clubs, the boy was pulled out of the enclosure. The wolves in the enclosure were all young animals and it was thought that if the animals were mature, the boy would have died before being rescued. 7. A few months after the attack on the boy (#6), a man scaled the fence and swung his arms in the exhibit to get the attention of the wolves and got it by being bitten severely on both arms. 8. 1973--Another boy tried to cross the same compound and was attacked, a security guard shot and killed one of the wolves, and the other fled as the boy was pulled to safety. 9. 1975--Small zoo in Worcester, Massachusetts, a two-year- old lad was savagely bitten on the leg when it slipped through an enclosure opening. The boy's mother and 2 men could not pull the boy free. The wolves did not stop ripping the boy's leg apart until a railroad tie was thrown in the midst ofthe wolves. 10. 1978--A wolf bit a child in Story, Wyoming. The wolfwas penned at a local veterinary clinic for observation. During that time, the wolf escaped its pen and killed a young calf. Wyoming law prohibits the keeping of wild animals as pets, so the animal was shipped to Ohio, where it had come from. The owner of the wolf went to Ohio and brought the wolf back to Wheatland, Wyoming. It was reported the wolf attacked and killed a child in that area shortly thereafter. 11. September, 1981--A two-year-old boy was mauled to death by an 80-lb, 3-year old female wolf in Ft. Wayne, Michigan. The boy [[Page 17499]] wandered within the chain length of the wolf. 12. August 2, 1986 (Fergus Falls, Minnesota)--A 17-month- old boy reached and grabbed the fencing which kept his father's pet wolves enclosed. One wolf immediately grabbed the boy's hand and bit it off. The mother was at the scene and received lacerations freeing the child from the wolf. 13. July 1988 (Minnesota Zoo)--A teenage volunteer reached through the wire fence to pet a wolf and was bitten. The wolf was put to sleep and tested for rabies negative. 14. May 15, 1989--2-year-old Timothy Bajinski was bitten by a wolf hybrid in his mother's Staten Island, New York backyard. Mrs. Bajinski has been charged with keeping a wild animal. 15. May 1989--Lucas Wilken was bitten by two wolf hybrids in Adams County, CO (Denver Area). 16. June 3, 1989--Three year old Alyshia Berczyk was attacked and killed by a wolf in Forest Lake, Minnesota. The wolf had bitten her severely and had injured her kidneys, liver and bit through her aorta. Alyshia was playing in a backyard when she got too close to the chained wolf that grabbed her dress and pulled her down, attacking her. 17. July 1, 1989 (Kenyon, Minnesota)--Peter Lemke, age 5, attempted to pet a chained wolf and was attacked. He lost 12 inches of his intestine and colon, suffered a tear in his stomach, and bite wounds on his arms, legs, buttocks and neck. While being life-flighted to the hospital, Pete arrested 3 times but was saved by medical personnel. The Lemkes have incurred over $200,000 in hospital bills. Pete has a colostomy bag, but doctors are hopeful they can re- attach his colon and get it to function normally in later surgeries. 18. September 3, 1989--A wolf and a dog entered a corral belonging to Leona Geppfart of Caldwell, ID and attacked a 6- month-old 400-pound Hereford calf. Geppfart attempted to scare the animals away and they turned on her and she retreated to her house. A short time later, a law enforcement officer arrived and as he approached the corral, the wolf lunged at him. The officer stopped the animal with his shotgun. Note: This list of wolf attacks is by no means exhaustive. They are simply listed to show that attacks have occurred both in the wild and other settings. Furthermore, while attacks by healthy wolves may not be common, the deep concern for wolves which have contracted rabies is a real threat. Right now, in Catron County, New Mexico, which is the heart of the wolf program, we have had new outbreaks of rabies among foxes. As everyone who has seen Old Yeller knows, rabies is a devastating disease which can cause tremendous harm. Because of the proximity of wolves to the population of New Mexico this year, the Fish and Wildlife Service took the extraordinary step of publishing a wolf tip card. Now, for the Fish and Wildlife Service to put out a card and distribute it in your district telling you to be careful and telling you what to do if you come up against one of these threats, you would feel that it should not be happening in your district. Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Chairman, the following material are letters I have received from my constituents and other concerned citizens of southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona regarding the reintroduction of the Mexican Wolf. Since the reintroduction of the Mexican Wolf in 1998, the residents of my Congressional District have been plagued by problems associated with the release. Not only do ranchers suffer economic hardship due to wolves preying on their livestock, but countless family pets have been lost including dogs and horses. As the wolves become less afraid of man every year, I fear they will eventually prey upon humans. To date, the program has yielded 58 wolves, 20 percent of which will be removed as problem animals, at a $14 million cost to the taxpayers. That is $242,000 spent per wolf. These are some of our wolf experiences in the past 7.5 years. I don't think we have had a decent nights sleep since this program began. 2003--Wolf notes Monday May 19 to Tuesday May 28. Tuesday, May 20, 2003 12:42 p.m. Subject: Wolves are back No sooner that I griped to the Game Commission's about the release of our old friend from the Campbell Blue pack, F 592 into the wilderness again that she shows up here again. John Oakleaf called last May 19 about 9 p.m. with the happy news that they were with our cows and calves. We were missing 2 calves since Friday and wolf tracks are everywhere but everything was OK when I checked this morning and this afternoon nothing but tracks. Life gets just a whole lot more complicated with them around. How many times can you say I told you so to the FWS, they can't stop believing that releasing heavily pregnant wolves into the Wilderness will keep them there, it doesn't and it hasn't and it never will. Changing the name just buffalo's the public into thinking there are new wolves out there. The new name for F 592 and her new mate was the Sycamore pack. The only good news is she should have had her puppies last week or maybe two weeks ago and she probably killed them if she traveled this far. Ivy, my 14 year old daughter rode her paint mare up to the top of the hill by the house this morning like she always does and met up with both wolves. She said they wouldn't leave her alone and squared off with her at about 30 feet away. She didn't want to turn her back on them so she shot and reloaded and shot her single shot 22 off in the air a couple times and they finally scuttled down the hill into Turkey Run in front of her. She was pretty excited and not a little scared when she came in. I on the other hand am livid and a lot scared. My kids shouldn't have to be held up by a pair of wolves on a ride \1/4\ mile from the house. Laura. Wednesday, May 21, 2003 1:17 p.m. Subject: Wolf update Rafter Spear 5-20&21 We caught them on the cows and calves last evening May 20, 2003 around 7 p.m. and they had them bunched up trying to get a calf out the calves were either crying or sucking, we were just in time. We ran them off all of 50 feet and started driving the cows down the canyon on foot. I left Matt with the cows and the 30-30 and went up the other canyon to check the other cows. On the way, I met Dan the wolf guy and told him to hurry up, the wolves were following Matt and he might just have to shoot one since they are following him so close. I stopped at the house to get a blanket for Miles since it was getting cold and he was asleep in the jeep, thank goodness. I also told the girls to saddle up and go help dad move those cows. Which they did. Over the ridge I found a bagged up cow with wolf tracks nearby and all the other cows were far enough up the other canyon and still all right with no sign of wolf activity around them. I went on to 74 and check the other cattle thankfully the wolves hadn't been there yet. By the time I got back to the turnoff to the house, where Matt and the girls left the cows, Matt was way off ahead on the road home and Dan was parked in the flat near the turnoff to our house with our cows. I picked up Matt and he said to go back and let him talk to Dan. He didn't apologize for yelling at him earlier but let it be known he didn't totally blame Dan for the situation. Dan said he was going to stay in the cows all night and we told him to come to the house and eat first. He said OK. He called an hour later {satellite phone} and said the wolves were in the calves again and he wasn't coming in to eat. By then it was 10 p.m. so I made him supper and coffee and we took it out to him. He said they were all over the cows and calves and howling at him because they were frustrated and he was firing rubber bullets at them. He only had enough light to set one trap though. Since he was OK we went home to sleep because after learning they were in the cattle the night before we pretty much stayed awake all night. Woke up at 4 a.m. finally got up at 4:30 and Dan showed up at 5:15 with some good news, he caught the male about 20 minutes before in the single trap he had managed to set the evening before. Apparently Dan has been improving as a trapper since our Dec. 99 experience with Campbell Blue pack which included F 592. Melissa, Ted Turners wolf biologist, was 3 hours away with a cage so we called our neighbor Jack Diamond and he sent his wife Kaye over with a kennel to put the trapped wolf in. We went back out and the female was still there with the male but not very close, it was breaking daylight by then. Dan gave the wolf a light sedative type drug so he would relax and not hurt himself in the trap. Matt went to check the cows in 74 where I had gone that night and I waited with Dan in case Kaye got there and Dan needed help loading the wolf. She did and Matt and Dan loaded him into the kennel right about the time Melissa showed up, so we sent that wolf home to Sevilletta. I made Dan keep Melissa's kennel in case 592 was caught. The female 592 ran off but I am sure she stayed somewhere nearby, Dan looked around for her and then tried to sleep a few hours during the day they aren't very active, thank goodness. The wolves had run him from calf to calf and canyon to canyon last night and he didn't get much rest I am just grateful it wasn't me but I may get a turn tonight. These livestock killers and problem wolves should not be turned out at all. 592 is the major stock killer of the pair and they were determined to get a calf. Dan didn't let them and they actually howled at him about it. But they did manage to bite at least two calves before he could hit them with rubber bullets which seemed to have little effect. We are missing two calves one since about last Friday and one since Monday but haven't found any wolf poop yet to see what is up with that. Probably won't be confirmed though. One was about a week old and one was born Saturday to a cow that has never lost a calf, Matt saw it Sunday evening and it was fine then. [[Page 17500]] Mad as we are about all this at least we had competent help and we are grateful for that. Why the hell they are re- releasing stock killers is beyond me. It is plain dumb and only makes the program look bad. Laura. Update: Wolves at the rafter spear 5-21-5-23 The last few days the wolf story has slowed down a lot but the aftermath is still ongoing. After trapping the male, the female took off and is about 6 miles to the SW at last flight on Thursday. There are traps everywhere in preparation for her return. I understand they are trapping for her because of the incident with Ivy not the calf killing. I don't care why but glad to hear there is a limit to how badly they can accost our kids. Nick Smith and Dan Stark also have a permit to shoot her if they have to. My problem is, this animal has a history here and has absolutely no fear it has menaced my daughter and followed my husband, who is not menaceable, or at least he thought he wasn't until he was followed by wolves he was not allowed to shoot. Together they killed and ate two calves before we knew they were here and two bitten calves, they are swelled up and crippled we have shaved measured and taken pictures. One has more bites, on the flanks, side and head but they are superficial, the calf is in quite a bit of distress from bruising but hopefully will be fine. I imagine the times when Dan heard the cows get up and shined the spotlight on them and saw the wolf, he stopped the attacks. The next day there was a calf with a swollen front knee in the same bunch, after shaving we found wolf bites on the front and back legs. The knee is hot and three times bigger than the other, the wound on it is superficial but the trauma caused the swelling is severe and this calf may be ruined. Both calves were in the bunch Dan guarded Tuesday night. If he hadn't been there would probably be 4 missing calves and four tight bagged cows. I am glad he got to experience the mayhem one pair of wolves can attempt to wreck in just 12 hours. On a side note there is another injury from a calf caught in a trap this morning, nobody is to blame for that, We are grateful to have the traps out, but still, another injury. There was a small bunch of 11 cows and calves that were harassed by the pair, not including the two that lost the calves. It has been some week. I have a dramatic picture for every day of the week. Yesterday the FS backburned from behind my house and it was pretty scary kind of like a volcano going off on your back door. The results should be good though. We had good representation from our government yesterday though. FWS, FS RITF and APHIS all on the porch at once. If we can find a piece of the space shuttle maybe NASA will come pay us a visit. It is hard to know where to begin since our emotions have run the gamut the past few days. Traps were set Tuesday after the male was caught and the female left for several days, she ended up on the Diamond Bar where Nick Smith tracked her for several days. He found one bitten calf probably from the trip over here a week prior. The calf was a month or two old so that is probably why they were still shy about killing it and staying there. The weekend was pretty good though, I went to town, 74 miles away on Saturday and bought groceries so the guys could be fed halfway decently while they worked and believe me they worked. Matt took Miles, he is 5 and clipped cages below the house and Dan checked his traps and made a 20 mile circle hiking into diamond creek on foot trying to get a signal. He was unsuccessful but Nick Smith found her signal later that night west of the Links camp on the Diamond Bar. On Sunday, Matt and Dan rode into Round Mountain and packed salt. That afternoon everyone rested a bit between checking traps and gardening, painting, watching Kristie and her boyfriend and various other normal pursuits. She was back here Monday morning. Dan woke up checked his equipment, got a signal and took off. When I checked cows that day I got a signal that seemed pretty strong right in the cows up 74 draw and Dan's truck was nearby. She pretty much stayed there all day with Dan tracking her along with Nick Smith who came in to help him. Dan came in that evening to make some phone calls and get something to eat. While he was on the phone, Matt and I went out and looked after the cows, one of us on either end of the bunch. She was there the whole time but we didn't have a directional antenna and felt our job was to look after the cows not the wolf. Monday night and Tuesday, yesterday. Dan was up all night with her, most of the cattle were west about a mile he felt OK about leaving her alone until light, really there wasn't much choice since she didn't seem to be doing anything but hanging out in that area and it was pretty thick. Near morning he could hear coyotes making a heck of a ruckus in the draw she was up and thought that it was weird since he has been taught all his life that such wolf/coyote fraternizing behavior was abnormal. He hadn't remembered or taken us seriously when we had told him the coyotes saved her life in the winter of 1999/2000 when she was here last. She had nearly starved to death until she started hanging around with the coyotes. Kristie who was 15 at the time had ridden up on her and the wolf followed her part way back to the house. Kristie was really mad because she could see the wolf was half dead from hunger and going bald. It was so cold that winter she would cry on the mountain behind the house and we would hear her at night. She was there for 5 months until she moved to the neighbors on Canyon Creek and killed her first calf. Later that summer she moved to the Adobe which is north of us met with her old mate and really went to killing cattle. Those coyotes saved her life though and she was used to being around them. Anyway, Dan hiked into the draw to see what was up as soon as there was enough light and a cow with a full bag of milk met him on his way in. The bad news is 592 was on a cow that had calved a day or two before and she had killed the calf. The coyotes had found her and were trying to steal the carcass from her. He ran both the wolf and the coyotes, off the calf, found two pieces and packed them to the truck and brought them in to the house put them in the barn and called Wildlife Services. As Dan has found out, sometimes there is just nothing you can do about the killing even when you are watching just as close as you can and not sleeping or eating to do it. The wolf has every advantage even if you do have the technology. We were very lucky he found any remains of this calf. The calf was killed by the wolf, Wildlife Services verified it the hemorrhaging was way too bad to be coyote and the bite marks measured out. At least the few that weren't eaten away. The calf was in two pieces it was a new heifer and had walked on it's feet quite a bit before it was killed. The cow was one we were concerned about because she had taken off to have the calf as they all do. Apparently she didn't hide well enough to fool the wolf. But as Dan can attest to, she was hidden from all human eyes pretty darned well. I had to go to Winston and get gas, so I took Dan and Nick some Orange juice that afternoon, Dan looked like crap and they were still tracking her. Dan was waiting for Nick to radio him and was trying to catch a catnap under the truck when I pulled up, so much for that nap. Johnny Anglin with Wildlife Services arrived the same time I did. We left them to their business about 30 min later. On my way home I found a brand new calf in the same bunch of cows that the wolf had been living with the past couple days. I took pictures of it in case the calf showed up on a milk carton in the next day or two. The cow was eating her afterbirth in the pictures so she was doing her best to keep baby safe instinct is an amazing thing. It was a big old baby too. The wolf was shot this evening, the poor little old thing was laid out on the tailgate. She had big feet, a big head and big teeth and an extremely full belly. She did have a really ugly unhealthy looking coat in my opinion for something that had only come out of captivity a few weeks earlier. It had done nothing but follow her own survival instinct as successfully as possible. This was a dumb mistake and a bad situation that didn't have to happen. We all spent a week living and breathing this tragedy that resulted in three dead calves, 3 wolf injured calves a bunch of stressed out people one trapped wolf and one pathetic shot wolf. It cost us a full week away from earning any income milling and we are way behind, broke and extremely tired. It cost Dan his peace of mind and taught him the hard way what we have to deal with. Thankfully he retained his integrity in spite of the mess and stress going on all around him. Thank goodness it is over for now. However I know the Francisco Pack will be re-released soon and am sure the same set of problems on a larger scale will be imminent as soon as that release takes place. Rereleasing habitual stock killers is poor management and is only asking for trouble. Unfortunately so many of the employees agree with the environmentalists that the wolves should be out on the ground no matter how many of our cows they kill so they just keep using problem and habituated wolves in the program. When the wolf kills too many cattle they just re-write their policy to allow them to leave it out longer and hurt us ranchers more. Update: June 5, Sherry Laney found a calf with a big bite in it's behind the bite is 1 and \1/2\ inches, wolf width. It is healing but mildly infected. I guess she wasn't so shy over there after all. June 2004. A single wolf has been moving around 74 draw all month. Matt found a small calf with his hind end totally mauled. We already had his mother here at the house, that cow never ever loses a calf so Matt had been looking for the calf, the calf found him actually ran to him bawling for help. We cut away the dead and infected flesh and found bites in all the same places as last years calves, WS came out but they didn't do a thorough job examining it. I was gone so nobody insisted on a thorough job like I would have. I did it myself later. This is a wolf attack the bites measure out and the injuries are in the same place and there were wolf tracks. [[Page 17501]] People don't realize wolves are not efficient killers and they aren't at all humane about what they do. They simply get something down and start eating and the prey dies of shock and blood loss. It is very difficult for someone who raises livestock to see their hard work tortured to death in this manner, especially the pregnant cows and the baby calves. This wolf was inexperienced and the calf got away. He nearly died of the infection though and weighed about 150 pounds less than the other calves. I guess when he finally went to the market he was considered a wolf friendly beef. Summer 2005 wolf tracks up and down 74 draw again. Watching all the cattle all the time no time for school or anything else. Kristie got married in July so we are glad the wolves didn't show up until after the wedding anyway. No kills that we know of except to a bear which we were allowed to take care of so that ended that problem. October 2006. At least two separate wolves moving in and out of the area. These wolves do not have tracking collars. FWS will not investigate. WS showed up and documented tracks so we can do something if there is a kill. Nothing so far that we were able to find just a lot of lost time and a huge amount of fuel again. Bought two Pyreneese pups in September, we can't afford to feed them but we have to do something progressive. We have also purchased water rights and are going to the huge expense of putting an irrigation system into the old fields on this place so we can bring cows into the deeded land if necessary and wolves get into them again. We have to be able to defend our cattle and the rules only allow us to do so if they are on deeded land. We have also built kennels at a 4000 dollar cost that we also cannot afford but we can't allow wolves to come into the deeded land and kill our valuable cow dogs. We can't operate in this rough country without them. December 26, 2006. Pyraneese puppies who are 5 months old now gone. The other one is hiding under the porch and there are wolf tracks everywhere. We had them penned up in the yard but they found a way out. The kids are devastated. We looked everywhere but the puppy is gone. The wolf just carried him off. All that dog food we have in him wasted all those kid hugs and effort just eaten up like it was nothing. We will have to replace him, his brother can't be alone with these animals around. I guess we just have to get used to living with death and destruction and still we are supposed to be happy people and living under the requirements of the law. It is sickening. 