Blue Bird houses and Wood Duck houses we are all used to seeing and accepting as our way of helping these species recover from our altering their habitat,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Will the Black Bears on Vancouver Island respond in kind to a conservation program designed to give them additional options to overwinter in?.......The reason for this man-made intervention is due to the fact that hydroelectric facility flooding in the area has removed large trees that bears would have used to make dens.............. This loss of habitat could be exponentially destructive since generations of bears often reuse existing tree dens...............Biologists are lining the 3 experimental plastic culverts with tree boughs and scents to attract the attention of the bears...........Biologists feel it will likely take up to 5 years to determine if these artificial resting sites will compensate for the land destruction caused by the Dams in the region..............Hey guys,,,,a better solution,,,,,,,,,Lets work on de-commissioning the dams so that the trees grow back!!!!!

http://shar.es/1XOK6P

Black bears flirting with

 hibernation in new man-made 

dens on Vancouver Island

BY SAM COOPER, THE PROVINCE NOVEMBER 28, 2014

7

• STORY
• PHOTOS ( 2 )

A female black bear and her cubs investigate one

 of the three plastic-culvert bear dens built in the 

forest-land of Jordan River, in a pilot program to

 increase bear habitat lost on Vancouver Island.

 Submitted photo

A number of coastal black bears have been
poking around artificial dens created as part
of a new Vancouver Island conservation
program, but it’s too soon to tell if the bears
 will take up winter residence.

This summer, Helen Davis of
 Artemis Wildlife Consultants
 installed three dens using three
-metre-long plastic culverts,
 placed in the deep
 forests of the Jordan River
 watershed west of
Victoria.

The plastic dens, open-ended at one end and
 lined with conifer boughs and special scents to
 hopefully make bears comfortable, have been
placed as part of a pilot project funded by the
 Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program.

Black bears use hollow tree structures for
 winter dens, but hydroelectric facility flooding
 in the area has removed large trees that bears
would have used to make dens. The loss of
habitat could be compounded, since generations
 of bears often reuse existing tree dens.

The goal of Davis’s team’s project is to increase
 black bear habitat in the area, and mitigate for
habitat lost to flooding and reservoir creation for
the Jordan River hydroelectric dam.

Davis says this den-creation technique has
never been tried before, and monitors won’t
 know until spring if the plastic dens have
been fully used. In the months leading up to
the current hibernation period, remote sensor
 cameras placed near the den structures have
 captured families of bears nosing and pawing
and investigating the plastic winter-homes,
which gives Davis some hope.

“We figure it might take up to five years, with
the plasticky smell and that sort of thing,”
 before bears adopt the man-made dens,
 Davis said.

There are up to 160,000 black bears in B.C.,
 about 25 per cent of Canada’s population,
according to the Ministry of Environment.

Will the Federal Government infuse Grizzlies into North Cascades National Park in Washington State as they are claiming to be considering doing?........If this occurs, the bears will have 10,000 square miles of alpine meadows, granite peaks and sagebrush filled valleys to wander in..................The U.S.F.W Service feels that 200 Griz could occupy this Park if all goes well.......... The last spotting of a Grizzly in this region was in 2010, likely a migrant from Canada...............There is no evidence that the bears currently occupy this Park and the National Park Service now has set aside $700,000 to do a 3 year feasibility study to determine if Gizzlies could successfully make a living here............Noting the probability of Bears actually being released, one should look at the last type study and re-introduction of Griz in the Montana and Idaho Bitteroot Mountains where the Feds were ready to introduce the bears until President Bush vetoed the plan..............Lots of Rancher and political interests against all carnivore re-introductions.................Let us see how all of this unfolds and hope for a breakthrough where science weighs heavier than politics

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141130
-grizzly-reintroduction-cascades-national-park-environment/

