It is time to create a new page of “Reader Generated Wildlife News.” Do not post copyrighted material.
Here is the link to the “old” wildlife news page that began on July 25, 2019 From there you can access links to the many older pages of wildlife news readers created.
Please post your wildlife news in the comments space below
by
Tags:
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Comments
“The infected animal was discovered in Montana’s Designated Surveillance Area, a four-county zone in southwest Montana where risk of brucellosis transmission from elk runs high”
https://www.mtpr.org/post/brucellosis-found-madison-county-herd
Is it really 2020? Same old, same old:
https://www.bing.com/search?q=gray+wolf&form=EDGEAR&qs=PF&cvid=d23ee315a7df485b9da710fd84a2ad5a&cc=US&setlang=en-US&plvar=0&PC=HCTS
oops, sorry, copied the wrong link above. I meant to post the latest on the poor Mexican gray wolves:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/competing-interests-leave-mexican-gray-wolf-recovery-efforts-at-a-crossroads/ar-BBYt4PL
Colorado wolf reintroduction initiative qualifies for ballot. It’s shocking to me that a classic Western state does not have them, and defends not wanting them. Colorado is losing its Western character. But I just hope some nut doesn’t go on a rampage about it:
https://www.9news.com/article/life/animals/gray-wolf-re-introduction-initiative-qualifies-for-november-ballot/73-3422af74-baba-4123-b13f-de5a8eb5175c
Apparently the Colorado referendum ballot may be a mute point.
https://www.craigdailypress.com/news/forget-the-ballot-wolves-are-already-in-northwest-colorado/?fbclid=IwAR1tmjhTP4VPo3aNXHMtKShr9U8DgNmsrUy6ldbx0we9-q3I_q4r0YKL0-g
I don’t know if I trust that anecdotal evidence, although “1” wolf has supposedly been verified by F&W.
It doesn’t hurt to have a healthy population of formerly persecuted wildlife, because you never know when a situation will develop that might threaten a large number, such as the Australian wildfires.
It is foolish to think people can manage wildlife populations, because they don’t really seem to be able to do a good job managing anything.
Did I say formerly persecuted? My mistake, make that continually persecuted:
https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/state/970615/reward-offered-for-information-in-2018-killing-of-gray-wolf.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/09/coyotes-are-poised-invade-south-america-humans-are-blame/
This article has a very irresponsible alarmist tone. Anywhere there is cattle ranching, I suppose.
I find it hard to believe they never had them. There are fossil records showing that have been in Southern Mexico and Central America for millennia:
“Although it was once widely believed that coyotes are recent immigrants to southern Mexico and Central America, aided in their expansion by deforestation, Pleistocene and Early Holocene records, as well as records from the pre-Columbian period and early European colonization show that the animal was present in the area long before modern times.
Nevertheless, range expansion did occur south of Costa Rica during the late 1970s and northern Panama in the early 1980s, following the expansion of cattle-grazing lands into tropical rain forests. The coyote is predicted to appear in northern Belize in the near future, as the habitat there is favorable to the species. Concerns have been raised of a possible expansion into South America through the Panamanian Isthmus, should the Darién Gap ever be closed by the Pan-American Highway.[162] This fear was partially confirmed in January 2013, when the species was recorded in eastern Panama’s Chepo District, beyond the Panama Canal.”
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote#Range
Poised to ‘invade’? I’m surprised at WaPo. As an animal defender, you really can’t count on anyone of any political stripe it seems. This is an opinion piece too, I see.
I should ask the experts: what defines an invasive species these days? I always thought it was one that was introduced by humans, not one that is capable of migrating, dispersing or colonizing on its own?
https://www.mtpr.org/post/montana-releases-new-bison-management-conservation-plan
https://www.mtpr.org/post/montana-pays-record-amount-livestock-killed-predators
“The number of losses to grizzly bears almost doubled the losses to wolves, board Executive Director George Edwards said”
A rancher in my valley will take the time to drag off dead livestock, often leaving it behind a bank of willows, so its not as obvious to those passing by, another rancher just leaves them lay to rot where they drop.
We don’t have grizzles, yet, but I can only imagine the uproar when one finally does roam through and takes advantage of dead livestock laying around.
“Cattle die for all kinds of reasons. Diseases, both known and unknown. Calves can freeze to death in the cold. Some get put down after breaking a leg. It just happens. When it does, the rancher has to do something with the body. Usually, it means piling them up somewhere”
“Piles like this exist on ranches all over the state”
https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/living-with-grizzlies-appearances-in-new-places-force-people-to/article_8c2e2ad5-2bb4-540f-898f-f8a8bfc39260.html
Why do we continue to through money at these ranchers (as in livestock compensation for predation) when they are more often than not, the root cause of the problem?
Meant “throw” if a few of you hadn’t already figured that typo out 🙂
Maybe a New Years resolution? Stop posting thoughts to articles at 4 am? 🙂
At least I can blame my mistypes on Bushmills.
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2020/01/03/wolf-reintroduction-to-colorado-a-mistake-says-former-state-wildlife-commissioner-rick-enstrom/
Another Colorado wolf ballot measure article. The reporter lets Enstrom say whatever he wants – it’s not a journalists job to investigate whether what a person says is true (any more). There are many way over-the-top comments by extremists on both sides, which was depressing.
I’m starting to get the feeling that trying to repopulate efficient, logical wildlife species back into what use to be their natural habitat, is really asking to much of them anymore especially when they have to tolerate, not to mention suffer through, the exploitation, ignorance and greed of mankind.
You nailed it. Now I’m never claiming to know it all, but it really does seem that ‘it’s not a journalist’s job to investigate whether what a person says is true (any more)’.
I did not at all appreciate the tone of the article that continues to villainize coyotes for naturally expanding their range, due to their adaptability, either.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/01/14/cat-against-three-coyotes-pkg-vpx.kcal
This is what happens to a good many of those “lost pet ” ads, but with different ending…….
Thanks for posting this Jeff E.
Perhaps it will be a “light bulb” moment for those folks out there that think Fido or Kitty can just hang around outside, after dark, with no worries?
Obvious Max was defending HIS territory…….
god for Max he did not turn his back. would have been all over…..
It also highlights that there are way more animals running around than is readily apparent, in the daytime……
The other side of this story is how many birds Max has pointlessly killed in his career as an outside cat. The best part of this story is how Max is now an indoor cat. One more reason to keep pets inside.
🙂 They don’t look like vicious coyotes to me, more like scaredy-cats!
This is a male cat defending his turf, and I hate to say it, but it would be better if he were kept indoors? I also hope he isn’t impregnating any females out there.
Ending might have been different here if Max cat had to defend more than a 180 field of view. The wall of the house helped his defense big time. Only way these 3 coyotes could get to him. One behind him and it would have been all over. Agree with Hiker it is best Max is indoors for lots of reasons.
We now have a fast growing population of urban coyotes in the Seattle metro area, especially on the north end. Outdoor cats going missing all the time. Bunnies (which people have turned loose) in abundance, and even the occasional rodent size dog on leash or even being let out in its yard for a few minutes to take care of business are eaten with some frequency. Add to that the Norwegian brown rats from the early shipping days, feeding on untended backyard gardens in the moderate climate and the prey base is substantial. Learned all this on the Nextdoor app which neighborhoods can access (while San Francisco based capitalist data miners learn more about you).
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate JEFFE’s posting this and the other article about the upcoming invasion of coyotes. 🙂
But I find it absolutely unconscionable that people defend their so-called ‘right’ to keep pets outdoors and unneutered, despite all of the dangers to their pets, billions of birds lost and threatened due to the cumulative effect of human activities, and threats to wildlife! That is, if they are even aware of this. The woman in the video and even CNN doesn’t seem to be. Education doesn’t seem to be working.
Can they live with the potential extinction of wildlife, and do they care or are they even aware of it?
I know that similar articles have been posted here about the plight of birds in modern times, but here’s a comprehensive one:
https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back
Claims are just becoming more and more bizarre.
Are wolves partly to blame for the dairy crisis? No. Tiffany misses the mark.
Says federal regulation of the wolf population has led to attacks on livestock, driving down production, leading to dairy farms going out of business
https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2020/jan/15/tom-tiffany/are-wolves-partly-blame-dairy-crisis-no-tiffany-mi/
“What’s more, the number of wolves in the state started to skyrocket in the early 2000s. During that time, milk production grew steadily and continues to grow — which itself is a factor in lower prices.”
https://www.starherald.com/video/news/alaska-national-park-shares-video-of-fat-bear-parade/video_5221e005-d563-56f1-8768-895eb91cdef5.html
Getting ready for that long sleep. Sweet dreams!
https://www.outdoorhub.com/news/2020/01/07/wolf-pack-surrounds-visitors-driving-yellowstone-national-park/
Wow, amazing! 🙂
Another “sportsman”.
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/newsminer.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/b9/db961c56-36a3-11ea-83af-07d4050a4842/5e1d75138cb8b.pdf.pdf
I don’t count trappers as sportsmen, but I appreciate denouncing people who do nine things wrong at the same time. Thanks.
Twenty Five Moose snared (illegally?) and only charged with misdemeaners???????????????????
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/01/16/surveillance-footage-5-lions-ots-vpx.hln
Believe It or Not – it has made Newsweek. I hope the media is not unwitting:
https://www.newsweek.com/pack-wolves-colorado-70-years-park-officials-1481332
I was dismayed to read this misleading headline, because there is not one shred of proof in the actual article. Irresponsible journalism. 🙁
People have good reason to be skeptical about any supposed sightings – we know that Gov. Hickenlooper and the CP&W both opposed reintroduction of gray and Mexican gray wolves:
https://www.denverpost.com/2016/01/13/colorado-turns-cold-shoulder-to-endangered-wolves/
Ranchers and hunters have pursued a vendetta against wolves for centuries, and we know of the notorious hunters who can’t tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote, whether by intention or not. The article only says ‘wild canid’.
So now the people have spoken. A healthy environment with its full complement of wildlife should be at least as important and legalizing recreational marijuana, don’t you agree?
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/01/16/the-authoritarian-dreamscape-of-the-new-wild-west/
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/18/797000272/elk-raise-tensions-between-tribes-and-farmers-in-washingtons-skagit-valley
2nd Montana Moose tests positive for CWD.
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/second-moose-tests-positive-for-chronic-wasting-disease?fbclid=IwAR1JAhNboIV6Nz6DFZa0JR9sLWARfGuKw6EIQ7nTEwCsGLq-VAPmbk193fk
Sigh. Just what these poor animals (do not) need right now. 🙁
Washington State: range-riders not range-riding?
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/in-wolves-versus-cattle-clash-in-northeast-washington-theft-allegations-leveled-against-range-riders/
This is something I have always wondered about, whether all of the range riders are reliable. 🙁
How sad that the wolves were killed BEFORE checking the rider’s cell phone records!
Seems to me that would have been the first option.
But then – kill first – verify later?
Maggie, guessing you are just now playing catch up on some really, really old news?
Heard, through the grapevine, a few years ago that the hired “range rider” on allotments over in the Big Hole area (Jackson, Mt) didn’t think his presence did an ounce of good but he had no problem collecting a paycheck
(Steve P, if you’re checking in? Maybe some insight? I believe it was your baby?)
Course this range rider was also a trapper by trade…….so follow the money?
Given the richness of public lands that surround me, you’d think predators would have a chance or at least half a chance of existing but there’s a vein of ranches, who’s ancestors go back decades (early 1900’s) just in my area and they take full advantage of Wildlife Services (trappers & aerial gunners, etc.) when they feel the least bit threatened by nature’s predators like coyotes, wolves, lions, bears, etc.
