Route Editor
Route Scout
First let me say the link is off a free server (beware the pop ups
)I thought the information may be good reading
The issue:
The Game & Fish Department of Arizona is using scientific fraud to justify the unethical murder of 36 mountain lions in the Four Peaks Wilderness area on the Tonto Forest. Disease introduced by domestic sheep has brought the Big Horn Sheep population at Four Peaks down from 116 to 30 in a four year period. This drastic change could not go ignored, but rather that removing the infectious domestic sheep from our national forest lands (a supposed refuge for wildlife), Game & Fish has blamed the reduction in the Big Horn Sheep population on the Mountian Lion. This is an obvious farce as Mountain Lions have helped to maintain a balance in the wild. The two species actually balance one-another's populations. Adding to the basic biological support, evidence from Game & Fish biologists has proven that the lions are not responsible for the decline in Big Horn Sheep, but Game & Fish has still issued permits for the massacre of those 36 mountain lions, which accounts for 75% of the entire Mountain Lion population in the Four Peaks area! These animals need all the help we can provide to ensure their natural existence in the Four Peaks wilderness. It is not the right of human beings to dominate the existence of life or the processes of the ecosystem. The true source of the Big Horn Sheep devastation will not be corrected because the domestic sheep ranchers hold economic and political clout which ensures that they can continue to graze our public lands (an issue of itself) and that the Big Horn will face extinction on the Tonto.
Our Tactics for Defense
Phoenix Earth First! already held an action before Game & Fish had issued the permits for the extermination on the Tonto. The action slightly raised awareness and made Game & Fish aware of our resistance, now we have to up the stakes. Further actions will be posted, but in the meantime, we plan to disrupt the death of these lions.
Right now, we are living in times of ecological crisis! Our Earth is undergoing the greatest level of species extinction since the demise of the dinosaurs, but unlike their extinction, the current species loss is a human-generated phenomenon. Our home, the Sonoran Desert, is no exception.
The Sonoran Desert is the most lush and biologically diverse desert in the world. No other place on Earth contains unique wildlife such as the saguaro cactus, or the diversity of so many habitat types in one area. It is also one of the fifteen most endangered ecosystems in North America. There has never been a better time, nor a greater need, for people who are willing to take action in defense of the Sonoran Desert.
Phoenix Earth First! is a collective of local conservationists committed to protecting the native biological diversity of Central Arizona, through public education, grass roots community organizing, and direct action. To get involved or to learn of how we can work together to protect our homes, check this site regularly for action updates, and contact Phoenix Earth First! (602)244-9434