One of the Wildlife re-introduction success stories of the 20th century is the restocking of Wild Turkeys all across the USA..........Ben Franklin wanted The Turkey to be listed as our National Bird(instead, the honor went to the Bald Eagle) as it was omnipresent across the eastern seaboard during the colonial period and was so much a part of the dietary regimine of the populace(and not just on Thanksgiving)..........There are six subspecies of wild turkeys found in North America, with the eastern subspecies,Meleagris gallopavo silvestris, being the most prolific.................Where mast trees are found(oaks, beech, etc), Turkeys load up on Fall acorns..........As autumn mast becomes more scarce, turkeys survive on mosses, buds, seeds, and fern spores............. They will also scavenge man-made food supplies, feasting on scattered corn left after the harvest, or seeds beneath a birdfeeder............ Manure piles are also popular winter feeding sites...........While some birds are susceptible to bitter cold winters, Turkeys can generally manage quite well............. They have a harder time in deep powdery snow, which makes foraging for food and escaping predators a challenge...............Like Deer, when deep powder snow impacts their habitat, Turkeys "gang up" in stands of hemlock, pine and fir which hold a lot of snow in their branches,,,,,,and thus the ground beneath provides good shelter for the birds

http://shar.es/1XIdLh

Wild Turkeys

by Carolyn Lorié

November 17th 2014

Outside Story

4 Comments

Illustration by Adelaide Tyrol

By late October, with the summer birds long gone, I find myself growing ever more appreciative of the birds that stick around, including wild turkeys. With their leathery necks and odd gaits, they are reliably entertaining and interesting subjects.

There are six subspecies of wild turkeys found in North America, with the eastern subspecies,Meleagris gallopavo silvestris, being the most prolific. In Vermont there are an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 birds, while in New Hampshire the figure is about 40,000.

Despite their numbers and year-round presence, they aren’t always easy to see. The onset of fall brings about behavioral changes in the birds and, sadly for those of us who enjoy watching them, that can mean fewer sightings than in spring and summer.

As the days grow short and cold and hard frosts become widespread, the grasses where turkeys forage for insects and seeds die off. The need for an alternative food source arises and this is when the hunt for nuts begins. According to Amy Alfieri, Wild Turkey Project Leader for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, we tend to see less and less of them as the search for mast pulls the birds from the roadsides and fields and into the forests.

The transition from field to forest also makes for different hunting tactics and challenges. In spring, hunters only pursue male turkeys (toms), which are often out in the open, strutting their stuff. “In the spring, the toms like to be seen,” explained Gary Spooner, who teaches hunter safety for the Upper Valley Fish and Game Club. In autumn, hunters can shoot birds of either sex, but good nut years tend to disperse the birds, which can make them harder to locate. Also in fall, mature toms are much warier. “Once a tom has been around a season or two,” said Spooner, “they know how to get away.”

Not only do turkeys’ feeding grounds change as summer fades, so does the company they keep. In the spring and summer, hens and their poults stick together day and night, with flocks often consisting of several hens and their offspring. Once fall sets in, however, the poults are often no longer roosting in the same trees as their mothers. They find nearby trees in which to spend the night. During the day, the poults and hens still feed and travel together.

The more significant shift, however, is the departure of the young males, known as jakes, from an established flock. The jakes leave their mothers and sisters and form their own flocks, with siblings often sticking together and joining other young males. Mature toms will also flock with one another in the winter and then separate when the breeding season starts in the spring.

But first they need to make it through winter. As autumn mast becomes more scarce, turkeys survive on mosses, buds, seeds, and fern spores. They will also scavenge man-made food supplies, and these may lure them out into the open at times you would not otherwise see them: for example, feasting on scattered corn left after the harvest, or seeds beneath a birdfeeder. Manure piles are also popular winter feeding sites.

Though last winter was an especially cold one, a status report put out by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department noted that the cold had relatively little impact on the wild turkey population. In Vermont, the 2014 spring harvest was lower than the previous year, which may indicate a slight dip in population, but not dramatic, said Alfieri.

Turkeys can generally manage the bitter cold. They have a harder time in deep powdery snow, which makes foraging for food and escaping predators a challenge. According to Alfieri, they can scratch through a maximum six inches of fluffy snow, and about a foot of packed snow. When the ground gets covered with a powdery snowfall, flocks will congregate in stands of hemlock, pine, and other softwoods. "Softwood stands provide mostly shelter, as the trees will hold snow in the canopy, and there will be less on the ground for the turkeys to contend with," explains Alfieri.