And even prey animals like elk, deer, antelope, are “managed” so ranchers don’t have to worry about wildlife messing with their “end product” which they take little responsibility for when they dump them on public lands for months at a time.
Get my drift? And sorry for rambling on here. Been at Ground Zero for close to 30 years.
I’d suggest anyone who’s interested in what’s left of wilderness areas Google Western Watersheds Project, Great Old Broads, etc. for more info about how to make a difference.
Just watched again the final video in the Planet Earth series (that was taped years ago) and thought I’d look up Mr. Eliash, who spoke back then, on tape, as a champion of the Amazon rain forest because of his purchase of land there, in order to preserve it.
Sadly, greed does have a way of “trumping” good intentions
https://www.forest-monitor.com/en/johan-eliasch-fined-for-illegal-amazon-logging/
A truck commercial that will be aired in the upcoming Super Bowl…
Oops! Aired at the 2013 Super Bowl.
https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/viewer-video-bighorn-rams-battle-on-idaho-highway/277-59b7e599-d1a7-462b-804f-d2636a8fddc5
“Shortly, after bashing heads, one of the rams turns toward the vehicle and gives a look of disgust at the people watching, then returns to the fight.”
🙂 Awesome. Something I’ve always wanted to see in the wild too.
I’ll take the one in the 49,s jersey
A nice essay:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/us-travel/tears-for-the-magnificent-and-shrinking-everglades-a-river-of-grass/ar-BBZmpbY?li=BBnbcA0
My apologies, for tossing politics into The Wildlife News blog but those here and those lurking, really do need to pay attention, research and realize this rhetoric, will get much worse in the coming months.
“The Green New Deal, he warned, “would destroy our wonderful cows”. In a bizarre riff, he added: “They want to kill our cows. That means you’re next.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/30/trump-rally-iowa-impeachment-trial
Oh yeah, The Orange Man is pulling out all the stops, pandering to his frightened yet emboldened base, but hey, lets not forget…. so did Hitler.
Got to look around and find out what checks out or doesn’t in this current, turbulent, political atmosphere, griping our country right now, that no doubt will go down as history in the making 🙂
https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trumps-ex-wife-once-said-he-kept-a-book-of-hitlers-speeches-by-his-bed-2015-8
The parallels are subtle yet frequent enough, where Godwin’s Law is rendered null.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/08/14/the-creator-of-godwins-law-explains-why-some-nazi-comparisons-dont-break-his-famous-internet-rule/
https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2020/01/31/colorado-gray-wolf-reintroduction-efforts-ballot-measure-vs-bill/4609399002/
^^The Denver Post has an article on this too, if anyone is interesting in reading it on their site. Does this mean that if the bill should pass, that the public vote would be usurped?
Anyway, I thought this other article was interesting, about the supposed sighting of wolves in Colorado. A nice welcome from Colorado’s governor, a refreshing change:
“This is very likely the first pack to call our state home since the 1930s. I am honored to welcome our canine friends back to Colorado after their long absence,” [Gov. Jared] Polis said in a statement Wednesday confirming the Colorado Parks and Wildlife discovery.”
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/01/22/colorado-wolves-return/
I’ve had some posting glitches lately.
FYI – Ida re: a nice “welcome” from Colorado’s current governor:
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/01/30/john-kiriakou-how-do-you-trust-a-politician/
Sorry to have not responded, was watching the Super Bowl last night.
Well, that’s just it – we don’t know. I’ve been told to ‘hold my nose and vote for the party’ for so long that it’s a wonder I haven’t passed out from lack of oxygen. Empty promises year after year, and sometimes no promise but hoping for the best, and then hopes dashed.
Here, I thought it was refreshing to have this kind of welcoming attitude instead of automatic hatred and fear stoking.
But I don’t know if Colorado really does have their first wolf pack since the 1930s. We’ll have to wait and see.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/mountain-lion-spots-colorado-wildlife-camera-spying-on-it/vi-BBZAjyA?ocid=spartanntp
Smart cat!
I saw this in my local Sunday paper too, and the tone of the story is great:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/now-seen-in-the-suburbs-the-elusive-bobcat/ar-BBZszTc
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/hunting-is-slowly-dying-off-and-that-has-created-a-crisis-for-the-nations-public-lands/2020/02/02/554f51ac-331b-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html?itid=hp_ed-picks_hunting-0203%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans
Werner on the West’s War on Predatoes.
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2020/02/02/maximilian-werner/comments/#twt-comments
I think that the bill referenced in the article has “wildlife” in the title just to make it sound like the care. They don’t. It is all about the livestock industry which does not care about ANY other life forms that would compete in any way with livestock.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/politics/mitt-romney-impeachment-vote-remarks/index.html
In contrast with his position on the above bill in Utah.
Or watch him speak those words here:
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/05/801695409/watch-live-trump-on-brink-of-acquittal-by-u-s-senate
Never been fond of Mitt but glad he voiced his opinion AND voted for impeachment instead of siding with a bunch of GOP lapdogs……..
https://abc7news.com/5903686/
Who can post this first contest:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7965765/Video-shows-coyote-waiting-badger-use-culvert-pass-California-highway.html
Effects of Pedestrians through Mountain Bikers on Grizzlies.
https://00c1dbad-ea19-4c06-8a58-8651172b7a13.filesusr.com/ugd/779f47_b7fb52c319444fe6ae22b329bf395214.pdf
Very good paper, Immer!
From page 36 (re mountain biker-grizzly encounters):
++These risk-related figures are far in excess of the averages I present in Sections 3 and 4 of this report.
The percent of encounters that elicited some kind of aggressive response from involved bears is an
astounding 14-times greater for mountain bikers compared to for pedestrians. Even if, compared to
pedestrians, a greater number of “encounters” went undetected by mountain bikers, this alone would
not account for the magnitude of this disparity. Moreover, the obvious heightened reactivity of bears to
mountain bikers is not surprising given that average encounter distances were closer for bikers
compared to the average 70-90 m involving pedestrians.
These results are not unexpected. As Herrero & Herrero (2000) noted nearly 20 years ago, mountain
biking is a perfect recipe for hazardous close encounters with grizzly bears given that bikers are often
traveling silently at comparatively high speeds (11-30 km per hour; Schmor 1999), which increases the
odds of rapid closure prior to detection along with amplified reactivity among even highly tolerant
bears. This same point has subsequently been made in several assessments of hazards posed by
mountain biking in grizzly bear habitat (Honeyman 2007, Quinn & Chernoff 2010, MacHutchon 2014). ++
These videos of the coyote and badger so are amazing. I love that the coyote seems to be waiting for the badger to catch up, and his little trot away. There’s so much we don’t know about the world of wildlife. 🙂
I have no faith in this FONSI determination and suspect there will be many issues when they drill & mine
https://billingsgazette.com/lifestyles/recreation/forest-service-authorizes-drilling-in-beartooth-mountains/article_14237863-fb72-5442-a394-2e9159070a65.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1
Doug Smith reflection on Yellowstone Wolves and Elk.
https://trib.com/outdoors/yellowstone-biologist-reflections-on-wolves-and-elk/article_4dc09ff7-cea9-56b4-a6af-ef9dac3f1674.html?fbclid=IwAR0X7CsXoAlmS5TNDE8jACUzGvDWXAPlz4QTH6dznA8kvSWkwnTgNuVXRcU
First Ever Footage of Wolves Eating Wild Blueberries in Northern Minnesota.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-QzCFs6-SY&feature=youtu.be
Certainly not outlandish to observe as fox and coyote scat is distinctively purple during blueberry season, and my two biggest berry picking competitors are my two shepherds.
Thanks so much! What a treat. Was that a Hermit Thrush I heard in the background?
Yes, isn’t that something! Thanks for posting.
DNA Confirms 4 Wolves Living in NW Colorado.
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/02/13/colorado-wolves-dna-tests/
“The fish was once a “near-threatened” species but has since been designated as “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. That’s partially because there is little data on the population, according to the Birch Aquarium”
Little data…..let those words sink in.
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/14/806030113/rare-weedy-seadragons-hatch-at-california-aquarium
Aren’t they beautiful!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/bald-eagles-across-the-united-states-are-dying-from-lead-poisoning/ar-BB1042TC?ocid=spartandhp
GET THE LEAD OUT!
A song about wolves from a Norwegian group. Haunting and beautiful.
It is. All of their music that I have heard is wonderful; the are very talented. Did you know that they do the music for the television show Vikings? I like Helvegen too.
Yes, to all of the above. They are touring soon…
When I listen to them I feel a deep connection to the past and nature.
Yes, a lot of people agree! 🙂
Hiker, don’t forget the part about the for profit, multi-media urbanite musical artists, using a trained captive wolf in a controlled recording studio(note the wrinkled tarp backdrop), to give you your deep connection experience. The wolf, well it’s just mostly looking at the trainer on the opposite side of the stage with the yummy meaty treats, and trots over on command. Yes it is theatre. And, I too liked the music. Just sayin’.
Me, well, I also like Jimmy Buffett, with a few fake palm trees on the stage, Caribbean steel drums, and recognize the honest art form just for what it is. 😉
Aw man, what a bummer. Is that a real wolf? I doubt it. Obviously it’s all staged, it’s a music video. Do you really think I have no discernment? And I think there’s nothing wrong with artists making money. Especially when it’s so beautiful.
I just found out that the wolf used in this video is a rescue named Tihu who lives in Finland.
http://www.wardruna.com/news/
“The Atlantic Coast pipeline begins in West Virginia and is planned to cross some of the most mountainous scenery in Central Virginia before completing its 600-mile path in North Carolina.”
Isn’t this awful, I’m so tired of all the destruction:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/us-supreme-court-to-decide-winner-in-case-of-gas-pipeline-vs-appalachian-trail/2020/02/23/d3ead098-5334-11ea-929a-64efa7482a77_story.html
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-world/national/article240579051.html
This is worse than terrible! I wonder what other causes (besides warming climate) there are for it, is their range to restricted more in modern times so that they can’t escape them?
https://abcnews.go.com/
🙂
Interesting wolf pack dynamics in Voyageurs National Park, just in my backyard.
https://www.earthlymission.com/gps-tracking-shows-how-much-wolf-packs-avoid-each-others-range/
Sad thing is when the IWC published wolf telemetry data, classrooms could download data and maintain a running record on maps with different colored vis a vis. Unfortunately, the wolf hunting and trapping seasons a few years back put an end to that
I remember that, about the misuse of the telemetry data; it was naïve in retrospect, and I hope it doesn’t ever happen again. 🙁
Washington State now wants to collar more or all wolves, so I hope no one who shouldn’t can get ahold of the data.
Not sure if this has been posted already – wolves gathering around a small band of buffalo at Old Faithful on 1/25/20, Yellowstone Park. Grainy and shot from the live streaming webcam there but it does start to get interesting about 10 minutes in. Almost as many wolves as buffalo until the wolves finally lose interest…
OMG – who’d have thunk it. Bernie wins Colorado:
https://apnews.com/f6bf1bcaecd37f26fe30593a89a78d1c
GO BERNIE!!!!
🙂 He’s winning the West – Utah, Nevada, California, Colorado. I was mistaken, he won Colorado last time too.
Speaking of Colorado re: some of their politicians?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/redback-spider-beats-australian-snake-catcher-to-the-punch/vi-BB10GTPP?ocid=spartanntp
At the least, not a “sportsman”.
At the most, an individual(s) who should not have a gun.
https://www.kbzk.com/news/local-news/trumpeter-swans-shot-in-gallatin-county
Here we go again.
http://www.startribune.com/anderson-minnesota-s-path-isn-t-so-clear-when-wolves-are-delisted/568529752/
“We also know that regulated hunting and trapping seasons can be held on wolves in Minnesota — just as they are on ducks, pheasants and deer — without adversely affecting their long-term population.”
