wolf slaughter imminent. you can help stop it.

Remember the gray wolves that were threatened by Republicans, who tried to strip the animals of Endangered Species Act protection? Recent background to this story (and photos) are here, here and here.

A federal judge restored the wolf's protected status, and the government dropped their efforts to de-list them.

Well, they're at it again. Here's the most recent update from the NRDC Action Fund, the lobbying arm of the Natural Resources Defense Council. It's not pretty.

As the Bush Administration rides off into the sunset, it's taking a deadly parting shot at the wolves of Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.

This 11th hour attack would strip wolves of their Endangered Species protection and leave them vulnerable to mass slaughter by Northern Rockies states. Those states have plans that could kill nearly 1,000 wolves in the first year alone.

We need to fire back 100,000 Official Citizen Comments and fend off this life-threatening attack.

We don't have a moment to lose, because the Bush Administration is racing to put a new wolf-killing plan into effect before it leaves office.

Your Official Citizen Comment could be the last, best hope for the wolves, so please submit it right now. The Administration is taking public comments only until November 28.

We've protected Yellowstone's wolves before. And with your help, we will do it again.

It was just two months ago that our partner organization, NRDC, won a huge legal victory in federal court when it forced the Bush Administration to withdraw its original wolf-killing plan.

I warned you at the time that the Administration could still return with yet another assault on wolves.

Now they're back and they're going for broke -- with a plan created to slaughter wolves en masse -- at the bidding of powerful ranching and hunting interests.

Their new "License to Kill" plan, if put into effect, would lead to a state-sponsored massacre of wolves in Greater Yellowstone and Central Idaho.

They couldn't have picked a worse time. Scientists are predicting a crash in Yellowstone's wolf population this year -- and wolf pups are dying from an outbreak of a yet-to-be-determined disease.

With the population below the 2,000-3,000 wolves that experts believe are needed for long-term health, the Bush Administration's scheme could push the gray wolf back to the brink of extinction.

That's why we must fight back with the force of at least 100,000 Official Citizen Comments in favor of wolf protection. But we have less than three weeks to mobilize before the November 28 deadline.

Right now, the states of Idaho and Montana are awaiting "Open Fire" orders to unleash a deadly public hunt as soon as this winter, if the latest Bush proposal goes through as planned. And Wyoming could also start a hunt this winter if it succeeds in rushing through its latest plan.

That's why I urge you to click to send your Official Citizen Comment right now -- before the Bush Administration has a chance to pull the trigger on this deadly scheme and slaughter the greatest wildlife icon of the American West.

Please submit your citizen comment now.