As the days continue to get shorter and the temperatures continue to drop, we may have to work a little harder to catch a glimpse of wild turkeys. But they are out there – flocks of hens and poults, jakes and toms – preparing to tough out another winter.

Carolyn Lorié lives with her two rescue dogs and very large cat in Thetford, Vermont.

Instead of coming out in favor or re-introducing Florida Pumas north of the Caloosahatchee River(it is there that Pumas run into a major highway blocking easy natural re-introduction), the Florida Fish and Wildlife folks make the inane statement that "THEY'RE PRODUCING ENOUGH KITTENS THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THE MORTALITY(car collisiions reach a record 20 puma deaths in 2014) THAT OCCURS".............Wow,,,,,,,,,,,,as is almost always the case, state biologists are either brainwashed into not taking up the cause for larger Puma habitat or too scared for their jobs due to pressure from "Higher-Ups" to keep their mouth shut and follow the business/ranching/farming/hunting protocols that dictate how carnivores are to be "managed(reduced greatly) in their given state...............As many of you readers know, there is a U.S.F.W federal mandate stating that there are to be at least 3 separate Puma populations of some 100+ individuals spread across the southeast state for recovery of these "Cats" to be deemed "sustaining into the forever".....................Well short of that paradigm and way of thinking we are on this Thanksgiving Saturday, 2014

click on links to read article about the record setting 20th Puma
to be killed by car collision in 2014


http://fw.to/aPvWeIS

Record 20th Florida panther killed by vehicle

Most trees have their life span encoded in their genes. When the switch is thrown, the tree will begin to die............. For some species that is measured in decades............. For others, centuries........... For a few, millennia............. And just as with humans, some individuals live longer than others before the inevitable occurs................According to the Eastern OldList, an online database of the oldest confirmed trees in eastern North America, a white cedar growing on the Niagara escarpment lived to the ripe old age of 1,653 before dying................. Another lasted to 1,567. A 1,141-year-old specimen is still alive....................There’s a baldcypress in a swamp in North Carolina that’s 1,622 years old, an eastern red cedar in West Virginia that’s been dated at 940 years, a black gum in New Hampshire that’s listed at 679 years, and an eastern hemlock in Pennsylvania that started as a seedling 555 years ago. In the Great Smoky Mountains, there’s a tulip poplar that’s 509 years old....................The oldest white oak on the Eastern OldList is 464, the oldest red oak is 326, and the oldest white pine is 401.................. The oldest tree in the world, according to the OldList, the Eastern OldList’s parent database, is an unnamed Great Basin bristlecone pine growing in California’s White Mountains – it’s 5,062......... It’s no wonder the bristlecone’s scientific name, Pinus longaeva, means “ancient pine” in Latin.

	Old Trees | The Outside Story | November 3rd 2014 Source: northernwoodlands.org There's something in us that can't help but be impressed by an old tree. Perhaps we're simply in awe of…

Old Trees

by Joe Rankin

November 3rd 2014

Outside Story

2 Comments

Illustration by Adelaide Tyrol

There’s something in us that can’t help but be impressed by an old tree. Perhaps we’re simply in awe of something that has outlived generations of humans and will outlive us.

We acknowledge this when we compare the giant sequoia groves to a cathedral. When we compile state lists of big old trees. When we give names like Methuselah to the longest-lived specimens.

Most trees are not destined to live long lives. Ninety percent of the trees in a forest will never become very big, or very old. Some will lose the race for sunlight and food. Others will succumb to insects, wind, fire, or logging.

It’s also true that all tree species aren’t created equal when it comes to potential lifespan. Some species just aren’t built to become centenarians, explained Kevin Smith, a plant physiologist with the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Research Station. They have fragile wood or a weak stem or branch structure; they don’t invest resources in creating chemicals to ward off pests or aren’t very good at walling off wounds before fungi invade them.

