There is a direct correlation of increasing Puma hunter kills in Washington State with a decreasing Puma population..............Kills have increased 40% since 2010(108 shot or trapped in 2010 versus 156 in 2012)................Since peaking in the mid 90's at about 2000 animals, the past decade has the Puma population sinking back to the approximate 1500 animals thought to have inhabited the state in the mid 70's................Almost every wildlife resarcher feels this number puts the population in jeopardy of not being sustainable longe term............ Despite the "Puma Friendly" slogan of the Washington Dept. of Wildlife("ENSURE HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE POPULATIONS"), anything but that is in practice being carried out day in and day out

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE   
NEWS RELEASE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091

---

December 26, 2013
Contact: Wildlife Program, (360) 902-2515

Cougar hunting seasons to close Dec. 31
in several areas of the state

OLYMPIA - Cougar hunts in several areas of the state will close at dusk on Dec. 31 now that harvest guidelines for the animals have been reached in those areas, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

Eight of the 49 cougar hunt areas will close, including Game Management Units (GMUs) 105, 117, 149, 154, 157, 162, 163, 328, 329, 335, 336, 340, 342, 346, 382, 388, 560, 574, and 578.

Those GMUs are located in portions of Stevens, Pend Oreille, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, Kittitas, Yakima, Klickitat, and Cowlitz counties.

Dave Ware, WDFW Game Division manager, said this is the second year the department has managed cougar hunts under a plan approved by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in 2012.

That plan establishes harvest guidelines for specific areas of the state, based on cougar populations in those areas, said Ware. Under the plan, WDFW can close areas where cougar harvest meets or exceeds guidelines, while continuing to allow for hunting opportunities elsewhere.

"The goal is to preserve a variety of cougar age classes in numerous areas throughout the state, particularly older animals which tend to be more effective at maintaining sustainable populations," Ware said.

Last year, hunters harvested 156 cougars statewide, up from 145 in 2011 and 108 in 2010. Ware said the number of cougars harvested this season is expected to be similar to last year.

Ware reminds hunters that during the late-season cougar hunt - Jan. 1 through March 31 - other areas of the state could close early.

 Before going afield, hunters should check WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/cougar/ or call the cougar hunting hotline (1-866-364-4868) to check which areas of the state remain open.Any additional closures will be posted on the website and hotline, both of which will be updated weekly.

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

SUMMARY: Cougars in the State of Washington

Cougar Habitat and Population in Washington

The State of Washington encompasses approximately 71,342 square miles of land. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) states that cougars can be found in the forested regions of the state, which represent around 34,168 square miles.

This habitat is distributed throughout much of Washington, except for a large expanse of the Columbia River basin.

WASHINGTON COUGAR HABITAT

Click on map to enlarge.

Reports provided by WDFW and publications by leading cougar biologists indicate that Washington's cougar density is approximately 1.7 cougars per 100 square kilometers of habitat. With about 90,000 square kilometers of habitat (34,168 square miles), Washington's cougar population is currently somewhere around 1,500 animals and likely declining due to increased trophy hunting (July 2011).  

This number is fairly close to what WDFW thought existed back in 1976 — at the end of the bounty period — when populations were considered tragically low and at serious risk.  Despite four decades of 'protection' as a regulated game animal, these low numbers continue to signal the downward spiral of the species towards extirpation (extinction within a specific geographic region).

History of Cougar Management in Washington

Like most western states, cougars in Washington were first "managed" through a bounty process, then left for a few years to the good graces of whoever wanted to take the time to kill them, followed by the species classification by WDFW as a "game animal," a commodity for sale, and since 1997 at bargain basement prices.

It should be noted that all of those so-called management practices consist of a single common element: the lethal removal of cougars to benefit man. WDFW's most recent Cougar Management Plan (2009-2015) has proven itself to be no better. In fact, Washington's alleged "cougar management plan" is more a list of justifications for killing cougars than a serious proposal to manage a wildlife species in a way which creates and enhances a healthy and sustainable natural ecosystem.

WDFW's slogan is "sound stewardship," and some of their cougar management goals actually sound reasonable, especially the goal to "ensure healthy, productive populations." Similarly, WDFW has included an obvious appeasement to conservationists, by including a promise to manage Washington's cougars for "wildlife viewing and photography," no matter how unlikely those non-lethal recreational activities might be. But as with everything, "the price is in the pudding."

