Another illuminating article on the "Canid soup" admix that exists amongst Wolves and Coyotes across Eastern Canada into the Great Lakes and on into the Prairie region of Saskatchewan, Canada................Some familiar contributors to this blog including Brent Patterson and Paul Paquet drawing the conclusion that Wolf and Coyote hybridization is greatly encouraged by human induced alteration of the landscape including climate change and land alteration..............Lead author Astrid Stronen of the U. of Montreal concluding this informative paper saying: "Human influence might now reverse speciation and the relationship between ecological divergence and reproductive isolation appears strong across taxa".........."A research priority is thus to understand better the extent to which reproductively compatible but ecologically different groups such as coyotes and wolves may coexist without further hybridization given the opportunity for divergent prey selections"

CLICK HERE TO READ THE PEER REVIEWED--- CANID HYBRIDIZATION:CONTEMPORARY EVOLUTION IN HUMAN-MODIFIED LANDSCSAPES

gray wolf

 

the great lakes wolf which is often an admix of eastern and gray wolf

Eastern Wolf in algonquin Park

 

eastern coyote

 

red wolf in the southeastern USA

western coyote

As in Missouri, there are too many deer in Michigan for forest regeneration and optimum biodiversity to occur............Even with all the farmers and hunters saying that there are too many Wolves, Bears(and maybe Pumas-see one of the posts today), the Michigan Dept of Ntl Resources is increasing the number of anterless licenses in the Upper Peninsula(where the wolves reside) for the upcoming deer hunting season....1.6 million deer in the motor state,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The only discussion about this gigantic herd of deer centers around what hunters want and don't want..............This is a pathetic way to manage wildlife ............State Managers should be focusing on the health of the forest as well as the $$ reaped through hunting license sales

Eric Sharp: More antlerless licenses to hunt deer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

If someone asks if deer live in cities, refer them to Free Press reader James Bannan of Sterling Heights. He spotted a doe and two bucks with their antlers. There will be a small decrease in antlerless licenses in the Lower Peninsula.

By Eric Sharp;detroitfreepress.com

Hard to believe, but the opening of the archery deer season is approaching quickly, Oct. 1. And if you hunt the Upper Peninsula, you'll see small increases in antlerless licenses that the Natural Resources Commission has approved for the upcoming deer season.

That's because the U.P. deer population has grown a bit the past three years thanks to some mild winters. And no matter what one might hear about antlerless licenses, youth hunts, predation by wolves and other chimaeras, winter weather has a much greater effect on the U.P. deer population than all other factors combined.

Hunters in the Lower Peninsula will see relatively small decreases in antlerless licenses. Deer numbers have been spotty across the northern Lower Peninsula, and the Department of Natural Resources is trying to match the licenses available to regions where culling is needed while trying not to infuriate people who think their areas have seen too many deer killed.

And while the population in the southern Lower Peninsula is still above the DNR target in most regions, it has decreased enough in most places that it's trending the right way.

The DNR said it will authorize the sale of 708,650 antlerless licenses statewide, down 47,550 from 2011. The breakdown is 450 more private-land and 1,900 public-land licenses in the U.P., a decrease of 23,500 private-land and 1,300 public-land licenses in the northern Lower Peninsula and 4,150 fewer private- land licenses and 2,350 public-land licenses in the southern Lower Peninsula. The DNR also issues other licenses for specialized hunts.

Since more than half of the roughly 1.6-million deer live in the southern Lower Peninsula, that might make a difference in some small areas, but it probably won't have much effect on the overall herd.
Jim Cole said he's glad the DNR has reduced the antlerless take in the northern Lower Peninsula, where he hunts at a family camp near Mancelona.

"We've seen deer numbers drop like a stone in the last five years," he said. "They just let people kill too many does. How smart do you have to be to figure out that if you kill the mothers, you won't have as many babies."But Ralph Mortensen, who hunts about 50 miles south of Coles near Cadillac, said a better way to manage the herd would be to combine a reduced antlerless take with restrictions on the number of yearling bucks killed.

"All these people tell me they don't care about antlers, but if you suggest that we put in a rule that requires three points on a side, they'd have a fit," he said. "If they don't care about antlers, how come they want to keep shooting spikes and forkhorns?Brent Rudolph, the DNR's deer and elk program leader, said the agency's survey of hunters about proposed regulations shows there's more support from hunters who want more mature bucks in the herd.

But while the DNR supports voluntary antler point restrictions on public land, it only would implement mandatory restrictions in areas where at least 66% of the hunters say they want them.
We should get a better handle on the popularity of antler-point restrictions after the DNR completes a survey of people who hunted in 12 northern Michigan counties where restrictions will be imposed.
Surveys will start to be mailed in August; if you get one, return it to make sure your voice is heard. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, we're told, and if you get a chance to squeak and don't take it, you will have no reason to complain if things don't go your way.

For more information about the 2011 deer harvest and hunter survey and the DNR's deer management, go to www
.michigan.gov/deer.

From famine to feast as Missouri now has 1 million deer nubbing its forests to a bone............Contrary to this report from a local tv station states, there is not a state in the USA including Missouri where hunters keep deer herds in check enough for true forest regeneration to take place...........It is in fact a truism that in the 1800's, mountain lions and wolves kept the deer in check............It is a fallacy that in the 21st century, .human hunters do as good a job as the wolves, bears and pumas once did

Deer population remains steady across Missouri

With deer season approaching in a few months, it may be hard to believe deer were once scarce in the state.

BRANSON, Mo. - Each year, deer season brings in hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy.

Deer are common today -- so it may be hard to believe that 80 years ago there weren't any deer to hunt in Missouri. Bernice Morrison, who is 94, remembers a time when people couldn't hunt deer in the state -- not because it was illegal, but because there were almost no deer.

"The Missouri deer population was in a very bad shape by the early 1900's," Morrison, a retired Department of Conservation employee, said. "There was a survey done in the mid-1920's that estimated there was somewhere around 400 deer in Missouri."

In the 1930's, the Conservation Department decided to catch some of the few deer that remained in a preserve near Branson in hopes to repopulate the state. They trapped 26 does and four bucks and brought them over here to Caney Mountain," Morrison said. "That was the start of the deer herd at Caney Mountain." Bernice and his dad then monitored the new deer population at Caney Mountain Conservation Area. A lot of the deer in the state today can be traced to that small group of 30 deer.
"We didn't tranquilize so we had a deer in here that didn't want to be here," Morrison said. "You'd have to wrestle it to a smaller box; from there you have to get it onto a truck."

The two then caught the deer again at Caney Mountain and took them to other reserves throughout the state. "It caught on elsewhere in the state, and the deer population we have today is around a million deer." The deer population has been steady for nearly 40 years.

