Cheyenne's Howl

Printed in Mountain Messenger on Friday - November 14, 1997

Song for Cheyenne

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Isn't it great? I now have a song that has been written to me. The song is titled "Cheyenne" and is an instrumental written and performed by local artist, Mark D. Raley. Mark lives in Georgetown and entertains his fans at the Raven Hill Restaurant and at The New Place, both in Georgetown, every weekend. Stop by for some great food, (my favorite is the buffalo prime rib at the Raven Hill), and listen to Mark's music. Some of my cousins are howling in the background at the beginning and at the end of the song. Ask Mark to play my song for you and maybe you might be able to get him to howl a little also.

Being a wolf and living within in the boundaries of the lower forty eight states, puts me under the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This Act was passed by Congress in 1973 and became the legal beginning of America's efforts to save imperilled wildlife. According to The Defenders of Wildlife, to date there are eight species that have been removed from the ESA's endangered species list. There are also more than twenty five others that are approaching recovery goals. Of all of the species on the list, about 40% are now either stable or improving.

Some examples of the ESA's successes include:

Bald Eagles- once endangered, are now downlisted to threatened. This is thanks to habitat protection efforts and a ban on DDT. The main locations of the recovery include Maine, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut.

Southern Sea Otters- being decimated by offshore oil development, the otter was listed as threatened in 1977. Thanks to efforts to reduce impacts from oil drilling and tanker traffic, it appears that the otter may be removed from the list by the year 2000.

Black-Footed Ferrets- pushed to the brink of extinction by loss of its main food source and habitat, it became one of the rarest mammals on the planet. Through captive breeding and protection of its habitat, the ferret population has grown from 18 in 1986 to over 300 today.

The Endangered Species Act is the best tool that you Americans have in the fight to save imperilled wildlife and to bring back the balance of nature. But right now this Act is in danger of extinction itself. Many of you already know that Congress came close to gutting the ESA this past year. For eighteen months the so called "wise-use" movement received congressional approval to exempt the government and the timber industry from environmental laws and at the same time barred the citizens from enforcing those laws in court. I was always told that America was of the people, for the people, and by the people. It appears to me it is of the rich, for the rich, and by the rich. This is not only at the federal level, look at what is happening right here in Clear Creek County. Average Citizen, you better wake up or some day we will all be listed on the Endangered Species Act.

Cheyenne