2007. June 11 on our way home from town we saw three wolves, one had a collar but two did not. They were in Brian Carters cows on the side of the road just about two miles from the Poverty creek subdivision. They were just laying in the tall grass with the cattle waiting for it to get a little darker. Matt and I ran them off the cows and called our neighbors to tell them the wolves were in the cows. It didn't help, the next day we went over with our monitor and there was no signal for the collared animal so he is probably has a non functioning collar. This is a whole other pack FWS do not believe exist. Found wolf poop two different piles of it. One had calf teeth in it. FWS never even bothered to come out or do anything at all and there is no telling where these animals are now. Our closest neighbor Jack Diamond has the horse killing aspen pack on him in his roughest pasture they are having pups there and are now feeding his yearlings to the pups. I went over and gave moral support while they confirmed the first kill that the Diamonds were able to find. They are out there every day but like I said it is rough country and they won't know how many they lost until it is time to ship the yearlings. Nearly 2 year old heifer eaten alive at water tank on Diamond's place. All three wolves involved only the male has a strike towards removal. The rule doesn't say only one wolf gets the strike. FWS are cheating the people out here of proper and fair management to leave killer wolves out on the ground. May/June 07. I once again have two sets of wolf tracks and no signal in our cow pasture. I am watching the cattle like a hawk. The Boy Scout camp has moved in and that seemed to have driven the animals out for now. Now I am just worried sick about the kids so I warned, mentioned is a better word the wolves to the scoutmasters. How do you tell them that wolves that attacked a dog in front of an 8 year old girl are here within a half days walk of your camp. I didn't tell them all that, didn't want them to feel uncomfortable out here. I want them out here while it is still possible, within a year or two, nobody will be comfortable camping out here with kids. So I told them to come and use my phone for anything they needed and I am checking in on them every day or two. It is nerve wracking but they are making quite a bit of noise so things should be ok. We are exhausted and financially strapped from all the re- vamping of our operation and we are demoralized by all the un-collared wolves we are seeing and finding tracks for. Mostly it is so disheartening that nobody even cares about our neighbors and ourselves. That we are all going broke supporting this program and those kids running it are getting huge salaries and don't end up losing anything, ever. Why us why is it our responsibility to shoulder this program's foolishness? Why are we being allowed to go bankrupt? Why can't I finish my college education? Why can't my youngest daughter go off to school too? She feels like she needs to be here to help us keep our home and help us keep our family ranch in business. My son never got to be raised at the creek playing with minnows and frogs like his sisters did before wolves. He hasn't gotten to ride with his dad hardly at all either, he just turned 9 and his whole life has been affected by wolves. At least our girls were able to be raised out here the way we intended. Our son is locked into a yard and has to be watched constantly. I have to attend every single meeting I can scrape together gas money for, and we can't afford to any more. But if we don't go, FWS and the groups that support this program and who get paychecks to go to these meetings will come up with another plan to harm us further. I pray every night that this program will go away, before it is too late for us before it is too late for the game and the whole country is too dangerous to live in the way it used to be. Sincerely Laura. ____ March 14, 2007. Subject: Grant County Farm and Livestock Bureau urging support for a Grant County Commissioners' wolf management resolution or ordinance. Grant County Commissioners, Grant County Administrative Center, Silver City, NM. On behalf of the Grant County Farm and Livestock Bureau, this letter is written in support of Grant County Commissioners passing a resolution or ordinance that will uphold the Constitutional rights, insure citizens safety and reduce the economic impact of the introduction of the Mexican Grey wolf into Grant County. As the Government closest to the people, the county is obligated to take a stand on how the wolf introduction project is operated within their jurisdiction so that the following problems are overseen. Property rights (compensation for any losses due to the wolves), safety for human lives, public health concerns such as rabies, and to insure that rural economic pursuits are not jeopardized. Active participation of the county commissioners and county law enforcement personnel with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the New Mexico Game and Fish Department is absolutely necessary in order to manage the wolf introductions and insure that Grant County citizens rights are not violated. In the final analysis we feel very strongly that there is no animal on this planet worth the life of a single child. It is the right and responsibility of Grant County Commissioners to insure that the lives of our children are never at risk from wolves. Sincerely, John C. York, President. ____ Wolf Sighting on the N Cross Ranch On March 13, 2007, between 7:15 and 7:45 a.m., I Ryan Jameson had a threatening encounter with several Mexican Grey Wolves. I was working on the N Cross Ranch in Cliff, New Mexico, and beginning to saddle a horse at our barn. All seven of the horses were in the stalls, when suddenly they began frantically snorting and stomping. I looked towards the south and noticed that several objects were running due west, approximately 150 to 200 yards away from the barn. As I continued watching, I realized that the moving objects were a pack of wolves! I was filled with fury as I watched these ferocious animals sprint directly towards two of our bulls. I knew that I had to take control immediately in order to not only protect these two defenseless bulls, but also the other twenty-two three- to six-year-old bulls in Pitt's Pasture. I jumped on the four-wheeler, rushed up to my grandmother's house, and got a means of protection. Then just as quickly as I had come, I raced back towards the area in which I had spotted the wolves. My goal was to run them off of our bulls as quickly as possible. As I neared their location, I noticed that five wolves were circling the two bulls. I decided to go at them head on, which caused two of the predators to break off. However, three of the wolves persisted and continued circling. They did not break away until I was only about twenty yards away. Two of the wolves then headed northwest towards my grandparents' house. Luckily I was able to redirect them towards the direction of the other three wolves, after alarming them with my hollering and the four- wheeler. Next the wolves went under a nearby fence, into Pitt's Pasture. After dismounting from the four-wheeler, I jumped [[Page 17502]] over this same fence. This maneuver made me a barrier between the five wolves and the bulls. At this point I was only about ten to fifteen feet away from the dangerous pack, and I realized that they all looked full as if they had just come from a kill. I began shouting and waving my arms, and slowly four of the wolves ran away. The fifth wolf lurked behind the others; though, and he confidently stared right at me. I stood my ground and continued creating a ruckus, which caused the animal to trot in the same direction as the others. The five wolves climbed to the top of a hill and sprawled under a tree. I knew that I should proceed by reporting the incident to the officials; however, I did not want to lose contact with the pack. I had to be sure that they did not cause any further damage to our cattle. After riding the four-wheeler back to my grandparents' house, I called my grandfather and mother, inquiring about which officials I should call. They informed me that they would make all of the necessary calls, and I was instructed to watch the wolves very closely. We did not want the wild animals to attack any of our cattle. The wolves were close enough to my grandparents' house that I was able to watch them from this location. This is exactly what I did for about twenty minutes. During this time the wolves were sniffing around and moving amongst the trees on the hill. However, they then began to move out over the hill, which prevented me from seeing them. I immediately got back on the four-wheeler and raced to the top of the hill, in order to be sure that the predators were not harassing or harming any of the cattle in Pitt's Pasture. When I arrived at the top of the hill, the wolves were only about fifteen to twenty feet away and four of them were already circling three bulls. I jumped off the four-wheeler and ran towards these wolves. They eventually broke off and trotted away from the scene. However, as I looked over my shoulder I noticed that the fifth wolf was only about six feet away and was circling me. The male wolf was in a crouching position and its hair was standing on end. After it did about three-fourths of a circle around me, I charged the wild animal. This seemed to be my only choice as I was overwhelmed with fear for my life. As soon as I began to charge, the wolf trotted off towards the other four wolves. I ran to my four-wheeler, in hopes to catch up with the pack. I wanted to see where they were headed, but unfortunately I lost sight of them. Two hours after this horrific incident, a plane flew over our ranch in the exact direction that the wolf pack had run off to. The plane made three to five tight circles above this area. I was for certain that the person or people in the plane were tracking the wolves, because I had seen a collar on one of the wolves. I also believe that the other four wolves wore collars as well. However, due to the emotional intensity of the events, I was not focusing on specific characteristics of the wolves or their collars. I was intent on protecting our livestock! Later in the day, about early to mid afternoon, a USDA official, Pat Finch, came out to our ranch to investigate the wolf incident. I took him to the location of the first encounter with the wolves, which was nearby the barn. Mr. Finch examined and measured the tracks. I recall these measurements being roughly 4.5 inches long by 3.5 inches wide. He then stated that the tracks were wolf tracks. At this point I told him the unforgettable story that I have recorded here. My family has yet to hear any further information regarding the Mexican Grey Wolves. There has not been a single government official contact us since the day of our encounter with these threatening animals, March 13, 2007. Ryan T. Jameson. ____ Monday, June 4, 2007 From: Jim Taylor. Subject: Wolf program cost. We are involved in a small mother-cow operation, and fortunately are fairly well removed from the areas wolves have been introduced to. However, we did sight a pair on our property (17 miles east of T or C, NM) and this sighting was confirmed by our neighbors to the east of us and all the way south to the Cutter area. We reported this sighting to US fish and game--several months later, one of their reps came by asking about the sighting . . . as if they really cared. We attended one ``wolf meeting'' in T or C--hosted by fish and game I guess. Forest Svc, State fish and game, US fish&game, and some more reps from other govt agencies there. I did some rough, unqualified math in my head in relation to what all these talking heads with the govt agencies were making (salaries, expenses, transportation, etc) then added what their employees (field grunts) were making--then the cost of equipment, feed, medicine, etc, then the scariest part--what their bosses (the politicians, lobbies, and other general carpet baggers) were milking us (the tax paying public) for. I stated to the chair of that meeting that I surely didnt begrudge anybody employment, but I felt our tax dollars--and their educations, could certainly be put to better use than feeding a bunch of wild dogs. Seemed pretty darn silly to be messing with obsolete evolution while we have so many socio- economic challenges in this country--(the homeless, the hungry, the uninsured, just to scratch the surface). Instead of feeding a wild dog, why not channel that money and all the ``brain power'' these wolf activists and their lackeys control to a very evident and more worthwhile endeavor. I dont like the tax burden I carry, but if I've got to pay those taxes, I hate to see them squandered on the wolves. From where I sit, the whole program stinks--I think it's about how many dollars the carpet bagging activists can garner, and the wolves are no more than a vehicle for them to reach that end. And at the taxpayers expense. I also believe the wolf program is a poorly masked assault on the livestock industry and possibly even conspires to a future land grab, as ranchers are forced out of business. Sorry, but I cant find much nice to say about the program. Jim Taylor, Engle, NM. ____ Friday, June 15, 2007 12:46 p.m. From: Micha Miller, Subject: Letter about wolves Dear Mr. Pearce: I am Micha Noel Miller the 13 year old that has to carry a firearm when I go outside. We, my parents & I, have had the Durango Pack (AF924 & AM 973) in our yard 5 time in the last 6 weeks. I hate the wolves in our yard because I feel that I am trapped in my house! I love to ride my horse & bike & walk around outside, for that I wish we could get the wolves out permantly! When we get home after dark my mom has to go feed our dogs & cats because I'm scared to go outside even though I know the wolves are 6 miles down the road & it doesn't make a difference, I'm still afraid they are coming up behind me. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder & being scared all the time. Even carrying a firearm I'm still frightened of the wolves when they come in my yard. I have gone hunting with my dad alot. We have called in coyotes & even a bear & I wasn't as scared as I was everytime the wolves were in our yard. The coyotes & bears are more scared of you & will run away, but the wolves will just keep coming closer to you. They are not scared of humans!! I have had a wolf within 40 yards of me & I was so scared I couldn't move. My older sister, A.J., came out & scared the wolf off finally. I have nightmares about the wolves attacking my family & our pets. The Wolf Program says you cannot shoot a wolf if it attacking your pet on private property. I don't understand how the wolf program expects people to stand by & let the wolves kill their pets & not do anything to stop them. They think the wolves are more important than anything else, including a human life! I wish there was someway you could get the wolf program to remove the wolves. I just want to have a normal childhood where I can go outside & play anytime I want without being armed & worrying about wolves being in my yard. Thank you for your help, Micha Miller. ____ Friday, June 15, 2007 3:59 p.m. Subject: Mexican Gray Wolf I would like to share with you my out look on the Mexican Gray Wolf. It makes me sick to see what damage this program of Dumping the Wolf off here on the New Mexico and Arizona border has done, I don't see how this got passed because there is not but two people here in Reserve NM. that I have talked to that would even consider this wrong doing, Why didn't the people in the surrounding towns and Ranches get to vote on this matter? The Cost to the American people for this wrong doing is way over its bounds when you want to give this matter some real down home thought. . . . What were the Endangered Species Act and The Defenders of Wildlife thinking Let alone our elected officials doing? Thinking back that was about the time Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky was spending too much time in the oral office, What was all the other elected officials doing at that time? Makes me wonder. When this Wolf matter should of been the main topic, instead of watching our President stand before America and lie like he did on television about his affair with Monica. What is going to be done about this Wolf Reintroduction Program, that should be called Dumping the Wolf along the NM./AZ. border. There was a lot more food for the Wolf a 100 yrs. ago and the Wolf didn't make it then, Why is it that the Organizations that got the wolf dumped here now seem to have over looked this part, are they going to bring back the Buffalo that use to run on the ranges back to? The wolf is going to need a large food source soon from the way I see things, The wolf and all other predators are over taking what use to be. The poison that use to keep the predators thinned down is no longer used now and there should of been some other means of taking care of this problem, Now the Wolf is here eating and killing what few Deer there is left and the Elk, What is going to happen when the Elk herds keep falling off? Is that just OK because the Wolf needs to eat to. I feel that the groups that wanted the Wolf here should make some other means of feeding it, there [[Page 17503]] use to be over 50,000 head of sheep in the Gila National Forest surroundings and now there is nowhere that amount, The Deer are all but gone as to what use to be here even 10 yrs ago. Since the Organization's of Organized Crime that got the Wolf Dumped off here along the NM. AZ. border, Why don't they bring back the Dinosaur's, Buffalo. I would rather see Charles Manson back cruising the streets of LA. California. And Grizzly Bears in Time Square NY. my self, it would keep crime rate down. Any Way you want to look at this matter our country is not doing good when a Group of people can dictate what goes on here in the South West and not even live here, It is wrong. Why don't they put the Wolf in there own back yard or keep them in the pen next to where the Buffalo that use to Rome here are being kept, and continue to hand feed the Wolf that didn't make it 100 yrs ago and will not make it now, if you look at this with common sense, the Wolf is going to run out of food to eat!!! Then What? Some people say that the Wolf wont attack humans well there is a book out that will give you a different out look on this matter it is called Wolves in Russia and you can get your copy at www.wolvesinrussia.com http://www.wolvesinrussia.com/ I'm very disappointed in how the Wolf Dumping went, and I feel this matter is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better, What do you think is going to happen when little red riding hood or little johnny gets off the school bus and gets attacked by the Big Bad Wolf on there way home from school? then what do you think is going to happen, How long is it going take for the American people that have to live with this situation everyday and wake up some morning and decide to take the Law into there own hands? What is going to stop everybody that lives in surrounding towns to get together and decide to open a wolf hunt and everyone go wolf hunting? How would you like to wake up and have Wolves around your house all day waiting to attack the family pet/livestock, When the Wolf gets hungry enough there is nothing going to stop it from killing what ever it can to stay alive, That could be a good time for all the Organizations and People that wanted and got the Wolf here for them to go on a family camping trip to see there first wolf in the wilderness and to here there first wolf howl, they will have to get out from behind there desk. I sure hope they bring plenty of dog food and leave there guns at home, Just maybe they can have there first hands on situation with a pack of Wolves and see how they like the Ida then. Gregory Scott. ____ From: Micha Miller. Friday, June 15, 2007 12:46 p.m. Subject: Letter about wolves Dear Mr. Pearce: I am Micha Noel Miller the 13 year old that has to carry a firearm when I go outside. We, my parents and I, have had the Durango Pack (AF924 and AM 973) in our yard 5 times in the last 6 weeks. I hate the wolves in our yard because I feel that I am trapped in my house! I love to ride my horse and bike and walk around outside, for that I wish we could get the wolves out permanently! When we get home after dark my mom has to go feed our dogs and cats because I'm scared to go outside even though I know the wolves are 6 miles down the road and it doesn't make a difference, I'm still afraid they are coming up behind me. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder and being scared all the time. Even carrying a firearm I'm still frightened of the wolves when they come in my yard. I have gone hunting with my dad alot. We have called in coyotes and even a bear and I wasn't as scared as I was everytime the wolves were in our yard. The coyotes and bears are more scared of you and will run away, but the wolves will just keep coming closer to you. They are not scared of humans!! I have had a wolf within 40 yards of me and I was so scared I couldn't move. My older sister, A.J., came out and scared the wolf off finally. I have nightmares about the wolves attacking my family and our pets. The Wolf Program says you cannot shoot a wolf if it is attacking your pet on private property. I don't understand how the wolf program expects people to stand by and let the wolves kill their pets and not do anything to stop them. They think the wolves are more important than anything else, including a human life! I wish there was someway you Mr. Pearce could get the wolf program to remove the wolves. I just want to have a normal childhood where I can go outside and play anytime I want without being armed and worrying about wolves being in my yard. Thank you for your help. Micha Miller. ____ Dear Sir: I am Samuel Montoya, a Viet Nam Veteran and a life resident of New Mexico. I was born in Las Cruces, and was brought up to enjoy the outdoors and the abundant hunting privileges, shared by and with many generations of my family. Since the wolf program has been active in our state, the enjoyment of the outdoors has stopped; and our hunting has become unsafe. In 2006, myself and some friends were on an elk hunt in the Gila, specifically units 16A and 16D. A total of 4 elk were killed. Two of the hunters were my friends that came in to hunt were from Indiana. They paid out of state license fees. We were bow hunting and they stuck their elk in the evening and lost the blood trail when it got dark. I told them we would get up early and continue to track. Well, we found them and a wolf was on them and had eaten over half the elk. I ensured they tagged it which is in accordance with NM Game and Fish laws. They went home paying the state $766.00 and all their expenses getting here and then going home without the elk they had killed. I am also a landowner at Elk Springs. Is it sad that I can't do anything to protect my property and pets, on my own property, from the wolf. This is the policy of the Federal and State Government. I have had wolves on my property and so have other neighbors in the subdivision. In reading our Constitution of the State of New Mexico, Page 2, Article II. Bill of Rights Section 2-3-4, Popular Sovereignty and Right of Self Government and Inherent Rights, we no longer have these rights; they have been taken away from us. The most important to me are sections 3 and 4. I cannot govern what happens on my property with the wolf, and in section 4, I cannot enjoy and defend my life and liberty of acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and of seeking and obtaining safety and happiness, as long as the wolf is present. Our game--elk, deer, etc., will no longer be what it is today, due to the wolf. I don't know how our Federal Government could bring the wolves into New Mexico and feed them with our state game. The hunters have paid for our elk population, by purchasing licenses. Our Game & Fish are supposed to take care of our game, but are doing a bad job. What I would like to see done is to give back the care of our forest and game to the State Police, and get rid of our NM Game & Fish. I think they have forgotten who pays for their jobs. The wolves should be removed and relocated to White Sands Missile Range, since there is no one living there, and let the Federal Government fence them in and feed them. This will allow us to get our rights back on our property, and our freedom to walk in our back yard without having fear of the wolf. Thank you for listening and your assistance is appreciated. Samuel E. Montoya. ____ Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:44 a.m. From: Laura Schneberger. Subject: More kills on Durango not that it matters Durango is howling all around the Garcia all night, a cow was bawling like crazy so in the morning they went looking and found the calf. They are examining it now. Probably will be confirmed but then the female will be spared a strike and she already has two of them. The male has none in the past year that I know of, so he will get this strike and probably the next two, then at the very end of the strike process, they will finally admit there is a problem anywhere from 3-15 cows later and issue removal orders. They have been killing all along it is big country though and the cowboys are spread so darned thin. It really stinks that they are responsible for 90% of wolf management or they can just suck up the losses. I have no idea what FWS does anymore other than pander to the Defenders of wildlife and their pals and go to the bar in Alpine at night. Oh yes, they go to meetings where they plot and plan on how to make sure the people out here are impacted as badly as possible. Ranchers can't afford to go not even to defend themselves anymore we don't get per diem for the 3.50 a gallon gas and if we leave the kills escalate and are found even less often. So now the bites found on the calf are 35 mm, way to big to be a coyote but not your normal wolf spread either. So something is going on here that isn't very kosher. a small female wolf can be about 35 mm but usually they are 38-42 and the males a bit bigger. a large coyote is 28. The new WS guy who wants to be friends with everyone is making noise about putting this kill on coyotes. Even though the Durango were there when it happened, the bites are all over the back of the 250 pound calf. I have never seen a coyote kill a 250 pound calf, 100 is about the limit unless there are three or four coyotes then maybe 150. Someone needs to get the biological stats and specifically the width of these released wolves teeth out to us. FWS knows exactly how wide their teeth are but they sure won't offer any information. Just the latest in the ongoing saga. Laura Schneberger, Gila Livestock Growers Association. ____ Wednesday, June 20, 2007 1:26 p.m. Subject: Wolf. When we were hunting in the Gila last year we killed an elk cow. We killed our cow went packing out our meat, took the first of it out, came back for more. About 1 hour latter, the wolves had been their and ate the rest of the meat. It is not right we paid for the meat and the wolf gets it. It is harder to [[Page 17504]] get a permit now, because of the wolf. It is not fair. Why do we have to bring them back? Earl and Kathleen Hills. ____ Sunday, June 17, 2007 12:54 p.m. Subject: Wolf problems from Ground zero. Dear Congressman Pearce: My name is Preston Bates; I own the N Bar Ranch and am permittee on the T Bar grazing allotment on top of the mountains near Reserve, New Mexico. I am ``Ground Zero'' of the Mexican Wolf recovery area. They have literally destroyed my life and here is my story. I came to Catron country in 1992 with a background of horses, cattle and tourism. My goal was to start a guest ranch and breed cattle and horses. I had no deep pockets but I had plenty of determination and some good luck. I found the N Bar Ranch and after some discussion with the absentee owners I leased it in 1994 later making a purchase in 1997. I started on a shoestring, tents for accommodations, 40 head of old cows, and some rented horses. I grew up on the east coast and I knew what people wanted in a western vacation and I knew where they were coming from and how they wanted to be treated. We were not the typical ``Dude'' ranch. We found a small niche to fill by being a hands on, jump in, get dirty, get real, working ranch. The business took off, the tents became cabins, our cowherd grew and developed with careful selection and purchase of quality stock. The same with our horses, we bought good horses and started breeding and training our own. By 2000 we had over 300 guests per year, with a return guest rate of 73 