In the 1800's, mountain lions and wolves kept the deer in check. Now hunters do that.

by Aaron Boll, KSPR News  

If there is not a Puma breeding population in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan then you have a lot of unfulfilled young male "cats" stalking the northern hardwood forest.................The 17th verified sighting of a Puma took place on July 18th in northern Marquette County.............

Counting cougars: More evidence of the wild cats confirmed in Michigan's U.P.

 

By Tim Martin; MLive.com
 

Photo released by DNRThis trail camera photo of a cougar was taken at 2 a.m. on July 18 in northern Marquette County.

The documentation of cougars in Michigan's Upper Peninsula continues to grow.The state's Department of Natural Resources said Friday it verified a trail camera photo of a cougar taken earlier this month in northern Marquette County. The state agency said the photo is the 17th time it has been able to verify the presence of cougars in the Upper Peninsula since 2008.

The DNR acknowledges the presence of an unknown number of adult cougars in the Upper Peninsula, but says there's no evidence they are breeding."The growing body of evidence continues to indicate the presence of an unknown number of adult cougars in the Upper Peninsula," DNR wildlife biologist Adam Bump said in a statement Friday. "In the five years since we confirmed our first cougar report we have yet to receive any evidence of breeding activity, as all images and other physical evidence have been from adult cats."

The DNR says it has confirmed tracks, photos or video from nine Upper Peninsula counties -- Delta, Marquette, Schoolcraft, Mackinac, Chippewa, Ontonagon, Houghton, Keweenaw and Baraga.
Some groups have said they have evidence cougars are also in the Lower Peninsula, but the DNR has not agreed. The state agency has confirmed only Upper Peninsula reports.

Reports of cougar sightings are up in recent years. The DNR says it could be because more individual cougars are moving east from more western locations. Cougars have been known to travel hundreds of miles across multiple states in search of new territory, the DNR says.

The agency said it's also probable that a proliferation of trail cameras in the woods is resulting in more clear, verifiable cougar photos. Others say there are more cougars in the state than officially acknowledged.

The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy released a photo from a southern Marquette County trail camera earlier this summer, saying it's perhaps the clearest photograph of a wild cougar taken in the state.
The Associated Press reports the conservancy says there may be a resident population of cougars, rather than just wandering cats from elsewhere.

Cougars are classified as an endangered species in Michigan.

The Sacramento Valley Red Fox was once thought to be non-native to California..........In 2005, genetic analysis proved that the fox was indeed indigenous to the region........On-goin research through 2016 will concentrate on population estimates, the range of the Sacramento Fox and to what degree it may be hybrizing with what some still deem a non-native Red Fox populationin Southern California(most recently in a peer reviewed article on this blog Red Foxes were found to be native to North America).

Citizen scientists sought to monitor red foxes

dailydemocrat.com

dailydemocrat.comdailtdaidailydemocr

A UC Davis alumna is seeking citizen scientists to help in reporting sightings of red foxes.

A UC Davis alumna is studying citizen science to help understand the habitat needs and current population of the Sacramento Valley red fox. Used as her masters project, her findings are expected to help improve citizen science methods for future studies.

This next phase, which will focus on better understanding the habitat needs and current abundance of the Sacramento Valley red fox, represents a continuation in the collaborative effort among UC Davis, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. People interested in participating in the study should go to the website: http://foxsurvey.ucdavis.edu/ to participate in the survey.

Amy Brasch, who is with Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, is looking for information on the foxes, which were long thought to be non-native. However, in 2005 genetic analyses performed in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine's, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory revealed these foxes to be native to the region and potentially in decline.

"These discoveries set off a joint effort by UC Davis and the California Department of Fish and Game to characterize the fox's range extent, and potential interbreeding with non-native red fox populations to the south," according to Brasch.

Led by Dr. Ben Sacks, assistant adjunct professor in the SVM and director of the Canid Diversity and Conservation Unit of the VGL, this project relied on citizen science, the centerpiece of which was an online reporting system for the public to communicate red fox sightings.

During 2007-2009, over 400 reports were submitted by the public, which were instrumental in locating a total of 51 fox dens mapped throughout the Sacramento Valley and, ultimately, in advancing their conservation priority, currently under consideration as a California Mammal Species of Special Concern.

Now, the citizen science that was central to the 2007-2009 red fox study is itself the topic of a masters project being conducted by Brasch in collaboration with her adviser, Dr. Heiko Wittmer, a senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand with an adjunct affiliation in the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at UCD, and Dr. Sacks.

Their project seeks to better understand factors affecting public participation to more effectively utilize citizen science in future research and to seek ways to increase the educational value of participation for members of the public. To accomplish this, Ms. Brasch designed a web-based survey that she is asking the public to visit. It is linked to the original survey website, www.foxsurvey.ucdavis.edu and can be completed in 5 minutes.

The findings of this study will be used immediately to enhance the reporting web site, which will be re-launched for phase II of the Sacramento Valley red fox study, slated to begin January 2013 and extend over through 2016 

State wildlife agencies from Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, along with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, plus the Wildlife Management Institute and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation are parties in a regional conservation strategy to save the New England Cottontail Rabbit..............The dense shrub-scrub habitat that these rabbits prefer has been on the decline since the beginning of the 20th century as farmland got abandoned and mature forest reclaimed much of New England...................

Endangered Cottontail Rabbits Getting Help

downeast.com

New England Cottontails are getting some much needed help, hopefully before they completely vanish like Alice in Wonderland’s white rabbit that hopped into a hole, never to be seen again.

The cottontail, once prolific from southeastern New York to southern Maine, has lost 86 percent of its habitat since the 1960s, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. Regaining rabbit habitat won’t be easy or inexpensive. The cottontail is on state Endangered Species Lists in Maine and New Hampshire and is a candidate for the federal Endangered Species List.

State wildlife agencies from Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, along with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, plus the Wildlife Management Institute and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation are parties in a regional conservation strategy to save the cottontail.

Millions of dollars from The Natural Resources Conservation Service and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation are committed to the strategy’s 82 actions including goals for the number of acres of rabbit habitat to be managed in each state.

Creating and enhancing habitat where cottontails already exist appears to be critical. Last year Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife moved 15 cottontail rabbits from the Portland jetport – where they were in the way of an airport expansion – to a Kennebunkport island. All of the rabbits died after being moved.

“Our hope was we could move them to this Shangri-la island away from the jets and breed them and move on,” said a disappointed Wally Jacubus, DIF&W’s mammal group leader.

