I am considering filing two lawsuits. The first I will be researching at the pro se clinic at the federal courthouse nearest me in the coming week or two. This will be a direct constitutional challenge to Section 1713 of HR 1473, the "Wolf Rider."

I will be filing pro se, meaning I will be acting as my own attorney. This is solely because I cannot find an attorney to do the case pro bono. If an attorney comes along and wishes to help, I will of course accept such help.


The second lawsuit I am researching is against the producers and studio behind "The Grey." From what I understand from the trailers, this movie portrays wolves as stalking and killing humans. This is a gross violation of reality, and does in fact cause me harm because, by propagating a known-false myth of wolves, it fosters a stereotype held by an ignorant minority, and inspires them to further actions against wolves, and those actions harm me directly by depriving me of enjoyment of wolves in the wild (and I have a specific example as a wolf was shot and killed less than a quarter of a mile from my home, solely as a result of this negative and blatantly false stereotype about wolves.)

This will be an interesting case, and no, I do not expect to prevail. I still have to do the research to determine the caselaw behind my argument, but here is what I first jotted down as an initial draft of the essential argument:

Freedom of speech does not grant freedom from responsibility for the effects of such speech. For example, your freedom of speech does not shield you from the legal consequences of yelling "bomb" in a bank. This false statement creates fear under circumstances where such a statement has a reasonable basis to be believed, and if a true statement, means that those who hear such speech are in danger for their lives. It is no different when speech that a reasonable person might believe causes harm to the reputation of an entire species, and thus leads to the illegal killing of that animal by people who believe a false reputation propagated by a credible source of information.

Because "The Grey" either negligently or maliciously portrays wolves in a false and harmful light in support of a stereoype held by a minority of people who are ignorant of the true nature of wolves, and because it is portrayed thusly despite readily available information to the contrary, and because "The Grey" uses this false light to attract viewers who then come away with further reason to believe false stereotypes about wolves, and because "The Grey" has an audience of millions of viewers, each one potentially influenced or inspired to kill wolves in retribution for the perceived acts of violence falsely portrayed in "The Grey"; "The Grey" thus propagates a negative and false stereotype to the public at-large, contributing to violent acts against wolves and leading to killing of wolves. And because the killing of wolves deprives me of enjoyment of wolves in the wild, "The Grey" causes me harm by way of defamation of character of the wolf species.

There is a great deal of research I must do on this lawsuit of course. I need to find caselaw supporting my arguments, and alter it according to caselaw as necessary. My argument is based on my understanding of the law, but must be based at least largely on caselaw. There will almost be some precedent set in this case if it succeeds (which is why I don't feel it has much of a chance to succeed), but I believe I can put up a good argument that could possibly succeed in the right courtroom, possibly even the US Supreme Court (honestly, it would have to in order to set the kind of precedent needed to establish that a movie is responsible for harm caused by using stereotypes to draw an audience in.)


I wish to dedicate myself to these lawsuits. But to do so, I will need help. Currently, I cannot handle even the research because of health problems preventing me from even fully taking care of myself. I am trying to find a personal assistant. I also cannot afford to file and pursue these cases on my own. To do this right, I would need to at least pay for a personal secretary or assistant to write up and file things. Ideally, I'd like to have the assistance of a lawyer or legal entity to do most of the work because of my limitations. This can happen either by an organization offering to help pro bono (for free), or by my raising enough money to hire a firm (a far more expensive prospect.) I am hopeful that some organization would be willing to help me, especially given the attention this case will certainly draw (and which I will make sure is drawn to it through my skills and experience in public relations and getting attention.)

I'm quite upset right now. I've worked my ass off in wolf recovery for the past 13 years, putting in as much effort and even my own money as I could. I have maintained a website, at my expense. I have submitted legal documents, an amicus brief, on the delisting hearing. I have tangled with wolf recovery personnel and even faced threats of imprisonment and my reputation being ruined (okay, so that was an empty threat, but still.) I have written articles and given presentations, educated adults and children. I have done much, much more, and donated and/or spent tens of thousands of dollars of my own money.