Hmm… We could also hunt white men without adversely affecting their long-term population. Can does not imply should.
Well regulated? As compared to deer? Easy to differentiate between bucks and does, not so with m/f wolves. Perhaps in regard to mere numbers, but the again, the wolf population with their intra pack strife has a tendency to self regulate, deer don’t.
Also, there exists enough data on rise and fall of deer population due to winter severity, that could be applied to surgical hunting of wolves. Yet again, the major problem with wolves in MN stretches on a northwest diagonal, the forest/prairie interphase. Shooting/trapping wolves in NE MN does nothing to “help” these farmers or ranchers.
Hmmm…. I thought the courts said otherwise? I seem to recall they had to comply with a directive of the court or something? I thought it had all been decided.
This agency is notorious for ignoring court orders (see grizzly bear delisting and hunting).
Ah, yes….
https://www.mlive.com/news/2017/08/wolves_dc_circuit_appeals_deci.html
“In their opinion, appellate judges wrote the FWS “wholly failed” to address how delisting Great Lakes gray wolves would affect the rest of the population, “misapplied” the agency’s own internal standards and “turned its back on the implications of historical range loss.”
“Those are major shortcomings that go to the heart of the service’s delisting decision,” wrote Judge Patricia Millett, who authored the decision alongside judges Thomas Griffith and Cornelia Pillard.”
So I don’t know what they’ve got up their sleeves this time.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/webcam-captures-wolf-pack-circling-bison-at-yellowstone/vi-BB10UFm2?ocid=spartanntp
Jeff E did you see my link/video a few posts above in the comment section? Wolves at Old Faithful in Jan testing the local bison. Same pack? The snow covered landscape is obviously different from the video you posted.
Nancy
Yes I looked at your clip too.
Don’t know if that is the same pack or group of bison, it does appear that the wolves are not very serious and the bison aren’t especially worried.
^^That’s what I was going to say. I didn’t think anybody looked to worried – the wolves seemed sort of playing (maybe they are young?)
The bison seemed more concerned with head-butting one of the other bison, and did a few charges toward the wolves. But everything looked the way it should be. 🙂
Probably the bison know who their real enemy is. 🙁
^^playing or maybe just already well fed? 🙂 The bison charged, but it didn’t seem like a full-out charge.
I think it was the same pack but the herd of buffalo looks “reduced” in you video taken in March re: the video I posted, taken in Jan.
And here’s another video of wolves on a kill (in the same area) taken in Feb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMVfvnYB-vY
I seem to recall that only one pack in the park (a couple of decades ago) hunted buffalo. Appears that has changed, depending on pack size:
https://www.yellowstonepark.com/news/wolves-hunt
Interesting video here by Old Faithful also in Feb. (About 13 minutes in)
By far the most vulnerable “animal” in the park and this pack of wolves barely acknowledges them as they go about their daily routine.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=wolfe+pack+and+bison+in+yellowstone&&view=detail&mid=AFC1EB69CBFE9FB8B1C9AFC1EB69CBFE9FB8B1C9&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dwolfe%2Bpack%2Band%2Bbison%2Bin%2Byellowstone%26qpvt%3Dwolfe%2Bpack%2Band%2Bbison%2Bin%2Byellowstone%26FORM%3DVQFRML
a much longer clip
Nancy,
I would say that that particular bison group is essentially that packs(I counted 18) pantry.
I totally agree! And I bet the rmployees and the guests at the lodge were spellbound being able to watch this pack up close, especially when a few of them decided to check out the grounds.
Yes. What a sight! 🙂
Watching them all, sort of at ease, yawning lounging around almost.
I can picture watching them all from a bench at Old Faithful? Thanks everyone for providing the videos!
https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/03/10/wildlife-pays-the-price-for-subsidized-livestock-grazing-on-public-lands/
A short, to the point, article.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/this-is-a-dark-day-a-pair-of-rare-white-giraffes-are-dead-in-kenya-likely-killed-by-poachers/ar-BB110HLw?ocid=spartanntp
bastards
Short form version, Minnesota Moose in NE portion of state relatively stable for ninth consecutive year.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/news/2020/03/09/aerial-survey-shows-moose-population-stable
https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/idaho-court-restricts-wolf-killing-bans-use-of-m-/article_a7549b44-b2aa-55f1-b9cd-4c66760ba91b.html
🙂 Good news!
And thank you to all of the groups involved and their attorneys. 🙂
The Insanity Continues
https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/groups-ask-why-strychnine-banned-against-gophers-but-not-for-killing-wolves-1.24096034
“I want people to question whether they are willing to sterilize the landscape and kill everything that is not a caribou and call that conservation.”
Immer, there’s something about wolves, isn’t there? Either it brings out the worst in people or the best. Where’s the middle ground where we can agree that wolves are important and maybe, like other wildlife species, they sometimes need to be managed? The problem I have is that I no longer trust anyone to manage anything when it comes to our public lands.
Hiker,
Killing wolves to save woodland caribou is comparable to putting a small bandaid on an arterial wound. It won’t fix the problem.
The habitat must be restored to the point it becomes old growth, non-productive forest. Not suitable for deer or moose, and not favorable for the extractive industries.
It’s more than obvious, that with the small number of caribou in some of these populations that wolf numbers are being sustained by something other than caribou.
To save caribou, wolf reduction may well need be done. However, if habitat is not restored; if moose, deer or whatever else is sustaining are not reduced or eliminated; if snowmobiles are allowed into areas of habitat restoration and caribou recolonization; it becomes a fools errand and is simply killing wolves to kill wolves, a short term fix that does nothing for caribou in the long run.
+1
But let me clarify +1 except no more wolf culling, and especially not with strychnine, one of the most inhumane methods, and another holdover from the ‘old days’ mindset. 🙁
At least for me, the reason why they seem to bring out such a visceral reaction, more so than for other wildlife, is how they have been treated in the past – totally irrationally wiped out, or nearly so. Tortured. People are not the rational creatures they believe themselves to be.
It puzzles me that news articles do not consider the past, and attribute the reaction by wildlife protectionists as ’emotional’. Just read it and weep, what happened in the past.
I don’t see much change in the mindset, really. I cannot stand to see it happen again. The current wolf recovery map is pitiful; not much better than it had been in the 1930s or ’40s.
The same for the bison. I truly hope they are not getting to comfortable around people in Yellowstone, because it will not end well for them, and hasn’t.
Cannot and will not stand for it happening again.
“There have been reports the Trump administration may be willing to help the oil industry in other ways. For example, the White House could reduce federal royalties for oil pumped on government land or offshore. The administration could also offer low-interest government-backed loans”
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/14/815039722/trump-steps-in-to-help-oil-industry-facing-its-own-coronavirus-crisis
What a shameless piece of crap this man is!!!!
When is it ok to use poison?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/poison-laden-drones-to-patrol-new-zealand-wilderness-on-the-hunt-for-invasive-pests/ar-BB11aoca?li=BBnbcA1
Possible Poisoning Campaign in Wisconsin Targeting Wolves
https://wolfpatrol.org/
^^Has Toby Bridges moved to Wisconsin?
But this is why a delisting and recovery of wolf populations should never be taken seriously while this type of thing continues in the states that are lucky enough to have wolves.
I don’t know why the state of Wisconsin allows hound hunting in direct conflict with wolves, so the state must not intend to protect wolves, especially if they should become delisted! It’s at the expense of the state’s taxpayers too.
I hope these photographs and the information is presented to a judge should any effort for delisting ever seriously come up for the Great Lakes.
Did you see the poor rabbits from the rabbit derby too? Disgusting.
A very powerful and eloquent farewell that reminded me of feelings when I moved away.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/3/12/1925447/-Farewell-My-Idaho-Home
Control Actions “Remove” 17 Wolves From Lolo Zone.
https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/control-actions-february-removed-17-wolves-lolo-elk-zone
Sadly, that’s what’s to be expected when wolves are delisted. Or should have been expected. They’ve been doing this for years now in the Lolo Zone, and it doesn’t appear that the public is informed until after the fact.
I guess they don’t need Wildlife Services to add to the pile anymore. If the states want to ‘manage’ wolves and wildlife on their own, it should strictly be on their own.
“Per the settlement’s agreement, the limitations on wolf killing will last until Wildlife Services completes a new Environmental Impact Statement, a process that could take years.”
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/mar/13/in-idaho-lawsuit-limits-where-and-how-federal-agen/
At least this is good news. Thanks again to all those involved in controlling this rogue outfit. Apologies if this has already been posted.
Some good Lobo news regarding population numbers here in the SW. A pretty informative article overall.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/03/18/us/ap-us-endangered-wolves.html
Additional Lobo news regarding population increase, genetic fitness, human caused mortality…..
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2020/03/19/mexican-gray-wolf-numbers-rise-24-percent-annual-survey/2864675001/
^^It’s difficult to be cheered by this news, because people still have an iron grip on wolves, bison and many other animals.
I started following Ralph around 1997 or so and used him and his websites as the primary source of my wolf related news. I stopped a while ago because it seemed like all the wolf news was bad. Today I thought I’d come on the site and see what was going on and I see nothing has changed. I clicked on the wolf tab and all the news stories I saw were negative.
America is quite the depressing place.
Please don’t give up! 🙂
The media sells bad news. The good news is that there is wolf news at all! They exist where they didn’t for decades. Yes, the conflict continues, no don’t surrender.
SW wolves: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/endangered-gray-wolf-population-on-the-rise-in-southwest-us-2/
Mother Nature’s silver lining? After all a virus is a highly debated? living organism and maybe one of her ways of telling us that if the human species isn’t going to take her warnings of climate warming seriously (rising temps, melting ice caps, pollution) she’s tossing another, more dire warning out there?
https://www.france24.com/en/20200322-air-quality-is-improving-in-countries-coronavirus-quarantine-pollution-environment
https://buckrail.com/first-90-kangaroos-released-in-wyoming/
An oldie but goodie.
I expect this will generate some dialogue: https://wolfwatcher.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Treves_etal_2019_RCT-Removing-Predators.pdf
FYI – for everyone out there concerned or stressed out about this virus, from a doctor, on the front lines:
Can click on Watch on Vimeo if you want to view this video. Good, calm, simple advice.
More than 80 caribou illegally killed.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/more-than-80-caribou-illegally-killed-in-last-2-weeks-n-w-t-indigenous-leaders-say-1.5520878
Bundy’s back in the spotlight.
https://mountainjournal.org/ammon-bundy-claims-covid-19-guidelines-exploited-by-government-to-gain-power?fbclid=IwAR1q3yTHWS77XEevmEoY67tbeDqTKgkauRhupLKVFdSxJZQWRGR1OBaGzJM
Today’s NY Times reports on Ammon Bundy’s armed organizing against COVID-9 restrictions. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/coronavirus-idaho-bundy-patriot.html
A long interview but a lot here on Covid-19, Chronic Wasting Disease and Lyme’s disease. Worth the watch:
I’ll second this video. It’s a great interview, apolitical, and packed with information. He even gets into the moose demise of northern Minnesota, and the real cause.
Really nothing new about this study, and it’s difficult to argue with genetics, and comparatively speaking, I’ve observed fewer blacks than grays up here,
https://www.kbzk.com/a-closer-look-at-black-wolves-in-yellowstone-national-park
yet I do beg to differ a bit with it in a number of ways. If as per this article, black dogs accompanied those who moved into Alaska and the northwest 7,000 years ago, they came from Asia, yet there are no black wolves in Asia. Also, as one who has two black GS, even with winters deep snows, they are all but invisible in the woods, a distinct advantage.