I recently visited one of the more exciting and extensive habitat projects at Cape Elizabeth’s Inn by the Sea, a collaboration between the Inn and Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands which owns the adjacent Crescent Beach State Park.

BPL wildlife biologist Joe Wiley reported recently on the project, noting that, “Ten foot wide strips approximately 1300 feet long were mowed at the edge of old field habitats at Crescent Beach. The strips are immediately adjacent to the dense shrub-scrub habitat that the cottontails prefer.

They seldom venture more than 16 feet from escape cover. Periodic mowing of the strips throughout the growing season provides succulent regrowth of the rabbit’s preferred natural foods close to dense cover.

“The Cape Elizabeth state park complex and adjacent private lands support the most state endangered New England cottontails in Maine,” said Wiley.

The Inn by the Sea – an elegant resort that borders Crescent Beach – has removed two acres of invasive, nonindigenous plant species, such as bamboo and bitter street, from state park land. It’s a tough job, requiring repeated plowing up of the ground.

“Now, we’re hand pulling the bamboo as it keeps coming up,” the Inn’s Rauni Kew told me during my visit there. Local shrubs such as raspberry, blueberry, dogwood, alder, winterberry, and dewberry have been planted.

Rauni summed up the problem nicely, noting that the cottontail, “is not a great species. They’re small and don’t turn white in the winter,” leaving them vulnerable to predation, especially from coyotes that are now common in Cape Elizabeth. “They need our help,” she said.

The good news is that biologists who collected rabbit scat identified 89 different cottontails in and around that area. And now, what Rauni calls her “rabitat” gives the bunnies a wonderful place to live – as elegant for them as the Inn by the Sea is for us!

Unlike the documentated cases of Elk transmitting Brucellosis to livestock(the disease causes cattle to abort their young), bison-to-cattle brucellosis transmissions has never been recorded in the wild..........After decades of bowing to ranchers who do not want Bison competing for grass with their livestock, Montana Govenor Schweitzer has proposed letting Yellowstone Bison remain year-round in the Gallatin National Forest outside the Park..........A final decision will be made prior to this coming 2012-13 winter season..........Enlightenment in Montana????? ..... We will believe that when we see this "room to roam" rule become law

Bison could roam year-round outside Yellowstone

.

MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press

               

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Bison could roam year-round in large areas adjacent to Yellowstone National Park under a proposal released Monday by Montana officials who want to further ease restrictions on the iconic, burly animals.

For decades migrating bison have been slaughtered or hazed back into the park to prevent them from passing the disease brucellosis to cattle.The plan announced Monday would allow the animals to remain year-round in the Hebgen Basin and surrounding areas of the Gallatin National Forest. To the north, some bison would be allowed year-round in the Gardiner Basin.

Current rules allow some bison to migrate to grazing areas in Montana each winter. But they must return to the park each spring — a perennial source of friction between conservationists who want more room for bison and ranchers who say they are a disease threat. The proposed changes are certain to stoke the argument.Some in the livestock industry already are lining up in opposition."They try to talk it down and say we've downgraded the disease," said John Youngberg with the Montana Farm Bureau Federation "There's still brucellosis in those bison up there. It hasn't gone away."

The proposal for the Gardiner Basin covers an estimated 70,000 acres and would be restricted to bull bison only except during winter.No acreage figure was available for the Hebgen Basin, where the proposal would apply to both male and female bison.

Yellowstone has one of the largest and most genetically-pure bison populations in the world. About 40 percent of the animals test positive for exposure to brucellosis, which can cause pregnant animals to miscarry their young.

No bison-to-cattle brucellosis transmissions have been recorded in the wild.

Under the administration of Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the state has steadily ratcheted back its restrictions against the animals. That's allowed the animals to enter new areas and stretched out the date by which they are returned to the park.Now the state wants to take that a step further, eliminating the May 15 deadline for bison to be returned to Yellowstone's west side and, for bulls, the May 1 date for the north side.

Federal rules penalizing states with brucellosis infections in cattle have eased in recent years, partially defusing one of the main concerns about allowing bison on a broader landscape.
Yet many in the livestock industry remain adamant that bison pose a potential danger to cattle. They also bristle against the possibility of bison competing for grazing land and knocking over livestock fences.

Youngberg said the proposal to allow bison year-round in some areas would be in direct violation of a federal-state bison management agreement signed in 2000.But Pat Flowers regional supervisor for Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks said the state was abiding by the 2000 agreement. Its twin goals were to protect the livestock industry from disease and provide more opportunities for wild, free-ranging bison.

"The plan was clearly not cast in stone," Flowers said Monday. "It was intended to respond to changes in conditions and as managers that's what we're attempting to do."State officials are soliciting comments on the proposal through Aug. 24. Public meetings are planned for Aug. 20 in West Yellowstone and Aug. 21 in Gardiner.

A final decision could be made in time for the 2012-2013 winter, said Christian Mackay executive officer for the Montana Department of Livestock.

Interior Secretary Salazar has thrown his weight behind taking Yellowstone Grizzlies off of the Endangered Species List by 2014 even though the impact of whitebark pine tree decline on the Bear population has not been fully determined............Of course the "bought and paid for" State Biologists are claiming that the Grizzlies will do just fine without this key foodstuff............Hannah Stauts, conservation associate with the GREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION, has said that her group believes it's unknown how the decline of the whitebark will affect the grizzlies.......... "Certainly it's too soon to tell"........... "There's a reason they're taking the next year or two years to look at whitebark loss," she said, adding that the analysis shouldn't be a rushed or pressured process..............Stauts said her group would like to see a grizzly delisting proposal it can support, but it's too early to talk about a hunting season for the bears when they're still on the Endangered Species List..

Interior secretary calls for grizzly bear delisting by 2014

  By BEN NEARY Associated Press

A grizzly bear sow and three cubs roam inside Yellowstone National Park.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has informed Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead that he shares the governor's desire to end federal protections for Yellowstone grizzly bears.Salazar wrote to Mead late last week, saying he expects the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies will finish their analysis of the effect of the decline of the whitebark pine tree on bear populations by early 2014.

Scientists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies have been addressing the whitebark pine issue, Salazar wrote. "All participants agreed that the Yellowstone grizzly population was recovered and that declines in whitebark pine do not threaten the future of the grizzly population," he stated.

The bears in the Greater Yellowstone area, which includes the nation's oldest national park and surrounding lands in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, originally were delisted in 2007. However, a legal challenge from environmental groups resulted in the bears being relisted in 2009.

Biologists estimate the Greater Yellowstone area has at least 600 grizzly bears. A federal appeals court last year ruled that more work was necessary to document how the decline of whitebark pine might affect the grizzly population before they could be delisted again.The whitebark, an important food source for grizzlies and other species, has declined by 90 percent in some areas of the northern Rockies. Officials blame factors including a lack of natural forest fires and warmer weather that results in less snowfall.