And now, I'm trying to help organize a rally which has every promise of being exactly what it will take to fix wolf recovery in America, along with our very political landscape. But this isn't something I can do alone.

For years, I have watched as countless fans of wolves (I hesitate to call you advocates) sat at their computers posting this or that, signing this or that online petition, and given money to organizations who only want your money, not to actually help wolves. And you know what, I'm pissed off as hell, and I'm not going to play Mr. Nice Guy anymore.

But I'm not mad at anyone individually, just generally upset that no one wants to actually do the work needed to help wolves. I'm sorry, but posting on Facebook, or signing online petitions, and giving money to greedy, inept organizations like Defenders doesn't help wolves. In fact, it often makes this worse.

Opposite you are people who hate wolves so much that they give their money, contact their politicians, organize rallies, and even commit crimes to make sure you don't get to enjoy wolves in the wilds of America. And you know what, they are winning, and there are far, far fewer of them than there are of you. Why? Because they hate something so much that they are willing to make sacrifices to see it go away. In words, you are letting people hate wolves more than you love them.

If you want to help wolves, if you truly believe they're getting a bum rap and are in fact in imminent danger of becoming extinct again; if you really want to enjoy wolves in the wild, then you need to start going to the same lengths these people are going. We far, far outnumber them. Survey after survey shows that people who want to kill wolves or remove them from the wild are in such a small minority that most surveys can't even count them because surveys are only designed to measure such opinions when they are held by more than 3% of the population of the United States. In other words, by just giving money to Defenders, by just signing online petitions, and by not doing anything else of any substance, you are letting a minority of people tell you that you cannot have wolves in the wild. All because you are too lazy to voice your opinion, to make your choices, wants, desires, and needs known to those who we hired to run our country for us.

So if you truly care about wolves, and want to help, you need to start participating, and also start helping out more than you have been. I don't want your money. I don't need it frankly, you can have it to spend on things you need. But I want your time, and your effort. And I want you to attend this rally.

Again, I can't do it for you. Defenders of Wildlife and other organizations you have given your money, and your trust, so that they can do the work you're too lazy or busy to do, have failed you and they have failed wolves. And you have trusted that our elected officials and the scientists and specialists they hire will do their jobs. But they haven't, because you haven't kept them on their toes and held them accountable for their actions, or lack thereof.

Wolf Recovery in the Northern Rocky Mountains has failed, even according to the plan drafted in the 1980s itself, as I wrote in a paper in 2004. Wolves are going to be gunned down, slaughtered, tortured, and once again become extinct in most of the United States, if you don't get off yoru lazy ass and start actually doing something about it.

And what I have proposed we do about it, a rally in Washington DC on October 22nd, the Saturday of National Wolf Awareness Week, will not only help wolves, but will help with the overall status of this now fucked up nation (please pardon my language, but dammit I cannot do this alone and it really pisses me off that you are trusting people who are just taking your money while you do nothing about it.


So, if you're still reading this, and want to do something, listen up because I'm going to tell you what you can do.

First and foremost, think about how important a rally in Washington DC will be. It will grab headlines and media attention. If a rally planned by an inexperienced 18 year old girl and attended by 20 or so dedicated wolf enthusiasts can get on a show on CNN, don't you think that with 10,000 people, some of whom are in wolf and other animal costumes, will grab more attention? And when we have the attention of the otherwise ignorant and selfish media, don't you think Congress and the President will have to pay attention? And when people see how many wolf supporters there are, don't you think people will start to pay attention, and stop ignoring the crap that is going on in wolf recovery? Trust me, it will.

Second, I want each of you who have given money to any organization which was a party to the deal which sold out wolves in the delisting case, including and especially Defenders of Wildlife, to demand your money back; but not so that they send it to you, but rather so that they donated it to the Wolf Rally Travel Fund, so that we can provide money for people like you who can't afford to get to Washington DC.