percent while the industry average was 12 percent. At this time I employed three people full time and three others for summer help. I bought locally supporting the Reserve community; between payroll and doing business locally I put at least $150,000 annually back into Catron County. Back when the wolf reintroduction program was first being discussed and later when initially implemented I was probably the most wolf tolerant rancher around. The reintroduction of the Mexican wolf has been devastating to our lives in so many ways. Financially: I first started seeing wolves in 2000 on my allotment and around my house. I suffered my first loss in 2000. As I am sure you are very aware the cooperation was non-existent, as was the compensation. My calf crop started showing significant reduction by 2002 and continued until 2005 dropping from an average of 82 percent to 49 percent. In 2005 at 49 percent my cow herd should have been at it's peak of production as the average age of my cows was five years old and I was running a ten to one ratio of cows to bulls. I estimate in 2005 alone I suffered $50,000 in losses and even with confirmed kill reports for both cattle and horses, I have never been compensated one cent from Defenders of Wildlife. They are quick to pay the people on the fringe of the recovery for their own P.R. but are slow or don't pay those of us at ground zero knowing it is a burden we cannot bear long. D.O.W. should not be the ones responsible for the compensation. This is a Federally funded program and congress should be the ones making the payments for their decision to fund this failing program. I have a mortgage of $78,000 per year. From the beginning my business plan called on the cattle to pay the mortgage and the guest business to pay all other expenses and improvements. By 1999 I had reached this goal. In 2005 with the horrific losses I suffered the calf income would not meet my mortgage. I had no other choice but to sell most of my horses to cover the difference. As a result I could no longer accommodate the ten guests per week. We could only take four guests. I could not just go out and by some cheap horses and expect to continue the safe, quality operation I had established. So in just one year I lost 50K in income from cattle and 60 percent of my future income. I have had to let go all of my employees. Management: I have the Luna pack on my range and they have been here for years now, I also estimate I have 11 uncollard wolves. I have had to change my management of my cattle to attempt to reduce my losses. I now have to bring in all my cows with calves to my private land and feed them through the winter. This results in an additional feed expense of $4,000 to $6,000 per year plus the several hours a day spent feeding and watering them, which takes away from other tasks. I also now use a feed supplement on the open range for the other cattle to attempt to control their movement thus making it a bit easier to check my cattle daily in the 14,000 acre pasture in which they winter. This supplement has cost me $6,200 each year for the last three years. There is $12,000 new expenses directly caused by the wolves. I also have to stay out in a camp during March and April and make rounds at night during calving season. Camping out this time of year at 8,000 ft elevation is not a lark. We don't have nice camp trailers, ours have no heat or water and at 50 years old it takes its toll. I continue living with my cattle until late November, on average I stay in camp 250 nights a year. Staying out at camp and keeping my pastures busy has helped with my losses, I have seen a gain in my calf numbers but it has taken away the quality of life we once enjoyed. Safety We have wolves around our house constantly. I don't mean just a few times a year, it is rare we do not see them every day. They have no fear of us. They have attacked horses in my corrals 50 yards from my house. They have killed newborn colts and injured young horses. They have spent days digging up our horse cemetery just a couple hundred yards from the house, eating years old carcasses. They are in the corrals every night in the winter eating frozen cow manure. They sit on the hill a hundred open yards from our house at noon and bark at us when we are outside. Up close and personnel encounters are common. I have had them in my camp during the day, eye to eye at 15 feet being given a challenge. I have been stalked for miles while horseback. One of my cowboys was stalked as well. While changing a tire on the main forest road I had one come up behind me without my knowing till I turned around and he was so close I was able to throw a handful of road gravel in his face. My 11-year-old son will not nor will I let him go hiking or adventuring away from the house and barns. No more playing in the woods near the house building forts and doing things a kid should do. He is emotionally and mentally held captive by the wolves. He has seen up close the killing they do. He was with me when full of excitement we went to see if the mare had foaled that night only to find it half devoured. We can longer go for walks with our dogs for fear the wolves will attack. My wife won't walk or hike alone anymore even down the driveway. I never use to carry a weapon. I do now even when doing chores around the house. Weekly I have to fire off shots both day and night when the wolves are just too close to the house. It has gotten that they don't run until the third or forth shot and often only go a few hundred yards. I have chased them a foot yelling, tried cracker shells, whistlers, not much scares them anymore they are use to it all. These are not wild animals. The difference between this wolf recovery effort and that done in the northern Rocky Mountain States is they started with wild wolves. These wolves here are human raised animals that relate people to food and safety. That is why we see so many more wolf/human interactions here than up north. The management practices of the wolf recovery team put public safety at the bottom of the list. They have allowed wolves to den within a mile of the most recreated campground and lake in the entire Gila national forest. They have signs posted along the wilderness boundary about the wolves but there are no wolves in the Wilderness area. They are all up in the general forest area. There are no warning signs posted in these areas where people camp concerning the wolves and safety of pets and children. This is done to perpetuate the commonly held idea that the wolves pose no public safety risk if you don't go into their habitat. I talk to campers all the time who have had wolves come into their camps and they never even knew they were in wolf habitat. These wolves will kill a child soon. As I write this, my guest business is no longer operating I had to sell the last of my horses. I am trying to hold on to the place working 300 cows and 125 sections of land by myself hoping I can sell it as a ranch before I have to subdivide my private land, which would only cause more human/wolf conflicts. The Mexican wolf has destroyed everything I have worked for years. I am the first to go down as a direct result of the Mexican wolf introduction, I will not be the last unless something is done to stop this program which will never work but will cost many people in this community their livelihoods before it is decided to have been a failed effort. Thank you for all your efforts, for this we all commend you. Sincerely, Preston Bates. ____ Beaverhead Ranch, Winston, NM, May 2, 2007. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Within the last two weeks Alpha Female 667 began to den in Taylor Creek. Accompanying her is male 863 and female pup 1046. Our family owns a private parcel in the bottom of Taylor Creek and like most homesteads it was established at a permanent spring. The majority of property sits in the bottom of the canyon and the water rises at the lower end of the property. This spring is not only a source of water for wildlife, but also for our livestock. It is the only source of water in the bottom of the canyon within a 2 mile radius. According to recent activity and wolf locations, we believe the female may be denning on our private property or within 1/4 of a mile of our private property. In order for her and the other two wolves to drink, they have to enter our private property and cross directly in front of our house. Our recent discovery of these wolves is of great concern to us. First, uninformed and unaware of the locations of these wolves, we moved yearlings to this exact pasture just one week ago. As the canyon sits in the middle of this pasture, cattle use the canyon as a crossing to get to each side as well as a funnel to water on our private property. When we are grazing this pasture we use our house there as a residence and a place to keep our horses. [[Page 17505]] Shortly after releasing our cattle, a cow elk carcass was found 25 yards from the house. Suspicious of the kill, we returned with a radio collar tracking devise (on loan from the USFWS) to track wolf locations. Before entering the canyon we received strong locations on two of the wolves. As we dropped off into the bottom of the canyon we spotted Male 863 on our private property. Investigating closer, we spotted numerous tracks on and around the spring. We have spent the last three days with our cattle to avoid any depredations. With all of our time and resources concentrated in one area, we have no time to tend to remaining cattle elsewhere on the ranch also threatened by nearby wolves. Our family has fully cooperated and maintained a working relationship with the wolf program up to this point. We had informed the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service when cattle were turned out on our allotment. We have asked and were assured that we would be informed of wolf locations on or near our allotment. We do not understand why a collared wolf was allowed to den so close or possibly on our private property. Time is of the essence; a major problem is quickly developing. We request that these wolves be immediately removed before any livestock depredations occur. If possible, we would like to request that a representative from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish assist us with a solution to this problem. Our family ranch has been fully cooperative and hopes that the right decisions are quickly made in this matter. Thank you for your prompt attention and action. The Diamond Family. ____ Adobe Ranch, NM Department of Game and Fish. May 1, 2007. We have lost 5 cows and 10 calves to wolves on the Adobe Ranch since January 2007. These confirmed kill reports have been sent to the Defenders of Wildlife and we have not received payment for any of these depredations. No payment has ever been received for any of our numerous 2006 depredations to date. Currently there are 3 packs on the Adobe Ranch. The Durango pack was within twenty feet of one of our cowboy's house all night last night, May 1, 2007 confirmed by Wildlife Services. We have lodged complaints with NM Dept. of Game & Fish representatives and the Federal Fish & Wildlife Service recovery team, and have received no response from either. The recovery teams response on past complaints has been that they have neither the time nor personnel to investigate these incidents. The situation with the wolves is getting way out of hand in this area both financially and with habituated wolves hanging around our houses. The loss of game and livestock in this area will soon reach catastrophic levels. Your attention to this matter is urgently requested Thank You. Gene, Manager Adobe Ranch. ____ Los Lunas, New Mexico, February 6, 2007. Dear Representative Pearce: There is a situation in Catron County, New Mexico, involving many of the residents there, their children, their horses, cattle and pets, and the reintroduced Mexican grey wolves. It seems to be reaching crisis status, and yet nothing is being done. Apparently, while these wolves are protected by law so that no one may harm them, they are also far too habituated to humans and have no fear of approaching human dwellings and properties. People are finding wolf droppings on their front porches! They are watching while their dogs are being killed by the pack, unable to lift a finger to stop the slaughter. Cattle and horses are likewise being preyed upon, and in one instance, a child was surrounded by the pack for several minutes. Fortunately for everyone, in that case the wolves eventually decided to leave, but it doesn't always end that way. I am a bona fide ``tree-hugger'', and have long been happy to send letters, sign petitions and even donate money--when I have any to spare!--in order to further the cause of wolves being assisted in reclaiming much of their former territories. I firmly believe that there must be a way for all of us to share this planet and live our lives. Indeed, I have learned enough about nature to understand that each element is necessary for a healthy ecosystem, and devastating ``domino effects'' occur when one species is extirpated and the balance is upset. But no one can argue that a wolf that learns to view humans as non-threatening becomes a very grave threat to humans and all other animals in our charge. For quite some time now, the National Forest Service has made huge efforts to educate the public about the dangers of bears becoming relaxed about approaching human-inhabited areas looking for food in garbage. It invariably results in someone having to shoot the bear because it endangered human life. It hardly needs a college degree to realize that wolves are equally dangerous when they lose their natural shyness of human, and certainly no one can argue about their intelligence. This means you have a number of smart, fearless and frighteningly capable predators claiming areas as their own when people already live there. Something needs to be done, and sooner than later. I cannot express my dismay to think that my support of wolf protection programs might have in any way helped this dreadful circumstance come into being. I think if many of the Catron County residents were asked, you would find that they are not against a wolf reintroduction program, but clearly they weren't expecting wolves who can't be bothered to stay away! Domestic animals represent some easy kills, and we cannot blame the wolves for making that choice. But waiting until they attempt to take down a human is beyond irresponsible, it's criminal. I am hoping I can count on you to take some immediate action on this urgent issue. The people responsible for the wolves being released in Catron County aren't residents there and don't have to live every day with the consequences, but they simply cannot be allowed to let the situation continue. I appreciate the time you have taken to read this letter. Sincerely, Evelyn Bailey. ____ Wolves on a Killing Spree Prompt County to Take Action (By Lif Strand) Catron County, New Mexico. Wolf incidents in Catron County are on the rise and Catron County's Commissioners, who declared an emergency situation in February, 2006, are now determined to take firmer action to protect the citizens here. ``These wolves are on a killing spree,'' said Catron County Commission Chairman Ed Wehrheim recently. ``They killed a horse on Whitewater Mesa just the other day, the second horse in just one month.'' Wehrheim is gravely concerned because these are just more incidents in what appears to him and the other Commissioners to be a never-ending spiral of killings of animals that the Commissioners feel will ultimately end with the attack by a wolf on a human being. The County passed the emergency declaration last year primarily to put a halt to the economic devastation caused by the presence of Mexican wolves which not only hunt wild game, but also kill cattle, horses, dogs, cats and other domestic animals. Now it appears that the situation has become more than an economic emergency and has escalated to a high level of risk for human lives in Catron County. At base is the problem that many of these wolves are habituated to humans. This means that, unlike normal wild animals, habituated wolves are unafraid to be around humans and areas where humans spend time. It becomes more and more difficult to haze away habituated wolves when they have their sights set on an easy meal--which may be a family pet. This is just what happened with the Miller family on their Link Ranch in Catron County south of Wall Lake--not far from a dude ranch where families with children vacation. Last November, the Millers' 8 year old daughter went out to the corral near the house to let the horses in to feed them grain. Right in front of her, the alpha male of the Aspen wolf pack attacked the family dog which had accompanied her to the corral. The wolf was unfazed by the Millers' attempts to chase it off the dog, which was only saved from death by the fact that it was wearing a large collar. This was the second attack on one of the Miller's dogs in just weeks. Then, early in January, wolves trapped the Miller's daughter's horse, Six, in the same horse pen, where Six had run for safety. There was blood everywhere. If this was a typical wolf kill, Six would have been torn apart and eaten while still alive. Hopefully the Miller's daughter is unaware of that fact. The wolves continue to stalk the rest of the Miller horses, sometimes chasing them for miles. ``The horses are back at our house but so are the wolves,'' Mark Miller reported last week. ``As of this morning, the wolves are all around the house and the horses are huddled in a corner of our property.'' Miller went on to express his concern for his daughter's emotional health, since at eight years old, she cannot help but be aware that if her dogs can be attacked and her horse killed, she might be the next victim. Any child would have nightmares about that. Miller and his wife are both walking around in nightmares of their own, as are many ranchers and others who live in the wolf reintroduction area. They all are anxious about the safety of their families and their pets, and are facing tough decisions about whether they should abandon their homes and their livelihoods for somewhere else where predators have more protections than humans. But, of course, who would buy a home surrounded by wolves that would make you and your loved ones prisoners inside? Is this any way to live? The Catron County Commissioners don't think so. They know that in a killing frenzy a wolf can attack a person who happened to [[Page 17506]] be nearby. This is not the idle speculation by wolf haters, but simple science. Sharks do it, hyenas do it, so do wolves. The Miller's little girl could so easily have been killed weeks before Six was. There have been quite a few wolf killings of dogs, cats, horses and other domestic animals in Catron County. While many people often feel that losing some cattle is not too much to pay for reintroduction of wolves in the forests of the southwest, people who live here don't feel it is fair that they should pay the price they are paying for this wolf program. And it looks like the price is becoming more than economic--it looks like it might become the blood of a child. People from out of this area have little idea of what it is like to be constantly anxious and fearful because of wolves. Many don't believe that there really is a problem in Catron County. ``When a wolf howls and you know it's threatening your family, your livelihood, the whole custom and culture of where you live, you don't have a warm and fuzzy feeling,'' said Charlie Gould, ranch manager from northern Catron County. The Catron County Commissioners agree, and they feel it is time that they do something about it. The County has worked hard with U.S. Wildlife Service and other agencies in charge of the wolf program, but the Commission--and the people of Catron County--believe they just aren't taken seriously when they express their fears about the risks to human life from so many non-wild, human-habituated wolves in the area. And they don't want to wait for the death of a child to have someone take them seriously. The Commission, charged with protecting the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Catron County, will have before them on Wednesday, February 7, an ordinance which lets them exercise their police powers granted under New Mexico State Statute, when there is a threat to human life. This ordinance will allow the Commission to issue a ``Dispatch Order'', an instruction issued by the Catron County Commission for physical removal of a wolf by lethal means from within the borders of the County by an authorized individual. If the U.S. Wildlife Service doesn't do it, then the Commission will, because the Catron County Commission is taking this situation very seriously. ``I want to be somewhere where my kids are safe.'' Katy Leist, rancher, mother. July 2006. ____ Paragon Foundation, Inc., Mesilla Park, NM, April 6, 2007. Alfredo Montoya, Chairman, New Mexico State Game Commission, San Juan Pueblo, NM. Dear Mr. Montoya: I am once again appealing to you and the New Mexico State Game Commission to help me find some relief for the people, all citizens and taxpayers of New Mexico, who unfortunately live and work within the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area and are suffering the consequences of the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program. There is not one person who lives within the BRWRA that has not been impacted by this wolf recovery program, the vast majority of whom have been impacted negatively. I can assure you that most people who live within the BRWRA have had their fill of wolves and want this program to end now. Further evidence of the disruption this incredible program has created in the lives of hundreds of people, is not necessary. You have seen and heard enough and are fully aware of the dilemma these folks are forced to live with each and every day. Also, Mr. Montoya, every elk hunter I see is now starting to see the impacts of the wolf program on the elk herd in the Gila and, likewise, wants the program to end today. Dr. Thompson may tell you otherwise, but people who live and work in the Gila National Forest are seeing a severe decline in the numbers of elk throughout the forest. I do not need to remind the commission of the huge economic benefits the' elk hunting industry brings to the state at many levels. We know the wolves are killing lots of elk. I spoke to one property owner in the Gila who counted over 100 elk carcasses in the area he hunted in last fall and another saw 17. A rancher on the northern edge of the Gila has seen an 80 percent decline in the numbers of elk that he normally will see on the ranch. He also told me that he sees lots of elk carcasses and he's sure they were killed by wolves. He also believes that for every elk that is killed by wolves, four or five vacate the area and move to the north. So, if that is the case, then the elk herd is being reduced by 4 to 5 elk for every one that is killed by wolves. Another rancher told me that when a pack of wolves moves into an area that is inhabited by elk, as soon as the wolves apply depredation pressure, the elk will move out of the area and it is not unusual for them to travel 20 to 50 miles to get away from the wolves. So, in order to try and confirm this movement of elk out of the Gila, I called two ranchers in the Grants/Gallup area. I asked first if they knew of any wolves in that region of the state and they told me that they had not heard of any. I then asked them what the situation was with the elk numbers in that area. They both said that the elk numbers were increasing and that there were a lot of elk in the region. Both ranchers told me that the elk were putting a huge amount of grazing pressure on the available forage in the region and that the Forest Service was trying to reduce livestock numbers on grazing allotments to compensate. This might be fine if the Forest Service were willing to compensate the ranchers for the lost production, but we all know that is not going to happen. This is the same scenario that the ranchers in the Lincoln National Forest are struggling with too many elk competing with livestock for the available forage in the region. The Forest Service sure doesn't have a problem forcing ranchers to reduce livestock numbers but won't hold the Department of Game and Fish to the same standard. If the Forest Service was truly interested in protecting the resources, then they should hold the Game Department to the same standard as they do the ranchers who own the grass. Anyway, my point is, the wolves are applying so much pressure on the elk herds in the Gila, and aside from the elk they kill, they are causing elk to move completely out of the Gila and into other areas to the north. There is no other direction for them to go. So now what happens as the elk numbers decline in the Gila? What will replace the elk as a primary prey base for wolves? There are no deer. The only thing left will be the livestock. Cattle are being killed on a fairly regular basis anyway and will continue to be at risk. Horses are extremely vulnerable because they respect fences and cannot leave the country like the elk can. Is this part of the plan? The wolves have had 10 years to reach some kind of acceptable balance and get established in the Gila. They're not even close. I offer to you that it is not within reach. An acceptable balance of wolves, prey base and people in the BRWRA is impossible and the program is already a dismal failure. At what point will, whoever is in charge of this program (I'm not sure any of us know), say: ``OK. I guess that's enough . . .this ain't gonna work''. Where is that sacrificial threshold? Will it be when a child is lost? Or maybe it's more than one. All I'm asking for is honesty. What do the people you have sworn to serve, have to do to end this unbelievable injustice? Just tell us the truth. Thank you for your time. Joe Delk. ____ Tuesday, June 05, 2007 7:44 p.m. From: Kim Tricky. Subject: Wolf incident Dear Congressman Pearce: Here are a few wolf encounters we have experienced first hand here on the H-V ranch. The ranch straddles the Arizona/New Mexico line with the bulk of the ranch in Catron County. The first incident is about a large domesticated wolf that wandered into the ranch. This happened about three years ago. It was a very LARGE wolf, but obviously domesticated. Macky saw him drinking out of the horse water trough and