Mead wrote to Salazar in May, saying that the gravity of the increasing bear population in areas of Wyoming around the nation's oldest national park cannot be overemphasized. Mead said bears killed four people in the area over the past two years.

Mark Bruscino, supervisor of the large carnivore section at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said Monday that scientists are increasing bear monitoring efforts, looking at survival and reproduction rates. He said it doesn't appear that the decline of whitebark pine will affect the Yellowstone bear population."Bears are the world's greatest omnivores," Bruscino said. "They live in lots of areas without whitebark pine, or anything similar to that, across the Northern Hemisphere, and they do just fine."The Yellowstone grizzly population increased at yearly rates of 4 to 7 percent between 2000 and 2010, Bruscino said. He said growth has slowed in recent years as habitat has approached its carrying capacity."The Yellowstone grizzly population is doing fantastic, it's the wildlife management success story of the last 30 years in North America," Bruscino said.
Once the federal government turns grizzly bear management over to the states, Bruscino said Wyoming intends to allow sport hunting to manage problem bears and to manage bear numbers and distribution.

"We will probably never hunt large numbers, just because there won't be a lot of probably surplus mortality that could go into a hunting quota," Bruscino said. "But we will probably hunt some bears."
The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a Montana conservation group, had filed the lawsuit that blocked delisting of the bears.

Hannah Stauts, conservation associate with the coalition, said Monday that her group believes it's unknown how the decline of the whitebark will affect the grizzlies. "Certainly it's too soon to tell. There's a reason they're taking the next year or two years to look at whitebark loss," she said, adding that the analysis shouldn't be a rushed or pressured process.Stauts said her group would like to see a grizzly delisting proposal it can support, but it's too early to talk about a hunting season for the bears when they're still on the Endangered Species List.

Wyoming State Rep. Pat Childers, R-Cody, has worked on wildlife issues in the Wyoming Legislature. He said Monday that he's heard complaints from his constituents that there are far too many bears in the area. "They would like something done about it," he said.

 

Florida Black Bears do not hibernate in winter.......Females "winter den"-holing up somewhere quiet like alarge hollow log or a a tangle of scrub for aobut 5 months before giving birth to 2 to 4 cubs weighing about 10 to 15 ounces each................As in many Eastern States, the Bears have shown resilience and the capacity to rebound from virtual extirpation levels---with the Florida Bruins springing back from about 300 in the 1970's to an estimated 3000 today

Tropicalia wild file: Florida black bear

Ursus americanus floridanus

by: Amy Williams; newspress.com

A black bear strolls through Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

After dipping to a low of about 300 bears in the state in the 1970s, the population has grown again to about 3,000, biologists estimate — enough that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission recently took the black bear off the state's threatened list.

Black bears are Florida's largest land mammal, with males averaging about 350 pounds, and females roughly half of that. Collier County and the Big Cypress Preserve contain one of Florida's largest populations, since bears prefer deep, thick woods, and can adapt well to wetland conditions.

Their name aside, the most common color for black bears is a rich dark brown. Many have white chests, and a cinnamon color is not uncommon, either. They have rounded short ears, a short tail, big sharp teeth and five-toed feet tipped with 4-inch claws for climbing or fighting.

After bears mate, the females give birth to litters of two to four cubs, each no bigger than a squirrel — about 10 to 15 ounces. By the second summer of the bears' lives, Mama pushes them out of the den and into the world to make their own way.

Florida black bears don't hibernate in the winter, but females do what's called "winter denning" — holing up somewhere quiet like a large hollow log or a deep tangle of scrub, for about five months.

Contrary to what many imagine, the bears' diet consists mostly of plant material such as the hearts of saw palmetto and cabbage palms, and fruits and nuts of all kinds. They add to that both bees and yellow jackets, many insects, and whatever smaller creatures they can catch: armadillos, raccoons, wild hogs and sometimes white-tailed deer.

Shuffling and slow in appearance, black bears should not be underestimated. They can climb well and run 30 miles or more per hour. Plus, they can smell you — literally — more than a mile away.

The Indian Tribes of Wisconsin have been adamant about not wanting a Wolf hunting and trapping season to go into effect............"Wolf has fled man's expansion and now has nowhere to retreat and will pass out of existence"............ The Indians believe the Anishinaabe will follow, and all mankind will suffer the same fate............ Or will a new paradigm of wealth be measured, not in materialism and political power, but as clean water, fresh air and pristine wilderness?.......Jim Zorn of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission said this wolf assault is a very difficult thing for the tribes, whose cultural view is that wolves are valuable for themselves, for their living presence.................The Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources admits the killing could result in 56 percent overall human-caused destruction of wolves in Wisconsin in this first year – 480 wolves, bringing the 850 population close to the 350 mark for relisting federally........... Disease, unreported pup mortality from months of stress and killing are not factored in

Patricia Randolph's Madravenspeak: Wolf hunt rules dishonor wolves, tribes and state

  PATRICIA RANDOLPH | state columnistmadison.com

"What can I do to stop this? I am mortified that our state, a state that I have loved for 65 years, would do this, or allow it." ~ Sharon Dee

On July 17, the Natural Resources Board convened to establish the rules for this year's wolf hunt.

The shy, majestic wolf spoke through the wisdom of the Indian elders. The Indian tribes stood with Mahwaew, brother wolf, as prophesied, to guide man back to the natural way. Biologists and elders from the Mohicans, Menomonee, Bad River Band, and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission graciously brought the Great Creator and the Wolf Clan into the room.

The Indian Creation story has the Wolf as a prominent figure

Mike Wiggins, of the Eagle Clan, honored his blood brother as a powerful guide and symbol of the little wilderness we have left. He spoke of the four orders created by the Great Spirit — first, the physical world; second, plants; third, animals; and finally, humans. Man was created last, and in order of primacy, is the least important. Man is totally dependent on the first three orders of life to exist, but the first three do not need man.
Wolf pack in Wisconsin

Wolf has fled man's expansion and now has nowhere to retreat and will pass out of existence. The Indians believe the Anishinaabe will follow, and all mankind will suffer the same fate. Or will a new paradigm of wealth be measured, not in materialism and political power, but as clean water, fresh air and pristine wilderness?
Jim Zorn of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission said this wolf assault is a very difficult thing for the tribes, whose cultural view is that wolves are valuable for themselves, for their living presence.

The Wolf figures prominently in Wisconsin Indian lore

The Indian tribes requested their reservations be no-kill zones, with a six-mile buffer zone because wolves do not know man's boundaries. The Natural Resources Board agreed to a zero quota on the reservations, but refused the buffer.

