LEOPARD SUPPORT UPDATE 12-21-2016
We are doing better! We have 71 of the 112 comments made so far to stop USFWS from reclassifying the African Leopard on the ESA Endangered Species List to “Endangered” status. Let Africa sustainable use management work for the wildlife and for Africans!

As of today, 12-21-2016
Hunters and Conservationists that have posted comment to USFWS to stop the up-listing of Leopard to Endangered status on USFWS comment page:
https://www.regulations.gov/do...=FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131

We can do better!!!! Every hunter, PH, Outfitter and Conservationist worldwide, please go and make your voice heard and make your comment to stop the reclassification to Endangered!
THANK YOU for those that have made comment for the Leopard!

12/12/2016 Cliff Tulpa FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0010
12/12/2016 Aaron Raby FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0009
12/12/2016 Robert Garcia FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0008
12/13/2016 Dave Hagstrom FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0013
12/13/2016 Rich Maggart FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0014
12/13/2016 Mike Briganti FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0019
12/13/2016 Eugene Jansen FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0011
12/13/2016 Steve Hofmann FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0012
12/13/2016 Bill Galli FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0016
12/13/2016 Leon Worried FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0020
12/13/2016 Coenie Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0015
12/13/2016 Calvin Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0017
12/13/2016 Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0018
12/14/2016 Anthony Russo FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0021
12/14/2016 Jovine Nachihangu FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0022
12/15/2016 Phil Soucy FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0023
12/15/2016 Codi W. FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0024
12/16/2016 Blondie Leathem FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0025
12/19/2016 Sebastian Jonker FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0097
12/19/2016 David Shires FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0099
12.19.2016 Pamela Deventer FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0104
12/19/2016 Theunis Botha FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0096
12/19/2016 Nikita Dalke FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0052
12/19/2016 Tim Martin FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0090
12/19/2016 Pieter Kriel FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0032
12/19/2016 Pieter Potgieter FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0093
12/19/2016 Greg Michelson FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0094
12/19/2016 Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0038
12/19/2016 Shaun Keeny FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0089
12/19/2016 Jeff Langedyke FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0076
12/19/2016 Anonymous Rancher FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0031
12/19/2016 Mike Angelides FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0084
12/19/2016 Jonathan Howells FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0086
12/19/2016 Boeta Steenekamp FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0092
12/19/2016 Tony Du Bruyn FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0035
12/19/2016 Ken du Plessis FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0037
12/19/2016 Hendrik Botha FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0078
12/19/2016 Simone x FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0088
12/19/2016 Jeremy Wall FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0075
12/19/2016 Wade Renfro FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0073
12/19/2016 Andrew van HeerdenFWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0079
12/19/2016 Graeme Pollock FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0102
12/19/2016 Stephan Stamm FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0105
12/19/2016 Erwin Kruger FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0083
12/19/2016 Scott van Zyl FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0058
12/19/2016 Mark Murphy FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0098
12/19/2016 AJ Oosthuizen FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0040
12/19/2016 Wernher Albertse FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0091
12/19/2016 John Martins FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0077
12/19/2016 Brad Birkholtz FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0053
12/19/2016 Clint Smith FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0028
12/19/2016 Anonymous – local FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0087
12/19/2016 Andr Potgieter FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0080
12/19/2016 Maro Du Plessis FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0070
12/19/2016 Sean Outram FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0062
12/19/2016 Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0071
12/19/2016 Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0100
12/19/2016 Eli Gourdin FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0027
12/19/2016 Harpreet Brar FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0081
12/19/2016 Fernando Martnez FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0074
12/19/2016 Andrew Baldry FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0063
12/19/2016 Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0072
12/19/2016 Rudie de Waal FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0103
12/19/2016 Nick van Zyl FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0101
12/19/2016 Robin Hurt FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0082
12/19/2016 Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0085
12/20/2016 Daniel Moore FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0111
12/20/2016 Rudolf Graupner FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0108
12/20/2016 Wikus Groenewald FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0112
12/21/2016 John Canon FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0113
12/21/2016 Anonymous FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131-0114

Please go online and make comment to USFWS! Every comment helps!
https://www.regulations.gov/do...=FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0131

or if busy, can try this one
https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser…

Will definitely comment. thank you for posting!!

done

Posted. 1k0-8tqg-j13x

Made a comment, but honestly I am unsure of how much value someone who does not have citable sources can have here.

Done

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quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Made a comment, but honestly I am unsure of how much value someone who does not have citable sources can have here.

That was my concern, too. I posted several comments a couple of weeks ago on this thread

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1411043/m/3611000722

trying to understand who might be representing our interests and able to provide scientific evidence. I understand now that Conservation Force is, not sure about DSC, SCI or others. I'll make a comment as suggested, but it seems to me that the real effort is to provide evidence to refute HSUS' claims.