watched him for quite awhile trying to decide what to do. The wolf showed no fear but was not threatening at all--just very thirsty. It then sort of followed him to the front of the corral and went chest deep into to duck pond where it continued to drink. When it came out of the water Macky threw a loop made of baling twine around its neck and tried to lead it to the trailer--it didn't lead very well, so was sort of a half-lead and half-drag kind of deal. He had to lift it into the trailer (yes, he really is that crazy!). We called the wolf people and J Brad Miller, who called me back. I told him the animal was obviously someone's pet, and absolutely huge!!! Very wolf looking with no decernable dog traits. He couldn't believe the size of the wolf when he came to pick it up--He said it was a timber wolf-- like from Canada! They did take it in and do the DNA tests and the last I heard some lady came and claimed him. I'm sure someone had turned him out and he was looking for someone to take him home! He appeared to be older and had calluses on his elbows like he had been laying on concrete for quite a while. We have had several other wolf/dog episodes here around our house-- all have proven to be hybrids turned loose. Another episode was when we had three large black wolves hanging around our corral on the hill. We had several cattle in the corral and they were acting aggressive towards Macky when he showed up. He scared them off and called the Game and Fish. They determined that they were hybrids and tried to trap them but were unsuccessful and finally were able to shoot them. We lost a good cowdog the night before Macky saw these wolves. My son had left him out of the pen overnight and he simply disappeared. We never saw any sign of him afterwards. The third event happened last summer in August. The San Mateo pack had been on our allotment since their release in March. They had killed a calf in one of our upper pastures (which was documented by the game and fish) but the calf belonged to a neighbor, not us. Then they were suspected in a couple of killings on the Arizona side of the line above our house. We noticed one of our good ranch geldings did not come in with the other horses and went to investigate. We found him dead and pretty decomposed and eaten [[Page 17507]] out. Macky looked at his legs for signs of predation but could not tell anything, and because he was my son's horse and my son was very distraught over the death (at the time we assumed maybe he had been hit be lightning or something) that we buried him with the backhoe. The next day when Macky went out to catch one of the younger horses to work with him he discovered wounds and bite marks all over him. We called Game and Fish and they confirmed a wolf attack on this two year old thoroughbred colt (grandson of Seattle Slew). The colt has since recovered, but is very frightened of dogs now. We strongly suspect the other horse had been run and killed by the wolves also. The second spring after the wolves were released we received a call from the Game and Fish about one collared wolf and two uncollared wolves jumping up and running calves in the Spur Lake Basin. They had tried to chase them off the calves with the plane and had called Macky to report. We then rode everyday over there with a USGF person looking for possible kills. All we ever found were tight bagged cows missing their calves. We would often see a cow ready to calve and the next day see her again without a calf and obviously tight bagged and bawling for the calf. When we gathered this pasture to brand we noticed we were at least 20 calves short of what we would normally expect to gather. These cows were all preg tested in the Fall and pregnant at the time they were turned out to this pasture. ____ Tuesday, June 05, 2007 1:48 p.m. From: Mary Macnab. Subject: Attacking the people--The Mexican wolf This area has been inhabited for thousands of years and is still laced with living communities. The landscape has absolutely no ``core'' peopless area for wolves to recover in. Respected wolf biologists Ed Bangs and Stewart Brecht of the No. Rocky. Mt Wolf Recovery have recognized this and stated that it can never work here. The wolves were dumped right on top of us. Not ``over there'' or ``beside'', but right on top of our backyards, towns, communities, children, schools and the sensitive grazing/calving areas that support the small family ranches which form the basis for our regional, sustainable and generational economy here. I am especially disturbed by the callous lack of concern the involved government functionaries have regarding incidents where wolves stalk and circle our children in the woods, in their yards, and walking home from school. One county is seeking funds for wolf-proof cages so children can wait for the schoolbus in relative safety. Small children cannot be let out of sight, even in their back yard, as many incidents of ``prey testing'' (staring at, stalking/ following, showing no fear) have been experienced here, especially with children. Children old enough to venture out on their own and all others, to be safe, must carry a firearm when leaving home. This unconscionable situation of irresponsible lawlessness in complete lack of respect for our foundational legal protections for safety, happiness, and right to protect private property have been thrown out the window in favor of alien agendas contrary to all the participating officials oath of office which (state and federal) upholds the most important and supreme duty--the protection of the rights of the people. ANYONE AWARE OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY OCCURING HERE SHOULD BE VERY ALARMED! This percedent of callous governmental disregard for the welfare of the people in favor of an agenda which is alien and extremely dangerous to them does not bode well for anyone's future in the United States. Such careless disregard can destroy our communities, our families, our economies, our whole world. The ``pogrom'' personnel, whilst receiving their relatively posh paychecks are flagrantly and regularly breaking federal law in the form the rules and regulations supposedly governing this program especially regarding the safety of the people and their livelihoods--many illegalities are protected by cover-ups. This is a program with no where to go but cultural genocide (by wolves/land torpedoes) or, mercifully, away. I recently witnessed a dangerous dog attack another's pet in an urban area. Witnessed by several people, the response was immediate and loud. That dangerous animal ``should not be out where it could threaten'' others or their pets. One man said that if that dog ever threatened him or his dog ``it would be dead''. It was quite obvious that these urbanites would broke no dangerous animals ranging their and their pets' territory. Here in pogromland we have no recourse. Cattle on the range are fair game unless you see the wolf attack which almost never happens. Compensation is a joke. Children can be stalked and monitored by known dangerous wolves daily with no real legal recourse to protect their safety until the wolf ``touches'' (read attacks) the child's body. One bite of these powerfully jawed animals can break the leg of a 1,200 lb. elk in half. Reporting incidents is fruitless as these are downplayed to nonexistance to make the pogrom look good to the higher-ups and the masses. All is skewed or covered-up, by massive public information campaigns with the actual ground zero reality carefully censored. To these truly misinformed urbanites these perception development operations make the pogrom seem not only palatable, but charismatically desirable. This leads to the ``public support'' so often used as the pogrom's justification for existance. THERE ARE MANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN DUMPING KILLER PREDATORS IN PEOPLE'S YARDS AND COMMANDEERING AIRPLANES AND FLYING THEM INTO BUILDINGS. In both cases the targets are people, not government. These federal functionaries who illegally and/or unsafely dump killer predators are not attacking the U.S. government. They are attacking average citizens in our homes and on our properties. Will you appeal to the Department of Justice to explain why cover-ups and the breaking of federal law and rules leading to illegal predator dumping is not terrorism, and why they are shirking their duty? Will you please prevail upon the U.S. Attorney to explain to the world why planned and deliberate acts of terror directed against the people are of no concern to his office, if indeed this is the case? Sincerely, Mary Macnab, Blue, AZ. ____ June 5, 2007. Mr. Pearce: Here is our testimony regarding the Mexican Wolf problem up to 2006. Since the beginning of 2007 we have had another confirmed Cow kill along with her missing calf. Our ranch is for sale now as we cannot sustain such financial losses. Hope this will help. Thanks for your efforts. Narrative Statement of Our Claims, March 2, 2006: The US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) wolf management program and actions adversely affect our civil rights and property rights and investment-backed expectations and way of life. We describe, below, the destruction of our property rights, disregard for our rights and privileges and the significant negative stress on our family. In April of 2004, after many years of hard work and planning we were at last able to purchase our life long dream, a small business of our own, the Deadman Allotment we call it the V Bar Ranch. In the Fall of '04 we started finding lots of wolf tracks up and down the north fork of Negrito in the area where our cattle were watering. This was a concern to us as we had over $50,000.00 worth of cattle inventory, and the future for our new business depended on that inventory of cows and bulls. We soon found out that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Mexican Wolf Blue Range Reintroduction Projects (MWBRR), San Francisco Wolf Pack was in our area. The pack was causing much havoc on our neighbors, the Blairs, Rainey Mesa, Y-Canyon, N Bar, and the Tackman Ranches, and now we too were experiencing the same problems. To add to everyone's wolf problems, in the early part of 2005, the USFWS Wolf People re-released the Ring Pack back into our area. (Note: the pack had been removed 365 days earlier because of livestock depradation.) Ring female was pregnant and ready to have her pups, in which she denned up in our Eagle Peak Pasture to have them. These factors set the stage for the disastrous spring of 2005. In March of '05 we found 5 dead cows within a one mile radius. Three of those cows were wolf kills, but we were unable to have them confirmed because by the time we found the carcasses in our rough terrain, they were too dry and eaten up to verify wolf teeth marks. We went on the topical evidence, wolf tracks, wolf scat, area, and position of where and how the cow was laying. It was a positive of the three out of five cows. So, there was $3600.00 worth of livestock down the tubes, not to mention the $1500.00 worth of calves the cows would have raised that summer. As we continued into the spring of '05 the wolf situation got worse. The Y Canyon Ranch had their cattle in the Collins Park Pasture which neighbors our Collins Park holding pasture. All of the Collins Park area is easy open landscape. It is because of the topography of the area that our neighbors were finding wolf kill after wolf kill in their cattle in which were confirmed wolf kills by the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Meanwhile all we were finding in our Eagle Peak Pasture (very rough terrain) was wolftracks, wolf scat with cow hair in it, and about six tight bagged cows minus their calves. Another $3,000.00 worth of calves lost. Adding all the topical signs up we knew what was taking place; our new business's assets were literally being eaten up by the wolves. As we started gathering the cattle off the mountain into our Collins Park holding Pasture to brand and vaccinate the calves, we were very nervous about moving them down to where even more slaughter was taking place. So we were working as fast as we could. After gathering everything we came up seven cows short, and that was not counting the five cow carcasses we had found in early March. So, that added another $4,600.00 more to our losses thus far. In mid June branding day at the Collins Park Corrals revealed that we had sixteen [[Page 17508]] calves to brand out of 91 cows. Out of those 16 calves there were four that were injured. So we caught 2 of the calves and had Richard Grabbe with APHIS (Note: APHIS works hand in hand with USFWS Wolf Project) inspect the calves with us. Our suspicions were confirmed, there were indeed wolf bites and abrasions on the calves. Mr. Grabbe wrote a report on one of the calves as to confirming a non lethal wolf attack. So, here we were with 4 gimpy calves, two of which never fully recovered from their injuries, costing us another $800.00. (Note: understandably cattle buyers do not like to buy crippled livestock.) During our spring `05 round up time, the USFWS Wolf people had taken out (Captured, and removed, not killed) the female and one yearling pup of the San Francisco Pack thinking this would relieve the livestock massacres taking place in our area. (Much to their (USFWS) dismay, the killings did not stop.) Simultaneously, the USFWS Wolf People were trying to catch the Ring Pack Male, so we figured if the Wolf Project Folks would do that it would break up the killer packs even more and perhaps we would see some relief in sight from the livestock losses. Unfortunately, when John Oakleaf (the Wolf Project field team leader) was asked what their plan was when they caught the Ring Male, he told us that the male Rings radio collar was not working and that they would re-collar the animal and turn him loose. That's when we decided to remove our 16 cow/calf pairs in an effort to save what calf crop we had left. This was a hard decision to make because we had such good feed and water right there on our own little V Bar Ranch, after all that's what we bought it for. The extra cost of a hauling expense and pasture rent of around $1500.00 seemed ridiculous, but we felt we had to salvage what we could. The pasture we moved our cattle to was on the F Bar D Ranch, 20 miles away, out of the Wolf Recovery area. It is owned by our employer, Frank DalMolin. (We hold this job in order to add income for improvements to our V Bar Ranch, so that when we retire our small business would be up and running.) Our safe pasture was to be short lived. Not even one week later after our cows were barely settled into their new pasture on the F Bar D, we found a F Bar D calf killed by a wolf less than 250 yards away from the livestock drinker. We were shocked, as the wolf people assured us when we reported to them, that the lone wolf sighted, was a scavenger and not a livestock killer and was probably just passing through. The wolfs number was 859, and he stayed, killed, and he dined on an F Bar D calf Here was a wolf in the private land sector, out of the recovery range, killing. A loss to our employer of around $700.00. Wolf #859 was trapped that night off the kill and promptly removed, but only to be re- released in the very near future, the spring of 2006. We now realize, that not only the businesses inside the wolf recovery areas are being destroyed but we were seeing what the future would hold for other businesses outside the MWBRR project areas. All businesses in our rural areas will be destroyed by this Wolf Project, because every business in a rural area upholds one another financially. It will indeed have a dominoe effect. In January of 2006 at our V Bar Ranch (Deadman Allotment), we started the year off with a fat full grown cow (probably heavy bred), found dead, stretched out across a boulder, about 50 yards from our lick tub. It was a confirmed wolf kill costing us yet another $1500.00. Mr. Grabbe with APHIS set a trap and caught an uncollared male wolf. The MWBRR Project protocol was to collar the wolf and turn the thief loose to go about his wolfly business of killing. The newly collared #1008 wolf was now on record. Since then we have found the leg bone of a calf, 2 crippled calves, 1 crippled bull, and 2 tight bagged cows missing their calves. Estimated cost at this time is around $3700.00. With the new year starting off with more wolf depradation we are reminded of what John Oakleaf, field personel with the MWBRR Project told us, he said, according to his studies from the wolf project in Idaho, for every wolf kill you find, there are 8 more that you are not finding. With this in mind, we realize our small business cannot sustain such financial losses and we will be put out of business by the Mexican Wolf Blue Range Reintroduction Project. We have spoken with a realtor about selling the ranch and were told that because of wolf problem we would not be able to market our place as a viable working ranch. So, all we are left with is the 115 acres of private land worth an estimated $115,000.00. This would leave us well over $140,000.00 short of our investment. It would seem like a small amount for a lot of people, but to us, this was our life savings and dream eaten up by the Mexican Wolf Blue Range Recovery Project. In conclusion, the Mexican wolf introduction will make it impossible for us to stay in business, to cover our operational expenses into the next year, and it would significantly restrict our ability to get loans. Unless there is immediate relief from the actions by the FWS. We are being denied our basic rights and liberties, including restraint of trade and denial of pursuit of happiness. Submitted by, Jim and Sherri Haught, V Bar Ranch (Deadman Allotment) Owners. ____ Dobson Family Farms, Sheep Springs Sheep Co., June 5, 2007. Hon. Steve Pearce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative Pearce: I recently received an email that was forwarded us from Laura Schneberger, Winston, NM. In the email, Laura asked for testimony on experiences related to the Mexican Wolf Program. As an Arizona neighbor, we are facing the same problems. I hope this letter and accompanying documentation will help you in your battle to set things right. On April 30th of this year, I visited Washington DC and was able to meet with most of the Arizona legislators and discuss several topics of concern with regard to the agriculture and livestock issues facing our family business operation. Among these topics of conversation was the reintroduction of the Mexican wolf into Arizona and New Mexico. As I told the Arizona delegation, I firmly believe the money being spent on this endeavor is not only a waste of taxpayer's dollars, but will in fact make it impossible for future generations to make a living raising livestock on the forest grazing permits. I am 68 years old. It is my intention to turn my livestock operation over to the 4th generation of the Dobson family. However, if things continue as they are now, the 4th generation of Dobsons will no longer be able to raise livestock. Wolves are currently being reintroduced into areas less than \3/4\ of a mile from our private property. Cattle and sheep graze on this property during the summer in our breeding season. The wolves, if they are allowed to attack and kill our livestock, will prevent us from having a normal breeding season. Enclosed is a current report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who confirmed a sheep kill by a Mexican Wolf on our private property. This is what we are up against if the wolves are allowed to remain in the area. I have just this week sent this information to each of the Arizona delegates and welcome your support in helping to remove these wolves from our forest grazing permit. My family and I greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter and offer any assistance that we can provide to help you in New Mexico. Respectively submitted, Dwayne E. Dobson, Sheep Springs Sheep Co., Dobson and Dobson Livestock. ____ Tuesday, June 05, 2007 9:30 A.M. Subject: FW: What has the wolf program cost you? Monday, June 04, 2007 5:32 P.M. Subject: Fwd: What has the wolf program cost you? Arizona needs to pitch in and tell our story too! Pass this to your friends and neighbors who have been effected. Send a letter, your testimonial. Thanks, your true story is needed. Darcy Ely, Four Drag Ranch @ Eagle Creek. From: Laura To: Laura Mon, 4 Jun 2007 8: 17 a.m. Subject: What has the wolf program cost you? All, If you have had Mexican wolf experience, whether it is related to livestock, recreation, personnel, or anything relating to your home life or your children's and your own well being, please write it out and send it via e-mail or snail mail or fax, to Tim Charters at the above address. This Must be done within the next two weeks. Congressman Pearce is collecting actual incidents that have caused people to be affected by Mexican wolf program problems in their day to day lives. This program and it's managers are adept at sweeping things under the rug and downplaying the seriousness of the problems on the ground. Therefore, Your testimony is needed at the congressional level. Congressman Pearce wants a stack of letters to support his actions. This is something that you can also help your neighbor do, if your neighbors don't have internet, please please print this and take it to them. Also, I have a lot of addresses, but not every address of folks who have been impacted by this program, so please call your neighbors and let them know about this effort. It is vital that this is done and the hundreds of incidents and wolf problems are in the congressman's hands as soon as possible. Even if you have written it all out before, please do it one more time. If you have any questions please contact me. Laura Schneberger, Gila Livestock Growers Association. ____ Tuesday, June 05, 2007 1:45 P.M. From: Mary Macnab. Subject: Mexican wolf crises. Dear Congressman Pearce: This wolf program will affect every person in this country whether they have livestock, hunt, or like to hike in the woods or not as it is yet another illegal, treasonous act by a corrupt government designed to dispossess the citizens of their property and turn them into a nation of helpless victims. Supposedly we don't live in a country where the government can do this to people. [[Page 17509]] This country has a constitution which is sacred and the highest law of the land and cannot be violated without committing treason, the highest crime of a civil nature of which one can be guilty. The Constitution simply does not allow majority rule over the constitutionally protected rights of others. This is the main point I wish to make although the wolf (dog) program has affected people in Catron County in many ways. We are watching our communities and our culture die. At public meetings we see first hand the looks of glee on the faces of the evil fascists who are perpetrating this destruction. This all takes us back to the dark ages when people were constantly under siege. Children are afraid to walk home from their bus stops. Parents must now see that they are safely attended and safely escorted both going and coming. What happened to our safety, peace, prosperity? This is oppression! A war on the people! Sincerely, Tom Macnab Catron County, NM. ____ Monday, June 04, 2007 1:21 PM From: Jim Taylor. Subject: Wolf program cost. We are involved in a small mother-cow operation, and fortunately are fairly well removed from the areas wolves have been introduced to-however-we did sight a pair on our property (17 miles east of T or C, NM) and this sighting was confirmed by our neighbors to the east of us and all the way south to the Cutter area. We reported this sighting to US fish and game--several months later, one of their reps came by asking about the sighting . . . as if they really cared. We attended one ``wolf meeting'' in T or C--hosted by fish and game I guess. Forest Svc, State fish and game, US fish&game, and some more reps from other govt agencies there. I did some rough, unqualified math in my head in relation to what all these talking heads with the govt agencies were making (salaries, expenses, transportation, etc) then added what their employees (field grunts) were making--then the cost of equipment, feed, medicine, etc, then the scariest part--what their bosses (the politicians, lobbies, and other general carpet baggers) were milking us (the tax paying public) for. I stated to the chair of that meeting that I surely didn't begrudge anybody employment, but I felt our tax dollars--and their educations, could certainly be put to better use than feeding a bunch of wild dogs. Seemed pretty darn silly to be messing with obsolete evolution while we have so many socio- economic challenges in this country--(the homeless, the hungry, the uninsured, just to scratch the surface). Instead of feeding a wild dog, why not channel that money and all the ``brain power'' these wolf activists and their lackeys control to a very evident and more worthwhile endeavor. I don't like the tax burden I carry, but if I've got to pay those taxes, I hate to see them squandered on the wolves. From where I sit, the whole program stinks--I think it's about how many dollars the carpet bagging activists can garner, and the wolves are no more than a vehicle for them to reach that end. AND AT THE TAXPAYERS EXPENSE. I also believe the wolf program is a poorly masked assault on the livestock industry and possibly even conspires to a future land grab, as ranchers are forced out of business. Sorry, but I cant find much nice to say about the program. Jim Taylor, Engle, NM. ____ Monday, June 04, 2007 12:49 PM From: Frank Morris. Subject: The wolf in the yard. Sir: In 2005 I suffered a broken ankle and was home in a cast. (No dramatic story here, I just fell over) on a March morning at approximately 10 a.m. I heard both of my dogs (ACDs) barking furiously on the front porch. struggling from my chair I opened the front door. There, not ten yards away was a Mexican wolf looking directly at me. The dogs nearly knocked me over getting into the house. The wolf looked at me for a full thirty seconds before turning and trotting away absolutely unconcerned. The animal was a full grown adult male and did not appear to be collared. It was in fact a wolf, not a coyote. I know this not only from my observation but also from my dogs reaction, typicly they run a single coyote off the place. I live far outside the ``Wolf study area'' at the very southern most point of the Gila approx. 