USFWS Denies Protections For Wolverines

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Animal and conservation advocates were left stunned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Services refusal to list wolverines as "threatened" or "endangered". Without Endangered Species Act protections, wolverines will be left to fend for themselves without a plan to rehabilitate them and will plunge further towards extinction. There are approximately 300 wolverines left in the wild throughout the southern United States. 

Wolverines face serious perils in the wild with their habitat quickly diminishing due to climate change and fragmented populations. These factors are pushing the wolverine closer to extinction and without being granted ESA protections, they will continue to disappear until it's too late. ESA protections force the USFWS to address the issues wolverines face and come up with a reasonable rehabilitation plan to bring the wolverine back from endangerment. These protections allocate necessary funds and resources towards conservation and would give the wolverine a fighting chance at being rehabilitated in the wild. 

Advocacy groups plan to sue the USFWS in order to force them in to action. It's incredibly disturbing that it requires lawsuits to convince an organization tasked with protecting animals to take action. The job of the USFWS is to manage wildlife populations and address issues that endangered animals face. Their job calls on them to protect vulnerable species and they are admittedly turning their backs on a species that faces the possibility of extinction. This is a complete disregard for their responsibilities and the livelihood of wolverines who are headed towards extinction.

Unfortunately, I believe that because climate change is listed as a threat to wolverines, the current Trump administration is hesitant to address conservation because it would then have to admit that climate change is not only real, but is affecting species across the United States. This administration has repeatedly turned their backs on science and repeatedly turned their backs on the perils that animals face. The Trump administration has reversed protections for animals, moved ahead with arctic oil drilling despite the catastrophic fallout potential, and pulled out of climate related responsibilities, all of which indicate that protecting animals and our environment is not a priority.

Hopefully this lawsuit forces the USFWS to take action before it's too late. We shouldn't have to sue our government to protect vulnerable species, it's their responsibility to do so and they are neglecting it. Stop playing games with the survival of a species and do the responsible thing. Protect wolverines!

HAPPY VEG