More on Oregon’s wolves:
“The report also said the state’s estimated wolf count is 158, which is an increase from 137 this past year. The ODFW also reported 16 livestock depredations in 2019, which represented a 43% decrease from the previous year.”
https://www.nrtoday.com/news/odfw-indigo-one-of-eight-new-gray-wolf-packs-in-oregon/article_bf11b566-bc71-51cf-aa05-a3ae22a7e092.html
I thought Montana was under stay-at-home orders too? Sad, that a female grizzly had to be shot, and her three cubs sent to a zoo:
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-world/national/article241895856.html
Ida: The female grizzly protecting her cub did not “have” to be shot. Montana Fish-Wildlife-Park dept. CHOSE to shoot it in what appears to be a very expensive and unnecessary search and destroy mission.
Terrible. The human is careless, and can do whatever he or she wants regardless, because they have appointed themselves the ruling species, whether or not it is ethical or wrong, or even intelligent – and their liegemen at F & W cater to them.
More wolf culls.
https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=17858
“Construction of the pipeline, which will supply fracked gas from northeast B.C. for the LNG Canada project, will remove or disturb 2,750 hectares of habitat for the Hart Ranges herd, eliminating old-growth forest the government had set aside for the herd’s recovery and also cutting through two designated caribou migration corridors, according to project documents.”
“When new roads are built and older forests are cut down for the pipeline — which will result in the clear-cutting or disturbance of 613 hectares of old forests, according to project documents — the areas will flush with new growth the following spring.
“That’s the type of food that moose love,” Dawe pointed out. “So the theory is that moose come in and start eating all this nice new growth and they follow paths into caribou habitat … and then wolves follow them in.”
“For this caribou sub-population to now have Coastal GasLink coming through [with] more disturbance in the way of a pipeline, roads to facilitate that, [and] logging, it’s going to make that number even worse and it’s going to put them further on the brink of extinction.”
I wonder if the current state of affairs for the oil industry will delay it?
Sad ruling by the US SC that the EPA is the final arbiter regarding issues related to cleanup of a Superfund site in MT. There’s still serious arsenic contamination but the landowners are out of luck. Gorsuch has a very nice dissent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-montana-superfund-epa/2020/04/20/872f22e0-8309-11ea-ae26-989cfce1c7c7_story.html%3foutputType=amp
This case was a tough one, I think. Interesting!
JMO:
The EPA should be involved, to me, and the site cleaned up to the best of everyone’s ability, especially when it affects ground water or the term they use ‘navigable waters’? I hope that’s right! So it does/could have far-reaching affects more than only the property owner.
Unfortunately, especially under today’s regime, its influence is undercut (See Pebble Mine in Alaska).
But it is interesting in that many do not want or cannot see the value of government involvement, until it affects them directly.
^^The Clean Water Act, sorry.
I hadn’t realized that there were some very recent changes made:
https://www.epa.gov/nwpr/navigable-waters-protection-rule-step-two-revise
FYI – Its Earth Day, folks 🙂
https://www.cnet.com/news/earth-day-2020-we-desperately-need-hope-now-jane-goodall-says/
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/04/21/michael_moore_presents_planet_of_the_humans_documentary_we_are_losing_the_battle_to_stop_climate_change.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/BMWw2fMKVW/hong-kong-dolphins
More on the Canadian Wolf Cull to Save Caribou. Perhaps the most comprehensive article on this subject
https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=18337
“For Van Tighem, the winter cull is a symptom of an ecosystem out of balance, a natural world so disturbed by human activity that we are forced into playing an ecological version of whack a mole (or, in this case, shoot a wolf). All the while, we clear-cut the old-growth forests on which southern mountain caribou depend, seeding their habitat with oil and gas operations and splintering it with roads.”
“As forests are clear-cut and landscapes are disturbed by additional industrial development, a flush of new growth attracts moose and deer. Wolves soon follow the moose and deer into caribou habitat. Roads, seismic lines and other linear disturbances, akin to predator highways, make the pursuit all the easier.”
It’s really an[other] exercise in futility, isn’t it. 🙁 Simply to continue human activity, apparently sacrosanct.
It makes zero sense and logic, because as human population and needs for energy increase, more and more habitat will have to go, and the caribou will go, and then the wolves will continue to be blamed and killed.
Why it is just accepted without much protest is pathetic, to me. Running roughshod over First Nation rights in the process, as well.
Poisoning in northern Wisconsin.
https://journaltimes.com/news/state-and-regional/reward-offered-after-pets-wildlife-poisoned-in-wisconsin/article_71a42428-fa4e-51a2-9e24-aa406c20353b.html
Yet another worrisome, invasive species:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/with-a-sting-that-can-kill-murder-hornets-land-in-u-s
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/may/02/wolf-trapping-deemed-essential-business-in-washing/
Calling in the sheriff to help with trapping?
Grizzlies:
https://www.courthousenews.com/war-over-yellowstone-grizzly-bear-protections-waged-at-ninth-circuit/
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wyoming/articles/2020-05-06/wyoming-wildlife-officials-capture-kill-unruly-grizzly-bear
http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/there-is-no-time-for-spa-a-hungry-bear-chases-a-moose-out-of-the-ocean/
🙂 Not so different from us.
Here’s some more info about the ‘rancher assist program’ for collaring wolves in Washington:
“The Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association is willing to buy wolf collars for the sheriff’s office, the group’s president, Scott Nielsen, said. Cattlemen aren’t clamoring to get the collar data directly, but want the sheriff’s office to have it, he said.”
https://www.capitalpress.com/ag_sectors/livestock/wdfws-stance-moves-sheriff-to-consider-trapping-wolves/article_a40b75ae-78ef-11ea-92c5-affed987d62c.html
Sure. What could go wrong? ;(
Moose and Winter Ticks, are drones a solution?
https://thenarwhal.ca/ghost-moose-drone-search-for-a-winter-tick-cure/
I’ve always wondered why it can’t be done with the cumbersome collaring and population tracking that F&W departments do? Maybe it is? Dropping from the air might have some negative drawbacks and dosage questions, I wonder. But if F&W would get involved it might be a good thing.
The article says ‘people’s hearts go out to these poor animals’, but somewhere along the line there is a disconnect about habitat loss, development, oil drilling.
In a nutshell
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/underlying-conditions/610261/?fbclid=IwAR24P6NplReJTAoKwrtVkN9g7CQUBQTef5zk5qzPfBDN1F-mpZRe5Jqm9WE
Good piece Nancy! To help make a connection with Wild life, I’ve been discreetly informed the animal world is pulling for Covid-19.
🙂 🙂
“At the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Lukeville, crews have razed saguaros and unearthed wetlands at the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge.”
Good grief! The stuff of nightmares. Read it and weep:
https://kwng.q-mediadigital.com/partner-news/us-mexico-border-wall-fight-ensnares-public-arizona-land/
https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/this_just_in/grizzly-399-four-cubs-in-tow-spotted-at-pilgrim-creek/article_94797af5-1918-5dc1-a29a-021c03f050df.html
399 making news again!
🙂 Four cubs? My goodness. I hope she is being watched carefully so that someone doesn’t try to harm them.
As the animal world continues to root on Covid-19
https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/05/michigan-man-charged-with-125-wildlife-crimes-allegedly-killed-wolves-bald-eagles.html
Where do they find these monsters? How the minds of people like this work really escape me. At least he’s been stopped:
“Conservation officers collected evidence to support the charges and identified additional suspects who are expected to be charged soon, according to the DNR.
Chippewa County prosecutors are seeking $30,000 in restitution to the state for the illegally taken animals. Duncan’s cash bond is set at $500.”
Maybe that expensive pickup truck he likely owns can be seized. 🙂
So glad I’m not a ranger there right now!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/woman-knocked-to-the-ground-and-injured-by-bison-at-yellowstone-two-days-after-national-parks-reopening/ar-BB14oqCb?ocid=spartandhp
🙂 I know, the ranger might get tossed into a lake! It’s a tough crowd out there these days:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-park-ranger-pushed-water-after-reminding-crowd-about-social-n1198491
This woman evidently wasn’t practicing social distancing enough for the bison! But it is pretty tiresome to read about this all the time. What’s to investigate, I wonder?
3:52 in. Yes….. isn’t it bizarre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kZN3wX41zc
And another interview with that “pioneer” in the world of our closest relatives
That was great!!!!!
https://www.kbzk.com/news/local-news/grizzly-bear-attacks-man-mountain-biking-in-big-sky
Mountain biking and large predators don’t mix well.
Again?
Well at least ‘at this point’ the article says, there is no indication that the bear is going to be ‘euthanized’ (due to eminent domain of the mountain bikers?). I suppose they reserve the right to do so at a later date? ;(
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/05/26/bear-follows-boy-italy-orig-vstop-bdk.cnn/video/playlists/atv-trending-videos/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trio-of-montana-orphaned-grizzly-cubs-heading-to-arizona-zoo/ar-BB14G11i?ocid=hplocalnews
For those who don’t know, this facility at Williams, AZ. is at around 7,000 ft. elevation, so it’s not as baking hot as most of the state.
https://www.grizzlytimes.org/single-post/2020/05/20/%E2%80%9CWhat-Are-We-Fighting-About%E2%80%9D-9th-Circuit-Hears-Yellowstone-Grizzly-Bear-Delisting-Case
An excellent read, saw it at Exposing The Big Game.
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/28/863055318/trump-environmental-rollbacks-roll-on-despite-pandemic-opponents-cry-foul
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-faces-backlash-over-rollback-of-obama-era-alaska-hunting-regulations/ar-BB14Jdea?ocid=spartandhp
Alaska is a Savage place.
Frightful. I hope I never again have to view a video or read about people like that father and son killing bears in their dens in Alaska. *shudder* One of the worst things I have ever seen.
Some good news!:
https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2018/grizzlies-saved-court-stops-trophy-hunt-of-yellowstone-s-iconic-bears?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR3Wto5CN76Bs_bH7LY91EibSOeUZSv76hGYVH7AuJJC-0kAlODfZzp79Sk
May 29 – No time for bear spray in the holster against the Fastest grizzly in the West, it would appear.
https://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoors/hiking/article243179056.html
We will be seeing more of this sort of thing as the population increases and human interactions become more frequent.
That was a buddy of mine! Haven’t had a chance to ask him about it, I’m glad he’s okay.
What is Killing America’s Fawns?
https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/whitetail-deer/what-is-killing-americas-fawns?utm_source=MeatEater%20Subscribers&fbclid=IwAR26M6uQNw1qfPxMiKjjQ9DD65q1aFvFqJ4kRZ1lVEUHGpJf3TSWtv12Ys0
YOWZA!
https://worldnewsdailyreport.com/kenya-chinese-tourist-arrested-with-300-zebra-penises-in-his-luggage/comment-page-1/#comments
Establish additional limits on dry ground sets using body-gripping traps. Idaho.
https://idfg.idaho.gov/about/rules/establish-additional-limits-dry-ground-sets-using-body-gripping-traps
And yet another case of “sportsmen” not knowing WTF they were shooting at!
https://billingsgazette.com/outdoors/two-grizzly-bears-killed-by-black-bear-hunters-on-rocky-mountain-front/article_cba0369b-add2-59b7-9ec6-cb5b54b64eb0.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR3n93vKqhmO4Q8hWYFasPEQ1VR42tJIa4_GrdV3MeLuZMDLZQfjldnWXzA
Gee, they’ll never get grizzly hunting returned to them at this rate. It might even be a deliberate retaliation and not just ignorance:
“FWP cautioned that grizzly bears have expanded their range in recent years and that it is the responsibility of black bear hunters to correctly identify the species. Black bear hunters must pass a bear identification test in order to hunt bears in Montana.”
They can always make more ‘paper bears’.
Yet another unintended grizzly enounter goes badly – this time for a MT mountain biker. One more data point, mountain biking and bears, cougar or maybe even wolves is a bad thing.