But even beyond a tree’s general characteristics, there’s the specter of apoptosis – programmed cell death. According to Smith, most trees have their life span encoded in their genes. When the switch is thrown, the tree will begin to die. For some species that is measured in decades. For others, centuries. For a few, millennia. And just as with humans, some individuals live longer than others before the inevitable occurs.

The longer lived tree species of northern New England tend to be the denizens of climax forests: hemlock, white cedar, white oak, red spruce. All of those can live for hundreds of years. You might think that the oldest specimens would be found on the richest soils, where life is good. But that’s not necessarily so. There are red spruces growing high on the boulder-strewn slopes of New Hampshire’s White Mountains that are 400 years old. Some of the oldest trees in eastern North America – white cedars with 11 centuries under their bark – are growing out of the cliff faces of the Niagara escarpment in Ontario, not the most hospitable environment.

Of course it’s difficult to determine a tree’s capacity for longevity when people have spent the last few centuries cutting down the oldest and largest specimens. And efforts to date preserved specimens pulled from bogs or lakes will only provide so much information. However, standing or recently deceased specimens yield some clues to which species live longest.

According to the Eastern OldList, an online database of the oldest confirmed trees in eastern North America, a white cedar growing on the Niagara escarpment lived to the ripe old age of 1,653 before dying. Another lasted to 1,567. A 1,141-year-old specimen is still alive.There’s a baldcypress in a swamp in North Carolina that’s 1,622 years old, an eastern red cedar in West Virginia that’s been dated at 940 years, a black gum in New Hampshire that’s listed at 679 years, and an eastern hemlock in Pennsylvania that started as a seedling 555 years ago. In the Great Smoky Mountains, there’s a tulip poplar that’s 509 years old.The oldest white oak on the Eastern OldList is 464, the oldest red oak is 326, and the oldest white pine is 401. The oldest tree in the world, according to the OldList, the Eastern OldList’s parent database, is an unnamed Great Basin bristlecone pine growing in California’s White Mountains – it’s 5,062. It’s no wonder the bristlecone’s scientific name, Pinus longaeva, means “ancient pine” in Latin.

Since new trees can sprout from old root systems, the numbers get really eye popping if you consider the age of the roots. Smith noted that some of the largest and most enduring organisms in the world are clonal colonies of aspen. One of them, named Pando, is estimated to be 80,000 years old, though most of its stems are less than 100.

If success as a tree means passing along genes, perhaps age is overrated. “For some species their goal is simply to survive and spread. That strategy is different than being able to exploit a climax forest environment,” Smith said. “To me, if we’re looking at the success of tree species, [short-lived species like] striped maple, pin cherry, and paper birch do a great job.”

Joe Rankin writes about forestry and nature from his home in central Maine.

When I lived in Dallas in the early 1980's, rarely did I see more than a squirrel or species of bird as it relates to wildlife..............Today, Dallas has rewilded with Bobcats, Foxes and Coyotes,,,,,,,,,,,,with the often heard comment of "I guess I have to learn to live with them"..............To City Father's credit, a Co-Existence Policy has been put into effect ending previous Coyote trapping paradigms.....................They have done their homework well, listening to Coyote biologists commentary on how killing coyotes does nothing to reduce their overall numbers but in fact will cause them to start reproducing faster and younger — so populations actually increase.

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/white-rock-east-dallas/headlines/20141127-learn-to-live-with-coyotes-say-experts.ece&ct=ga&cd=CAIyGjQyMjFiY2NiNTFmYjE5OTM6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNHdngPmshaSxOoGaCPtt_8CFykGrQ

Learn to live with coyotes, say experts

By ELIZABETH FINDELL efindell@dallasnews.com

Staff Writer

Published: 27 November 2014 10:56 PM

Updated: 27 November 2014 11:16 PM

When wildlife officials asked a standing-room-only crowd at a White Rock Lake reception hall this month who had seen coyotes in Dallas, nearly every hand went up.

