Disease
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This week there have been two significant developments for bighorn sheep in Idaho that relate to the closing of domestic sheep grazing in occupied bighorn habitat. Payette Decision Moves Forward First, in an unusual ruling from the bench, Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that the closing of three domestic sheep allotments on the Payette National…
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Acorns, mice and the climate pushing debilitating infection into Canada- Ten or so years ago we were writing about brucellosis in the forerunner to this newspaper. Later when anti-wolf activists tried to scare people about worm infections we examined that issue and found there was little to worry about. In following these political disease controversies,…
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The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently purchased private checkerboard land intermingled with Forest Service lands in the Rock Creek watershed north of Yakima. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation combined forces and purchased 16 square miles of lands…
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White-tailed deer overpopulation boost cases due to more deer ticks- Lyme Disease is a real threat to those who go outdoors, unlike the recent hysteria over the rarely transmitted dog tapeworm larva (Echinococcus granulosus) to humans. In 2010 there were over 30,000 reported cases in the U.S. of often debilitating Lyme disease. It is usually…
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More than 90 percent white-tail deer suddenly dead along a 100-mile stretch of the Milk River- Carried by biting midges, EHD kills within a couple days. This epidemic began in late summer. The organism also kills Mule deer, bighorn sheep, elk and pronghorn. White-tailed deer are hit the worst, however. Local outfitters and officials says it…
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After 22 years as the chief biologist at the National Elk Refuge, Bruce Smith pens an easy-to-read, but stark warning about continuing elk feeding- Prions are bit like tiny pieces of radioactive material in that they are very dangerous promoters of illness and for practical purposes never really go away, resting in the dust and…
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Very bad news from just outside of Yellowstone National Park. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks :: Pneumonia Confirmed in Cinnabar Mountain Bighorn Sheep. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks :: Pneumonia Confirmed in Cinnabar Mountain Bighorn Sheep Friday, December 09, 2011 Fish & Wildlife – Region 3 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks confirms the discovery of…
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Larry Zuckerman and I recently wrote about a visit to the US Experiment Sheep Station (USSES) operated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in eastern Idaho near Dubois and talked about some of the conflicts which are occurring because of the presence domestic sheep in this area which is critical for many sensitive species.…