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/05/29/man-mauled-grizzly-bear-montana-critical-stable-condition/5283916002/
“ “Very commonly grizzly bears act defensively in surprise close encounters with humans,” Jacobsen said. “It appears that’s what happened in this case.”
Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association board member Melissa Cronin said it is important to be aware of bears when on trails. Jacobsen recommended trail users to carry bear spray, noise makers or travel in groups.”
By the very nature of mountain biking, you get there faster, then you’re just a human.
Immer: +1
Four more Montana grizzlies interacting with humans. One ending not so good for the bear. Somebody on the Blackfoot Reservation wanted it dead. In the other, elsewhere, mama and cubs are relocated for their own good, before bad things happen.
http://www.cutbankpioneerpress.com/shelby_promoter/news/article_305b80ae-aa90-11ea-b9ef-cb52a3c42cc2.html
What a lame excuse:
“Farmers have been working endlessly ‘getting crops going to feed the world’ and thus cleaning up spills can’t always happen quickly”
What a crock of s**t. Might of played well a few decades ago but farmers and ranchers who continue to chose to be in this line of work or business, for profit, forget it comes with responsibilities INCLUDING being good stewards of the land which includes cleaning up their messes when it attracts wildlife of any size, whether it be dead livestock left laying around or spilled grain.
I agree Nancy, but the almighty dollar rules their hearts. They sacrifice anything for profit. “Feed the world” has been their mantra for decades and the Land has been poisoned because of it.
The legacy of 399:
https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/opinion/guest_shot/grand-teton-s-grizzly-399-the-joys-and-perils-of-an-olympian-bear-mom/article_41d1e941-b2f4-5ebc-a0c4-80fa068bd0ae.html
Does no one remember that spraying for weeds just makes stronger weeds?
https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/the_hole_scroll/bridger-teton-national-forest-invasive-plant-plan-includes-aerial-treatment/article_4136cd60-eac0-57af-ab8a-6e532c2aff96.html
It’s not just Goshawks that would be impacted. I’ve seen Moose wintering in those forests, maybe a hundred yards from town. Snowking does NOT need to expand. This is OUR land!
https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/environmental/rare-goshawk-pair-nestles-in-where-snow-king-wants-to-expand/article_487d39c2-689c-53b3-a010-9752294a1575.html
It’s never enough, is it? That’s the sad thing. Continual expansion. Why is something like a zipline more important than the life of other inhabitants of the area?
You’re right Ida, a zip line is NEVER more important. The problem, as I see it, is that Snowking seeks to expand their operations into NF land. It’s not only habitat but has many trails for those who can slow down and enjoy the moment.
Great video of 399 and her cubs:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/photographer-captures-remarkable-pic-of-one-of-oldest-known-grizzly-bears/ar-BB15t2sB?ocid=spartandhp
This is wonderful!
It’s The Habitat Stupid
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cow-moose-hunt-bc-1.5605497?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
Reading through the comments, there exists a vacuum in regard to background knowledge and work that has been done since the early 2000’s. It’s got nothing to do with a liberal government in place. Heiko Wittmer Studies from that time period correctly identified, it’s the habitat stupid. Habitat degradation of old growth nonproductive forests bring in moose and deer, which bring in more wolves, and caribou become secondary prey.
The rapacious needs of humans supplants the desire to effectively conserve woodland caribou. The extractive industries will not back off, so it’s killing wolves, moose, and anything else that threatens the existence of caribou, without returning to saving the habitat, and thus the caribou.
Best plan would be remove the caribou to sanctuaries for breeding. If man ever gets his act together, and preserves/ restores large tracts of habitat, reintroduce caribou to those areas. Might mean 100’s of years, but this would be better than killing what has taken advantage of human folly.
MINNESOTANS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD WOLVES AND WOLF MANAGEMENT
https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/fish_wildlife/wildlife/wolves/attitude_report_final.pdf
Racist Conservationists?
https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/06/22/do-black-lives-matter-to-big-conservation-groups/
Sent this article to a friend, Hiker and his attitude was screw humans because our species has become so lax about destroying the planet around us, that trying to hang on to what species are left, is far more important.
I’d like to hold out that educating our species is the way to go but way too many humans can’t see beyond that Amazon package sitting on their doorstep these days 🙂 The idea of what it took to get there would be a reach….
I wonder if your friend would have that attitude if it was him or his kin being killed or displaced. It’s easy to say that when it’s the ‘other’, somewhere else. Most ‘natural areas’ had native populations before they were protected. Even remote areas, like the High Sierras, had natives use them. Obsidian shards are common near passes in Kings Canyon N.P. Natives traveled back and forth trading.
I think it’s too late to educate most of humanity. The best we can do is hang on to what little Wild is left so that when we drive ourselves to extinction there’s a chance something is left.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/plastic-in-plants-and-mercury-down-deep/
“I wonder if your friend would have that attitude if it was him or his kin being killed or displaced”
Knowing my friend (for the past 40 years) I’m sure he’d have the same attitude, Hiker.
And like me, he’s both frustrated and disgusted with the passes/excuses “our species” continue to get when it comes to respecting the other species we share this planet with and then turning blind ears when it comes to addressing their concerns.
How much carrying capacity, as in over population of our species, do you think our species should get Hiker before it dawns on us humans that there’s only so much room/land left on this planet that we humans haven’t already “treated” with an arsenal of chemicals and abused with our need to expand our “Kin”
Nancy, the carrying capacity was exceeded long ago. Some of us have realized the planet has limits. Most have not. Guess who keeps making more people.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/yellowstone-tourist-acting-recklessly-is-gored-by-bison/ar-BB167TAn?li=BBnbklE&ocid=ACERSIGDHP17
What can I say?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/encounter-with-mother-otter-at-california-national-park-sends-visitor-to-the-hospital/ar-BB16bfbJ?ocid=msedgdhp
Busy beavers
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200629202009.htm
But, is anybody listening?
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/06/888077232/u-n-predicts-rise-in-diseases-that-jump-from-animals-to-humans
I couldn’t spot it.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/can-you-spot-the-hiding-mountain-lion-ready-to-attack/ar-BB16rube?ocid=msedgdhp#image=2
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/court-upholds-protections-for-yellowstone-grizzly-bears/ar-BB16v8dv?ocid=msedgdhp
Some interesting condor stuff
https://apple.news/A70szkThnQKOpi_5anGMwog
Not exactly wildlife news but RIP Charlie D
🙂 Yes, I was sorry to hear about this. Some of the best fiddle and lyrics ever.
Fact:
The song uses a clever play on words to promote Southern rock music. The notion that “the South shall rise again” was a familiar sentiment and rallying cry for disaffected Southern whites after the American Civil War. The song co-opts that sentiment, but uses the statement to celebrate Southern rock acts contemporary to the song itself.
The “it” that the South is going to do again, it is implied, is that the South would produce further popular Southern rock bands.
Daniels in fact bristled at more nefarious interpretations of what the “it” was. When the Ku Klux Klan used the song as background music for radio commercials for a 1975 rally in Louisiana, Daniels told Billboard magazine, “I’m damn proud of the South, but I sure as hell am not proud of the Ku Klux Klan. … I wrote the song about the land I love and my brothers. It was not written to promote hate groups.”[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_South%27s_Gonna_Do_It
Just to clarify, I should have been clearer:
I was only referring to the fiddle and lyrics of the video you provided, the Devil Went Down To Georgia.
I am not familiar with every song Charlie Daniels has ever written, and not this second one.
Temporary good news in halting the bogus BLM program of cutting juniper and pine. Kinda hoping this goes before Judge Brian Morris. I’ve met him a couple times. Decent guy, very fair.
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/judge-recommends-halt-to-blm-project-in-elkhorns/article_809181b7-0b3d-5df1-aa9e-dd10506f3c16.html
Good news!
What a minefield!
The Main Street of Gardiner, Mt is on fire. The Blue Goose, The Two Bit Bar, the K Bar are burning plus a number of other businesses have lost. I had lots of fun in those establishment over the after visiting Yellowstone.
Sad news, Elk.
https://www.livingstonenterprise.com/content/fire-rages-gardiner
Once again, it’s the habitat, stupid.
https://www.raincoast.org/press/2020/no-evidence-that-predator-control-will-save-endangered-mountain-caribou-study-says/
A very good and balanced read of more grizzlies and the new paradigm for grizzly survival in a human occupied landscape. Similar (sad) stories will be told as population and range expand. It is inevitable. And, as usual, experts disagree on management and alternative futures.
https://montanafreepress.org/2020/07/15/recovered-to-death/
Agreed. I only wish we could move beyond the “…we expect populations will…” framing of the debate. Don’t get me wrong, this is a critical question, but it isn’t the only question driving management — nor should it be.
https://www.ktoo.org/2020/07/21/pebble-mine-will-clear-environmental-review-this-week-but-is-the-project-practicable/
https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/22/894188718/taking-down-its-own-monuments-sierra-club-assesses-the-racism-of-john-muir
https://www.google.com/amp/s/katu.com/amp/news/nation-world/anti-government-activist-bundy-arrested-idaho-statehouse
Another protest story
I love love love it
Bu day chained himself to a rolling chair
You can’t make this s up as they say
When will be be jailed for real
https://www.bing.com/search?q=washington+state+wolf+killing&cvid=915bca1cf9dd42478ba803b6dc64db35&FORM=ANSPA1&PC=HCTS
Sorry, wrong link:
https://billingsgazette.com/lifestyles/recreation/washington-to-kill-member-of-2nd-wolf-pack-for-attacking-cattle/article_3783bcbf-6d5b-5ba0-9287-6b2c26b20d8a.html
https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/07/23/washington-governor-urged-to-order-new-rules-to-reduce-wolf-killing-state-has-killed-31-endangered-wolves-since-2012/
“The state typically kills one or a few wolves in a problem pack, hoping that will stop the cattle depredations. If that doesn’t work, the entire pack can be eliminated.”
It’s the same thing every year, and now considered typical. Maybe the problem lies with inadequate range riders – it appears that having them is just pro forma, and isn’t taken seriously by either ranchers or Fish & Wildlife, just used to say ‘range riders haven’t worked’ and moving on to their preferred and time-dishonored method, so that they can eliminate the wolves.
I’d never dream of thinking that people would give up beef, but surely cutting back is possible? And voting with our pocketbooks?
The carnage in Wisconsin resumes.
https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/wolf/dogdeps.html
Wildlife report:
I was disappointed this year because I haven’t seen any Monarch butterflies. But lo and behold, I found one little egg yesterday and have a teeeny little Monarch caterpillar on the milkweed leaves. Yay! It’s my second year having them.
Lots of mop-headed Milkweed Tussock moth caterillars too.
Update: Can’t find my little hatchling – but on the plus side, I have seen one and possibly two adult Monarchs.
My yard doesn’t look very manicured, more cottage garden, I’ve got a field of Queen Anne’s lace too, and pollinators of all kinds everywhere. It has been a joy to become involved with this.
I prefer keeping the little guys out in nature rather than bringing them indoors to raise, because I have read of a study that show it may interfere with the butterflies’ ability to migrate.
I hope the little guy has just moved somewhere, but with the presence of adult butterflies I hope there are more eggs.
Leave it to Beaver
https://www.startribune.com/wolf-researchers-in-voyageurs-national-park-believe-unlikely-food-source-may-be-behind-moose-success/571988552/
🙂 Ha.
Beautiful photo of the comet NEOWISE too.
Wildlife report:
E.O. Wilson would be pleased. I recently saw an ant colony moving to a new nest apparently, carrying their cocoon eggs. Cute.
Seeing more Monarch hatchlings and caterpillars. My heart was in my mouth when just while our neighbor was spraying for mosquitoes, a Monarch butterfly was flying around in my yard!