Third, get it through your head that using Facebook and other online resources, provided to you by greedy, faceless corporations that care nothing about what you care about is no way to help wolves, nor is signing online petitions, nor is giving money to organizations who pay their staff excessive salaries. You need to actually do something, and switch around your priorities. Your job, your school, your car payments, your new iPhone or iPad or whatever; your cable bill, your high speed internet; these are absolutely meaningless compared to how important these issues are, and you need to understand that your very future is at stake here. If Congress can take away your right to have a court review an act they create, in violation of the Constitution of the United States just so they can kill wolves; what do you think they will do in the future? These politicians don't see you as anything but a meal ticket. They care only about the money their corporate masters give them. You NEED to hold them accountable, and make them represent you, or vote them out. And you need to get their attention and tell them we're not going to take their crap anymore. And this rally will do precisely that.


I am currently drafting a website and trying to get organizations based in Washington DC to help organize this rally. But you have to attend, and you need to get everyone you know to attend as well. The more people that are there, the more likely we are to succeed. So if you really do care about wolves, you will attend this rally.

I realize there are financial issues for most people. As such, I have several ideas which can help. I plan to shame Defenders of Wildlife and other organization whom we have entrusted with the fate of wolves but which have failed us to donate half of one years salaries of just the executive staff (most of whom make $250,000 a year base salary or more!!!) to the travel fun. I am also going to create literature and a bank account so that you can raise money for yourself to get to the rally. Rather than having people give you money directly, you will seek sponsorship, and the money you solicit will be sent to the organization, so that people can better trust that their donations will be used for good. People are far more willing to donate to someone if they can know that the cause is legitimate. And to help even further, we will match sponsor monies, to ensure the money is actually put to use.


I am also planning an event surrounding the rally so that we can all get together and have some fun, and learn a thing or two while we socialize together - fellow wolf enthusiasts and advocates in a single location, working together, getting to know and trust each other, and just generally enjoying our connections to each other. This fun event will encourage more people to attend the rally, and foster more media attention as well.


So please, watch this blog and elsewhere for the website for the rally, start finding money to get to Washington DC, and set aside some time so you can go to this rally. Also, tell everyone you know about this. Again, this rally isn't just about wolves; it's about our very freedoms and the future of this country. Only by standing together can we stand up against the corporate-sponsored corrupt politicians who have turned our once great country into the laughing stock of the world.

Thank you

The rally scheduled for yesterday in Washington DC was a bust to say the least. It was, as a result, highly ineffective at getting attention to wolf issues in DC that needs to happen to bring sanity to the political arena as it relates to wolf recovery.

A rally would be quite effective, but it needs to be attended by enough people to show that we mean business; that wolves deserve our help. As such, I am working to organize another rally, to be held during Wolf Awareness Week in Washington DC. The rally will probably take place Saturday, October 22nd. There will be other events that week as well, including a convention/meeting for wolf advocates and enthusiasts.

If you are interested in helping organize this event, please contact me and let me know. We need web designers, artists, people to do networking and coordinate various efforts, people to contact organizations and companies to seek funding, and people in DC who can help with logistics. I will be getting a website started soon and will post a link to the site once it is up and running.

This rally will be a success. I have experience organizing events of this nature and will be putting that experience to use. I have a number of ideas for how to make this a successful event. For the record, the key factors are media attention and attendance. For media attention, I have several ideas. For attendance, key will be getting funding for anyone who wants to travel to DC but cant' afford. That is going to include an open invitation to Defenders of Wildlife and other organizations that pay their executives exorbitant salaries to donate half of those salaries to the travel fund. This will be used to charter busses and planes and pay for accomodation for those who wish to lend their support.


One thing to note is that wolf recovery issues have become more than just about wolves. As you may have heard or read, the "wolf rider" passed earlier included language which violates the constitution. This is a violation of the oath of office of every elected official who voted for it, including President Obama who signed off on it. Wolf recovery then has been thrust into the global spotlight and we not only have a chance to make things right for wolves, but to actually make a significant impact on American politics - for the better of course.

Please don't miss this opportunity. Set aside the time in October to attend this event. It is literally the most important event in your lifetime. And to make it happen, we need as much help as possible.

I look forwward to hearing from volunteers, and seeing all of you at the rally.