Event organizers expected about 30 people, but 124 showed up. That’s promising for the city’s relatively new educational approach to dealing with wild animals.

Over the last two years, Dallas has altered its response to the presence of beavers, coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, foxes and the like. The city ended a contract for wildlife trapping services and instead last year sought proposals for “humane wildlife management strategies that support co-existence of the human and wildlife population.”

Those strategies include teaching people to scare away coyotes, effectively training the animals to rely on their natural fear of humans. The educational message is emphasized at this time of year, when calls about coyotes rise.

Cold weather makes the animals move around more in daylight, and when plants lose their leaves, it makes wildlife more visible.

And after a few drought years in which pup survival rates were low, coyote populations are rebounding so wildlife officials “expect a fair number of complaints as these animals disperse,” said Mike Bodenchuk, Texas director of wildlife damage for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Bonnie Bradshaw, president of 911 Wildlife, agreed. “There definitely have been more calls,” she said, “and we wanted to get accurate information out to people, because 90 percent of what people think they know about coyotes is false.”

Coyotes are found in every state except Hawaii and, to the surprise of many urban dwellers, in virtually every big city. One study in Chicago found them living in even the most densely populated neighborhoods, not just in open or brushy areas.

Since 911 Wildlife won the Dallas contract for wildlife management last year, it has worked to assure residents that coyotes are at home in the city, and that they are by nature shy canines.

Occasionally, coyotes will prey on pets, but such attacks are relatively rare. Coyotes prefer a diet of rodents and fallen fruit.

Jody Jones, director of Dallas Animal Services, said the decision to stop routinely trapping and killing coyotes and other wildlife came partially from calls for a more humane approach and partially from budget cuts. Previously, the city paid trappers for each animal caught and removed. That made wildlife management costly and focused on the wrong goal, she said.

Animal researchers say selectively killing coyotes does nothing to reduce their overall numbers but in fact will cause them to start reproducing faster and younger — so populations actually increase.

In North Texas, no one keeps data on coyote populations, so it’s impossible to know what effect the trend away from trapping has had. Dallas Animal Services, 911 Wildlife and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reported no discernible change in the number of calls they’ve gotten.

The city’s message at the White Rock presentation persuaded Lori Peniche, 57. She lives near White Rock Creek and worried that a coyote might snatch one of her two dogs.

She learned that she probably shouldn’t leave the smaller dog, a Pomeranian, outdoors alone. But she was relieved to learn that coyotes only weigh, on average, about 30 pounds.

“You hear people claiming they’re the size of German shepherds,” she said. “Well, now I know. My corgi outweighs a coyote by 10 pounds, at least.”

Sally Johnson, 60, whose cat was killed by a coyote in August, also praised the city’s approach. She lives west of White Rock Lake and says she’s gotten used to having coyotes as neighbors.

If she gets another cat, it will be an indoor cat, she said.

“Because I don’t have a choice.”

The amount of consternation that 80 or so Mexican Wolves stirs up in the Ranching communities of New Mexico and Arizona is truly mind boggling and downright disturbing to anyone who carries an ounce of "biophilia" in their bones..............Let us hope that the U.S.F.W Service does indeed triple the protected land where the Wolves can spread out and multiply(south of Interstate 40 down to the Mexican Border) and that they also relook at the Grand Canyon and the southern Rockies as additional habitat for the Wolves

http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20141126/NEWS06/141129671

Endangered Mexican wolf may get more room to roam

By FELICIA FONSECA
Associated Press

Article Last Updated: Wednesday, November 26, 2014 5:18pm

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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Federal officials have proposed more than tripling the current number of endangered Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest and greatly expanding the area they can roam.

Related stories

• After 70 years, wolf returns

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday it would finalize a decision in January for changes to a reintroduction program that has stumbled through legal battles, illegal shootings, politics and other programs. The agency said its favored proposal aims to increase the genetic diversity of the wolves, and lessen impacts to ranchers and potential prey on tribal lands.

The wolves currently roam about 7 million acres of federal, tribal and private land in far eastern Arizona and western New Mexico.