7/10 of a mile north of hwy.152 @ MM10 bordering Nat. Forest. Frank ``Two Jump'' Morris, Hanover, NM. ____ Monday, June 04, 2007 2:23 PM Subject: Point of Cattle on San Carlos Apache Reservation. Dear Sir: We reported in the recent review that our cost estimate on losses has been over $300,000.00 in cattle lost. This was several years ago and just recently, we have reports of 2 more cattle being killed by wolves. This has been reported to FWS and hopefully we can get compensated for these losses. Our reservation has 82% unemployment rate. Many people do not work and Apaches have a host of social problems from this cycle of poverty that we are in and the economic harm caused by wolves eating our cattle herd compounds the problem to a dispossessed people. Here an animal, through federal policy, disposses us of income and causes economic deprivation to Apaches on the reservation. Thanks, Steve M. Titla, Globe, AZ. ____ Friday, June 8, 2007. From: jwolkins. Subject: The Wolf Program. To Representative Stevan Pearce: We understand that you are collecting incidents where citizens have encountered wolves, since the reintroduction of the wolves into the Arizona-New Mexico border area. We are ranchers on the Blue River, just over the state line (Az. side). Since the outset of the program, we have lost one pet dog to the wolves. However, we have had several other unpleasant episodes with the wolves. With the dog, it dragged into the yard with puncture wounds in the hip and leg. The evening before there had been 3 wolves in our meadow by our barn. When I took the dog to the vet, Dr. Duncan, he said the wounds were consistent with a large canine attack. The dog had to be put down, but later John Oakleaf (with the wolf program) went to look at the dog and said it looked like it had been hit by a car! The dog had no access to the highway so we knew that didn't happen! This is how the wolf personnel always respond when a wolf is implicated. We had the wolves chase our cows and calves in the same meadow, but we always drove them off. Later, we moved to a different ranch on the Blue River (partly because of the wolf problems). At this ranch, all our cattle are right near us and not on Public lands. So when the wolves were dropped into the Blue and immediately started attacking home-owners' dogs, etc. we knew we would soon have them at the back door. Sure enough, three of them came and tried to attack two of our dogs through the fence. Once again, we drove them away, but now the fear is always there, that the wolves will be back. The Aspen pack terrorized our close-knit community for weeks, but the wolf program still insists that they want to put 100 more wolves into the Blue. There is no prey base here for the wolves, except cattle, horses, pets and people. I have followed this program from its very beginnings, and know that millions and millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent, and to date, there are no more than 2 or 3 breeding pairs. In my estimation it has been a total failure, and has hurt the economy of our ranching and tourist industries very badly. I truly hope you can do something in your office to help people that are in a lot of stress because of this predator which should never have been put into a populous area. Thank you for all your efforts. Mr. and Mrs. Derrill O. Wolkins, J Lazy W Ranch, Blue, AZ. ____ Inherent Potential for PTSD Among Children Living in Areas Where the Mexican Gray Wolf Is Being ``Reintroduced'' In the spring of 1998 the Mexican Gray Wolf, who was on a list of ``endangered species'', ``reintroduced'' into ranching country in west-central New Mexico and east-central Arizona. The wolves in question had been primarily breed and ``hand raised'' in captivity. The species was most probably ``endangered'' because the wolves had been systematically eliminated, over a period of 150 years, by ranchers who were settling the area and developing herds of beef cattle to support themselves and their families. The cattle industry in the west had become big business in the mid 1800s when, during the civil war, the governments of both the North and the South were buying beef to feed their armies. It was very apparent to the ranchers that wolves and cattle aren't gregarious companions! It was also very apparent that wolves were also NOT compatible with the normal activities of ``family life'' within the ranching areas! Ranchin continued to be both a way of life and a profitable business in the areas above described until the concept of ``turning back the clock'' became popular. Americans are proud of their heritage. It is admirable to want to remember the past and preserve species that played a role in our lives. However, reintroducing wolves in the Southwest is about as intelligent as it would be to ``reintroduce'' smallpox! Within a few years it became very apparent to the inhabitants of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico that the ``reintroduction'' of the Mexican Gray Wolf was contributing to the demise of their lifestyle and their communities! Of paramount concern to the population was the effect of the wolf ``reintroduction'' on the children in the region! As a Medical Doctor with a background in both Pediatrics and Child Psychiatry, I was asked to meet with ranching children and their families within the ``reintroduction'' area to ascertain the psychological effects of the wolf reintroduction program upon the children. I was able to compare the results of the parent questionnaire which I had constructed for parents in the wolf reintroduction area with questionnaires circulated to ranching families in New Mexico and Arizona who do NOT reside in ``Wolf'' country. [[Page 17510]] This was made possible through the efforts of the Cattle Growers Associations in New Mexico and Arizona, thus obtaining a control group for evaluating my findings. In my study group each child was seen face to face and personally interviewed by me between February 1 and March 15 of 2007. Children were seen either in the schools which they attended or in their homes. Questionnaires were completed by their parents. Weaknesses in this study include: 1. The lack of ``random selection'' of subjects from the wolf ``reintroduction'' area. (All the ranches in this area had been visited by wolves.) 2. Possibility of ``prejudice'' on the part of the author, relative to her residence on a ranch within the ``reintroduction'' area. 3. The relatively small numbers in each group. It should be noted that because the study involves ``ranching'' the total population interviewed within the ``reintroduction'' area includes at least 90 percent of all families with children living on actual ``working ranches'' within the area. Results of the Study: To date questionnaire have been obtained from equal numbers of children living on ranches in both the wolf ``reintroduction'' area and the ranching areas of Arizona and New Mexico where the Mexican Gray Wolf has NOT been ``reintroduced''. Several returns were not calibrated because of technical concerns (e.g.: reports about children 3 years of age or less). Within the ``reintroduction'' area parents report that: 93 percent of their children startle more easily (than prior to the wolves arriving). 87 percent of the children believe that the wolves are presenting a danger to themselves or family members. [Due to depredation of livestock and family pets, this IS a VERY REALISTIC concern!!] 80 percent of the children realize that they are HELPLESS to control or stop the events they see occurring around them because of wolves in proximity to their homes. One child watched her horse attacked and killed in the barnyard. She then ran up to the ranch house with one of the wolves in hot pursuit! 80 percent of children in the ``reintroduction'' area . . . who previously slept in their own beds/bedrooms through the night, now frequently get out of their beds during the night and come into their parents' room, wanting to get in bed with their parents. 73 percent of the children awaken in the night crying or screaming because of nightmares, not present prior to the wolf ``reintroduction''. 73 percent of parents state that they believe that the ``wolf events'' which have occurred involving their children have been very traumatic for the children. 67 percent of parents whose children have been involved in ``wolf events'' report that their children have ``become more clinging.'' [Among the children who have NOT been exposed to wolves (control group) 10 percent are reported to have experienced recent traumatic events. None of these children are reported to have become more clinging.] 53 percent of the children who have experienced traumatic events involving wolves now appear to be unable to remain focused during activities which they participated in for age appropriate lengths of times prior to their exposures to wolves. None of the youngsters exposed to wolves are reputed to have exhibited any of the symptoms described above prior to their exposures to the Mexican Gray Wolf. It is definitely noteworthy that the behaviors/symptoms described above constitute the major symptoms involved in the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. None of these children are reported to have exhibited any of the symptoms described above prior to the ``reintroduction'' of the Mexican Gray Wolf in the area of their homes. Questionnaires returned from ranches outside of the wolf ``reintroduction'' area indicate that 40 percent of these youngsters have ``experienced one or more recent traumatic events NOT involving wolves''. 20% of these children have recently developed a fear of snakes. 10 percent are having trouble staying focused on events they were usually able to stick with for age appropriate periods. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a major psychiatric illness. While it may exist ``short term'', and dissipate when the precipitating factors (e.g.:--wolves) are removed, the disorder frequently becomes permanent, and, occurring in childhood it may impede the child's normal psychological development. Certainly, ongoing exposure to the events which led to the original symptoms can be expected to interfere with development of a stable psychological outlook. The serious psychological problems currently being expressed by children in the wolf ``reintroduction'' areas of Arizona and New Mexico can best be addressed by the immediate re-location of the offending wolf population! In researching the ``reintroduction'' project it is apparent that the ranching families within the area were NOT consulted prior to reintroduction of the wolves! As a physician who has dealt with children now for 50 years. I am convinced that concerns for the welfare of the children involved MUST take precedence over any and all concerns for the ``wolf project''!!! Julia Martin, M.D., Luce Ranch, Blue, AZ. ____ Wednesday, June 13, 2007 1:51 PM From: Tom & Jeanie Hutchison. Subject: Mexican Grey Wolves. When the Aspen Wolf Pack was terrorizing the Blue River residents, we had several incidences with them as they went back and forth, many times, through our property. One incident in particular sticks in my mind. It was early January and I was home alone. My husband's mother had suffered a stroke and he was in Tucson to tend to her. It had been raining and snowing quite a bit, and the river was in quite a flood stage. All of my neighbors on this end of the river were gone, and the flooded river made it impossible for me to get out, or for anyone to come in. So not only was I home alone, I could expect no outside assistance if I should need it. I had not been sleeping well because of the constant wolf harassment of our dogs and our small flock of Barbados Sheep. The wolves would always come in in the middle of the night, and thankfully, my dogs were a great ``early warning system''. It was about 12:30 in the middle of the night when I heard an awful dog fight right in my front yard. I jumped out of bed and ran out the front door barefoot and in my pajamas, and into the snow. I know that my dogs don't have a chance against a wolf, but my brave dogs don't know that. As I was running out the front door I started yelling . . . I can't even tell you what I was yelling, only that I knew I had to break up the fight and protect my dogs. The alpha pair of the Aspen Pack were at my front gate, fighting with my 2 dogs through the wire fence. The wolves ran away to the north toward my neighbor's home. One of my dogs had sustained a bloody cut on the top of his nose, but that was all the damage, that time. (Note: On another occasion, my dogs fought with the Alpha male wolf through a back fence about 50 feet from our back door, and just over the fence from my sheep. That time, the same dog suffered some cuts to his muzzle. The ``rag-box's'' battery had gone dead.) I came back into the house for a robe, slippers, flashlight, wolf radio-collar monitor, and my shotgun with ``cracker shells'' in it. I knew the falling snow would soon fill the tracks, so I quickly went into the road to confirm my sighting. Indeed, the two adult wolves had walked right down the road in front of my home and confronted my dogs at the gate, then ran on up the road when I went out. As I was walking toward the pens behind my house to check on our livestock, I heard the ``rag box'' that the Wolf Program people had provided, begin to flash and sound off. This is a battery-operated system that starts making lots of noise and flashing lights whenever it picks up a radio-collar signal from the collared wolves. They were so close to me that I didn't even have the antenna on the radio receiver, and the signal was coming through very loud and clear on my hand-held radio. I knew the wolves had circled back and were coming in on my sheep! I began to run again and started yelling and shooting ``cracker shells'' into the dark. I heard their radio-collar signal lessen and fade as they headed north again. Needless to say, I came back into the house in a sorry state. I'm in my 60's and far too old to be out chasing wolves through the snow in the middle of a winter night. If anything had happened to me, wolf-caused or not, I wouldn't be here writing this story. I immediately phoned all the Wolf Program people I had phone numbers for. One had the nerve to ask me if I was SURE it was wolves!! Unless they've started radio-collaring very large coyotes . . . yes, it was wolves . . . two of them. Another asked me, well, what did I expect them to do about it?? I suspect I singed his ear hairs with my reply. Jean Hutchison, Blue, AZ. ____ Mr. Pearce: Few things relating to economic impacts on the lake Roberts community, program issues I see (tip if the iceberg) and the affects on my horses with 1 wolf showing up on my property and the affects this had and will have on the Lake Roberts community. The Lake Roberts community is bounded on all sides by the Gila National Forest. Our community has a general store and 4 lodging/hotels. All but one have recently changed hands and are going through renovations. Additionally our community has many retirees and horse ranchetts. The majority of the families here have about 3 or 4 horses and may from time to time have a foal. Our community is very tourist based. People enjoy the lake, head to the cliff dwellings, camp and enjoy the amazing beauty of this area. This is a good community of good people. Everyone here pitches in to help each other. We are all concerned here about wolf impacts. Some people are concerned about speaking up. I was at a meeting in Silver City this spring where FWS admitted they do not have funding and personnel to properly manage this program but are going to continue to expand. The complaints I have heard and stories continue to horrify me. The lack of investigation, destruction of evidence, bending [[Page 17511]] of rules to suit the program mangers and truthful reporting seems to be always in question. From a program management standpoint this program has been mishandled on so many levels and I find it hard to believe they are under funded and unable to handle the wolves they have now. Yet they are going to expand. That is a RED Flag to me. It also appears that they have trouble holding on to quality personnel or have hired dysfunctional personnel or that personnel are shifting between agencies and extreme environmental groups. Not to forget the abuse and lack of customer focus. The customers would be the people with the people living with these wolves being the major customers. I feel all the managers and the people working for them should be focused on the people living with the program first and the wolves second. That is not what has occurred. I am concerned about the attitudes of the high level wolf managers when they say things like a kid being attacked and killed by a wolf is no different than dieing on the highway . . . we do not stop building highways. What? I see the need for transportation and the safety that has been incorporated into highways and cars and the necessity of travel and transportation differently that the desire for having wolves and the lack of safety considerations of the wolf personnel. This bias of not considering or dismissing child safety very concerning to me. I wonder if they discount my life just as easily or the lives of my four legged family members. There is also a need transportation and a desire by some for wolves both are not needs. Wolves are not needed in our community of Lake Roberts and I am sure in other communities in and around the Gila and AS National Forests. We function just fine without wolves. I could go on here but the key is no oversight. Would you fly in a plane that was not independently certified? Would you feel that the airplane developers could be trusted or do you think oversight would be necessary? I feel this program as any that has safety implications should have independent oversight. I also feel the wolf program has been run in a very insensitive way for the people forced to live with the program and writing that up could take pages. The things I see show signs of a very dysfunctional organization in the wolf program. I do hope for additional funding for USDA wild life services as it appears they are very under funded to do the investigations necessary. The trails here in the forest are also a mess, dangerous and in disrepair. It would have been nice if the wolf program money had been put into a more positive use where all could enjoy the forest. I with another local person, organize horse clinics where people come from all over the west to attend. This has a very positive economic impact on the Lake Roberts community as the hotels are filled and meals and other local purchases on non holiday weeks. We do 2 or 3 of these during the summer. Usually June, July and August for more than a week each time. If one wolf incident happens . . . and that would be as much as a horse spooking or being unsettled these clinics will be over. One howl and done forever! No one wants to come to a beautiful place to put their horse in danger. These are also very expensive horses. The thousands of dollars of positive economic impact to the community will be lost. I worry now about all the horses when they are here. I can also no longer take my dog on trail rides. He is very sad and depressed about this as am I. My dog has been useful to my safety in the past where he has assisted in running off a bear and lion. Not bad for a little lab mix. I am concerned when I am working my dressage horses in the arena and my dog is not in sight that something bad might happen. I also breed my horses to expensive warmblood stallions and the foals are often worth more that 7,000 when born. One wolf accident and it is a full economic loss. Often you have to feed the lame horse for the rest of its life. A horse costs at a minimum $1200 to feed and for shots every year. When I raise a foal it is one a year. A lot rides on one foal. This is also true for my neighbors. We have lots of small horse farms here and many of us raise only 1 foal a year. But is more than economics . . . it is really about the loss of safety and enjoyment of my property and the protection of my four legged family members. While my wolf incident is very minor compared to others they still have had an economic and safety concerns within my family. After the millers horse ``Six'' was slaughtered. I asked to be educated on how to live with wolves as Defenders say I should. I grew up in Canada and thought I knew but I am always willing to learn. This call was placed to Bruce Thompson about the middle of January 2007. It is now June I am yet to be educated on how to live with wolves. I have directly asked Bruce Thompson head of NM Game and Fish 3 additional times even stating I would get other horse owners in the area together. Still the only call I got was the call I will describe below. I have asked 4 times to Bruce and 1 time to a NM game official. It is now June. My local Game and Fish guy (not part of the wolf program and I think he feels bad) says he is going to try and put something together for me and others to help. He is a good guy and I am disgusted with the rest. I also asked Bruce Thompson about oversight and other issues with the program and he went into how that is not needed and how FWS, AZDGF and NMGF all work together as one big happy family. I feel with no independent oversight then abuse will occur and it appears with this program that has occurred. The end of January I did get a call from Saleen Richter (not sure of spelling) from NM Game and Fish she made it clear that she was busy and did I really want educated because wolves would probably not be in Lake Roberts. She went on to discredit the Millers and state how they lived way out there and this is why they had had the wolf problem, and that they leave their horses for weeks at a time. I understand from the millers this is not so. She definitely implied the Millers were not good people and implied they were responsible for the wolf slaughtering their horse and that she was busy there protecting the wolves from their other horses. I said to her what about my injured horse that cannot run as fast as the others, or my neighbors older horse or my other neighbors lame horse or the foals . . . and that often I am gone for weeks at a time on business and I have someone caring for my horses does that make me a bad person? She then made it clear in her implications that she did not want to come out to educate me as to how to live with wolves. All and all a very weird and unprofessional conversation with this NM Game and Fish official and I am offended to be paying for this program. Then on February 21, I left my home office to put my horses in the barn for the night. I got to my horses and my dog refused to leave the truck. I cannot remember when he has ever not happy bounded out off the truck. My horses were frantic and were racing around their paddock and nervously looking up our mountain which borders with the national forest. They had already run through the electric tape fence that divides two of the paddocks. No horses were seriously injured but my mare that is lame for life with a broken hip did injure her hip again. I did have to administer pain killers (butte) for about 1 week due to this re-injury. I opened the gate and the horses blasted towards the barn. They never go in their stalls at night until they are clean and hay is in their waiting for them. My one mare later left her stall ran back past me to return to her corral and in my presence kept stepping forward and nodding with her nose in pointing type behavior looking up the mountain. I did not see a wolf. My eyesight is bad and the mountain has lots of vegetation. I think the wolf was about 100 yards up the hill which is 20 feet from the edge my paddock fence. I then went to toss a lead rope over her neck and was preparing to halter her when she blasted out (she never does this) and back to the barn. She was covered in a sticky panicky sweat and all my horses were very upset but did calm down when I closed the barn doors. I could have been injured with my mare's serious panic and was lucky that I did not get run over by a 1000 horse. Horses are prey animals and usually do not like to be confined but on this day they felt their barn was the safest place for them. I found this very interesting and had not experienced this behavior before. Maybe this is why the Millers horse Six ran to his corral . . . he was so panicked he thought it was the only safe place for him. My horses like their barn but often they enjoy being out even in the worst weather. For the next few weeks not only were they more on edge and looking up the mountain constantly. One horse was always more on watch more than normal. They also lost weight for two weeks and were not eating well during the day when turned out. My horses were not rideable for a week and I even canceled going to a small show (no entry fees lost) due to their upset. For over a month when my horses were let out of the barn in the morning they walk to the main door and look up the mountain and cautious step out of the barn. In the past they would be let loose from their stalls and confidently trot out of the barn never even looking. It is summer now and my horses are still in the barn at night. This is extra expense of shavings of over $100 per month. I will be spending 800 more dollars this year on shavings. Also the time to clean the stalls which is more time consuming that cleaning paddocks. My fencing has to be repaired at a cost of $175 due to this wolf panicking my horses. I can easily see this wolf program is costing me more than $1000 per year not to mention the time expenditure. I do not feel I am getting any benefit from this program only a huge headache and I am not even in a constant wolf impact area like Reserve and Winston New Mexico. I need to treat the wood in my barn again and make various repairs. I do need to leave the horses out but I am in fear of if that is the night that the wolves come through again? Will I need to board them somewhere again at an additional cost and gas expense. I can also no longer take 2 horses out leaving one at home without putting that horse [[Page 17512]] in the barn. Where as before my horse would remain at home calmly and eating now they are unhappy, pacing in the stall and not eating. This might seem minor but there has been a major shift in how I work with my horses. On this day that the horses were upset saw and heard the wolf plane. It is a rarer sighting here . . . and never a good thing to see either. It circled south of my home which is south of Sapillo Creek. The flight report for that day shows the wolf was north of sapillo creek based on the locations given. I did not observe this plane circling north . . . while it could have also I find in interesting that a few hours later there was a wolf on my place. My horses have seen lion and bear . . . even ridden up on them on the trail. The fear level and panic with this predator was different. When a lion is around the horses will be a bit bothered and I call on of the outfitters and let them know something is around. The predator usually ends up leaving one way or another. Having the right to treat the wolf like the lion and the bear would a helpful start as wolves should not be hanging around my place. I do worry about the direction of this program and I consider the majority of these wolves very habituated. I am very concerned about children and the people that come out here to camp and trail ride. The tourists that come here want to be safe and have fun. The hunters here (I am not a hunter nor is my family) also have a very positive impact on the communities. I benefit by these business being located in my community. They are a positive economic impact to the communities. I have not yet met one person at the local restaurants or that has stopped to ask directions that were here to see wolves. If they asked about dangerous wildlife they are nervous at the idea of lions let alone wolves. Thanks again for your time and understanding my story here. I know it was a bit long winded but I wanted you to understand the impact that appears so small is really pretty big. Barb Dawdy. THE WOLF AT THE DOOR! Here's one of those stories as told by Michele White, a friend of Brittney's: On November 30, 2004, about 8:00 P.M., Brittney Joy and I (Michele White) were sitting in the family room watching TV and we heard one of the dogs, named Tessa, pawing at the door. Then, what we thought was a dog fight was the sound of something much more. Brittney and I ran to the back door and opened it quickly to realize that it was not two dogs fighting, but was a big wolf standing five feet from the door opening. The wolf jumped on the one dog named Tessa, which is five years of age. While we were yelling at the dogs and motioning her inside, the older dog, named Angel, which is 7 years of age, jumped and hit the wolf with her chest. Once the wolf was off Tessa, it started to run the opposite direction which the two dogs followed. Then the wolf turned around and headed toward the house chasing the two dogs. We then slightly closed the door in fear that it would run inside, but the wolf stopped about ten feet from the door and went the other direction. The one dog, Tessa, came in the house and we lost sight of the other dog, Angel, as she was still chasing the wolf. We called and called, and at this point Cassie Joy, Brittney's mother, who was just getting out of the shower when the incident took place, ran out the other door with her pistol. She was wet, barefoot, and in her pajamas. She fired four shots in the air. When Cassie came back in the house, is when Angel came back. Both dogs are spayed females. Cassie came back in for another gun and a flashlight, plus shoes and a jacket. Then she went out to the corrals, making sure the mare and foal were all right. At this point, Dale Beddow joined her and they came back to the house to use the tracker. This tracker was loaned to them by the wolf office in Alpine because members of the Aspen wolf pack had previously been frequenting the Joy's home and had attacked two of their other dogs in October. (Reported and verified in the Field Notes.