Today, August 3rd, 2011, appeared to be a serious blow to wolf advocates and those who have a desire to enjoy, either first hand or vicariously, wolves in the wilds of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and neighboring states in the future.

A friend who is an active wolf advocate, was devestated by the decision by Judge Molloy denying motions in the case related to Section 1713 of the recent budget, the so-called "wolf rider" which was clearly a violation of the US Constitution, as well as a clear violation of the oath of office of every senator and congressman who weighed a yay vote on the measure.

Are wolves going to die as a result of today's decision? It's really not possible to tell at the moment to be honest. There are other cases filed, including cases challenging the wolf rider. If any of those cases were filed competently, they will prevail if the judge has any sense of duty.

My friend was profoundly upset by this decision, as I'm sure many other wolf advocates and others were. But is a profound emotional reaction like that appropriate? Is such a reaction productive?

The answers aren't really that easy. Yes, an emotional response is natural, and it can be productive. But most people don't really have the basis for making such a reaction appropriate. This entry then is to discuss how to turn the emotional pain of hearing about threats to wolves into productive motivation.

I achieved a state of mind many years ago which has allowed me to use my emotions for productive ends. How many of you would break down and cry if a wolf was killed in the field next to your home, and use your emotions to drive you to do something to help wolves? But that's precisely what happened on May 11th, 2007. A wolf was shot and killed in a field next to my home. My emotions could have gotten the better of me, and nearly drove me to dress up in my wolf costume and walk around in the same field in an effort to try to get myself shot to bring real attention to the issue. But logic dictated that this was a purely emotional response. Instead, I thought the matter through - after having a good cry and taking a bit of fur from one of the bullet holes in the ground and setting it somewhere I would always be able to remind myself of the reality of these issues. I then set about finding a way to contribute. A year later, I found a way, and wrote an amicus brief in the big wolf delisting case (the one where Defenders of Wildlife sold us out with their bullshit "deal.")


My example should demonstrate to each of you that you can utilize your emotions towards wolves to help you become productive in wolf advocacy. The emotions you feel are the result of passion you have towards wolves and wolf recovery. And you can either be ruled by your emotions, and thus rendered partially or completely useless in wolf issues; or you can rein in your emotions, and use them as motivations to find the best way you can help and to pursue it to the bitter end.

Your anger, your hatred, your pain, your tears, your grief, your sadness and all of your other strong emotions about the current goings on in wolf recovery are vital to your ability to be productive in wolf recovery, but only if you channel those emotions properly.

The advice I gave my friend is based on my own personal experience with reining in those emotions. Basically, I got my pain over and done with all at once. I sat down in kind of a meditative state, and I imagined the reality that the wolves out there were doomed before I or anyone else knew what was going on with wolves. This was really helped by my writing a research paper wherein I discovered and discussed a significant flaw with wolf recovery. So an assumption that wolves were doomed from the start became a reality.

I therefore suggest that you understand something I know to be a fact: wolf recovery was never going to succeed because the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan contains a fatal flaw, meaning that even if the Fish and Wildlife Service stuck to the original plan, it was never going to succeed, for the simple reason that they never addressed all of the reasons they themselves stated were the cause of wolf population decline in the first place: ignorant and uneducated stakeholders.

After that paper, everything else fell into place. I do still feel pain and anguish when I hear about wolves being killed, or when I hear about Idaho passing another law mandating the slaughter of all the wolves in the state (I lived in Idaho by the way.) But those emotions do nothing more than cause me to want to do more of the things I have learned are positive contributions to the cause of wolves.

I believe firmly that each of you can do as I have, turn your emotions into a positive motivator. Wolf issues no longer cause me to become depressed. And you too can become motivated to make progress, rather than reducing your motivations by your emotions. If you can accept that nothing you can do will save the wolves that are out there now, and that your efforts must be reserved for wolves in the future; you will find yourself far, far better able to do things to further that goal. Yes, it's painful, and I strongly suggest you accept it and have a good, long, hard cry about it. But wolves need you, not just the wolves that are out there now, but the wolves we will almost certainly be re-reintroducing down the road when this nation recovers some of it's sanity (or when it goes belly-up as I predict.)