Wildlife report:
I read with skepticism in a certain best-seller that had a character who collected bird feathers who finds a hummingbird gorget (throat) feather.
Well. I took in my feeder last night to clean and refill it, and a teeny-tiny little green feather was stuck to it. It looked like a hummingbird feather, but more of a body feather I thought. In the daylight, I could see that it was shining red. So who knows? 🙂
Still doing well with the Monarch caterpillars.
Ida, thanks for the ongoing updates on the Monarchs. I saw a hummingbird nest this summer, right next to the trail. We often saw a hummingbird in it. It was the tiniest nest I’ve ever seen!
🙂 I seem to have a few more Monarch caterpillars this year than last. Fingers crossed!
I’ve been feeding hummingbirds for at least 20 years, and I have never found a feather. I was very happily surprised. It is the tiniest feather I have ever seen, but just as complete. 🙂 I did see a small nest many years ago.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/canadas-last-fully-intact-arctic-ice-shelf-collapses-rcna71
https://sites.uci.edu/zlabe/arctic-temperatures/
On a lighter note:
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/07/31/frontier-milestone-jet-wolf-plane/
Pretty! 🙂
https://aeropx.com/collection/frontier-airlines-fleet
Had the pleasure of meeting Ferndale the Pygmy Owl, up close, another wildlife celebrity on the tail of a Frontier Airline plane (way down on the list) a few years ago. Talk about cute!! A tiny but mighty predator out here in the west.
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/new-frontier-airplane-tail-animal-has-montana-tie
Awwww….very sweet. 🙂
Canada tinkering around with and trying to weaken their Endangered Species Act too:
https://theconversation.com/the-erosion-of-ontarios-endangered-species-act-threatens-iconic-algonquin-wolf-142805
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bison-attacks-woman-taking-photos-herd-south-dakota-state-park-n1236730
How many more times?
https://nypost.com/2020/08/14/bald-eagle-attacks-government-drone-drops-it-162-feet-over-lake-michigan/
Ooops!
Just a little aside on a bright note, speaking of superstars, I always either forget or it’s cloudy or something, so I finally saw the Perseids this year.
I was completely amazed, just beautiful!
https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/08/20/battling-the-empire-of-gang-green-collaborators-timber-industry-and-trumps-forest-service-in-the-north-cascades/
OUR FOREST!
Twisp, WA will always be a rather infamous place, this side of the 19th century, to me:
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/apr/04/twips-man-pleads-guilty-wolf-killing-case/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wolverines-spotted-at-mount-rainier-national-park-for-the-first-time-in-over-100-years/ar-BB18cJ46
Just give nature a chance!
Isn’t that wonderful – wow!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/she-s-working-so-hard-momma-bear-carries-three-cubs-across-lake-on-her-back/vi-BB18h7UH?ocid=spartan-ntp-feeds
Cool….except why come right up on them and stress them out. Momma was obviously not impressed. (sigh)
🙂 Now there’s a devoted mom!
OR Rogue wolf pack in trouble near Fort Klamath in Southern OR. A dozen yearling calves killed by wolves since May. This area is about 20 miles south of Crater Lake and 50 miles NE of Medford. I don’t believe these cows are even near federal grazing allotments. I think they are are on private property.
And here is an important sentence from the article:
++During at least five of the kills, hazers had been active, driving around and staying overnight on the Wood River Valley pasture lands, trying to keep wolves away from cattle. But the human presence hasn’t deterred them.++
More data points that wolves (while smart and shy) can become habituated to people. Something early Western settlers learned about wolves. And, once again a reminder that the first provisional (emergency) government in OR Territory was formed around the need to control wolves feeding on livestock, and was the reason for the Champoeg meetings on French Prairie in the 1840’s.
https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/confirmed-fort-klamath-wolf-kills-reach-12/article_c9e525cf-f4cc-5750-8310-e91d50bdc85a.html
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/meet-california-s-new-normal-more-lightning-30-less-rain-in-wildfire-season-and-double-the-number-of-fire-risk-days/ar-BB18oIV4?ocid=msedgdhp
NE WA wolves grow in number and fail to geographically disperse, while depredating on livestock, results in a kill order from WDFW. Kill order mandated because non-lethal methods seem not to be as effective as advocates claim. Some livestock attacks on private property, not federal grazing lands occupied by cows, while non-lethal methods deployed.
https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/attacks-in-ne-washington-show-success-and-limits-of-states-wolf-management
My assessment: Non-lethal measures (especially husbandry) work best when in place before wolves start killing livestock. Once wolves learn livestock are food… well, the game has changed and deterrents are less likely to be effective.
That said, as the report emphasizes “…the vast majority of wolf packs are not involved in livestock attacks. This is good news and demonstrates that the problems are manageable. They do not require a wholesale revision of the state’s approach to wolf recovery.”
It’s also relevant that the pack in question overlaps the Canadian border, which means management on the Canadian side is relevant as well.
The glass is half-full, WM. 😉
Looks like WA Governor Inslee is now weighing in on wolf lethal control. WDFW Commission and staff not so keen on the Governor bending to pressure from wolf advocates, saying the wolf management program is broken. Folks on the Eastern side of the state where the wolves seem to be staying disagree. Lethal control is needed. We will see where this goes over the longer term. Staffer Danny Moretello basically says, “Wherever there are wolves there are going to be conflicts.”
Range riders over cows, IMHO will not be effective long term, as well as expensive for producers and/or taxpayers. The economics of wolf management never seem to get much attention.
https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/northwest/environmentalists-say-washingtons-wolf-program-is-broken/article_d69b5474-6114-5ab1-8375-03df02dc56f4.html
My prediction. More 3S wolves in Eastern WA, and once they hit the Yakama Indian Reservation and start working on tribal member cows, and one of the largest elk herds in the state, there will be even more – and those will be taken under Tribal wildlife management rules (or not).
Sometimes your the bug, and sometimes you’re the windshield.
https://theworldlink.com/news/local/elk-kills-hunter/article_c2880f40-eb56-11ea-9a95-efb715e2e33a.html#utm_source=theworldlink.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Felk-kills-hunter%2Farticle-c2880f40-eb56-11ea-9a95-efb715e2e33a.html%3Fmode%3Demail%26-dc%3D1598878812&utm_medium=auto%20alert%20email&utm_content=read%20more
And this one:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/man-dead-after-possible-bison-attack-in-antelope-island-utah/ar-BB18wD8f?ocid=msedgdhp
https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/09/01/wreckreation-public-lands-and-the-fecal-timebomb/#gsc.tab=0
“Ponder that a moment: there was such an excess of human feces that it presented a health hazard. So much for the lie that mass recreation on public lands – a lie disseminated as much by the National Park Service as by green groups and conservationists of all stripes – is a harmless activity.”
I read that today and thought of you. Human shit everywhere is definitely a problem.
The unmentionable stuff about wreckreation. Gross! It’s bad enough with trash and garbage.
You would think that people would have the common sense to respect the land enough to want to leave as little damage as possible and to take care of it? And to respect other visitors too.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-forest-service-s-rule-changes-undercut-its-once-proud-mission/ar-BB18EpvS?ocid=msedgdhp
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/search-for-a-bison-after-it-attacked-tourist-in-poland/ar-BB18MYrX?ocid=msedgdhp
Not just in Yellowstone!
Not very nice!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/cyclist-accused-of-assaulting-mooning-multiple-hikers-in-virginia-has-been-arrested/ar-BB18NoPC?ocid=msedgdhp
“Though conservation groups continue to point fingers at logging, mining and ranching, they’ve been slow to acknowledge impacts from outdoor recreation.”
https://www.hcn.org/articles/writers-on-the-range-opinion-the-wreckreation-in-our-wild-places
I wonder how Covid has affected things? Since Americans can’t go abroad they are impacting their backyards more and more. They also don’t seem to understand cumulative impacts. Trash and shit everywhere! Chris I think you are right, we need to limit access somehow. Would it be best to concentrate people and close large areas? Maybe more patrols. I hardly see any Feds when I hike, whether it’s NPS or FS. In the six years in my current location and hiking almost every day I’ve seen a handful of employees. There would be many more rescues if I wasn’t out there helping people stay on the trails!
A first step, we must redefine natural rights to include the rights of nature.
Further, we must view wilderness Areas as a legal means to create and maintain preserves for carbon sequestration and species survival, only one of many other urgent steps for ‘saving’ the planet.
Third, we need to reorganize all land management agencies bound by common principles based in science. This must include environmental legislation replacing most (like ESA) of today, a critical part of any Green New Deal.
Then, promulgate regional ecosystem based federal land planning that includes appropriate uses, carrying capacities and quotas.
Finally, nothing will change unless enviro.orgs break the bonds of their foundational benefactors- today largely involved with finance and recreation. Critical here is a reevaluation among ‘conservationists’ about recreation as a virtue and whether they should self identify as preservationists.
For what it’s worth.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/physical-deformities-linked-to-inbreeding-discovered-among-cougars-in-the-santa-monica-mountains/ar-BB18UBQn?ocid=msedgdhp
Bad news.
🙁 Very sad.
FYI – November 3rd is right around the corner. Time to get folks in your neighborhoods, who find this kind of government antics/ sh*t appalling, registered to vote……
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/12/912301325/longtime-climate-science-denier-hired-at-noaa
Great Migratory Bird Die-off in New Mexico
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2020/09/12/mass-deaths-migratory-birds-new-mexico-environment/5780282002/?fbclid=IwAR3wyZcICdz3S7yPo11brMu4FLOBWf3dYLX1OBePg3m7Dr2gvSSdycxA64c
Washington bans wildlife killing contests. One more tiny step in the correct direction.
https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/washington-bans-cruel-wildlife-killing-contests-2020-09-11/?fbclid=IwAR3SoxTVnjD1F90rb7oBFUdlk8ifOliG4x-xJMGWfZIdtF0UohvHTqd8DEg
Millions in CWD Funding Intended for States Is Going to Captive Deer Operators
https://www.trcp.org/2020/08/13/almost-one-third-cwd-funding-intended-states-going-captive-deer-operators/?emci=ab1a0423-66f4-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=b88fd5fb-78f4-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&ceid=1695985&fbclid=IwAR3oeSmUqBdnpWfg0GE97bZLs2r_TY4K3hTqYsjenkJ7pmfgzxxLVm_1mnU
Oh crap!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/birds-are-dropping-dead-and-experts-are-trying-to-figure-out-why/ar-BB194CRG?ocid=msedgdhp
I wonder if it’s because of the fires. 🙁
Sad, sad news:
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/100306972/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-champion-of-gender-equality-dies-at-87
And she wasn’t even cold before Moscow Mitch was dancing on her grave.
Despicable POS
When the pitchforks come out, he’ll be first in line for the guillotine.
I am heartbroken, I must say. :'(
Idaho’s Retribution Policy Against Wolves
https://www.mtexpress.com/news/state_regional/retribution-politics/article_d26211ca-f940-11ea-8357-47bdbcc0ba9d.html?fbclid=IwAR0_VCHHEaHokpuxx5TzshifQU59QZ3T8_1msqP1Kq7lesf60lHzWnwVNzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzo2Ie7B7CI
Nature is a cruel mistress
Wow! There’s some hyperphagia in action!
Epic video. Thanks for posting!
I know a grizzly’s gotta eat, but I can’t watch! 🙂
But that’s the wild and Nature.
Deer & squirrels will happily eat any baby birds they find in a nest
Ongoing!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/yellowstone-bear-ferociously-guards-kill-as-tourists-watch/ar-BB19lYz9?ocid=msedgdhp
Wildlife Report:
It’s been a banner year for hummingbirds it seems, at least for me, has anyone else noticed? I’m still seeing them showing up at feeders, never this far into September before. Needless to say, I’m thrilled.