The governor's office took 898 calls against the wolf hunt and 20 calls for it. Yet the board's ruling was a foregone conclusion. The entire system serves only hunters, trappers and hounders, who want maximum killing on all public lands.

The wolf hunt bill, Act 169, allows not just killing, but torture.
Rep. Scott Suder, author of the bill, circumvented scientists, DNR staff, and the public, instead setting much of the rule by legislation. Suder claimed transparency and citizen inclusion — however, although the "hearing" in the Assembly was known to the hunting/hounding elite, the public was given only 24 hours notice.
Richard Thiel, retired DNR wolf biologist, showed how Suder's claim to the Legislature that he had worked with DNR scientists was untrue. Thiel named the DNR wolf experts, none of whom were consulted in drafting this legislation. Adrian Wydeven, a major player in wolf recovery, has been conspicuously absent throughout.

Wolf pack in Wisconsin

Thiel also laid out Suder's flawed dependence on the 1999 wolf management plan estimate of minimum wolf numbers (350), reinterpreted as a top "goal" by Suder. Thiel reminded us that science is not static — the DNR depends on five- and 10-year revisions of management plans, particularly for such an iconic endangered species. Recently retired, Thiel gave 13 pages of testimony citing new science that makes this proposed wolf overkill scientifically blasphemous. View his testimony at wildlifeethic.org.

Thiel, UW-Madison professor Adrian Treves (head of the predator co-existence project with 12 years of study of Wisconsin wolves), and Tim Van Deelen, UW-Madison wildlife ecologist, all testified at the July 17 meeting, urging an immediate revision of the 1999 Wolf Management Plan, which they said is outdated and irrelevant. They urged targeting the 10 percent of wolf territory that experiences depredation, or using just the existing 100 landowner permits on specific animals. They prescribed that large swaths of central and northern forests without human conflict be established as refuge for intact, healthy wolf packs.

The board, which could have moderated the extreme damage of Act 169 by delaying a hunt one to five years for further study, setting modest or zero quotas, establishing no-kill zones, and severely limiting permits, did none of that.

The board voted to issue 10 times the licenses of the set quota: at 201, issue 2,010 kill licenses. Scientists recommend three times the quota for the number of licenses. The board voted to target 24 percent of the state's 850 wolves indiscriminately across the state in six zones, ranging from 20 percent to 75 percent annihilation per zone. The DNR estimates an annual illegal kill of 161 wolves; 100 landowner depredation licenses are already issued, with 39 killed so far. Car kills are estimated at 34.

The DNR admits the killing could result in 56 percent overall human-caused destruction of wolves in Wisconsin in this first year – 480 wolves, bringing the 850 population close to the 350 mark for relisting federally. Disease, unreported pup mortality from months of stress and killing are not factored in.

We dishonor ourselves profoundly. Wisconsin has taken a fork in the road.

Patricia Randolph of Portage is a longtime activist for wildlife. madravenspeak@gmail.com

As discussed often on this blog, Moose are on the decline in the Great Lakes States , the Western USA and other regions due to the perfect storm of warming temperatures, winter tick proliferation and encroaching Deer populations( that bring "brain disease" to the Moose)............Not so in Saskatchewan, Canada where the moose population has been steadily increasing, especially in the southern portion of the province......... Moose typically live in forested areas, including island forests like Moose Mountain............. However, recent years have seen moose migrating into the wide-open prairies, something that has seen their numbers growing..... "Moose usually have a minimum of two calves ... down here they're able to raise them both quite successfully" said Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, explaining that in the northern and forested areas of the province, moose calves are frequently lost to predators........... Without predators in the southern part of the province, the moose population has an easier time growing............No Wolves in the southern portion of the Province, so human hunting alone insufficient to keep population equilibrium in effect

Ministry wants to see Sask. moose population decrease

By Tonaya Marr, Leader-PostJuly

The Ministry of Environment is looking at ways to control the moose population.

The Ministry of Environment is keeping a close eye on Saskatchewan's moose population.

According to Minister of Environment Ken Cheveldayoff, the government is looking into new ways to reduce the moose population in Saskatchewan."I've asked the Ministry of Environment to look at options to being even more aggressive on the numbers," said Cheveldayoff.

The moose population is controlled through hunting, with licences handed out in the Big Game draw. The number of licences has been increasing. This season, 4,840 licences were handed out across Saskatchewan, with 2,650 in the southern portion of the province, an increase of 455 licences in that region last season.

Cheveldayoff 's announcement follows the death of RCMP Cst. Derek Pineo, whose cruiser collided with a moose on Highway 14 west of Wilkie early Friday morning.

In order to better understand the number of collisions involving moose in Saskatchewan, Cheveldayoff said the ministry will be speaking with SGI officials to examine wildlife collisions. Currently, SGI lists the number of moose-related collisions under the wildlife category when making a claim. In 2011, there were nearly 16,000 collisions with wildlife claimed - 11,015 of these being collisions with deer. As well, 304 people reported injuries and two died as a result of wildlife collisions.

According to Rebecca Rogoschewsky, spokeswoman for SGI, SGI could be collecting data on moose-vehicle collisions as early as this fall, with clearer statistics after a year. SGI could also look back into previous claims to find out if moose were specified in wildlifecollision claims. "Generally, in order to see trends of any type, you need to have a couple years worth of data to see if those numbers are increasing or decreasing," said Rogoschewsky .
The auto fund paid out more than $47 million in wildlife claims in 2011. "If the Ministry of Environment does feel that would help them ... by all means, it's definitely something that we'd look at," said Rogoschewsky .

The moose population in Saskatchewan has been steadily increasing, especially in the southern portion of the province. Moose typically live in the forested areas of the province, including island forests like Moose Mountain. However, recent years have seen moose migrating into the wide-open prairies, something that has seen their numbers growing. "(Moose) usually have a minimum of two calves ... down here they're able to raise them both quite successfully" said Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, explaining that in the northern and forested areas of the province, moose calves are frequently lost to predators. Without predators in the southern part of the province, the moose population has an easier time growing.