Done

I have received stuff from both SCI and CF stating they are working on it.

Hope with a new SOI we might be able to have a reasonable hearing with concerns passed to the range states and given a chance to correct deficiencies before going straight to administrative actions.

I agree with Mr. Butler, and hope with our new Secretary of Interior he will appoint a strong hunter advocate to administer fish and feathers.

Tim,
Thanks for posting. I too went out to comment.
This whole thing is crazy. It never ceases to amaze me how so many misinformed people all comment based on emotion. There are TONS of Leopards in Sub Saharan Africa.

A bit of advice. Give a unique comment. Form letters or similar comments are treated as 1 even if they receive a thousand replies saying the same thing.

Brett

Done

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DONE!

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The website now says "comments not accepted"

Dave

Done. I had no difficulty posting my comment just a moment ago.

Done. This was so painlessly easy it is hard to believe that it has anything to do with the federal government. Maybe I missed it but have DSC or SCI sent out a link for members to submit comments?

The site doesn't have anything to do with the US government.

The site is managed by "The eRulemaking Program Management Office, with the assistance of partner Federal agencies, manages Regulations.gov. The eRulemaking Program was created in 2002 as an E-Government project and is managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

They simply record your data. Who the hell knows what they do with it other than record your information. Maybe they pass along your informaiton to other government agencies like the IRS. But who the hell knows with this Administration; the most transparent in history.

If you want your voice heard, contact the USFWS directly. This is another one of those situations where you believe you are doing something when in fact you aren't - but I believe that was the intent when the site was put up.

Done. Hope it does some good.

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Opus1, Thank you for the information. I will try to find USFWS link that maybe I can forward my comments. Hopefully SCI, DSC and others are working on the issue as well.

DSC is on it, not sure about SCI.

http://dscnewscenter.org/2016/...r-leopard-uplisting/

Once again, the anits are using a little bit of fact to push their agenda. There are places in Northern Africa where leopard are indeed in danger, but Sub-Saharan populations are stable and sustainable in most areas.

Done,

thank you for the ease of getting to the right area

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
DSC is on it, not sure about SCI.

http://dscnewscenter.org/2016/...r-leopard-uplisting/

Once again, the anits are using a little bit of fact to push their agenda. There are places in Northern Africa where leopard are indeed in danger, but Sub-Saharan populations are stable and sustainable in most areas.

So is SCI:
https://www.safariclub.org/wha...out-african-leopards

Just got the below that was posted on facebook from the SCI Blog

Dec 28, 2016
SCI and the SCI Foundation are working together to respond to the latest attempt by anti-hunting groups to interfere with sustainable use conservation. Most recently, these animal rights groups have focused their efforts on African leopards. In response to a petition filed in July 2016 by the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, Center for Biological Diversity, International Fund for Animal Welfare and Fund for Animals, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a 90-day finding that an endangered listing for all African leopards currently listed as threatened “may be warranted.”

The FWS’s 90-day finding DOES NOT MEAN that all African leopards are now listed as endangered. Currently, leopards in 18 countries in Africa south of and including Gabon, Congo, Zaire, Uganda and Kenya remain listed as threatened. The FWS makes a “90-day finding” based on very limited data – solely on the information submitted with the petition and any data already in the FWS’s own files. The FWS must collect far more data in order to make a decision whether to list a species.

If the FWS makes a “may be warranted” 90-day finding, as it has for the African leopard, it must next complete a thorough status review, known as a “12-month finding.” To complete this task, the FWS must evaluate the “best scientific and commercial data available” to determine whether the petitioned action is “warranted.” In the Federal Register notice announcing the 90-day finding for the African leopard, the FWS itself stated “[b]ecause the Act’s standards for 90-day and 12-month findings are different, a substantial 90-day finding does not mean that the 12-month finding will result in a ‘warranted’ finding.”

Currently, the FWS is soliciting comments from the public including “scientific and commercial data and other information” regarding the African leopard to help inform its 12-month finding. SCI’s Litigation Department attorneys and SCI Foundation’s biologists are working together to prepare comments that provide both scientific and legal information that will help the FWS to make a determination that will not interfere with or harm ongoing sustainable use conservation of the African leopard. Comments are due on or before January 30, 2017.

If the FWS does make a 12-month finding that a species-wide endangered listing “is warranted” it will then publish a proposed rule to list the African leopard as endangered and will again solicit public comment on its proposed decision. If it becomes necessary, SCI and SCIF will collaborate on additional comments at that time, as well as evaluating other potential courses of action. The listing process, regardless of its possible outcome, will take the FWS many months to complete.