Please consider my words here. Yes, wolves are going to die, and no, there's probably not much you can do about it now. But if you can accept the reality that the plan was flawed from the get-go, you can not only free yourself of the disabling emotions now and to come, but you can actually work towards the thing we should all be working towards; getting the Fish and Wildlife Service to redo wolf reintroduction, and do it right.


I am free for discussion privately if anyone wants or needs further advice or even counseling on these issues and how you can better deal with the emotions (and what you can do to be most effective as an advocate.)

Thank you for reading this, for being a fellow advocate, and for your efforts now and in the future towards helping ensure wolves have a fair place in our environment.

The first step towards ending the wolf advocacy crisis requires recognition of this fact. What you, the wolf advocate reading this, must realize, is that we cannot succeed with wolf recovery goals until we learn to get along with each other in enough capacity as to be able to cooperate towards a common goal.

Currently, the wolf advocacy field is rife with people who value their own ego over the fate of the wolves. These people do not belong in the business, period. I know personally of several examples: Mark Johnson, the veterinarian from the original release in Yellowstone in 1995-1996; Patrick Valentino, the director of California Wolf Center, who was at the helm and whose ego stood in the way of volunteers clearing the very brush that burned those four Mexican wolves to death in 2001 (I know because I was one of those volunteers whom he told "no" when myself and many others volunteered to remove the brush from below the new pen we were building...and Mark Johnson threatened to destroy my reputation as a result of my requesting an investigation.) The staff of nearly every wolf sanctuary I've been to are more concerned with their own egos and issues than those of the wolves, and the health of the wolves fails along with the educational mission of these important resources. Howling Acres in Oregon is a recent example: closed after I revealed to the media and local officials the abuses I doscovered, abuses which were plain and could have been dealt with by any number of people who visited and volunteered at the site.

But these are examples of problems that run rampant. The very people we see as leaders in wolf recovery have failed us. David Mech has caved to hunting interests. Defenders of Wildlife sold wolf supporters out (as a point of fact, I realized they sold us out in 1998 after analyzing the Compensation Fund, which was used by ranchers to get themselves paid for killing wolves by sacrificing livestock, in many instances, livestock that was costly and unwanted by the producer (again, I witnessed this firsthand.)

These egomaniacs need to be removed from wolf advocacy, by force if necessary. No longer can politics and "diplomacy" be made as excuses for allowing these people and organizations to jeopardize wolf recovery the lives of wolves and wolf advocates who actually care.


But among those of us who actually care about wolves more than our own egos there is still crisis: we don't get along, primarily because we lack organization.

I have previously proposed an advocacy cooperative. It seems my idea has fallen upon deaf ears as no one has taken the time to think about the idea, it's importance, and how absolutely necessary it is for wolves. We simply must come to agreement and devise a strategy and then see that our collective resources are best used to further the overall goal we all share: saving wolves.

I propose then a simple solution: a meeting. I am willing to reserve, at my own expense, a site for a meeting in Idaho at a group facility which is private, secluded (i.e. safe from intrusion by wolf haters) and which is in my mind the ideal location for wolf advocates to meet and sit down together so we can get to know each other and discuss our positions.

I strongly urge you to take plan to attend a meeting. I will set the date for the fall, probably late September when the weather is still nice and the days still long. I imagine the cost, including lodging and food, for a 3 day weekend, will be less than $100 per person. I will do what I can to seek sponsorship or some means by which to offset costs, especially for those who cannot afford to attend. This meeting will be open ONLY to those who wish to work independently but in cooperation with other wolf advocates and small advocacy groups. Defenders of Wildlife will not be welcome. FWS officials will not be welcome. Wolf haters will be kept out, by security personnel if necessary. This meeting will be only for those of us who have a passion for wolves and ensuring they have a future in this nation and on this planet.

Please contact me if you are interested, and especially if you are interested in helping me organize this event. The location will be in the panhandle of Idaho at a location which will remain secret until just before the event for security reasons.


Please, if you love wolves and want to help, consider what I have said and consider my invitation to meet and discuss these issues so we can begin the process of really saving wolves.