Oct 20, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Commissions
Although it is found in many state statutes, the term “wildlife conservation” is seldom defined, leading to widespread confusion about the purpose of state wildlife management. One state wildlife commission decided to do something about it. The result was surprisingly controversial.
Read more here.
Oct 10, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Commissions
A former New Jersey state senator filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that effectively gives hunting groups the power to select a majority of the 11-member NJ Fish and Wildlife Council, which sets wildlife policy for the state. The legal challenge was filed in response to the state’s decision to allow a bear hunt in each of the next five years. The judge denied a preliminary injunction to halt the hunt which began this month.
Read more here.
Sep 6, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Commissions
In response to the state of Alaska killing more than 100 bears and wolves by helicopter in June, supposedly to increase caribou numbers, a coalition of 35 wildlife and Indigenous groups, including Wildlife for All, sent a letter to Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland in August, renewing their demand that federal funds be withheld from states that practice or sanction the killing of native carnivores like wolves.
Read more here.
Jun 30, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Commissions
Current wolf conservation policies epitomize the bias of state and federal agencies to allow unjustified and unscientific lethal control through undemocratic processes that ignore diverse public values. As a result, wolves are used as a political bargaining tool by Republicans and Democrats alike. The latest move to delist wolves by US Senators Baldwin and Klobuchar is no exception.
Read this statement by Wildlife for All and our partners to learn more.
Jun 2, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Commissions
“Most state wildlife agencies have followed the North American model for wildlife for a century or more,” said state Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, a Democrat who championed the measure. “It’s worth looking — is there a better model?” This Stateline article by Alex Brown looks at steps Washington State is taking to democratize and modernize its wildlife management, along the lines Wildlife for All’s reform agenda.
Read more at the Stateline website
Apr 10, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Commissions
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed a bipartisan bill passed by the NM Legislature that would have made the NM Game Commission more professional and representative of the broad public interest in wildlife. The bill was backed by Wildlife for All and a broad coalition of NM groups, ranging from hunters to animal welfare advocates. The governor’s office has not offered an explanation for her veto.
Read more at the Santa Fe New Mexican website
Apr 3, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
Join us for a one-hour introduction to Wildlife for All, a national campaign to reform wildlife management in the U.S. Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 11 am PST/2 pm EST.
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Mar 28, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Commissions
A national hunting group has identified Wildlife for All as the leader of efforts to democratize wildlife management in the U.S.
Read more at the MeatEater website
Mar 8, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
By Eli Francovich
The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation has sued WDFW Commissioner Lorna Smith, claiming that she is “pushing an extremist view of fish and wildlife management and is adamantly opposed to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.”
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Mar 4, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
By Catrin Einhorn
“‘State agencies are really at the forefront of conservation for wildlife,’ said Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, a nonprofit group that advocates for insect conservation. ‘But in these states where they can’t work on insects, or in some cases any invertebrates, they don’t. So, you see things just languish.'”
Read more here
Feb 19, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
By Charles Fox
“The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish supports itself by selling off the public’s wildlife for recreational killing. But the vast majority of New Mexicans who do not hunt or fish never agreed to this arrangement, and have virtually no say in how their wildlife is managed.”
Read more here
Feb 18, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
By Bryan Bird & Kevin Bixby
“The time for the [New Mexico Department of Game and Fish] to pivot from being a relic of the past to a modern, wildlife conservation agency is long overdue. With the number of species moving toward extinction growing daily, the need is urgent. The Legislature needs to pass modernization and commission reform legislation while also approving license fee increases. It can do that with HB 184 and HB 486.”
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Feb 4, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
By Christopher Smith
“House Bill 184 would improve the State Game Commission, the appointed body that oversees the Department of Game and Fish. The legislation, which already passed its first committee, would help create a commission that represents all New Mexicans and insulates wildlife policy decisions from political whims and financial influence.”
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Jan 28, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
By Nathan Brown
Two bills focused on reforming wildlife management were recently heard before a New Mexico House Committee. HB 183 would have abolished the state’s Game and Fish Department, while HB 184 would change the way that seats are allocated on the State Wildlife Commission. HB 183 was defeated, but HB 184 made it out of the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on a 6-3 vote.
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Jan 18, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is finally starting to represent the values of all Washingtonians, yet fringe hunting groups have decided to sue the Governor because they feel that the 2% of Washington residents who hunt are not “represented” on the Commission. Almost 50% of the Commissioners are hunters.
Read more here
Jan 8, 2023 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
Wildlife for All Advisory Committee member Walter Medwid wrote commentary for the Vermont Digger to highlight the necessity of reforming the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board.
“The largely uncredentialed Fish and Wildlife Board holds broad regulatory and public policy authority over all game species without the benefit of the public’s voice at the table.”
Read more here
Dec 20, 2022 | Home Page, Newsletter
From the Desk of the Executive Director: The Elephant Not In The Room; Did You Know…; This Inspires Us: The Intersectional Environmentalist; Our Coalition Partner: TrapFree Montana; New foundation funder, The Fund for Wild Nature; Join Now.
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Dec 12, 2022 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
Last week, the city of Port Townsend acknowledged the endangered southern resident orcas who call the region home had rights.
Read more here
Dec 11, 2022 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
By Kevin Bixby
Kevin Bixby, the Executive Director of Wildlife for All, explores the inadequate and dated system of wildlife governance in New Mexico in this op-ed. “To protect our wildlife and stave off extinctions here, modernization is imperative.”
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Dec 8, 2022 | Home Page, State Wildlife Management
By Michael McFadzen, Amy Mueller, and Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila
“Wildlife is not the province of consumptive users; wildlife concerns us all. And respecting wild animals means moving beyond harm to care. It means allowing wildlife to thrive, for everyone’s sake.”
Read more here