The proposal increases the number of sites where wolves could be released and eventually will allow the animals to disperse throughout Arizona and New Mexico south of Interstate 40 to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ranchers and community leaders in rural areas have opposed expansion efforts, saying that wolves that don’t find deer and elk to feed on could turn to livestock and domestic animals instead, said Caren Cowan, executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association.

“It’s cruel to the animals because there is no prey base,” she said. “They are doomed to failure.”

Under the Fish and Wildlife proposal, livestock owners could kill any wolf that is biting, wounding or killing livestock on federal land. Pet owners could do the same on on-federal land. Deer and elk on tribal lands also would be protected.

Sherry Barrett, Mexican wolf recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the proposal creates a balance between growing the wolf population and the impacts that wolves might have on local communities.

The last count of wolves showed there are a minimum 83 in the wild. Wildlife officials said they would work toward managing a population of 300 to 325 wolves under the proposal that increases the habitat suitable for wolves by nearly four times what’s available now. If the population exceeds that number, wolves could be relocated to Mexico, be placed in captivity or killed as a last resort, Barrett said.

“We have several options available,” she said.

The target population likely will go up once the Fish and Wildlife Service develops a recovery plan, Barrett said. A coalition of environmental groups recently sued the agency for not crafting and implementing a valid recovery plan with measurable goals for recovery of the wolves in the Southwest.

The proposal to expand the territory for wolves was welcomed by environmentalists who said that wildlife managers need to do more to help the wolves repopulate. But it falls short of including the territory they wanted around the Grand Canyon and in the Southern Rocky Mountains, and short on the target population, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity.

“Putting them at 325 is still going to put them in grave danger,” he said. “There’s no science behind that.”

This blog tends to focus on Trophic Cascades and the positive "top down" influences that Carnivores have on natural systems.....................As we all know, bottom up influencers,,,,,,,,,,especially the quality of the soil and the underground life that soil fosters is critical to the above-ground diversity of life found in a given region.................Recent soil biodiversity research has revealed that below-ground communities not only play a major role in shaping plant biodiversity and the way that ecosystems function, but it can also determine how they respond to environmental change

ScienceDaily: Ecology Research News

---

click below to read full article

Unbelievable underworld and  its impact on us all Posted: 26 Nov 2014 10:27 AM PST A new study has pulled together research into the most diverse place on earth to demonstrate  how the organisms below-ground could hold the key to understanding how the worlds ecosystems  function and how they are responding to climate change.

While the cartoons below depict the errant laws and morays that govern how carnivores are hunted in Alaska, so many of our state wildlife agencies(regardless of their printed literature on the subject) do not see carnivores as wildlife,,,,,,,,,,,,but rather as vermin-----baiting, hounding, nighttime spotlighting, no bag limits all reinforcing that perspective,,,,,,,,,,,,Allowing hunting seasons that penetrate into annual breeding and pup/kitten/cub birthing and caretaking periods strike me as particularly barbaric and devoid of all good science on the subject...............The only way it changes is if the general population stops complaining about this paradigm and instead steps up with a true Game Agency Funding Plan that takes some $$ out of all of our pockets, rather than relying solely on hunter tags to "run the show".............Something to reflect on and discuss around the Thanksgiving table today--Best to everyone for a fun holiday weekend ahead

: For the Monarch Butterfly, are we pursuing the right restoration path by planting non-native milkweed?..............All artificial medicine has side effects that can be as harmful as the malady they are seeking to treat..........Will the Monarch despite it's once vast numbers go the route of the Passenger Pigeon because of our incorrect medicinal prescription?

Sent by rick.meril@gmail.com: For the Monarch  Butterfly, a Long  Road Back By LIZA GROSS The migratory population of  monarch butterflies is  plummeting and well- meaning efforts by  enthusiasts may be  contributing to its plight. Or, copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://nyti.ms/1xfWBhU To get unlimited access to all New York Times articles, subscribe today. See Subscription Options.

