MEDIA ADVISORY: Minnesota Rally, Public Hearing to Focus on Trump Plan to End Wolf Protection

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 20, 2019

CONTACT: Dr. Maureen Hackett, Howling For Wolves, 612.250.5915 or Leslie Rosedahl, respond@howlingforwolves.org 651.353.1818

Minnesota Rally, Public Hearing to Focus on Trump Plan to End Wolf Protection

St. Paul, Minn.— Wolf advocates will rally on Tuesday in Brainerd, Minn., just before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s only public hearing on the Trump administration proposal to end federal protection for nearly all gray wolves in the lower 48 states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is providing just one public hearing and open house on its nationwide wolf delisting proposal. That hearing, on Tuesday, will be preceded by a rally for wolves featuring speakers and advocates with signs.

Dr. Maureen Hackett, founder and president of Howling For Wolves, a Minnesota-based wolf advocacy organization, said:

“Removal from the Endangered Species List means wolves will lose federal protections and states may allow senseless wolf trophy hunting, which is a death sentence and the road to extinction for the wolf. Many state officials already disregard the damage that wolf-killing has on the population, the pack structure, and the wolves' genetic diversity. Wolves die in many ways when they lose federal protections, and these harm the long-term survival of wolves for future generations." 

What: A rally for wolves followed by a public open house and hearing, where the public can testify on the administration’s plan to end federal wolf protection.

When: Tuesday, June 25; rally at 5 p.m.; public open house from 5 - 6:30 p.m.; public hearing from 6:30 - 9 p.m.

Where: Rally at Gregory Park, 511 North 5th St., Brainerd; public open house and hearing three blocks east at Franklin Arts Center Auditorium, 1001 Kingwood St., Brainerd MN 56401

Media availability: Wolf advocates and conservation groups will be on hand to speak to the media before, during and after the event. Video and photos of the rally will also be available for media use.

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Howling For Wolves educates the public about the wild wolf to foster tolerance and to ensure the wolf’s long-term survival. Howling For Wolves opposes recreational wolf hunting and trapping and all wildlife snaring. We advocate for nonlethal prevention methods that reduce wolf-livestock conflicts and support current federal protections for the wolf. www.HowlingForWolves.org.