I wonder if they are migrating stopovers? I’ve had feathers this year, and even to see them drinking water is amazing.
short article about wolf population trend in Washington state and why survey numbers will not be comparable to previous reports
https://medium.com/@wdfw/how-long-will-washingtons-wolf-population-continue-to-grow-1ae0a21df44d
Hi Mareks!
“This means wolf counts will look a little different moving forward,” said Maletzke, “and with the change in methods the number of successful breeding pairs and total wolf numbers may not be as directly comparable to previous years.”
I hope it isn’t slight of hand numbers, and that we can trust what they tell us. I’m always amazed at the ‘how can we kill them this year, let me count the ways’ mentality of Idaho and other Western states have to take unfair advantage of the delisting. Vile.
At least they does admit that due to the territorial nature of wolves and availability of food resources, they do limit their own population growth. I suppose that’s progress! 🙁
^^Ooops, ‘they’ = WDFW.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/mountain-lion-found-dead-apparently-struck-by-traffic-on-101-freeway-in-calabasas/ar-BB19oy1L?ocid=msedgdhp
Amazing they survive here at all.
http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/giant-sailing-ship-encounters-no-ice-as-it-attempts-the-northern-sea-route/
FYI – yeah.
One of the critics:
Please, please somebody step in and put a stop to this with the Tule elk! This was done before, denying them access to water where over 250 died, and these ranchers are not even supposed to be there because their lease ran out! It’s supposed to be public lands!:
https://abc7news.com/tule-elk-point-reyes-bay-area-wildfires-air-quality/6423115/
Those little ‘seeps’ (glorified mud puddles) don’t even look healthy to drink! Seriously, is that all that can be spared for the native wildlife?
Thank goodness some are taking it upon themselves to bring in supplemental water for the elk. The Park Service spokesperson says that it wants to wait until more elk die before they do it. 🙁
To me this is an alarm bell for what to expect with climate change. Nothing will be spared for any other creature.
More recent human-grizzly conflicts = more dead grizzlies. Two WY incidents last week.
https://www.powelltribune.com/stories/two-grizzly-conflicts-last-week-one-hunter-injured-both-bears-killed-during-encounters,27377
Voters decide not to water down wolf protection
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-wolf-hunting-law-vote-results/46050398?fbclid=IwAR0Gh3OvWuABIoAHou3tSmup0Kn7JbzNh5KN16NjqyWKf1OGssOUlgdLobY
There are currently about 80 wolves living in Switzerland, compared to a handful between 1995 and 2000 – and none in 1986, when the original law was drafted.
Wolves kill 300-500 sheep and goats per year, according to the KORA foundation, which monitors carnivores in Switzerland. In comparison, each year thousands of sheep die after falling down mountains or becoming ill.
Current Swiss law allows a wolf to be shot if it kills more than 25 livestock.
Forest area: 12 540 sq.km (30%)
Oh that’s good news! 🙂
is Trump being on a Covid-19 a hoax?
it would be so sad if he died from this awful virus because I had a lot of fun with that building-a-wall on Mexico’s territory stuff while at the same time moaning about the Chinese (who invented the whole WALL stuff)
Wildlife report:
Just an interesting little thing – the hummingbirds seem to have gone for the year, but I’ve been keeping out feeders just for any migrators passing through.
Instead, I have a bunch of honeybees now at the feeder – what gorgeous little creatures. I hope it helps them!
https://outsider.com/outdoors/viral/watch-mountain-lion-stalks-charges-runner-for-six-terrifying-minutes-cougar/
Oh my goodness, that poor guy. She sure kicked up some dust, didn’t she? Thank goodness they are solitary hunters. It looked like she was being territorial?
she has four cubs that he stumbled across as he was running.
I’m glad it turned out that no one was hurt, the guy or mother and cubs.
Michigan poacher who illegally killed 18 wolves plus bald eagle loses hunting license for life.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mlive.com/news/2020/10/michigan-poacher-who-killed-18-wolves-bald-eagles-loses-hunting-license-for-life.html%3foutputType=amp
Count every tick tick of that 90 days in jail!
Slap on the wrist! Prison time please.
How disgusting. Well, at least they finally caught up with him.
But it is outrageous behavior like this, completely over the top, that ought to be the best argument for continued protections for wolves. I guess he made it his personal mission to try and removes wolves from the landscape? I hope the states and Federal government won’t continue to turn a blind eye.
He isn’t the first to be nabbed for this kind of behavior. Here’s more detail:
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/07/03/several-linked-michigans-worst-suspected-wolf-poacher-face-charges/5373120002/
In case we needed a little mind cleansing from reading the poaching story, this is very cute:
https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/what-hoot-owl-rides-shotgun-helicopter-fighting-california-fires/TFWQRY2NHFGP7KQECZRKA7GDLQ/
Smart bird!
Amazing!
Troops set to work decontaminating ‘Siberian Chernobyl’ amid fears of ecological catastrophe
Radiation, chemical and biological forces tackle two million tonnes of toxic chemical waste with huge mercury stockpile and oil poisons.
https://siberiantimes.com/ecology/casestudy/news/specialist-troops-set-to-work-decontaminating-siberian-chernobyl-amid-fears-of-ecological-catastrophe/
Frightening!
Arch enemies:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/outdoors/yellowstone-tourists-react-as-wolves-gang-up-on-grizzly-bear/ar-BB1abo5m?ocid=msedgdhp
Breeding male from Cornucopia pack illegally shot and killed.
https://www.bakercityherald.com/news/local/wolf-shot-and-killed-in-eastern-baker-county-was-breeding-male-from-cornucopia-pack/article_b24db1d2-0efd-11eb-b343-734030199cea.html
I hope people will see just how hopeless is it to think that there can be any cooperation for wildlife protection with some. I believe they want to keep an adversarial relationship. I’ve even heard some say that it isn’t just wildlife protection, but an entire effort by the left to take away gun rights, etc.
Even legal wolf hunters do not think they have to spare collared wolves, even though requested to, or to respect the research being done, or of those who enjoy seeing them in the wild, whether visitors or local. It speaks volumes. These poor besieged animals will always need protection.
The good and legal hunters, the cooperative ranchers, cannot compensate for the damage that those who do not can do, just like the poaching incident in Michigan.
And here, how did they get a breeding male, was he wearing a collar? Upsetting pack dynamics, where only the lead male and female breed. It’s natural population control, without interference from people needed. They do not breed ‘like fruit flies’ as I read one poster say.
Inside a monarch swarm via hummingbird drone.
https://fstoppers.com/documentary/drone-disguised-hummingbird-captures-incredible-footage-monarch-butterfly-swarm-480714?fbclid=IwAR3oRbJgDen5CTnn4l98evg2FbqPSuCbnB87Qhxbet5OX_3DAcu2zZkjO60
Outstanding! I must have missed this one.
“Watching Captain America stare down Thanos and his whole army, in an IMAX cinema, on a huge screen, was the last time I reacted in such a way. This time, even without the huge screen, resolution, and quality, this video is simply incredible.”
The author may not realize just how astute his comparison is. 🙂
Some sobering thoughts before election day:
“This requires us to acknowledge that our systems of governance are incapable of being reformed. No one in power will save us. No one but us will stand up for the vulnerable, the demonized and the earth itself”
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/10/20/chris-hedges-the-politics-of-cultural-despair/
Chris Hedges is one of our most prescient writers
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Issac Asimov
Excellent piece.
Why we need MORE park rangers!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/reckless-yellowstone-tourists-cause-bison-stampede/ar-BB1afXgV?ocid=msedgdhp
What is it going to take I wonder to get people to stop doing these types of things? I wonder if they can be charged with anything.
This is really bad too, happened back in Sept:
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/09/yellowstone-motorcyclists-caught-on-video-disturbing-bison
It IS against the law!
https://www.eastidahonews.com/2020/10/yellowstone-wolf-pack-and-grizzly-bear-spar-in-rare-video-recorded-by-local-tour-guide/
all wolves have their tales up high
You know what it reminds me of? That basic herding instinct of dogs, moving the bear along. 🙂
They do seem to be rather buoyant and not overly threatening.
I’m glad to see this being researched and discussed. It also is a bit of a quandary. First, it’s true and it is something any of us with concerns about conservation need to, at a minimum, be aware of. Next, for those of us who are BIPOC, we also need to accept that this is how the America and Europe viewed us in that period. Yes, Pinchot and Muir were racist. Yes, they believed in and promoted eugenics. I’m not giving them an out but i accept it was common in that era. And they did do some good to conserve some of the wildlands, even with their vile belief in superiority and eugenics. I never have been able to idolize Gifford Pinchot or John Muir due to their belief in eugenics. Plus, had these highly educated men followed the indigenous people of the California in the way they managed forests with cultural fire, we would not have the mess we have today.
The belief in white superiority is something we can overcome. We have made enormous strives in the decades since the era of Muir and Pinchot. The bigger problem for conservation is market capitalism. Until we stop trying to justify making a dime off of every tree, fish or bird, not much will change, in my opinion.
What this op-ed failed to address is that there are also people excluded from conservation areas that are not BIPOC. This book addresses that how poor people were excluded from forests and other areas during the same time of Pinchot and Muir. “Crimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation.
Back to the op-ed. I think this is worth you taking the time to read.
https://therevelator.org/tear-down-the-walls-the-racist-roots-of-fortress-conservation/
class / race divide is normal in every affluent society (Japan, Germany, USA, England, Australia etc.), that is, it is institutionalized – real estate/housing ‘nuances’, education etc.
more relevant is a sense of beauty which trespasses race / class
so take, for example, a good citizen Todd Wilkinson who has written Ted Turner’s biography – good billionaire vs bad billionaire (Trump /R. Murdoch / Koch brothers etc.)
or Rockefellers who sponsored color photos in Mech / Boitani’s ed. Wolves
give me a break
there are ass-kissers of every race / class / religion / sexual orientation etc.
people have their blinders to get through their lifetimes … nothing special
take, for example, Genghis Khan – his environmental credentials are far superior of Ted Turner’s or FDR – but just mention his name or his totem animal – wolves – and people go ballistic in ALL affluent societies
just my 2 cents
Good to see you, Yvette!
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/us/half-male-half-female-songbird-scn-trnd/index.html
Tom Udall for Interior Secretary?:
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063713251
https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2020/10/29/trump-administration/
Joke. Have they met the criteria the court prescribed? I don’t think so. Back to court! They’ll try to fit in a hunting season in between the decision, but the courts are wise to that now too.
Reality Check:
This is what qualifies as proper management in states that have delisted wolves:
“A Wyoming management plan allows for the wolves to be shot on sight across most of the state. That action came after gray wolves made a remarkable comeback in Wyoming, and across the West. The Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced the predators into Yellowstone National Park in 1995. They soon spread across much of the Norther Rocky Mountains.”
They also torment and chase to run them and coyotes over with snowmobiles. I truly hope that this kind of ‘management’ (seriously?) won’t become the norm in the Great Lakes!
This is the criteria that has not been met, to my knowledge, unless something has changed?
“But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., said the service had not adequately considered a number of factors, including loss of the wolf’s historical range and how its de-listing would affect the predator’s recovery in other areas, such as New England, North Dakota and South Dakota.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/court-rules-gray-wolves-remain-endangered-western-great-lakes-n788651
They also torment and chase to run them and coyotes over with snowmobiles.