Will we forever have our heads buried in the sand like Ostriches as it relates to acknowledging that we are on an Ark,,,,,,,,,,,,with all of the worlds creatures meaningful to long term welfare...............Will we choose to "hear no evil, see no evil" and "feel no evil" in speeding along the current "EXTINCTION EVENT" that we are conducting with the other lifeforms on Planet Earth?

Sent by rick.meril@gmail.com: Stampeding  Black Elephants  - NYTimes.com Or, copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://nyti.ms/1FdogR8 To get unlimited access to all New York Times articles, subscribe today. See Subscription Options.

Give em a chance and even the female carnivores will "take a walk on the wild side"...............Will we give Wolves a chance to to take up home on the 359,000 square miles that the Center for Biological Diversity has determined viable based on prey base, road and human density?

A Wolf at Grand Canyon: Will She Survive?

Posted: 11/24/2014 10:11 pm EST Updated: 1 hour ago

The wolf has been repeatedly photographed at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and the nearby Kaibab Plateau since early October. DNA tests on feces on Friday confirmed it's a female wolf who wandered some 450 miles south from the northern Rocky Mountains, the same area where wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone nearly 20 years ago.

The Grand Canyon wolf sent a shiver of excitement through wildlife advocates, especially those of us fighting to bring wolves back to the American landscape. We know that with protection and a little bit of tolerance, wolves can regain their footing in many of the places they were driven out of a century ago.

This wolf is a perfect example of how it works: As wolves establish packs in places like Yellowstone and the surrounding areas, lone wolves set off in search of new territories in the hopes that mates will follow and new packs will be born.

But this female in Grand Canyon is also a prime example of America's wolf restoration program at a crucial crossroads.

This wolf is protected now under the Endangered Species Act so, today, if she wanders out of Grand Canyon National Park, she can't be legally killed.

But the Obama administration is poised to change all that. In the coming weeks or months, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to finalize a plan to strip Endangered Species Act protection from nearly all wolves in the lower 48. That means wandering wolves like this one could be shot on sight or subjected to some kind of hunting or trapping season -- the same sort of persecution that pushed them to brink of extinction.

The decision will abandon 40 years of wolf recovery and declare the job finished, even though wolves occupy less than 10 percent of their historic habitat in the lower 48. It will also foreclose any real possibility that wandering wolves -- like the one that showed up this fall in the Grand Canyon -- will be able to establish a home in places where their ancestors lived for thousands of years.

Earlier this month, the Center for Biological Diversity released a first-of-its-kindanalysis identifying more than 359,000 square miles of additional (but unoccupied) wolf habitat in the lower 48 states, including in the Northeast, West Coast, southern Rocky Mountains and even the Grand Canyon.

Over the past 30 years, there've been more than 50 instances where wolves have trekked out of their core recovery areas and into places like Colorado, Utah, New York and Maine. Too often they're quickly killed -- but not all. Perhaps the most famous is OR-7, the Oregon wolf who, in 2011, became the first documented wild wolf in California since the 1920s. He has since found a mate and started a family.

Each of these wandering wolves carries the potential for the restoration of wolves. It's easy to imagine the sound of wolf howls echoing off the walls of the Grand Canyon and through valleys and riverways across the West, a primal call that lived in these places for generations and belongs there still.

The Grand Canyon wolf, in her own small way, offers the promise of return. The question now is whether we'll let her stay.

NJ Fish and Game report on Eastern Coyotes in the Garden State states that the current 3000 population could grow to 5000 based on available habitat

 NJ Fish and Game report on Eastern Coyotes in the Garden State

Coyotes in New Jersey

1500 to 3000 Coyotes in NJ as of 2014

The first known record of coyote occurrence in New Jersey was recorded near Lambertville, Hunterdon County in 1939. The animal was described in newspaper accounts as "a long, bushy tailed animal looking something like a police dog but with the coloration of a coyote". The mounted skin is in the collection of theNew Jersey State Museum in Trenton. The Division of Fish and Wildlife received another 29 reports statewide sporadically over the ensuing 40 years, but increased significantly since 1980. To date, coyotes have been documented in nearly 400 municipalities from all 21 counties (94% of the state's land area):

A healthy NJ coyote is sometimes mistaken for a wolf.