According to Crabbe, hunting has kept the moose population in control. Harsh winters also have the potential to decrease the population, and adjusting the number of hunting licences issued following a difficult winter can prevent the decimation of the population."That's one of the beauties of the system we have in place here - it does have a check value for the following year," said Crabbe.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia is in the midst of a 5 year Coyote study to help diminish negative encounters between "Songdogs and People............The study was initiated after the death of folk singer Taylor Mitchell in 2009............Park Wildlife Manager Derek Quann states: "The fact that they occupy the more highly populated areas is not all that surprising, and it's somewhat expected" ............. "Coyotes will go wherever they can get enough food, and where they judge that the risks are acceptable"............Hazing is being used to teach Coyotes to fear people,something that may not be in play in the park do to the possiblity that humans have been leaving food on trails and at reststops(the Coyotes now associate humans with food).......More 900 park visitors have been surveyed on their knowledge of coyotes, and park staff are trying to teach visitors to stop feeding the coyotes, directly, or by throwing away things like apple cores. They also hope to reduce the risk by teaching the coyotes to fear people, using loud noises, said Quann............Unfortunately, Park policy now in place is that Coyotes who approach people will be shot and killed

Study shows coyotes stay close to people

cbc.ca.com(CBC News)

Cape Breton Highlands National Park wildlife manager Derek Quann displays maps of coyotes' locations from GPS trackers.

After the death of 19-year-old Taylor Mitchell in 2009, Parks Canada began tracking coyotes in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, to try to find a way to limit their interactions with humans. The park is tracking eight animals with GPS collars, to learn more about their territories.

Wildlife manager Derek Quann says one thing they have learned during this five-year study is that the animals spend a lot of time near humans. "The fact that they occupy the more highly populated areas is not all that surprising, and it's somewhat expected," said Quann. "Coyotes will go wherever they can get enough food, and where they judge that the risks are acceptable."

They coyotes seem to have learned that humans are unlikely to harm them, and may even feed them. There have been no incidents of aggression, and few of coyotes approaching humans, but there were two that concern park staff. Quann said recently hikers met a coyote on the Chemin du Buttereau trail. "They were travelling one direction, the coyote was travelling towards them," he said. "The coyote didn't seem interested in leaving the trail or fleeing, and indeed, when the people stopped and got off the trail, the coyote kind of stopped there and looked at them, as if expecting something, like maybe a food handout. And when the people left, the coyote followed.

Coyote in Cape Breton Park

Earlier this week, hikers met a coyote that was foraging for mice on a busy walking trail, and it didn't move when they approached.

More 900 park visitors have been surveyed on their knowledge of coyotes, and park staff are trying to teach visitors to stop feeding the coyotes, directly, or by throwing away things like apple cores. They also hope to reduce the risk by teaching the coyotes to fear people, using loud noises, said Quann.

But those that do approach people will have to be put down, he said

Lynx are successfully living and breeding in Maine,,,,,,,,,,,,Lynx have recently reclaimed New Hampshire and Vermont with a breeding population likely...............Let us hope that even with warming temperatures, our "Big Pawed Cat" can find a way to compete with the sympatric Bobcat and carve out a living in Northern New England in the 21st century

Canada lynx poses for photos in The County
By Natalie Bazinet, Aroostook Republican News

This Canada lynx has earned celebrity status in Aroostook County as this photo, taken by Leslie Jackson of Washburn, has been a social media hit. Jackson spotted the cat on July 15 near the Washburn/Caribou line on Route 164.

WASHBURN, Maine — One of the challenges of wildlife photography is that subjects rarely stay still — but Director of Aroostook County Tourism Leslie Jackson didn’t have that problem at all when she came across an easy-going Canada lynx on July 15.

While taking a Sunday drive, Jackson spotted the normally elusive cat near the Washburn/Caribou line on Route 164, lounging in the shade about 30 to 40 feet off the road. “We stopped and luckily I had my camera with me; I took seven or eight shots and we watched it for about five minutes — it had no concerns at all that we were there,” Jackson said.

To confirm the species, Jackson sent the photo along to Richard Hoppe, regional biologist at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife office in Ashland. “Definitely a lynx, nice picture with the cat seemingly not having a care in the world on this hot day,” Hoppe wrote to Jackson.

He told Jackson that the sighting would be documented to the site record and added that they had noted lynx tracks around the Carson Road.

Lynx are a federally threatened species. According to the DIF&;W website, adult males average about 33.5 inches long and weigh between 26 and 30 pounds; females are about 32 inches long and average 19 pounds.

Additional information regarding the Canada lynx can be found by visiting www.maine.gov/ifw/
wildlife/species/endangered_species/canada_lynx.

A friend shared some pictures from the Glacier Park region showing how livestock grazing denudes habitat of important wildlife cover,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,excellent grazing versus no grazing pictures,,,,,,,,,,,,, " the difference between the two is striking!"

Contrast of livestock grazed and livestock free

Here's a couple of photos I took this past weekend in the Cutbank Creek area on the boundary between Glacier NP where no livestock are permitted and the Blackfoot Indian Reservation which is grazed. These photos were taken a couple of hundred feet apart on the same drainage. The difference is striking.

The Cows chewed this piece of ground to the quick

Although the grazed areas not bare dirt, notice the lack of hiding cover due to livestock removal of vegetation--if you're a ground squirrel, ground nesting bird, etc. you're out of luck on the grazed area.

If you're an elk looking for something eat, you probably need to forage someplace else--especially in winter when the grasses are under snow.

No livestock on this piece of land

 Also consider the loss of flowers and how it affects all kinds of wildlife--hummingbirds, moths, butterflies, bees, and other wildlife dependent on wildflowers are at a loss in the livestock grazing area.

Also due to the removal of tall vegetation, in winter, the high winds in the area, likely blow snow away from the grazed areas compared to the ungrazed area contributing to drier conditions.
livestock production has a tremendous cost to wildlife and biodiversity preservation hasn't thought about it very deeply.

PROJECT COYOTE gaining momentum in convincing Communities to learn to co-exist with Coyotes rather than trapping and killing them..............Carson, California is the latest town to give co-existance a try---Thumbs up to our friends Camilla Fox and Randy Feilich for putting in the time and energy to open the minds of Carson residents to a sustainability plan for our Songdogs

From:  Camilla Fox ;cfox@projectcoyote.org
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 05:30:28 -0700
To: Rick Meril
Subject: Carson coyotes won't be trapped for now

Project Coyote scored a significant victory today on the coyote trapping front in the City of Carson, CA (suburb of LA). We shifted the vote from 100% in favor of  coyote trapping and killing at the  last two City Council meetings to a unanimous decision today to stop trapping for now and instead explore development of a coyote coexistence program w/ establishment of a task force. I think our petition (signed by over 10,000 people), our presence (along with wildlife advocates we mobilized), our offering of expertise and guidance and the media's presence is what shifted the vote.