++++
like in Mongolia or Kazakhstan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk-RA7Oag7k
I have to add that I was very pleased to read Gov. Kate Brown’s comments about wolf delisting. Perfectly stated, and she has gotten it:
“Unlike salmonids and sage grouse, the principal reason for the decline of the wolf across the Western United States was deliberate extirpation,” she said. “We are not yet far enough from that cultural history to warrant confidence that wolf recovery is inevitable.”
https://www.capitalpress.com/state/oregon/oregon-governor-reverses-states-position-on-wolf-delisting/article_506e6418-780c-11e9-955d-4f9ed290206b.html
It’s very clear that with wolf delisting and the so-called management policies to shoot first and ask questions later, and leaving it up to the person who may feel a ‘perceived threat’ which obviously can be abused (read: lied about), any ‘great recovery’ will soon be reversed to pre-listing numbers or close to them!
A collared wolf was shot just last week in Washington. We should not continue to cater to liars.
And we thought the Presidential race was the only close race!
“Colorado wolf reintroduction riding on razor-thin vote margin.”
So what else is new? These poor animals, they have no idea that people are constantly making decisions about their fates. Wolves are always on a razor-thin margin.
https://coloradosun.com/2020/11/04/proposition-114-wolf-reintroduction-colorado-election-close/
Just when you think you’ve heard everything:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/man-banned-from-yellowstone-national-park-after-rangers-catch-him-cooking-chickens-in-the-hot-springs/ar-BB1aJfhZ?ocid=msnews
“This isn’t about the margin of victory,” said Rob Edward, head of the fund’s campaign. “Now it’s time to get on with the hard work of fashioning a future for the wolves that we coexist with.”
Well, the measure seems to have passed:
“Nothing is final until the Secretary of State certifies the election results, but at this time, we believe the measure will pass. So yes, this is a concession from our campaign,” said Patrick Pratt, deputy campaign manager for Coloradans Protecting Wildlife.
I just hope that things will work out for the best; and that their are no ‘repercussions’. It is terribly unethical to eliminate another living thing because they are/have been inconvenient.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/colorado/articles/2020-11-05/2-colorado-wolf-opponents-concede-ballot-count-continues
Utah weights in. They don’t even have wolves and have vowed never to have them:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/colorado-vote-could-mean-wolves-on-utah-e2-80-99s-doorstep/ar-BB1aLJQ3?ocid=uxbndlbing
“If wolves enter Utah from Colorado, [the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources] must have the ability to manage them or there could be significant conflicts with agriculture and wildlife populations. Moreover, we are also concerned about the potential impacts of Colorado’s proposed introduction of gray wolves on the genetic integrity of the endangered Mexican wolf population in New Mexico and Arizona.” [emphasis mine]
Really. When they are not trapping and beating them to death with shovels, I guess.
‘must have’
f*ing crybabies
+1
Hi JB!
Thanks! 🙂
The attitude toward native species in Utah is nauseating at best. Utah even permits the hunting of swans and cranes. 20 Trumpeter Swans were killed there in 2019. Instead of seeing the the spiritual benefit of indigenous species they only see the animals in terms of dollars and potential revenue.
Trump should have built his ‘great wall’ around Utah.
“I found there a country with thirty-two religions and only one sauce.” – Talleyrand
So true
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-administration-faces-suit-over-removal-of-endangered-species-protections-for-gray-wolves/ar-BB1aQF7Y?ocid=msedgdhp
I’ve read a lot of the articles about the proposed delisting and the lawsuits coming up, and I hope people are not mislead.
There’s a photo of Secretary Bernhardt (see article below) speaking at a press conference announcing wolf delisting, where there are big flashy signs about ESA success story of wolf recovery, and how they no longer need protection.
As those who follow this know, it’s not so much the delisting that is the concern, but what happens after. Once wolves lose Federal protection, the states can ‘manage’ them any way they choose. We need look no further than the Western states of ID, WY and MT to see just how poorly they are managed. Wyoming even has a shoot on sight order for most of the state! Hunting quotas creep up every year.
The states hem and haw (lately) about whether they will have hunting of wolves once they are delisted, but the truth is, again, once the lose Federal protection, there is no guarantee of how wolf populations will be treated.
There should be no hunting season on wolves. Studies show that they can manage their own numbers very well. Ranchers and farmers already have a remedy for any lost livestock, which is a very small percentage to begin with.
https://www.5280.com/2020/10/what-does-delisting-the-gray-wolf-mean-for-colorado/
Apparently rare white moose poached.
https://apple.news/AIGKUagpGS6eU4kwr2BfNeQQ
Some things never change
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/11/16/arctic-refuge-drilling-trump/
Why bless their heart as the saying goes
Scientists studying wolves as first responders against Chronic Wasting Disease.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-studying-wolves-first-responders-110951161.html
This is wonderful. 🙂
Interesting study underway. The article does not mention that predators can be a vector for distribution of CWD prions – they poop them out wherever they go for up to three days after ingestion of infected prey, according to the National Instutute of Health cited studies.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4964857/#:~:text=Results%20from%20this%20study%20indicate,of%20CWD%20in%20the%20environment.
If true is having more wolves on the ground in CWD burdened
areas necessarily a potentially good thing? Sure hope the study is comprehensive in its analysis.
Test
WM,
Read this a few years back. Interesting how they used glitter to identify the “payload”.
In terms of the prion spread, they demonstrated the possibility of a coyote vector, yet, via carnivore or scavenging, that genie is most likely long out of the bottle, as per the abstract.
Sorry for the “test” for some reason would not let me post partial abstract.
Today’s public service announcement: Don’t eat predator poop. (You’re welcome).
Amended public service announcement…
Don’t eat predator poop, grass, forbs and soil where a predator has pooped (You’re welcome).
JB, I still don’ think they have ruled out contaminated soil, water or things that grow there. Clay seems to hold CWD prions.
Just did a google search for “CWD contaminated soil.” Relevant search results were numerous. So why wouldn’t predator pooped out prions be viable and available for further disease transmission?
“So why wouldn’t predator pooped out prions be viable and available for further disease transmission?”
WM – maybe because they’ve already been pointed out in other diseases over the decades?”
Aren’t the possibilities kind of endless when it comes to further disease transmission (to humans)? Regardless of how?
Here’s a good example.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/anthrax-soil/
another example:
https://www.cdc.gov/tetanus/about/index.html
Just saying……..
Oh and how much of these preventive measures are linked to Covid?
https://www.creative-biolabs.com/vaccine/bovine-coronavirus-vaccines.htm
Here’s how much Minnesota has paid out for wolf kills of livestock over the last two decades
https://www.minnpost.com/environment/2020/02/heres-how-much-minnesota-has-paid-out-for-wolf-kills-of-livestock-over-the-last-two-decades/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAkuP9BRCkARIsAKGLE8VfMIt4Lm8NKzPPhMQM1x9LtIf6x_KGQXxvzpt4O_ygYjYGNWXi7oUaAiRXEALw_wcB
But still, I think removing of the very sick and dying elk and deer could keep the remainder of the herd healthy, for them and for people who eat venison? I thought the other article said something about the prions being taken up in plant tissue, but I’ll have to check.
The study says that, in coyotes, anyway – the prions remain infectious for at least 3 days.
Carnivores have eaten deer since forever, and the prions were not introduced by them, and are not going away. It seems the lesser of the two problems.
Scientists should widen their view and consider the possible effects of glyphosate and the possibility that another disease agent is causing CWD. The prion theory has stalled out so to speak and unfortunately Dr. Bastians work at LSU goes on practically unnoticed. So CWD continues to spread.
The Covid effect in the West > more people who don’t know what they are doing in bear country + more grizzlies = more problems
https://missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/2020/11/northern-grizzly-management/
I had read about a surge in hunting and other outdoor activities during the pandemic, and wondered about this same thing, what kinds of effects it would have.
Here’s a sweet, uplifting story – we need them lately:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rocky-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-owl-released-wild-new-york/
And more good news:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-rejects-massive-alaska-mining-project/ar-BB1bmz9P?ocid=msnews
A wonderful, feel good documentary on this day of Thanksgiving 🙂
This is beautiful.
And just as an aside, I was doing some yardwork after a storm we had. Earlier in the spring, I had tossed out some spent paperwhite narcissi into or around a brushpile.
Even through a frost, guess what has popped up(they may need to reset their internal clock). I hope they plan to stay! You can never predict Mom Nature, I guess.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/see-it-animals-love-utah-wildlife-bridge-over-highway/ar-BB1boG0H?ocid=msedgdhp
Worth every penny.
That’s great. 🙂
Possible death knell of mink farming?
https://www.capitalpress.com/state/oregon/oregon-minks-farmer-test-positive-for-covid-19/article_35cf4824-30f3-11eb-8455-6bd31c7370f4.html
https://nypost.com/2020/11/30/captivating-video-captures-fish-being-chased-off-the-rockaways/
https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/environmental/for-the-sake-of-wintering-wildlife-recreation-off-limits-on-some-public-lands/article_156f4f97-afdd-534e-bc61-40f7e84dba34.html
Closures do happen.
I guess not unexpected as per Wisconsin Law, wolf season would automatically resume post delisting. Perhaps if wolf hunting and trapping seasons were not synonymous with delisting, the lawsuits would be fewer, so, let the litigators get busy.
https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/northland-outdoors/6788251-Wisconsin-moves-first-to-announce-wolf-hunting-season-for-2021
In case you missed it
On my que for tomorrow night. Thanks Nancy!
With all the past discussion about should mountain bike trails be expanded into wilderness areas, here is the next phase in the evolution of this “battle”.
https://missoulian.com/news/beat-feet-or-battery-assist-e-bike-rules-cloudy-at-hunting-time/article_f3ab27e3-2e23-5e9e-ae0e-ff182451a2e0.html?fbclid=IwAR3txX0DQWwVnhReHOU2FsJQT2ZP8nHyPVlaz75SbZn1ireH-XY5tTv7g84#tracking-source=article-related-bottom
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/bank-of-america-joins-big-u-s-banks-that-won-t-finance-oil-in-the-arctic-refuge-trump-opened-to-drilling/ar-BB1bxdHa?ocid=msedgdhp
good news
Wildlife report:
Just a little interesting thing I have been noticing. And I thought crows were the only bird that used tools! I have a group of nuthatches who come to my bird feeder on the deck. I started to notice a lot of seed hulls stuck in the deck railing, and thought nothing of it at first, just cleaned them out. Then they kept reappearing.
Turns out, it is the nuthatches jamming safflower seeds (they must like that kind best) into the cracks in the wood to anchor it and then they peck out the seeds. Clever.
So much to think about when it comes to who pays for and regulates the use of public lands (our public lands)
This is becoming more and more common. Glad to see it!:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/38157/americas-largest-wildlife-overpass-opens-in-texas-after-years-of-construction
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/microscopic-life-is-melting-greenlands-ice-sheet/ar-BB1bVHS4?ocid=ACERSIGDHP17&li=BBnbfcL
This should be interesting:
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/17/937259525/in-historic-move-biden-to-pick-native-american-rep-deb-haaland-as-interior-secre
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-florida-wider-authority-wetland-development-74781176
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/21/americas/frozen-puppy-yukon-intl-scli-scn/?hpt=ob_blogfooterold
How often does this play out across the West? Shame on the NFS!
http://www.redrocknews.com/2020/12/23/forest-service-rounds-up-50-feral-cows/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/yellowstone-wolves-chase-elk-across-road-in-a-shocking-sight/ar-BB1cd5Dg?ocid=msedgdhp
Once in a lifetime, if you are lucky!
Wow. Just amazing, and priceless.
Sad to post that writer Barry Lopez has died.His seminal work, Of Wolves and Men, was instrumental in disenfranchising so many of the sordid myths of the wolf.
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/26/948863127/barry-lopez-acclaimed-author-and-traveler-beyond-many-horizons-dies-at-75?fbclid=IwAR35JlGa8TM5SWDs4-a7AYKfh5bwuWqJNpfH7gV7IR9WXOOFb1ykBQqp8DA
🙁 Sad to hear it.