Eastern coyotes differ from their western counterparts with a larger average size and various color phases, including blonde, red and black. Past interbreeding between wolves and coyotes may be responsible for the larger size and color variations in our eastern coyote. In New Jersey, adult coyotes range in weight from 20-50 lbs. and exceptionally large ones may be up to 55 lbs. Coyotes adjust well to their surroundings and can survive on whatever food is available. They prey on rabbits, mice, birds and other small animals, as well as young and weakened deer. They also consume carrion (decaying tissue). They are tolerant of human activities and rapidly adapt to changes in their environment.

Eastern coyotes differ from their western counterparts with a larger average size and various color phases, including blonde and black.

Coyotes play an important role in the ecosystem, helping to keep rodent populations under control. They are by nature wary of humans. However, coyote behavior changes if given access to human food and garbage. They lose caution and fear. They may cause property damage and threaten human safety, requiring euthanasia. Relocating a problem coyote is not an option because it only moves the problem to someone else's neighborhood.

Past interbreeding between wolves and coyotes may be responsible for the larger size and color variations in the eastern coyote.

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he Life Of Wiley

By Melinda Nye

 The Eastern Coyote (Canis latrans var) has been spotted in every county in the state. Over thirty years New Jersey's coyote population has grown exponentially, from less than 100 to an estimated 3,000 animals. In northern New Jersey, the most concentrated populations have been found in Sussex county and the western halves of Passaic, Morris and Warren counties.

Remarkably, few people notice the wild canine in their midst. Their myopia stems in part from coyote's resemblance to a shy dog. The size of a small German Shepherd, the Eastern Coyote measures four to five feet in length. While larger specimens reside in the Adirondacks; the smaller New Jersey coyotes typically weighs thirty-five to forty-five pounds. Their shaggy fur ranges from a blond-gray to a dark brown that appears almost black. Most people get little more than a quick view of the tail end disappearing into cover, which provides the only clue to the creature's identity; unlike a dog, the coyote carries its droopy, bushy tail downwards.

"Coyote in Winter" by wildlife artist John Mullane.

 Human development -­ with its accompanying refuse and disruption of habitat ­ makes surprisingly good coyote habitat. If, in a northern forest, a coyote might claim a territory as large as 62 square miles, a suburban coyote can thrive in a territory that measures a scant five square miles.
It was only a matter of time before coyotes ambled, swam and leaped in to New Jersey. If the eastbound lane had closed down, they would have arrived on the southbound. Both Pennsylvania and New York estimate their coyote population at about 30,000 animals: 30,000 wily, highly adaptable, long-ranging animals. Increasingly comfortable with humans and not averse to travel, coyotes have swum to islands off Massachusetts. One was caught in Manhattan. Northern New Jersey must have been a no-brainer, like falling in love with the attractive neighbor.

Allan Sampson, a farm manager who takes care of several hundred acres in Somerset and Hunterdon counties, has worked around coyotes for eighteen years. Of the vocal group that has staked a claim along Lamington Road, he says only "they've been behaving themselves. They mind their own business. They're not causing any problem, like bothering livestock or chasing pets or people." He pauses. "Coyotes get a bad rap. Just recently they were blamed for killing sheep. It didn't sound right when I heard an ear was chewed off. Turned out it was the neighbor's dogs. Every time the dogs got loose they made a beeline for the sheep."

 The coyote might just be here to stay. According to the DEP, New Jersey can potentially support a population of 5,000. Although wild coyotes have a life span of only four years, hunting has had little impact. Capture of the very clever, very elusive animal, with its superior senses, defeats most hunters. In 2002 only twenty-three coyotes were taken during the various hunting seasons. Coyotes have a remarkable ability to increase or decrease their litter size depending on competition for the food supply. Hunting, perhaps, accomplishes at best the same thing coyote urine accomplishes with nuisance deer: it maintains the fear and respect of one species for another.

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