Currently, all African leopards are listed on CITES Appendix I and CITES has established maximum export quotas for the exportation of trophies from twelve African countries. In 2016, a handful of these countries made the requisite findings for exportation of legally hunted leopards. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a fact sheet that describes the process for importing legally sport-hunted leopards into the United States: https://www.fws.gov/internatio...rt-hunted-trophy.pdf

Unrelated to the petition submitted by the anti-hunting groups, the Republic of South Africa did not export leopards in 2016 because its biologists were unable to make the required CITES determination that the export of leopards would not be detrimental to the survival of the species. SCI Foundation believes that it is probable that South Africa will not have the information they will need to reverse that decision in 2017. The SCI Foundation has offered to assist South Africa with their data collection process to help them achieve a non-detriment finding. SCI Foundation’s biologists will be meeting with a delegation from South Africa at the SCI Annual Convention to further address this issue.

SCI and SCIF will continue their work on this issue and to make every effort to ensure that the FWS has the best legal and scientific data available with which to make its decisions. In addition, we will continue to update the SCI membership as developments occur. SCI and the SCI Foundation will also be presenting the most recent information at a seminar at the SCI Convention entitled “Where Are We Now – The Latest on Elephants, Lions and Leopards” on Wednesday, February 1, 2017, Lagoon K-L, Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.

Conservation Force is hard at work preparing for the leopard fight at all stages and places. We do have two suggestions to those making comments due at the end of January on the government's portal so that they will be more effective.

First, set forth the basis of your expertise, knowledge, opinion, facts or whatever. This will give your opinion and facts more weight and perhaps even raise it to a "substantive information" level that must be treated substantively by FWS. Second, be fact specific rather than opinionated. Some quick, random examples:

(1)I am a safari hunter with first-hand personal experience with the abundance of leopard. In the Selous Reserve in Tanzania last year we put out 3 baits and had 5 leopards on them immediately.

(2) I am a degreed biologist, turned PH and am keenly observant of leopard abundance in/at xxxx. Leopard are as abundant as ever and this is why I believe...

(3) I am a hunting operator with xx years of field experience. In Mozambique, we are required to do an annual report to the wildlife department on animal status. We have no trouble whatsoever taking mature males. Moreover we are part of Niassa's leopard program, i.e., every leopard taken is photographed body and teeth in detail. There is no decline. To the contrary the population has been growing, trophy quality is improving, our success rate is 100
percent.

I hope this helps!

John Jackson, ConservationForce

This bullshit will all end on January 20th or soon thereafter. I'm sure Eric will have a few words with his dad about the infestation of hunting hating democrats permeating USFWS.

Thank you Mr. Jackson, your information is very helpful.

Please see Conservation Force's Comment on the Status Review of the African Leopard

http://www.conservationforce.org/news-updates-alerts

Very thorough and well positioned.
One would think the data and position put forth would be somewhat unassailable.
But, of course, politics .......
let's hope the changes will be made to the USFWS

https://www.safariclub.org/wha...-on-african-leopards



SCI Letter Prompts U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Reopen Comment Period on African Leopards

Feb 21, 2017


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) just informed SCI that it will be reopening the comment period on its recent 90-day finding on the listing status of African leopards. The FWS is opening this new comment period in response to a letter sent by SCI, informing the FWS of an error in the FWS’s original 90-day finding. SCI pointed out that FWS had incorrectly described the range of the leopards currently listed as threatened. FWS acknowledged the error and informed SCI that the FWS would be republishing a corrected version of the 90-day finding in May 2017.

leopardsThe FWS explained that it would be giving the public an additional 60-days to submit information on whether an uplisting of African leopards from threatened to endangered status is warranted. While FWS prefers the public submit information during the comment period, it explained that the FWS will continue to receive information about African leopards at any time until it completes its “status review” on the species. The FWS informed SCI that it does not intend to publish its decision on the African leopard status review during the 2017 fiscal year, which will end on September 30, 2017.

The letter did not specify how soon after September 30th the FWS will complete the status review. When the FWS finishes its status review, it will either make a finding that uplisting from threatened to endangered is not warranted, or will propose a rule to uplist African leopards to endangered status. Proposing a rule will require FWS to open another public comment opportunity and take the time to consider those comments before making a final decision.

The FWS’s letter confirms that it will not change the listing status of the African leopard between now and September 30, 2017, and likely not for several months after that, if at all. During this period SCI, working with the SCI Foundation, will continue to help range countries and experts in African leopard biology provide FWS with information to show that the uplisting of African leopards is not necessary.