Samples of public comments submitted on caribou issues

June 12, 2014

Many public comments have already been posted regarding the petition for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to change the Endangered Species Act listing of our local Boundary County population of southern Selkirk Mountain woodland caribou. People from around the nation have put their thoughts down and submitted them for consideration on this particular issue. We thought it would be interesting to share some of the public comments already submitted, such as these:

I strongly support continuing to protect woodland caribou. The South Selkirk Mountains herd numbers less than 50, and the population will not recover unless their habitat is protected. The Canadian government has found that these caribou are different from other caribou "as they have persisted in the ecological setting unique to the species." Extinct is forever, please help prevent this from happening by retaining Endangered Species Act protections for these beautiful animals. Thank you.

I have been snowmobiling in this area since 1998 with thousands of miles put on machines and not once have I seen a Caribou track or a Caribou in sight. . . . Tell the Animal Rights people to spend their money on something else that really needs help! Killing the wolves off would be a place to spend their money to keep the Elk, Moose, and Deer from getting killed.

If you want to protect the woodland caribou in Idaho, get rid of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife involvement. The biggest threat are the wolves and the grizzlies that are also protected in the same area.. You people are just creating job security and have no interest in protecting any of the animals. For some reason you just want to keep the people that pay your wages out of the national forest that is supposed to be maintained for our enjoyment. Get a clue.

Please save our woodland caribou. Please don't give in to snowmobilers or other special interest groups. This is the last wild American herd and IT MUST BE allowed to survive.

The caribou need more protection and more protected habitat. These wildland herds make living in the Pacific Northwest so special.

My family has owned a cabin at Priest Lake since 1956. I am an avid snowmobiler who has snowmobiled on the East Side of Priest Lake every winter since 1974 (primarily from the Hunt Creek drainage north). I also have spent my summers hiking, backpacking, and berry picking from Hunt Creek all the way north to the Continental Mine area. In all of my years in the back country I have never seen a caribou. I have seen plenty of moose, deer, bear, and a few elk, but no caribou. It doesn't seem necessary to set aside (lock up) habitat for an animal that is rarely in the area, if at all. They apparently spend the bulk of their time in Canada, where they obviously originated. Thank you for your consideration of my comments. Hopefully this will help you determine their range.

If you are interested in what people are saying on this issue, you can read more of the posted public comments at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketBrowser;rpp=100;so=DESC;sb=docId;po=0;dct=PS;D=FWS-R1-ES-2012-0097

Many public comments have already been posted regarding the petition for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to change the listing of our local Boundary County population of southern Selkirk Mountain woodland caribou from "Endangered" to "Threatened." People from around the nation have put their thoughts down and submitted them for consideration on this particular issue. We thought it would be interesting to share some of the public comments already submitted, such as these:

I strongly support continuing to protect woodland caribou. The South Selkirk Mountains herd numbers less than 50, and the population will not recover unless their habitat is protected. The Canadian government has found that these caribou are different from other caribou "as they have persisted in the ecological setting unique to the species." Extinct is forever, please help prevent this from happening by retaining Endangered Species Act protections for these beautiful animals. Thank you.

I have been snowmobiling in this area since 1998 with thousands of miles put on machines and not once have I seen a Caribou track or a Caribou in sight. . . . Tell the Animal Rights people to spend their money on something else that really needs help! Killing the wolves off would be a place to spend their money to keep the Elk, Moose, and Deer from getting killed.

If you want to protect the woodland caribou in Idaho, get rid of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife involvement. The biggest threat are the wolves and the grizzlies that are also protected in the same area.. You people are just creating job security and have no interest in protecting any of the animals. For some reason you just want to keep the people that pay your wages out of the national forest that is supposed to be maintained for our enjoyment. Get a clue.

Please save our woodland caribou. Please don't give in to snowmobilers or other special interest groups. This is the last wild american herd and IT MUST BE allowed to survive.

The caribou need more protection and more protected habitat. These wildland herds make living in the Pacific Northwest so special.

My family has owned a cabin at Priest Lake since 1956. I am an avid snowmobiler who has snowmobiled on the East Side of Priest Lake every winter since 1974 (primarily from the Hunt Creek drainage north). I also have spent my summers hiking, backpacking, and berry picking from Hunt Creek all the way north to the Continental Mine area. In all of my years in the back country I have never seen a caribou. I have seen plenty of moose, deer, bear, and a few elk, but no caribou. It doesn't seem necessary to set aside (lock up) habitat for an animal that is rarely in the area, if at all. They apparently spend the bulk of their time in Canada, where they obviously originated. Thank you for your consideration of my comments. Hopefully this will help you determine their range.

If you are interested in what people are saying on this issue, you can read more of the posted public comments at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketBrowser;rpp=100;so=DESC;sb=docId;po=0;dct=PS;D=FWS-R1-ES-2012-0097