--Barbara Marks). They received no signal and Brittney told them she saw the wolf heading up Bush Creek, so they went back out to haze the wolf away. They found the wolf about 250 yards away. It turned and ran up the hill. They searched for about 20 minutes and couldn't find the wolf, so they fired the gun three times in the air, then returned home. During this time, Cassie's other daughter, Dustie, was trying to calm her sister down and then made phone calls to get phone numbers of wolf office staff. There was a foul smell on the one dog, Tessa. It was so bad that we had to put them outside again. At this point, we called Shawn Farry who is in charge of the wolf activity. Cassie told him everything that had happened and he told her he would call Shawna Nelson who was on duty at the time to come right up and investigate. Approximately 30 minutes after the initial report of the incident, Shawna and Valerie of the ``wolf patrol'' arrived. Shawna then proceeded to inquire about the incident. The residents at the Joy household told Shawna the story that is in the first part of this paper. Shawna then asked if the Joys were sure that the animal that attacked their dogs and invaded their home was a wolf or ``just a common coyote''. They were sure it was a wolf, but did not see a radio collar on it. When they told Shawna about the foul smell on Tess, Shawna smelled the dog. She said no foul odor was identified. No investigation of the surrounding area was done at this point. The 2 women went up Red Hill Road (Forest Road 567) to see if they could get a signal on any of the radio collared wolves. Cassie then made a call to John Oakleaf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on her neighbor's suggestion to confirm that a report would be filed. After conveying to him the incident that occurred, he told Cassie that it could have been one of the uncollared wolves that had invaded their privacy. He would have Shawna and Valerie return to the Joy residence to fire off some `cracker' shells to try and avoid another conflict, which they did. The following morning, at about 8:00 A.M., Cassie observed the wolf running across an opening up Bush Creek about two hundred fifty yards from their residence and livestock. Jimmy Joy and their neighbor went to investigate. After a short investigation, fresh wolf tracks were found close to where the sighting had occurred. Cassie then called Shawna to report another wolf sighting within sight of their home. About one full hour later, Valerie came to the Joys to now investigate. Cassie then showed Valerie the wolf tracks that were found earlier, and where the sighting had occurred. Valerie could not find the tracks at first. Valerie told Cassie that she thought that the wolf in question was the uncollared male pup from the Aspen pack. Upon returning to the house, Tessa was spotted napping in the sun. At this point, Valerie then confessed to Cassie that the foul smell that Cassie had pointed out the night before was obvious. She also said it came from scent glands wolves have. Cassie asked Valerie if they could come back and fire off some more `cracker' shells because she thought that the wolf was still nearby. That evening, Shawna and Valerie returned to perform a short investigation. That evening, Shawna returned to take a written report. ____ June 13, 2007. Mr. Pearce: We would like to justify why our 13 year old daughter, Micha Miller has to carry a firearm everytime she steps outside. It is because the Durango Pack has been in our yard four times in five weeks, within feet of our door two times & the other two times they have been within 70 yards of the house. That is a little too close for comfort & Micha needs a way too protect herself when she's outside. Micha is very capable of handling a pistol or any other firearm, for that matter, extremely safely. She has taken her Hunter's Safety & passed with a 98%, she has also been around firearms all her life & enjoys hunting. I can honestly say she is safer carring a weapon than she is walking out of the house without it because of the habituated Durango Pack. The Pack was released the last of April & they were in our yard on the 1st of May. The Wolf Recovery Program released them at Miller Springs about 40 miles south of our house & they were here on the ranch in two days. The reason they came up here is because AF924 was in our yard multiple time from September 2006 until November 2006 when she was captured & her mate was shot for 3 depredations. AF924 still has 2 depredation strikes against her as does her new mate AM973. We are not ranch owners, but we have lived & worked on the Adobe Ranch for 9 years, this is our home. My husband, Mike Miller, takes care of about 500 head of mother cows on about 100 square miles. He has to check one pasture twice a day to make sure the Durango Pack has not killed a cow or calf, as the Pack is denned up in the middle of it. The cattle may not be Mike's but he is in charge of taking care of them & has to answer to the manager of the ranch if anything happens to them. Mike's hands are tied when dealing with the Wolf Recovery people directly. When we were kids we didn't have to worry about carrying firearms or anything stalking us, we could just enjoy being kids. Our daughter & the other kids in the Recovery area don't have that privilege. They have to watch over their shoulders & stay close to their homes & not venture out to explore their own backyards. The fear of having a wolf attack them is so great that they can't have fun anymore. It is unfair to our kids what the Wolf Program & Bill Richardson has done to them!! They have made our kids prisoners in their own homes! They need to be told ``The wolves are NOT more important than our children's lives & well being!!!'' What I'm afraid of is one of our children getting seriously hurt or even killed before the program & Richardson will open their eyes to how wrong this whole program is. The Durango Pack are not the only wolves close to our home. There is a black collared wolf that John Oakleaf, with the wolf program, claims to know nothing about. They say they don't have a black wolf. We are not the only one's to have seen it, two neighbors have also seen it. This isn't the first time we've heard that they don't have a certain [[Page 17513]] wolf. We had a real light colored wolf in our yard & Dan Stark, another with the wolf program said to us & I quote, ``That's not one of our wolves!'' There are more wolves out there than the Wolf Program is admitting. The wolf program people are supposed to be watching this Durango Pack to keep them out of our yard. When the workers are out here they are sneaking around, they go by the house & turn around just over the hill from the house or sometimes in the driveway, then drive away real fast thinking no one has seen them, instead of coming up to the house & letting us know if the wolves are in the vicinity or if we might have information that could help them track the wolves. The Durango Pack has totally disrupted our lives! The things we did without worry, like working in the yard or mowing the grass, we now have to be armed & very aware of our surroundings. The Durango Pack are not ``problem'' wolves or ``nusance'' wolves, they are habitual wolves. They will not stop coming up into yards & hanging around people no matter how many times they are captured & re-released. The only way to stop a habitual wolf is to permanently remove them by any means necessary! Thank you, Mr. Pearce, for informing everyone that the Wolf Program is not as wonderful as the Program wants them to believe. We appreciate your concern about the families in the Recovery Area. Thank you for all your help. Sincerely, Mike, Debbie, & Micha Miller. ____ New Mexico Wool, Growers, Inc., June 15, 2007. Hon. Steve Pearce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Congressman Pearce: We are writing to you today on behalf of the membership of the New Mexico Wool Growers, Inc. the state's oldest livestock trade organization, in reference to the Mexican wolf reintroduction program. First we would like to thank you for everything you and your staff have already done on this issue. There is no question that you are committed to your New Mexico constituents and the livestock industry. With all that you have already done we know that you understand the pain, anguish and loss that has and is being suffered here in New Mexico. We are seeing that folks have become hopeless in the face of a predator placed in their midst by their own government. That our government has been unwilling or unable to address the needs of the citizens whose lives they are destroying. It is not sensationalism to point out that children are not even safe in their own yards or in walking back and forth from their homes to the school bus. Life in America has changed since the introduction of this program and children and families should not have to be afraid to go outside. With that said, we are writing to once again ask you to do whatever you can to reduce the impact of the program on children and families as well as livestock and pet owners in the recovery area. The public has been mislead for nearly a decade with the theory that no one is suffering losses at the mouths of wolves and that if there are losses they are being amply compensated. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any paltry compensation is not coming from the government that caused the loss, nor does it begin to cover the costs to private property owners. Furthermore, there is no way to put a monetary value on human pain and suffering. Americans deserve to feel safe and they deserve to be paid for what the government has so willingly taken from them. The Mexican wolf program is termed ``experimental and non- essential.'' There is ample documentation that the experiment has failed and it must be terminated. There are wolves in the country and they need to be allowed to survive, or not, on their own. Families and property owners must have the ability to protect themselves without fear of fine or prison. In the early years as settlers moved west, the prey base was limited and wolves turned to what was available-- livestock. That holds true today under the conditions we are experiencing, but livestock is not the only prey, pets, children and families are part of the prey today. There appear to be only two options for the program at this point. One is to totally withdraw funding and let the animals compete for survival just as other wildlife must do. The other is for the government to come up with an appropriation to cover the very real costs of the program on the people who are forced to live with these government owned and managed killing machines every day. Once again we are thankful for all your work on this and other issues. If we can be of service to you, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Mike Corn, President. ____ New Mexico Federal Lands Council, Roswell, NM, June 15, 2007. Hon. Steve Pearce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Congressman Pearce: We are writing to you today on behalf of the membership of the New Mexico Federal Lands Council, which represents ranchers who utilize federal and state lands. This letter is in reference to the Mexican wolf reintroduction program. We are very fortunate that you understand the pain, anguish and loss that has and is being suffered here in New Mexico. Your commitment to your constituents and the ranching industry has been a great attribute in dealing with this program. Thank you to you and your staff for the interest you have shown and the assistance that you have already given. Life in New Mexico has changed since the start of the Mexican wolf reintroduction program. Residents in parts of New Mexico are not safe to let their children go outside in the yard to play or even to walk to the bus stop from their home. This is truly a tragedy. We are seeing that folks have become hopeless in the face of a predator placed in their midst by their own government. That our government has been unwilling or unable to address the needs of the citizens whose lives they are destroying. With that said, we are writing to once again ask you to do whatever you can to reduce the impact of the program on children and families as well as livestock and pet owners in the recovery area. For nearly a decade the public has been misled with the theory that no one is suffering losses at the mouths of wolves and that if there are losses they are being amply compensated. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any paltry compensation is not coming from the government that caused the loss, nor does it begin to cover the costs to private property owners. Additionally, there is no way to put a monetary value on human pain and suffering. Americans deserve to feel safe and they deserve to be paid for what the government has so willingly taken from them. The Mexican wolf program is termed ``experimental and non- essential.'' There is ample documentation that the experiment has failed and it must be terminated. There are wolves in the country and they need to be allowed to survive, or not, on their own. Families and property owners must have the ability to protect themselves without fear of fine or prison. When people started settling in the west, the prey base was limited and wolves turned to what was available--livestock. That holds true today under the conditions we are experiencing, but livestock is not the only prey pets, children and families are part of the prey today. There appear to be only two options for the program at this point. One is to totally withdraw funding and let the animals compete for survival just as other wildlife must do. The other is for the government to come up with an appropriation to cover the very real costs of the program on the people who are forced to live with these government owned and managed killing machines every day. Once again we are thankful for all your work on this and other issues. If we can be of service to you, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Mike Casabonne, President. ____ Monday, June 25, 2007 11:00 a.m. From: Robert Flowers To: Charters, Tim. Subject: WOLF ENCOUNTER. In Sept. 06 bow elk hunt I was hunting with a freind in the upper edge of 16c. The opening morning the bulls were sounding off and very close to camp. We stalked the herd for several hours until they got down into lower, open country. That night we caught them going back to higher ground. We could not catch up with them and noticed some very large, fresh ``k-9'' tracks. The next morning we expected to intercept the herd in the same area, but not a bugle one. We decided to go up higher ground to find them. We drove on a road that skirted the adobe and follwed it into a creek that washed the road out. We then walk to the bottom of the draw to look for sign. We found sign!!! A freshly killed calf elk. Blood was still wet and the carcas warm. We found large, fresh ``k-9'' tracks, and long strands of grey hair in the brush. We must have run the wolves of the kill. Needless to say we saw, nor heard any more elk the remainder of the hunt. Robert D. Flowers, Dexter, NM. ____ Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:23 p.m. From: Jeannie Jones. Subject: Hello Wolf!! As I was in the yard cleaning out a pickup a WOLF caming trotting thru the meadow! I ran for a camera and binoculars (for the collar). He crossed to the road and disappeared. NO picture. It looked like it might have had a collar but not for sure. So much for them laying around in the heat of the day! The time was exactly 1:30 PM and it was 78 degrees. Guess the poor thing was hungry and hunting for the next innocent thing to kill or cripple. May 29, 2007. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman has expired. Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. [[Page 17514]] The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. DICKS. The restoration of wolves in the United States is a conservation success story. Wolves in the Great Plains and the Northern Rockies have made a dramatic comeback. Mr. PEARCE. Will the gentleman yield? Mr. DICKS. I will not yield. The gentleman had his 5 minutes. I am going to take my 5 minutes. Mr. PEARCE. I thank the gentleman, who has no wolves in his district. Mr. DICKS. And we need to let the Mexican wolf population have the same chance. There is no doubt that there have been problems with the reintroduction, but we cannot cancel the entire program because of these isolated problems. There are programs in place that compensate livestock operators when wolves prey upon their stock. I am in favor of working to streamline and expand these programs. I am also in favor of pushing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to work more closely with the affected livestock operators. Finally, I believe we cannot interfere with the Endangered Species Act, and that's what the gentleman is attempting to do here. His amendment would overturn the Endangered Species Act, something that we have never done on this House floor that I can remember, and I don't think we should start today. I have experience with the Red Wolf Program at Point Defiance Zoo in the State of Washington where we regenerated the population, and then we introduced them into North Carolina. That program has worked very successfully. We have wolves in Alaska. We have wolves in Canada. There were wolves in New Mexico. And this is part of nature. I think the gentleman is completely overreacting to this. I urge him to withdraw his amendment and not to try to overturn the Endangered Species Act here on the floor of the House. I urge all my colleagues to vote strongly against this ill-considered amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman from Washington continue to reserve his point of order? Mr. DICKS. I withdraw my point of order. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman withdraws his point of order. Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Chairman, there are really two ways to proliferate wolves, one is in the wild, where they respect their distance from humans, and the other is in captivity, where they have no respect for humans. The Mexican wolves have been propagated and proliferated in captivity, and as a result, they encroach into areas that put humans at risk. I think the gentleman from New Mexico has brought up a valid concern because these isolated problems are now coming home to people who live in this area and having to carry firearms with them everywhere they go. I would like to yield to the gentleman from New Mexico to let him complete his point. Mr. PEARCE. I would thank the gentleman for yielding. Recently, in Catron County, the local county commissioner started posting signs like this, ``Dangerous Wolf Area.'' It just is a continuation of the theme that we're trying to accomplish something in the Second District of New Mexico that you're not willing to accomplish in your own districts. I will tell you that we heard testimony in the Resources Committee that described the most provocative sound to a wolf is a crying baby or a laughing baby. It's a matter of time until these wolves, which will stalk for weeks and weeks and weeks at a time around local homes, it's a matter of time until a wolf catches one of these children. Their blood will be on your hands, my friend, because we've had the testimony in committee. I would say that this has nothing to do with endangered species but instead has to do with protecting the lives of the people and the livestock of the Second District. Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I would like to have a ruling from the Chair whether the gentleman's comments about blood on my hands is a violation of the House Rules. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman demand the gentleman from New Mexico's words be taken down? Mr. DICKS. Yes, I do. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman will suspend. The Clerk will read the gentleman's words. Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Chairman, I would ask unanimous consent to withdraw my words. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New Mexico? There was no objection. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman may proceed. Mr. PEARCE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We again have the issue of depredation. There is no fund that pays ranchers when their livestock is killed. So we have the livestock, which in these days of ranching, ranching is a very hard business, and we have the livestock which is killed by these predators that continue to eliminate more and more livestock each year, with no payments being made from Fish and Wildlife Service. I would simply point out, and I would thank the gentleman from Kansas for yielding, that this program is restricted to only two very rural parts of America. It is wrong; it is wrongheaded. I would thank the gentleman from Washington for his suggestion to withdraw the amendment but would instead ask for a vote on the amendment. Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce). The question was taken; and the Acting Chairman announced that the noes appeared to have it. Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from New Mexico will be postponed. Amendment No. 19 Offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Amendment No. 19 offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: TITLE VI--ADDITIONAL GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. . None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to limit outreach programs administered by the Smithsonian Institution. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas. Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, let me again offer my appreciation to the chairman of the subcommittee and the ranking member of the subcommittee for the courtesies of both of their staff. This amendment was offered last year. It is a continued commitment I have to the Smithsonian and the value of its programs and outreaching across America. My amendment is simple, and it simply has the Congress on record to encourage and not limit outreach programs administered by the Smithsonian Institution, as I indicated, an identical amendment that was offered last year. What are these outreach programs? These outreach programs involve reaching out to communities, African American communities, Asian American communities, Latino communities, Native American communities, and yes, New Americana. It is a program dealing with Kindergarten [[Page 17515]] through college age museum education outreach opportunities. It enhances the K-12 science education programs and facilitates the Smithsonian's scholarly interactions with students and scholars at universities. Some would say that it brings the scholars of America out of the attics of America. In addition, it has a program called the Mobile Museum, an exhibit that can visit up to three venues per week in the course of only 1 year, at no cost to the host institution or community. The net result is an increase by 150 the number of outreach locations to which SITES shows can travel annually. And in addition, through its flexibility in making short-term stops in cities and towns from coast to coast, a mobile museum has the advantage of being able to frequent the very locations where people live and work. I believe America is a great country. We have a very rich history, and that history sometimes is lost because of the lack of technical assistance and education of our community. For example, may I share with my colleagues, the community in Houston called Freedmen's Town? It is a community that was settled by freed slaves. It now has a few remaining structures after urban revitalization. Part of the complexity of it is a lack of education, understanding of the value. Artifacts, museums, preservation, all of that is part of the work of the Smithsonian outreach that educates the community about the precious jewels that they have. Cobblestone streets that were laid by slaves, churches that were built by slaves, and a variety of other facilities, like an old school that was attended by freed slaves. The Smithsonian's outreach program educates us about our history, provides mobile museums, connects America, connects us to this fabulous and extensive museum's holdings of the Nation's history by visual scenes. And so I would ask my colleagues to consider the importance of reaffirming, if you will, the value of the outreach program of the Smithsonian. Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to speak in support of my amendment to H.R. 2643 the Interior and Environment Appropriations Act of 2008 and to commend Chairman Dicks and Ranking Member Tiahrt for their leadership in shepherding this bill through the legislative process. Among other agencies, this legislation funds the Smithsonian Institution, which operates our national museums, including the Air and Space Museum; the Museum of African Art; the Museum of the American Indian; and the National Portrait Gallery. The Smithsonian also operates another national treasure: the National Zoo. Mr. Chairman, my amendment is simple but it sends a very important message from the Congress of the United States. My amendment provides that none of the funds made available in this act be used to limit outreach programs administered by the Smithsonian Institution. An identical amendment was offered to last year's appropriations bill, H.R. 5386, and was adopted by voice vote. Mr. Chairman, the Smithsonian's outreach programs bring Smithsonian scholars in art, history, and science out of ``the nation's attic'' and into their own backyard. Each year, millions of Americans visit the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. But in order to fulfill the Smithsonian's mission, ``the increase and diffusion of knowledge,'' the Smithsonian seeks to serve an even greater audience by bringing the Smithsonian to enclaves of communities who otherwise would be deprived of the vast amount of cultural history offered by the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian's outreach programs serve millions of Americans, thousands of communities, and hundreds of institutions in all 50 States, through loans of objects, traveling exhibitions, and sharing of educational resources via publications, lectures and presentations, training programs, and websites. Smithsonian outreach programs work in close cooperation with Smithsonian museums and research centers, as well as with 144 affiliate institutions and others across the Nation. The Smithsonian's outreach activities support community-based cultural and educational organizations around the country; ensure a vital, recurring, and high-impact Smithsonian presence in all 50 States through the provision of traveling exhibitions and a network of affiliations; increase connections between the Institution and targeted audiences (African American, Asian American, Latino, and native American, and all of America); provide kindergarten through college- aged museum education and outreach opportunities; enhance K-12 science education programs; facilitate the Smithsonian's scholarly interactions with students and scholars at universities, museums, and other research institutions; and publish and disseminate results related to the research and collections strengths of the Institution. The programs that provide the critical mass of Smithsonian outreach activity are: the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the Smithsonian Affiliations, the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies (SCEMS), National Science Resources Center (NSRC), the Smithsonian Institution Press (SIP), the Office of Fellowships (OF) and the Smithsonian Associates (TSA), which receives no federal funding. To achieve the goal of increasing public engagement, SITES directs some of its federal resources to develop Smithsonian Across America: A Celebration of National Pride. This ``mobile museum,'' which will feature Smithsonian artifacts from the most iconic (Presidential portraits, historic American flags, Civil War records, astronaut uniforms, etc.) to the simplest items of everyday life (family quilts, prairie schoolhouse furnishings, historic lunch boxes, multilingual store front and street signs, etc.), has been a long-standing organizational priority of the Smithsonian. SITES ``mobile museum'' is the only traveling exhibit format able to guarantee audience growth and expanded geographic distribution during sustained periods of economic retrenchment, but also because it is imperative for the many exhibitors nationwide who are struggling financially yet eager to participate in Smithsonian outreach. As economic downturn and uncertainty continue to erode the ability of museums to present temporary exhibitions, the ``mobile museum'' promises to answer an ever-growing demand for Smithsonian shows in the field. A single, conventional SITES exhibit can reach a maximum of 12 locations over a 2- to 3-year period. In contrast, a ``mobile museum'' exhibit can visit up to three venues per week in the course of only 1 year, at no cost to the host institution or community. The net result is an increase by 150 in the number of outreach locations to which SITES shows can travel annually. And in addition to its flexibility in making short-term stops in cities and towns from coast-to-coast, a ``mobile museum'' has the advantage of being able to frequent the very locations where people live, work, and take part in leisure time activities. By establishing an exhibit presence in settings like these, SITES will not only increase its annual visitor participation by 1 million, but also advance a key Smithsonian performance objective: to develop exhibit approaches that address diverse audiences, including population groups not always affiliated with mainstream cultural institutions. SITES also will be the public exhibitions' face of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Mrican American History and Culture, as the planning for that new Museum gets under way. Providing national access to projects that will introduce the American public to the Museum's mission, SITES in FY 2008 will tour such stirring exhibitions as NASA ART: 50 Years of Exploration; 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story; Beyond: Visions of Planetary Landscapes; The Way We Worked: Photographs from the National Archives; and More Than Words: Illustrated Letters from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art. To meet the growing demand among smaller community and ethnic museums for an exhibition celebrating the Latino experience, SITES will issue a scaled-down version of the National Museum of American History's 4,000- square-foot exhibition about legendary entertainer Celia Cruz. Two 1,500-square-foot exhibitions, one about Crow Indian history and the other on basket traditions, will give Smithsonian visitors beyond Washington a taste of the Institution's critically acclaimed National Museum of the American Indian. Two more exhibits, In Plane View and Earth from Space, will provide visitors in the field with a taste of the Smithsonian's recently opened, expansive National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center. Several exhibit tours will be extended by popular demand. The most important of them are The American Presidency and Our Journeys, Our Stories, the original itineraries of which could not accommodate multiple exhibitor requests. For almost 30 years, The Smithsonian Associates--the highly regarded educational arm of the Smithsonian Institution--has arranged Scholars in the Schools programs. Through this tremendously successful and well- received educational outreach program, the Smithsonian shares its staff--hundreds of experts in art, history and science--with the national community at a local level. The mission of Smithsonian Affiliations is to build a strong national network of museums [[Page 17516]] and educational organizations in order to establish active and engaging relationships with communities throughout the country. There are currently 138 affiliates located in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Panama. By working with museums of diverse subject areas and scholarly disciplines, both emerging and well-established, Smithsonian Affiliations is building partnerships through which audiences and visitors everywhere will be able to share in the great wealth of the Smithsonian while building capacity and expertise in local communities. The National Science Resources Center (NSRC) will strive to increase the number of ethnically diverse students participating in effective science programs based on NSRC products and services. The Center will develop and implement a national outreach strategy that will increase the number of school districts (currently more than 800) that are implementing NSRC K-8 programs. The NSRC is striving to further enhance its program activity with a newly developed scientific outreach program introducing communities and school districts to science through literacy initiatives. Some of NSRC's goals are: Double the number of school districts implementing NSRC K-8 programs, growing from an estimated 15 percent of the school population to 30 percent Significantly expand national outreach programs to ethnically and culturally diverse school districts through the work of the NSRC's three centers of excellence Engage 125 school districts--representing an additional 5 percent of the United States K-8 student population--bringing the impact of the NSRC's work from 20 percent to 25 percent of the nation's youth Continue to develop and bring first-class educational resources to the nation by forging partnerships with school systems, educators, education and museum professional associations, and others to expand opportunities for development and dissemination of Smithsonian-based education resources Through a collaborative effort with other Smithsonian education units, expand the educational opportunities available throughout the country, particularly in the area of science education reform Expand the number of science materials currently available to school districts for grades K-3 and continue pursuing newly-published children's books, which will enhance science education programs throughout the country Continue to develop and bring first-class educational resources to the nation by forging partnerships with school systems, educators, education and museum professional associations and others to expand opportunities for development and dissemination of Smithsonian-based education resources. In addition, through the building of the multicultural Alliance Initiative, the Smithsonian's outreach programs seek to develop new approaches to enable the public to gain access to Smithsonian collections, research, education, and public programs that reflect the diversity of the American people, including underserved audiences of ethnic populations and persons with disabilities. For all these reasons, Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of my amendment and thank Chairman Dicks and Ranking Member Tiahrt for their courtesies, consideration, and very fine work in putting together this excellent legislation. Mr. DICKS. If the gentlewoman would yield, we are prepared to accept the gentlelady's amendment. We accepted it last year. We think it's a positive amendment. Mr. TIAHRT. Will the gentlewoman yield? Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I would be happy to yield. Mr. TIAHRT. I wanted to congratulate the gentlewoman on a fine amendment. We have no problems with it. Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I conclude by thanking both the chairman and the ranking member, and I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). The amendment was agreed to. {time} 1900 Amendment No. 34 Offered by Mr. Hensarling Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Amendment No. 34 offered by Mr. Hensarling: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: None of the funds in this Act may be used for the Clover Bend Historic Site. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on this amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. A point of order is reserved. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas. Mr. HENSARLING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First I want to thank the chairman of the committee. I especially want to thank the ranking member, my friend from Kansas, for all their good work on this bill. I know a lot of good work went into this. For one, I am still concerned that our overall spending levels in growing this bill are roughly twice the rate of inflation, I think 7.6 percent over the President's request. But I know a lot of good work has gone into this. My amendment specifically would ensure that none of the funds in the bill would go to fund the Clover Bend Historic Site in Clover Bend, Arkansas, which, again, is one of the earmarks that is place in the bill. I don't mind admitting before this House that I am not a huge fan of earmarks. I am certainly not here to say they are all bad. Many are worthy. Many do good things. But too often, as I look at the earmarking process, too often we see a triumph of the special interest over the public interest. Too often we see a triumph of seniority over merit. Mr. Chairman, up until recently, too often we saw a triumph of secrecy over transparency. I will be the first to admit that this particular amendment and earmarks, in general, are a very small portion of the Federal budget. But, Mr. Chairman, I fear they are a very large portion of the culture of spending in this institution. Mr. Chairman, I've been a veteran of several of these earmark debates. They tend to follow several different lines of argument. Typically a Member will come to the floor to defend his earmark and say he knows his district better than anybody else. That is true. They typically come to the floor. They will say, well, good things can be done with this money. I am prepared to concede both of these points. I know the Member who offered this project knows his district better than I do. I know good things could be done with this money. But let's put this expenditure in context, Mr. Chairman. We still have a deficit. It is declining, but we still have a deficit, which means that until we balance the budget, we are raiding the Social Security trust fund. In addition, spending is exploding. Look at what is happening in entitlement spending, which threatens to bankrupt future generations. Right now, we are on a fiscal path to either double taxes on the next generation or to have little Federal Government besides Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Yet, as I look around, almost every single State in the Union is running a surplus. So, Mr. Chairman, I ask myself a simple question. There are a number of earmarks submitted in this bill. Again, I am sure good things can be done with this money. But can we continue, given this context, to fund earmarks of this type simply because, one, we have done it before, simply because we are creative and we can think of these things, simply because it is a good project? I am not here to necessarily say it is a bad project. But given the entitlement crisis, given the fact that our Democratic colleagues in their budget resolution voted for the single largest tax increase in American history, I just ask myself this question, is it truly a priority? Not is it bad, not is it wasteful, but is it truly a priority? Because every time we plus up some Federal budget, we are having to lower some family budget. Again, I know the gentleman from Arkansas knows his district better [[Page 17517]] than I do, but I know my district better than he does. Taxpayers from the Fifth District of Texas are going to have to help fund this particular earmark. Mr. Chairman, I just fear that if we end up saying yes to everyone's program today, it is just a matter of time before we end up saying no to our children's future tomorrow. It is a small step. It is a small earmark. I understand this. But if you are going to lead, you need to lead by example. This is one small step we can take for fiscal sanity. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. BERRY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN (Mr. McDermott). The gentleman from Arkansas is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. BERRY. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Dicks and the ranking member, Mr. Tiahrt, for their leadership on this subcommittee and for their bipartisan approach to these issues. I rise in opposition to the Hensarling amendment. I respect his right to offer the amendment. I find it interesting that we have a sudden attack of fiscal responsibility on the other side of the aisle after adding $3 trillion in the last 6 years to the national debt. I find it interesting that we suddenly have an attack of fiscal responsibility after a Democratic administration had created almost a $6 trillion surplus, and that has been squandered by the Republicans across the aisle. I think it is sad that we would object to a small community in rural Arkansas that has put tens of thousands of dollars into this project to preserve a little bit of history and a little bit of heritage in this wonderful community. Clover Bend was one of the earliest settlements in Lawrence County, serving as a significant river landing for the area's bustling cotton and timber industry. Remote as the settlement was, it clung to existence. In 1829, steamboats were finding their way to its landing. The settlement was established as an important landing in river travel. Some years later, the actual town was moved from the river to the present site about 2 miles east. The Clover Bend Historic Preservation Association was formed in 1983 at the historic site located on the former Clover Bend school campus. In 1937, a transaction was made through the Resettlement Administration to buy the plantation and establish 86 farmsteads from the original Clover Bend plantation. It gave 86 families in the depths of the Great Depression a new start, a new chance. It created a wonderful rural community where people came together for the common good to get the job done. It is something that is well worth preserving. On the morning of May 4, 1939, after a decade of near starvation for many Lawrence County farmers, some 36 families gathered on the banks of the Black River to receive keys to their new homes. These were the first families chosen from the many to buy about 45 acres with a house on it. The site contains ten structures and was added to the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district in 1991. Clover Bend is a multipurpose site with a wide range of historical significance. The ultimate goal for Clover Bend is to become a fully functional museum and education center. Funds will be matched by the State of Arkansas. This assistance is needed in order for the Preservation Association to continue to maintain and promote Clover Bend to the region and to preserve what is there and what the heritage of that place is. Through the countless hours of volunteers in the region and the support of the State, this request will allow the goal of the Preservation Association to become a reality. As is the case so many times, there is one person, a wonderful woman named Viola Meadows, that has held all this together. Through tons of sweat equity, she has made it possible for us to be here today to see this entire project come to fruition. It is not like they are asking us to pay for the whole thing. They are asking us for just a little bit of help. I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I make no apology for the amount of money in this bill to address problems in Member districts or the process through which projects were selected. I just want to tell the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Tiahrt and I did this on a bipartisan basis. We worked this out. Our staffs worked together. We went through these projects very carefully. We only approved one out of every ten projects that were requested by the Members. Now, I would remind the gentleman that in the Constitution of the United States, the most fundamental power of the United States Congress is the power of the purse, the power of the Congress to redress grievances of the American people, to help on projects that are important to the Members' districts. Now, in this budget, we also laid out all the projects that are requested by the President. I would just, as one example, point out to the gentleman that in 2004 in terms of STAG grants, there were $533 million; in 2005, $513 million. These are all earmarks. {time} 1915 In 2006, $282 million. In 2007, zero. In 2008, $140 million. This is responsible. The administration even says we met their test on earmarks. We went through these projects carefully, we looked at them closely, and we did it in a professional way. So I would urge the gentleman to consider these facts. We are not going to be doing this the way it was done in the past, but we have the right to do it. And even the gentleman from Texas can't give away the power of the purse, because it is in the Constitution of the United States, and the Founding Fathers of this country stated that this was one of the most important powers that the Congress possessed. Throughout history, the British Parliament worked feverishly over the years to gain the power to be able to decide and limit the executive, the king in this case, of Britain. That was one of the most important powers that the Parliament developed over many hundreds of years. So I am here tonight to defend our right to take care of our constituents, and I defend the process by which we did this. We did it in a professional way. We did it with both parties sitting in the same room looking at all these projects, helping each other, so we didn't make any mistakes. I just want the gentleman to know how strongly I feel personally about this. We did a good job, and we cut it way back, and I thought the gentleman from Texas would be here applauding what we did, not attacking it. Mr. Chairman, I withdraw my reservation. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling). The question was taken; and the Acting Chairman announced that the noes appeared to have it. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas will be postponed. Amendment No. 44 Offered by Mr. Hensarling Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Amendment No. 44 offered by Mr. Hensarling: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: None of the funds in this Act may be used for the St. Joseph's College Theatre. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would restrict funding [[Page 17518]] for the St. Joseph's College theater renovation located in Indiana. Again, I want to follow up on some of my earlier comments and address comments that the chairman made. If he was listening to my earlier comments, I started out complimenting much of what I see in the bill, and to the extent I see a reduction in the number of earmarks, I take that to be a very good thing. But I was elected by the people of the Fifth District of Texas, and with all due respect to all of my colleagues, I yield my voting card to no one or my judgment to no one. So I am not here to impugn the judgment of the chairman, but I may have different concerns, and the people of the Fifth Congressional District of Texas may have different concerns as well. I believe that historical preservation is a very good thing, but I know that much of the funding that has come from the Save America's Treasure program, what started out ostensibly geared toward Betsy Ross and the Declaration of Independence, has ended up funding so many other different projects. Do you know what? I have got a lot of worthy historical and cultural projects in my own district, in the Fifth Congressional District of Texas. I am just not sure, at a time when Members, many who have come to this floor and said they would not raid the Social Security trust fund; as long as we are running a deficit, and we are doing that; recently the Democrat majority in their budget resolution voted to increase the debt ceiling; in their budget resolution, they voted for the single largest tax increase in history; all I question is, given all that background, government will be paid for. Sooner or later, government will be paid for, either by this generation or the next. So I am not saying these are necessarily bad projects, but I do question whether or not, given the context, particularly the entitlement spending crisis that is looming, if they are truly a priority. Clearly they are a priority in the mind of the chairman, and I sincerely respect his opinion, but they are not necessarily a priority to me or the people of the Fifth District of Texas. In my district, I have the Grand Saline Salt Palace. It sits on top of one of the largest salt mines in the entire United States of America. It is a very unique museum, actually made of salt. They give away free salt samples so people won't go and lick the walls. This is something that is unique in America, but is it truly a priority that we should have Federal funding for? I don't necessarily think so. Now, there has been a debate in this body before about the history of the hamburger. Well, in the State of Texas, they say the birth of the hamburger was in Athens, Texas, which happens to be in the Fifth Congressional District that I have the honor of representing. It was invented in the 1880s by Mr. Fletcher Davis at 115 Tyler Street in Athens. Maybe that is something that is worthy of Federal expenditure to preserve this. The Texas State Railroad that takes people on an old steam locomotive throughout beautiful Piney Woods of east Texas has been in existence since the 1800s. It has some funding challenges. It is something that I think is worthy of preservation. But, again, given the context of the largest tax increase in American history, given that people are still raiding the Social Security trust fund, it is not something I personally feel comfortable coming to this body and requesting that we use Federal funds for these purposes. These are great historical and cultural locations within my district, but I am not sure they rise to the occasion to meet the National Treasures Act language, particularly when, again, all this spending has to be paid for. So, I understand that people are experts on their district, that they want to defend their projects. But, again, it is taxpayers from, among other places, the Fifth Congressional District of Texas, that are having to pay for all this. Therefore, they start to lose their American treasures, their ability to buy a home, their ability to send their children to college, their ability to start a new business. I am still working to preserve those American treasures, and that is why I submitted this amendment, and I urge its adoption. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Indiana is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the recognition, and I rise in strong and adamant opposition to the gentleman's amendment. During my remarks, I would like to make three points and also indicate that this project is in the City of Rensselaer, Indiana, at St. Joseph's College. It is for the restoration of a historic theater that continues to be used by the faculty and students of the school, as well as the constituents and citizens of Rensselaer and Jasper County, Indiana. The total cost for the renovation of this project is about $965,000. The request and approval by the subcommittee was for $100,000. I would want to thank the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Dicks, as well as the ranking member, my good friend, Mr. Tiahrt, for their consideration of this very important project. The first point I do want to make is that this has great value to the community in which it is situated. While the gentleman who offered the amendment enumerated a whole series of other possible projects in another State, that is not the subject of this amendment. It is the restoration of a historic theater at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer. It was built in 1914 and designed in revival style, referred to as Collegiate Gothic. It is located in the college's historic district, and the goal of the project is to restore the theater as an attractive, useful centerpiece for the college and the City of Rensselaer while retaining its notable contribution among historic sites and structures in the great State of Indiana. The second point I would want to make, and I would take off on the remarks made by the chairman, is he suggested that we have a right to spend this money. I agree with that assertion. I would take it a step further and say, we have a responsibility to make an investment in this country. We need to invest to preserve the past so we can continue to learn its lessons. We need to invest in this country for our present and for those who live here today. We need to invest in this country and its infrastructure for the future of this Nation and for the children of this generation and those yet to come. We have a responsibility as well as a right. The gentleman from Washington, Mr. Dicks, also mentioned we are here to help each other out. I would conclude by stressing that point. While I have a great deal of respect for the gentleman from the Fifth District of Texas, I happen to represent the First District in Indiana, and the last time I looked, society and the purpose of us joining together in a free government is to help each other out and to look out for each others' interests. It is not the government that is paying this money, as the gentleman indicated; it is the people of this country who are paying for this project in Rensselaer, Indiana, that has value, which is the same reason why I think it is absolutely appropriate that taxpayers in places like east Chicago, Indiana, and Hobart, Indiana, expend some of their tax moneys as individuals to help the City of Dallas, for example, with their floodway to ensure that there is not property damage in the future, that there is not loss of life, that there is not injury to others in this country. It is why I think there is a noble reason to ask people who live in Lowell, Indiana, and Chesterton, Indiana, and Gary, Indiana, to help fund research taking place at Oak Ridge in Tennessee. At first blush, why should we have an interest in making that investment? Because it inures to the benefit of not only everyone who lives in the United States, but everyone worldwide. We should get over this concept that we have to be parochial in what we do and get over this concept that we should be selfish about what we are about. We are here to make an investment, and, as the gentleman from [[Page 17519]] Washington rightfully pointed out, to help each other out. So I strongly oppose the gentleman's amendment. I absolutely think it is bad policy, and I would ask my colleagues' support. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. DICKS. I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I want to say to my friend from Indiana, who has been a valued member of our committee for many years, that I strongly support his project. Our committee evaluated it. We looked at all the details. We think it is a worthy project that should be supported. I urge my colleagues to oppose the gentleman from Texas' amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling). The question was taken; and the Acting Chairman announced that the noes appeared to have it. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas will be postponed. Amendment No. 56 Offered by Mr. Hensarling Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Amendment No. 56 offered by Mr. Hensarling: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: None of the funds in this Act may be used for the Maverick Concert Hall. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would prohibit funds in the bill from being used for Maverick Concert Hall preservation located in Woodstock, New York. I think the committee report provides $150,000 for this particular local project. Again, the debate that I want to present now is similar to one I presented on some of the other earmark funds. I do want to address some of what I have heard earlier in the debate. I would like to make it very clear to the chairman of the committee and to all my colleagues, I do not question the right to spend this money. I don't question the right of this body to expend these funds. I simply question the wisdom of expending these funds given that the Nation continues to run a deficit, given that we have a looming entitlement spending crisis. The Comptroller General of America has stated we are on the verge of being the first generation in American history to leave the next generation with a lower standard of living. I question the wisdom of the expenditure, given the fact that we just had a budget resolution passed, against my vote, passed against, contrary to the debate I offered on the floor, that would present the largest tax increase in American history, an average of roughly $3,000 per American family. Now, I heard one gentleman early on, in defending his particular earmark, say it was a small amount of money. Relative to the Federal budget, I am sure it is a small amount of money. But for those of us who have consistently throughout our careers come to this floor to debate protecting the family budget from the Federal budget, to come to this floor and debate more freedom and less government, you got to start somewhere. I don't understand the argument. It is either, well, this is such a small amount of money, why are we bothering, or I hear the argument sometimes, it is such a huge sum, we can't do that. That would be Draconian. I kind of feel like, well, especially since I have small children and I read them bedtime stories, it is kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Either the porridge is too cold or it is too hot. When is the amount just right? I heard one of the earlier speakers talk about responsibility to future generations. I agree. I spend a lot of time thinking about future generations. Again, I am the father of a 5-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son, and I know everybody in this body loves their children and loves their grandchildren. But I think a lot about the debt and the tax burden that is going to be passed on to future generations. And, again, I fear that although earmarks represent a small portion of the Federal budget, they represent a large portion of the culture of spending that has now led to over $50 trillion of unfunded obligations in the Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security programs alone. So, where do the steps, the baby steps towards fiscal responsibility, start? {time} 1930 I just believe again that with this looming entitlement crisis, that we need to do more. We need to set even a higher standard. We need to set even a higher bar for the expenditure of these funds. And I am sure these are interesting and worthy sites, although I haven't visited them. I am not sure if they are worthier or are more interesting than many of the sites in my own district. Again, I start to think about the people who will have to pay this. I think about their American treasure. I think about a guy named Bruce in Garland, Texas, in my district. And when I asked him what is this tax increase going to do, and it is going to be a tax increase or debt that is going to pay for these earmarks, he said, ``Congressman, in my particular case, an additional $2,200 in taxes would cut into the finances I use to pay for my son's college education. I really believe that given more money, Congress will spend more money, so that is not the answer. A control and reduction of spending is what is needed.'' And so I think about Bruce in Garland and about all of the Bruces in Garland. You are talking about $100,000 here and $100,000 there, and to paraphrase the late Everett Dirkson, pretty soon you're talking about real money. When we are helping each other out, let's think about future generations who are going to end up paying for all of these earmarks. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New York is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. HINCHEY. First of all, before I begin, I want to express my deep admiration and appreciation to the chairman of this Environment and Interior Subcommittee, for the marvelous job he has done in putting this bill together. It is extraordinary in all that it does and improvements that it makes. Also, I express my appreciation to the ranking minority member, Mr. Tiahrt, and all of the good work he has done and his responsibility on this committee, and particularly with regard to this bill. Ironically, I want to express my appreciation to the gentleman from Texas because he gives me an opportunity to talk a little bit about the Maverick Concert Hall. This small amount of money in this bill would provide for the restoration work on this Maverick Concert Hall. The Maverick Concert Hall was handbuilt in 1916 in a very unique rustic style. It was done so by famed Maverick Art Colony founder and philosopher Hervey White. Local carpenters put the building together, along with a band of resident ``maverick'' artists and volunteers. The Maverick Art Colony was a key element in the emergence of Woodstock, New York, as a nationally influential art colony. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the hall is the home of the oldest continuous summer chamber music series anywhere in the United States. For 91 years, America's leading professional artists have presented summer concerts at the hall. The acoustics in this rural building are nearly perfect. Maverick concerts became the prototype for other summer [[Page 17520]] music festivals, taking music from the cities and bringing them into rural, bucolic settings. True to the egalitarian spirit of the original colony, the concerts are offered to the public and free for children and at very affordable prices in a lovely wooded surrounding for adults. It is a marvelous place, and I am very proud to be the sponsor of this piece of this bill which would provide this very modest amount of funding for this particular project in the town of Woodstock, New York. With regard to some of the things that the author and the sponsor of this amendment have put forward, I think it is important for all of us to recognize that he is very grossly mistaken in some of the things that he said. For example, there are no tax increases in this budget, and no tax increases in any of the things that we are dealing with here today. In fact, what we are trying to do, this new Democratic majority in this House of Representatives and in the Senate as well, what we are trying to do is to rebalance the budget because in the several terms that my good friend from Texas, the sponsor of this amendment has been part of, we have increased the national debt by a huge amount of money. We have almost doubled the national debt while he was in the majority party and voting for all of those things that brought about that increase in the national debt, almost doubling it. He has been responsible, along with some others, really placing future generations deeply, deeply in debt. He talks about the need to be responsible in the way we provide Federal financing for issues across the country. I would simply remind the sponsor of this amendment that on a per capita basis, far more Federal money goes into the State of Texas than goes into the State of New York, for example. So with that fact in mind, if he was really sincere and serious about what he is saying, then he would be recommending that the people in his district reject the Federal funding that they are receiving. I don't advise him to do that, but I do advise him to be more serious, be more sincere, be more knowledgeable and understanding about your responsibilities here, the kinds of things that we are obliged to do, particularly in the context of the way we are authorized under the Constitution to provide for the people of this country. To spend the money appropriately, intelligently, doing good things for all of the people. Mr. Tiahrt understands that. It is quite clear in the way that he has helped put this bill together. And, of course, Mr. Dicks understands it very well. And we understand it, too. That is why we are going to be supporting this bill very enthusiastically and why I ask everyone here to reject this amendment from our friend from Texas. Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. I want to commend the gentleman from New York for his participation on our subcommittee and for all of his good work during the year. I must say, a performing arts facility in a town can be such a fantastic thing. One thing I hope my colleague from Texas remembers is that the local community has to match the money. I think in this case this is a grant of $150,000 to Save America's Treasures which clearly this is one of. And then the local community has to raise $150,000, and out of that there are improvements to the facility and the structure that are done over a period of time. Again, as we analyzed all of these projects, this is exactly what we had in mind. This legislation was authorized by Congress. And I would mention also that Mrs. Bush has her program, the Preserve America Program, which our committee has supported. Mr. Tiahrt has been a strong supporter of that program. I saw Mrs. Bush the other night and I told her we were working hard together up here to try and preserve this program, which does exactly the same things as Save America's Treasures. There may be a nuance or two, but basically it is the same thing. So again, I support the Hinchey project and oppose the gentleman from Texas's amendment. I appreciate the good work of my colleague from New York over all of the years we have been on this committee together. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling). The question was taken; and the Acting Chairman announced that the noes appeared to have it. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas will be postponed. Amendment No. 74 Offered by Mr. Hensarling Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Amendment No. 74 offered by Mr. Hensarling: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: None of the funds in this Act may be used for the Bremerton Public Library. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would prohibit funds in the bill from being used for the Bremerton Public Library Restoration Project in Bremerton, Washington. The supplement to the committee report provides $150,000 for this project. According to a 2001 article in the Kitsap Business Journal, restoration of the building previously received a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. An equal amount was provided by the local government. The building is described in the same article as being a unique art deco style building. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has an endowment apparently of over $30 billion, and as of April 2007, the State of Washington was projected to have the eighth largest surplus in the country at $1.23 billion. So, again, I question not that good things can't be done with these Federal funds, not that this is not a project worthy of preservation and restoration, I simply question the wisdom again of using Federal taxpayer funds on such a project given the background. And I will respectfully disagree with the gentleman who spoke before me, the gentleman from New York, given the largest tax increase in history. He may not believe it is the largest tax increase in history, but The Washington Post, not exactly a bastion of conservative journalism wrote: ``And while House Democrats say they want to preserve key parts of Bush's signature tax cuts, they project a surplus in 2012 only by assuming that all of these cuts expire on schedule in 2010.'' It may be an expiration to the gentleman from New York, but to the people of the Fifth Congressional District of Texas, it smacks of a big tax increase. And as I look at all of the different projects that have been brought forth tonight, I just ask myself a question: Is there any good project back home that apparently is not worth a Federal subsidy? If we say ``yes'' to all of these projects today, I fear we will be saying ``no'' to our children's future tomorrow. Again, where is this money coming from? Government will be paid for. Either you are increasing taxes on the American people through the largest tax increase in American history, or you are going to pass on taxes even further by not doing anything to reform entitlement spending. That is the real fiscal tragedy. That is where the real scandal is. It is in the $50 trillion of unfunded obligations and not one word, not one word, Mr. Chairman, in the Democrat budget about what to do in entitlement spending. Instead we have, again, local project after local project after local project. Maybe we have fewer than we had last year, and I assume the chairman is accurate when he says that and I salute [[Page 17521]] him for that. But still, given the fact that the Federal Government is spending roughly $23,000 per American family, the largest level since World War II, given that the Democrat majority, over the course of 5 years, is about to impose a $3,000 increase in taxes on those same families, and given that we still have a Federal deficit that I have fought against since I have been here, often battling with my own party leadership, something I wish some of the people on the other side of the aisle who espouse a similar philosophy, I wish they would raise their voices occasionally. Again, I would like to say that as worthy as many of these projects are, America's true treasures are the treasures to be found in the family, those dreams that are discussed around the kitchen table. That dream of launching that first small business, that dream of being able to finally send the first child to college. That dream of actually being able to afford the health care premiums to make sure that the family is well. Those are America's true treasures, and those are the treasures that I am trying to preserve. We have to go further in changing the culture of spending and not expending funds for any purpose simply because we think of it or because we say good things can be done. Better things can be done when the taxpayers keep their own money. {time} 1945 Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Washington is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. DICKS. This is an amendment that affects a project in my hometown of Bremerton, Washington. The downtown Bremerton library building opened in August 1938. Now, that may sound recent, but, remember, Washington has only been a State since 1889. The building was funded under the Works Progress Administration. The WPA was one of Franklin Roosevelt's principal public works programs that helped America recover from the Great Depression. The building is constructed in an art deco style which was a signature style during the twenties and thirties and a favorite today of preservationists across the country. The building has a large rotunda with skylights. Because of its distinctive style, the library remains one of the most attractive buildings in downtown Bremerton. Like many art deco buildings, the library has a very bright color, in this case a vibrant yellow. The downtown Bremerton library was constructed on land that has housed a library for nearly a hundred years. When this library opened in 1938, it served as the main library. The City of Bremerton and Kitsap County combined their library system in 1955. In 1978, a new headquarters library was built for the regional system and the downtown library became a branch library. The library in downtown Bremerton has been undergoing rehabilitation for the last 1\1/2\ years. The city invested $100,000 last year in general fund money and $100,000 from its community development block grant funds. These were matched with $100,000 from Kitsap County and $100,000 from the Gates Foundation. The moneys were spent replacing windows and doors, remodeling bathrooms, rebuilding the roof and other structural improvements which brought the building, to a reasonable degree at least, up to current building codes and took care of pressing life/safety concerns. This year, the city is spending an additional $200,000 in general fund money to replace the existing heating, cooling and air ventilation system, to remove asbestos from the heating plant and associated piping, replace much of the building's plumbing, and to rewire the entire building for additional electrical capacity and other modern communication equipment. When I was a kid growing up in Bremerton, Washington, this was the library that I used to go to with my mother and father and my younger brother, Les. Bremerton is a city where we have the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, probably the most effective and productive shipyard in the United States. We have about 10,000 workers working there, and we have thousands of sailors who are home-ported in Bremerton and at the Trident submarine base at Bangor. I would like to think that this facility would be available to those men and women serving us in the military and for all of those thousands of government employees who work in the Kitsap County area. This is a good project. The money that we are providing, $150,000, will be matched by the city of Bremerton. They've already put in a lot of additional money. And this is a partnership. This is one of those good projects where there's a partnership. I urge my colleagues to strongly oppose this amendment and to support this worthy project. I would also say, again, to the gentleman, this is such a dramatic reversal, what we have done on this side of the aisle on earmarks from the comparison when the other side took power. In 1994, there were about a thousand earmarks. In 2006, there were 13,000 earmarks. The other thing I would suggest, too, it's one thing to go after the projects of your colleagues, but the President has what we would call earmarks, executive branch earmarks in this budget. If the gentleman was evenhanded in his approach, and I think he has been very fair in how he has selected these projects, but if he was evenhanded, he would go after some of the things that the President requests. As I said, the Preserve America Program is almost identical to Save America's Treasures, but I don't notice the gentleman offering an amendment on that particular project. No, I don't want to incentivize him, but I guess we can't because there is a unanimous consent agreement. But, again, I appreciate what the gentleman is saying, and it is important. Dealing with the entitlements where two-thirds of our spending is has got to be done, and I hope that we can approach those problems just the same way as the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt) and I have approached this problem, with approving only one in ten of the projects that were requested from our colleagues. Again, it is our power. Don't give up Congress's power of the Constitution, which is the power of the purse. That would be a tragic mistake that would haunt this House for many years. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling). The question was taken; and the Acting Chairman announced that the noes appeared to have it. Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas will be postponed. The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Committee will rise informally. The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Andrews) assumed the chair. ____________________