You can see our news release about this attached and on Project Coyote's Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151054832787173&set=a.156680717172.114095.84167917172&type=1&theater

And just last week we scored a similar victory in the City of Davis- this time convincing their City Council and Mayor to stop contracting with USDA Wildlife Services and hence end subsidized predator control. Read more here:
Davis Cuts Ties with Wildlife Services Over Coyote Killings
By Tom Knudson
Sacramento Bee
7.19.12

We have committed to both communities to help them develop model coyote coexistence plans and public outreach programs starting with educational evening forums on Living with Coyotes that will be free and open to the public.

There's nothing that gives me greater joy than to see people mobilized and empowered at the grassroots level to create real change and to make this a better world for animals and the earth.

Progress ~ one community at a time!

For America's Song Dog,

Camilla
____________________
Camilla H. Fox, Executive Director
Project Coyote
P.O. Box 5007
Larkspur, CA 94977
ph: 415.945.3232
www.ProjectCoyote.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Los Angeles News
Carson coyotes won't be trapped for now
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Leo Stallworth

CARSON, Calif. (KABC) -- Carson city officials called an emergency meeting to deal with thecity's coyote problem. Coyotes have been roaming neighborhoods, andresidents are terrified.

"We're all in danger. We've got a lot of frail, older seniorsthat walk a dog. If a coyote went after them, they would not have achance," said Tiny Cook, a Carson resident.

Animal rightsactivists are demanding that the city stop trapping and killing coyotes. City officials on Wednesday voted to suspend all trapping of coyotes.Trappers had removed four coyotes this year. State law requires coyotesthat are trapped to be euthanized instead of being relocated.
Officials decided to bring in animal rights groups to find a more humane way to deal with the problem.

"With coyote education and a co-existence strategy that we can work togetherwith the city of Carson, and hopefully at that point, trapping will notbe an issue," said Randi Feilich of Project Coyote.
Carson Mayor Jim Dear said if the new plan does not work, they will consider going back to trapping."It is still a distinct possibility if this plan doesn't work, but I have to add, I believe this plan will work," Dear said.

Officials said this spring, an explosion in the coyote population in the city'smarshlands has created a crisis. They said hungry coyotes have attackedand killed nearly two dozen dogs and cats. Residents are walking theirpets, armed with bats, sticks, pepper spray and blow horns.
Carson resident Paul Randall said he has been chased by coyotes several times. He is willing to try the more humane way to deal with this crisis.

"We are willing to work with anybody and we're headed in that direction indoing what is best for the coyotes and what's best for the residents,"said Randall.
Randall said educating the public, in part, calls for residents not to leave pet food or pets out unattended. He saidtaking the coyotes' food source away will hopefully make them stay away.
If the more humane education campaign fails, city officials plan torevisit the issue next month to decide whether or not to go back totrapping and killing coyotes.

The Inter-Agency Grizzly Bear Study Team that was formed in 1973 to monitor the status of the Grizzly population in the Yellowstone ecosystem is reporting that season to date this year 10 of the 16 Grizzly deaths have been determined to be of natural causes........Normally, this % of mortality is tied to human causes............Old age setting in on the population or is it a declining Whitebark Pine food source contributing to the death spiral?

National Geo.com reports:

A spike in the mortality rate for grizzly bears has been reported in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem earlier in the season than is typical according to my colleague Frank van Manen. Dr. van Manen is the Team Leader of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team and President of the International Association for Bear Research & Management.

Formed in 1973, to address specific concerns over the management of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team monitors the status and population trends of grizzly bears in the region.

Essentially, the Team conducts research that will determine whether GYE grizzlies will retain “threatened” status under the Endangered Species Act.

Substantial changes in demographic and population trends in the GYE grizzly bears could influence policy and ultimately conservation status, which makes this report more of a significant finding.

Under the auspices of the Department of Interior, the Team is comprised of scientists representing the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribal Fish and Game Department, and the States of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

Although most deaths in the region at this time of season are usually human-caused, 10 of 16 grizzly bears monitored by the Team died of natural causes already this year. Although the data may warrant attention, biologists refrain from jumping to conclusions and caution others to do the same. “We should be careful not to make too much of this,” said Frank van Manen. “We’re seeing the typical range of conditions that we’d see with grizzly mortality.

“The fact that there were two females with cubs that were killed inflates the numbers a little bit,” van Manen said. ”We’re seeing an aging of the population as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if we start to see more of these bears dying from old age.” Concern over the declining population of whitebark pine stands due to mountain pine beetle infestations has been speculated as potential factor in the deaths of the bears. Whitebark pine tree seeds are an important pre-hibernation food source for grizzlies in the region.

But they are a critical late-season food source for grizzlies, not an earlier-season resource. So according to van Manen it is “probably too early to say” if the conifer plays a role in the mortality rate recorded thus far this season. In fact, seed production seemed “pretty reasonable” compared to productivity in the past few years, according to the bear biologist.

It remains to be seen what impact this mortality rate will have on the population of bears in the GYE, which numbers around 600 animals.

The ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION was a science-based conservation organization.............. Today, the organization now ignores and defies science and panders to outfitters, politicians and hunters who have little understanding of wildlife and, in particular, interactions between wolves and elk........... The group has abandoned principle for income and popularity

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wolves and the Abandonment of Science

Murie's first scientific treatise on elk, 1951

In a sad, but justified move, the family of Olaus Murie recently demanded that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) cancel the organization's Olaus J. Murie Award because of the RMEF's "all-out war against wolves" that is "anathema to the entire Murie family." 

I conceived and created the Olaus J. Murie Award (with coordination and approval from the Murie family) on behalf of the RMEF in 1999, when the RMEF was a science-based conservation organization. The award recognized scientists working on behalf of elk and elk habitat in honor of Olaus Murie, who is widely considered the "father" of modern elk research and management for the ground-breaking work he conducted at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the 1940s. He also wrote "Elk of North America" – the first, most thorough and comprehensive scientific treatise on elk and elk management, which has since been updated several times by the Wildlife Management Institute.  (I have read Murie's book several times, and was honored to have had a chapter published in the most recent edition.) 

Since then, the RMEF got rid of all the good leaders who not only helped create and shape the RMEF, but had solid, impressive backgrounds in wildlife biology, ecology and science-based wildlife management.  The organization now ignores and defies science and panders to outfitters, politicians and hunters who have little understanding of wildlife and, in particular, interactions between wolves and elk.  The group has abandoned principle for income and popularity.

During my ten years as the conservation editor for RMEF's Bugle magazine, I wrote many award-winning science-based articles and essays regarding wildlife, ecology, natural history and wildlife management.  Several of those stories focused on science that the RMEF itself helped fund showing clear, solid evidence of improvements in the health of habitat and elk herds living among wolves; how wolf predation was mostly compensatory and not additive; how elk behavior, habits and habitat choices changed in the presence of wolves, and many other interconnected complexities that factored in such as habitat conditions, habitat effectiveness, vulnerability,  bull-to-cow ratios, breeding behavior, calving and calf survival rates.  In those days, the RMEF helped convey and disseminate accurate information to keep people informed , supporting the kind of good, solid science that Olaus Murie himself began and would have been proud of.

