Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Peter DeFazio (D-OR) sent a letter to Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, requesting that he stop a coyote and wolf hunting derby planned on public National Forest System (NFS) lands until proper environmental analysis can determine the impact on gray wolf populations. Last December, a group called “Idaho for Wildlife" organized a two-day Coyote and Wolf Derby, with prize money for the largest wolf killed. Unlike the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Service did not require a permit or environmental review before allowing the sport killing on public lands.
“I urge the Forest Service to require the organizers of the aforementioned killing contest to apply for a special use permit or other permit before considering whether the contest should take place on NFS land, as the BLM has required for the same activity on land it manages. I also urge the Forest Service to prohibit the event from taking place on NFS land this year, to ensure there is time to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement of the event and permit application," DeFazio writes.
In 2013, despite the fact that much of the derby was to occur within the NFS, the Forest Service determined that the contest was not a commercial event and that no special use permit was required. In his letter, DeFazio questions that determination and asks that Tidwell revisit it. The Federal government has spent millions of dollars to recover wolf populations in the United States, and DeFazio has repeatedly question the rationale for allowing Federal lands and resources to be used to once again decimate the species.
Last week, the Department of the Interior’s BLM revoked a special use permit it had issued to Idaho for Wildlife to conduct the killing Derby on BLM land because the agency’s Environmental Assessment (EA) of the permit was inadequate. The BLM has determined that the event requires a permit and also warrants development of a thorough environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act to assist in evaluating the permit application.
DeFazio’s letter can be found below.
Dec. 2, 2014
The Honorable Tom Tidwell
Chief
United States Forest Service
1400 Independence Ave.
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Chief Tidwell:
I am writing today to express serious concerns about the U.S. Forest Service’s stewardship of wildlife resources on lands under the Committee’s jurisdiction. Last December, a group called “Idaho for Wildlife" organized a two-day Coyote and Wolf Derby, with separate prize money for the largest wolf killed. Despite the fact that much of the hunting was to occur within the National Forest System (NFS), the Forest Service determined that the contest was not a commercial event occurring on NFS land, and, therefore, no special use permit was required. This determination was questionable at the time, and I ask that you revisit it in light of recent events.
Specifically, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently revoked a special use permit it had issued to Idaho for Wildlife to conduct the killing Derby on BLM land because the agency’s Environmental Assessment (EA) of the permit was inadequate. BLM’s experience shows not only that such an activity require a permit, but also that it warrants development of a thorough environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assist in evaluating the permit application.
I urge the Forest Service to require the organizers of the aforementioned killing contest to apply for a special use permit or other permit before considering whether the contest should take place on NFS land, as the BLM has required for the same activity on land it manages. I also urge the Forest Service to prohibit the event from taking place on NFS land this year, to ensure there is time to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement of the event and permit application.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you have questions, please contact Matt Strickler on the House Natural Resources Committee Democratic Staff at (202) 225-6065. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Peter A. DeFazio
Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
