Letter To the Editor by Steve Thomas, Northern Plains Sierra Club
3-18-2002On the "Line in the Sand."
We were somewhat taken aback by the actions of the Fremont County Commissioners at their 3/12/02 meeting. As long time Wyoming residents, we are seldom surprised at the actions of elected officials, but this one takes the cake. Not only have the Fremont County Commissioners not entered this century, but also they have not even entered the last one. We kinda' thought the wholesale killing and extirpation of wildlife was something that ended in the 1800s. Not down Fremont County way!
According to the news reports, the Commissioners enacted resolutions that outlaw bears and wolves in Fremont County and are going to require that the Fremont County Sheriff enforce those resolutions. Aside from the obvious questions regarding exactly how the Sheriff will enforce these acts comes questions regarding the oath of office these Commissioners took and swore to uphold. When they were sworn in as elected officials they swore to uphold the laws of the state. One of which is that the people of the state own the wildlife herein.
In addition to violating state law they have decided to violate Federal law. These two species (grizzly bear and gray wolves) are protected under the endangered species act. That evidently means nothing the Fremont County Commissioners. Even though under the Wyoming Constitution the United States is recognized as the supreme law of the land, the Commissioners have chosen to ignore their oath and enact a County resolution that clearly violates the state and federal laws they swore to uphold.
One wonders why the Commissioners are in favor of violating the law. Should not elected officials, pursuant to their oath of office, support and uphold the law of the land? There are methods of changing laws. This is called the legislative process. If the Commissioners want to change that law they should petition our representative in congress to address their issues. That is how a representative republic functions.
Whether you disagree with the Endangered Species Act or not, our elected officials should honor their oath of office. In this day and age of lawlessness throughout the world we should expect our representatives to support the law. How can we expect our youth to abide by County and State laws if our elected officials chose to violate the laws they disagree with?
In addition to the concerns regarding the Commissioners acts of lawlessness is this notion of extirpating two species of wildlife from the County. We had assumed that most people enjoy seeing the full array of native wildlife. We had also assumed that long ago we decided that killing off of large carnivores was actually detrimental to the other wildlife. That these animals are part of the web of life that has existed in Fremont County for thousands of years. In a recent study in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park it was found that since the reintroduction of wolves the elk herd has increased by 10%, calf weights are up and the antler size of the bulls has increased. This in addition to many other studies about predator prey relationships clearly demonstrates that the large carnivores are good for the health of the ungulate herds.
Which brings us to our last point. What if the Fremont County Commissioners get away with this? What is next? Will they outlaw deer? How about antelope? Maybe elk? Maybe they will determine that moose are detrimental to Fremont County and outlaw them also. In other words if they are allowed to violate the state and federal game laws by outlawing certain species of wildlife, nothing is safe. We do not think it wise to have the County get into wildlife management. Wildlife does not confine themselves to county boundaries. That is why it makes sense for the State to be in charge. Next thing you know they will be setting seasons for elk hunting. One can easily see the potentially widespread ramifications of the actions of the Fremont County Commissioners.
We are hopeful that here in the west we have got beyond the idea of exterminating animals from entire areas. We say shame on the Fremont County Commissioners for advocating violation of the law and for advocating the extirpation of entire species from this area. There are many people in Fremont County and throughout the State that are proud of our diverse wildlife populations. We can only hope that the Commissioners do not succeed in their efforts to remove entire populations of wildlife from the County.
Steve Thomas
Northern Plains Director, Sierra Club
Lander/Sheridan, WY