Today, the RMEF is run by a former marketer for NASCAR and the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association, with no understanding of wildlife or elk ecology, who has called wolf reintroduction the "worst ecological disaster since the decimation of bison herds;" continues to erroneously claim wolves are "decimating" and "annihilating" elk herds; who viciously attacks anyone who disagrees; and does what he can to keep the truth from being published.  (Myself and other science-based writers have all been banished from writing for Bugle, with no explanation.)

This, despite the tremendous recoveries and improvements to elk and other wildlife habitat in Yellowstone thanks to wolf recovery; that there are now more elk in Montana (and more hunting opportunity) than ever; that I see as many elk as always in the country I hunt, and that Montana outfitters are claiming the best elk hunting success in years.

Good for the Murie family! The RMEF has become a disgrace to the good, science-based research and management that Olaus Murie began and promoted.

"Many individual ranchers, towns and cities are endorsing non-lethal alternatives to predator management, as they acknowledge the role of the predator in sustaining a healthy ecosystem"---.Veterinary Technician April Lane..................."The days of trapping are over. It is now time to preserve Montana's wildlife." – Chuck Jonkel, wildlife biologist and former trapper..........A Montana resident and person of reason and restraint, April Lane making sane, sensible and downright soldi sense in her call for Montana to end the practice of trapping wildlife

Argument arsenal: Base wolf plans on independent studies; trapping has no place in 21st century

APRIL LANE missoulian.com

In response to Mark Holyoak's (July 18) guest column, it is important to note that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks are not the only folks with access to science and biology.For every so-called scientific study that attempts to give credence to the extreme predator "management" policies and anti-wolf rhetoric currently being pushed by the likes of RMEF CEO and President David Allen, opposing studies can be found, legitimate in scholarship. There's a reason the family of Olaus Murie ("the father of modern elk management") has withdrawn support from RMEF, citing RMEF's "unscientific and untenable anti-wolf policies" in their open letter this past week.

As consumers of information, we can better serve ourselves by seeking out studies by independent wolf biologists, as opposed to studies by "experts" who are on the payrolls of special interest groups. The fact that individuals or organizations have an opinion does not preclude us or them from having experience or knowledge based on science and biology. Simply stated, just because we disagree with you does not make us wrong.

Wolf caught in a leg hold trap

Montana's wolf management plan may have been devised a decade ago, but things have changed. Thankfully, we have evolved and continue to do so. As a society, we acknowledge that animals are sentient beings, capable of many of the same emotions as ourselves. The trapping component of said management plan has no place in our society – this is the 21st century.

As a veterinary technician who has seen these injuries firsthand, I challenge anyone to tell me that animals do not suffer when they are caught in any of the types of traps that litter our public lands. Animals caught in traps can languish for days; starving, unable to defend themselves as they fall victim to predator attacks, waiting for their killers to finally check their traplines; waiting to be strangled, stomped on the chest, beaten, injected with household chemicals – just to preserve the hide for a few bucks. This is reality, not a "knee-jerk" emotional reaction. This is the fate of not just endangered and/or struggling species such as wolverines and fishers, but your dog or cat, or any other animal unfortunate enough to come across a trap. No matter how you feel about wolves, no creature deserves to die in this way.


Coyote caught in a leg hold tray

Let's look at the numbers.
• For every one target animal, there are at least two non-target animals trapped and discarded due to injury.
• There are more than 800,000 reported trapping deaths since 1996 in Montana (many are never reported).
• Trapping is practiced by less than 2 percent of Montanans.
• Trapping brings to Montana revenue of less than $100,000 – wildlife viewing brings in millions of dollars.
Also consider:
• There is no trap check requirement in Montana; animals can be left in traps for days, suffering from pain, cold, hunger, thirst and vulnerable to predator attacks.
• Hunting ethics would not tolerate the torture of an animal, or allow it to suffer for days.
• Trapping is not fair chase.
• Trapping is cruel and indiscriminate.
• Trapping can't guarantee a clean kill.
• Trapping promotes the commercialization of publicly owned wildlife.
• With thousands of traps set on public lands, and now another layer of larger and potentially lethal traps for wolves, no one really can know the sheer number of traps on our public lands, or the actual number of animals caught or killed.
• Larger traps have the potential to become a public safety issue.


Lynx caught in a leg hold trap

Please, don't make the argument that other states use trapping in their arsenal of management tools. Just because someone else does it, doesn't make it right. Many individual ranchers, towns and cities are endorsing non-lethal alternatives to predator management, as they acknowledge the role of the predator in sustaining a healthy ecosystem.

And to those who trap, please don't tell me that trapping gives some kind of spiritual connection to the victim in your trap. And don't tell this Montanan that I don't have a spiritual connection to wildlife because I prefer to see them alive in their environment. Take it from a former trapper:
"The days of trapping are over. It is now time to preserve Montana's wildlife." – Chuck Jonkel, wildlife biologist and former trapper.

April Lane is a veterinary technician and supporter of Footloose Montana, a nonprofit organization that promotes trap-free public lands in Montana.

 

The Trent University team of Biologists and Geneticists who are a proponent of the Eastern Wolf being its own species and not an admix of Gray Wolves and Western Coyotes have just published their illuminating peer reviewed article entitled: CONSERVATION GENOMICS IN PERSPECITIVE: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING CANIS EVOLUTION IN NORTH AMERICA.......................The article(click on link below to read full article published in BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION) rebuts the findings of VonHolt et all(2011) that supported the conclusion of a two-species model of Canis evoluttion in North America claiming that the Eastern Wolf is a by-product of the hybridiazation of the Gray Wolf and the Western Coyote...............Read thorougly the Rutledge et al. alternative conclusion that there is in fact a three-species model of Canis evolution that includes the Eastern Wolf( C. lycaon) as a distinct North American evolved Wolf...............These two competing interpretations of the Canis evolution in North America is what prompted this blog to come into existance in 2010..................A tip of the hat to both groups of researchers for their tireless and unending pursuit of the truth................I come away backing the 3 species model based on all of the facts thus far provided by both camps..........Your thoughts and feedback please!

click here to read the full article: CONSERVATION GENOMICS IN PERSPECTIVE: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING CANIS EVOLUTION IN NORTH AMERICA



Eastern Coyote

Eastern Wolf

Gray Wolf

Western Coyote