Brooks Fahy at PREDATOR DEFENSE shared this letter with me that he recently received from Environmental biologist Rick Hopkins at San Jose, California based LIVE OAK ASSOCIATES regarding Brooks question about the National Rifle Association's assertion that Predator(Carnivore) control having to be a central component of State Wildlife Agencies management plans for Wolves, Cougars, Bears, Coyotes, Bobcats, etc, etc ..........Rick states: "All too often, wildlife managers mistakenly rely on single species management paradigms that seek to naively manage wildlife for statis; a goal that is never achievable, and in reality, is not desirable. While conservation is often given lip service by these same state game agencies,almost all management of large carnivores is focused on killing carnivores through sport take, or broad efforts of Wildlife Services or other vector control agencies. This is why over the last decade, conservation biologists, such as myself, have focused on using spatial models thatinform conservation at relevant spatial scales (tens of thousands of km2) as my colleagues and I have done for over 40,000 km2of the Southern California landscape for the cougar. Efforts that are focused on actual conservation of cougars and not simplistic models of moderating lethal take. Conservation strategies, I might add, that have as its explicit goals the preservation of cougars within a functioning ecosystem while reducing conflicts with humans".............."Many game managers and wildlife services expend considerable energy ignoring the best available science that clearly demonstrates efforts to manage predators by broad lethal efforts, fails. It is astounding that we have failed to heed the sound and evidence basedrecommendations of such revered scientists, as was part of the Cain Report and not shifted our focus away from costly and ineffective predator control programs to efforts that focus onremoving the offending predator. It is disappointing that we find ourselves unwilling to movefrom severely failed management schemes to more cost effective and ecologically relevant ones"..........Read the full letter below

click here to read entire letter(LIVE OAK ASSOCIATES  commenting on NRA'S position on Predator Control