By Jim Hines
The positive power of working to protect all that is wild is amazing to me. Working on my Protect Wildlife and Wild Places campaigns allows me to focus my positive energy on the goodness that comes from protecting endangered animals and beautiful natural areas across our nation.
Each one of us is filled with positive energy and the ability to make positive change for our planet and the wild creatures. I feel such goodness after a species is protected or a wild place is saved, but that doesn’t come easily many times. I cannot tell you how many times I have been verbally assaulted by an elected or appointed official as I advocate for wildlife and wild places who do not have a voice.
We must focus, we must not give up, for the price we pay will be that we lose wild places and wildlife.
My passion to fight for what I believe in came early in life for me; my father was my example and my closeness to him and his inspiration has allowed me to have the strength to speak up for what I believe in. I can do it, YOU can do it.
Whether I am lobbying a public official or speaking at an event, I put all of my passion into what I am fighting for. One more dead wolf shot, trapped or poisoned in Montana (145 so far this year) makes me cry, but those tears do not bring the wolf back. I must, I am driven to work with all the emotional tools I have to stop such horrendous acts that mankind perpetrates upon the innocent wild.
Whales dying from entanglement in nylon driftnets makes me sick to my stomach. I am driven, to the point of doing everything in my power to ban these marine mammal killing nets by working with the staff of U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein and lobbying House and Senate members to get this important bill passed to phase out and ultimately ban those deadly nets (the bill was signed by President Biden in late December 2022).
Our planet and her wild creatures cry out for help, we are their voice, we are their protectors and we bond with wild creatures and wild places, a bond so tight that it cannot be broken. I see wolves in Alaska, I see logged forests in Montana, I feel the hurt of the wolf, I carry the wounds of a hurt land, I bear these emotions as my reminder to keep going, even when I feel overwhelmed at times by the powerful opposition to protecting all that is wild.
I am inspired by all that is wild, the wild touches my soul.
~ For the wild, Jim