INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Save Sasquatch? New York Man Looks To Put Bigfoot On Endangered List

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 07:19 PST, Oct 30, 2014

An upstate New York man is making a sincere plea to add the man-beast known as Bigfoot to the endangered species list, promoting legislation he says is aimed at saving the Sasquatch.

Peter Wiemer, owner of Chautauqua Lake’s We Wan Chu Cottages, approached county legislators with his proposal on Wednesday, Oct. 22, according to the Science Times. Wiemer wants the Chautauqua legislature to be the first governmental body to add Bigfoot to the endangered species list, protecting an animal whose existence has yet to be proven.

Speaking during the public portion of the legislature’s meeting, Wiemer asserted that 17 sightings of Bigfoot have been reported in Chautauqua County since 2011 alone. Pointing out that reports of Bigfoot in New York date back to the 1800s, Wiemer noted that over 100 sightings of Sasquatch have been documented in the state.

“Bigfoots are not a paranormal, not scary or troublesome and are living among us in peace and harmony in Chautauqua County,” he said.

Wiemer’s proposal was met with skepticism, according to the Buffalo News. Lawmakers rolled their eyes or covered their mouths as he urged them to err on the side of caution while asserting that legislators would not be viewed negatively for placing Bigfoot on the list.

“Chautauqua County tourism would be thankful,” he said, “but the bottom line is it is the right thing to do protecting a species that is rare, possibly part human and documented first here in New York State.”

Though long rumored to inhabit the wild areas of North America, Bigfoot is a cryptid, known from anecdotal evidence but unproven by science. Reported in every state other than Hawaii, Bigfoot has been a pop culture icon since the 1960s. In addition to Animal Planet’s popular Finding Bigfoot, the mysterious man-like ape is also the focus of Destination America’s Killing Bigfoot, as the Inquisitr previously noted.

The Chautauqua Lake Bigfoot Expo, first held in 2011, is also Wiemer’s creation. Drawing attendees from across the United States, the event has become a kind of local reporting center for Bigfoot sightings, particularly for shy witnesses. Though his interest began as an outgrowth of programs he undertakes to promote his lakeside cabins, Wiemer claims that his conversations with Bigfoot witnesses have made him a believer.

[Image: David W. Ellis via BFRO]

Share this article: Save Sasquatch? New York Man Looks To Put Bigfoot On Endangered List
New York bigfoot endangered species
More from Inquisitr