Tuesday, December 17th was the end of the public comment period around the proposed delisting of the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act and the Endangered Species Coalition delivered our message with aplomb.
Along with our member groups the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Action, and NRDC, we assembled at the park opposite the Department of Interior for a what would become a candlelight vigil observing–what could be if Secretary Jewell doesn’t reverse course–the end of wolf recovery. The current state of wolf ‘”management”in states like Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Idaho, and Wisconsin are disastrous indicators of what this plan could bring.
In spite of the increasing rain, luminaries were arranged to spell “SAVE WOLVES” on the ground directly opposite Secretary Jewell’s office window.
At 4:40, just before the building was to be closed for the day, a small group made its way across the street to deliver boxes of comments representing the one million comments organized and submitted by the Endangered Species Coalition and our member groups.
As darkness swept across the park, candles were lit for the wolves whose fate lied in the hands of Secretary Jewell and her staff across the street. 
With our boxes marking hundreds of thousands of comments delivered and the candles and luminaries lit, we delivered the message in another way, hoping Secretary Jewell would take notice.
While Journey the wolf led howls of protest, we projected multiple messages onto the Department of Interior to tell Secretary Jewell in the most visible way possible that America supports wolves–and expects her to enact and maintain policies that protect them.
From there, we went to Union Station– one of Washington, D.C.’s busiest transit centers –to make sure everyone knows that the fate of wolf recovery in the United States is now in Secretary Jewell’s hands. With one-million plus voices of opposition to the plan to strip wolves of protections now delivered, she’s got plenty of reasons to protect wolves.
22 comments on “Howls of protest light up Interior”
Thank you to all the dedicated partners who comprise the Endangered Species Coalition. There is genuine power in collaboration and unity! And, I remain hopeful that a million voices will be heard and acknowledged due to this effort. The mission in education and advocacy continues…
Keep fighting for the gray wolves. They only occupy 5% of the territory that they used to. They need to be kept on the endangered species list!
The Canadian Grey Wolf is NOT endangered! !!! Coming to a city near you, sooner then you think!!
Great job, everyone who carried the message to Fish and Wildlife, and to D.C. residents at Union Station. Journey is really cool looking, and a great mascot for the cause. Well done!!
Thank you for standing up for wolves ! We can only hope than millions of voices will be heard, but living in Idaho where some think it’s OK to have a wolf derby and pay money to shoot wolves, I am not convinced much will change ! In Salmon Idaho, they are hosting a wolf & coyote derby ! It’s on their FB page at “Idaho for Wildlife”.. it should say Idaho for killing wildlife !!! Disgusting !
Thank you all for standing up for wolves! How some people can think it’s OK to eradicate an entire species is unbelievable! Keep up the good fight! Sooner or later, hopefully, someone will listen!
thank you all, who gave comments, went to this and stood vigil in the rain and the candles lit. i wish i could’ve been there. We do need to save our wolves and now that the remarks are closed that the fate of wolves will be to keep them endangered. We need wolves.
Thank you so much for organizing this. I hope the Secretary realizes that for every one of those million comments there are so many more people who didn’t realize there was a comment period going on, or who missed the deadline, but support the idea of having wolves remain on the endangered list. I have people ask me regularly about what the status is, always expecting that these animals are being protected, and appalled when they find that this is no longer be the case in the main states that actually have populations of wolves, and may no longer be the case in states that wolves are dispersing into, like California and Washington. Keep up the incredible work! Keep hope alive, keep wolves alive!
Well done, everyone! I hope the Gray Wolf will remain protected. It’s the right thing to do. Thank you.
thank you for delivering ower message ,we will all stand tall and fight for as long as needed
Thank you for all you are doing for the wolves
Thank you and Thank you for weathering the cold weather and all your efforts and for speaking out in public in front Jewell’s window – I can’t thank you enough! Now, I hope Jewell will recognize how much trouble the wolves are in and how the recent changes in law have unleased a minion of serial animal killers into the woods to seek out and destroy the wolves.
They are protected here in NM and AZ. But no where else in the US. They should be protected every where in the US period. Thank you U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in NM and AZ for keeping the protection of our wolves safe here and in AZ.
you do not know what you are talking about Roxanne.
You guys are heroes for the actions you’re taking and all the hard work in organizing the petition and the events in Washington. Truly inspiring!
I want to commend the efforts of Rachel Weil of Weil Public Relations. Ms. Weil orchestrated a campaign on the Wolves behalf, approaching over 15 celebrities to encourage their admirers to submit comments online. During her campaign (the last 2 weeks), the online comment count increased from 200,000 submitted comments to 430,000 submitted comments. It may very well be Ms. Weil’s campaign that put the total comment count over 1 million.
Thanks and howls to Rachel Weil.
David Forjan
The Animal News Hour
Thanks, David. Can you tell us what celebrities she engaged? We’d love to recognize them.
Yes, thank you to all who stood outside in the cold and rain to make our voices heard. We’ll never give up on the wolves!
I am glad that so many people, nearly a million, let the government know that delisting the grey wolf should not happen. In fact, the wolf killing should be stopped everywhere it is now occurring. Too many wolves are being killed right now, and it needs to stop.
Sally Jewell cannot ignore this plea. Congratulations on the most creative presentation ever!
Good thing there are still people who care about wolves
I wish i could have been at the gathering of people dedicated to protecting these magnificent animals but I am on the other side of the pond. Keep up the good work and I hope that all you are doing does not fall on deaf ears. I agree that it is abhorrent that some group cam call themselves “Idaho for wildlife;’ when they just want to kill the wolves and other animals.
Neville Burns.