 Washington's latest cougar management plan starts out by admitting that there are far fewer cougars in Washington than previously thought. Down from the maximum estimate of 4,100 reported in 2003, to somewhere between 1,900 and 2,100 in 2009. From that point onward this acknowledgement of a cataclysmic reduction in the state's cougar population apparently has no relevance or impact on the plan's primary objectives: placating the unrealistic fears of rural legislators, and satisfying the desires of hunters.

Just as snowmobile trails often allow Wolves to penetrate deeper into forest interiors and thus ante up their predatory influence on Caribou, so do these same trails heighten the impact that Coyotes can have on Canada Lynx(and I am guessing Bobcats as well).......Where snow accumulations were significant, these trails provide travel routes (that in the absence of them) would have not allowed Coyotes access ................."While direct impacts of snowmobiles on lynx were not documented in a recent Study of this subject by biologist Eric Gese(USDA Utah State Unitveristy), the potential impacts of a main competitor, the coyote, is evaluated intesively.................. "Due to their use of snowmobile trails, coyotes have the potential to access areas of habitat that might normally be too energetically difficult to access in deep snow"............... "Lynx, with their superior body mass to footload, can access habitats containing deep snow that coyotes might typically avoid"............. "In addition, expansion of current winter recreation use areas may create persistent travel corridors that could be utilized by coyotes"................ "Since coyote use of snowmobile trails was related to how much was available, coyote movements could possibly be altered by limiting snow compaction".-----Eric Gese......................A number of researchers are suggesting minimizing or rotating compaction areas (thereby limiting potential impacts by coyotes) as a strategy for management agencies concerned with protecting Lynx......................Read biologist Eric Gese' full peer reviewed paper on this subject by clicking on the link just above the Abstract commentary below

The Influence of Snowmobile Trails on Coyote Movements during Winter in High-Elevation Landscapes

• Eric M. Gese mail,
  * E-mail: eric.gese@usu.edu
  Affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
  X
• Jennifer L. B. Dowd,
  Affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
  X
• Lise M. Aubry
  Affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
  X

• Published: December 18, 2013
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082862

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ FULL PEER REVIEWED ARTICLE

Abstract

Competition between sympatric carnivores has long been of interest to ecologists. Increased understanding of these interactions can be useful for conservation planning. Increased snowmobile traffic on public lands and in habitats used by Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) remains controversial due to the concern of coyote (Canis latrans) use of snowmobile trails and potential competition with lynx. 

coyote on logging road

Determining the variables influencing coyote use of snowmobile trails has been a priority for managers attempting to conserve lynx and their critical habitat. During 2 winters in northwest Wyoming, we backtracked coyotes for 265 km to determine how varying snow characteristics influenced coyote movements; 278 km of random backtracking was conducted simultaneously for comparison. 

Despite deep snow (>1 m deep), radio-collared coyotes persisted at high elevations (>2,500 m) year-round. All coyotes used snowmobile trails for some portion of their travel. Coyotes used snowmobile trails for 35% of their travel distance (random: 13%) for a mean distance of 149 m (random: 59 m). Coyote use of snowmobile trails increased as snow depth and penetrability off trails increased. Essentially, snow characteristics were most influential on how much time coyotes spent on snowmobile trails. 

In the early months of winter, snow depth was low, yet the snow column remained dry and the coyotes traveled off trails. As winter progressed and snow depth increased and snow penetrability increased, coyotes spent more travel distance on snowmobile trails. As spring approached, the snow depth remained high but penetrability decreased, hence coyotes traveled less on snowmobile trails because the snow column off trail was more supportive. Additionally, coyotes traveled closer to snowmobile trails than randomly expected and selected shallower snow when traveling off trails.
 Coyotes also preferred using snowmobile trails to access ungulate kills. Snow compaction from winter recreation influenced coyote movements within an area containing lynx and designated lynx habitat.

Figures

123

Citation: Gese EM, Dowd JLB, Aubry LM (2013) The Influence of Snowmobile Trails on Coyote Movements during Winter in High-Elevation Landscapes. PLoS ONE 8(12): e82862. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082862
Editor: Matt Hayward, Bangor University, United Kingdom

Blog Reader Dave Messineo asked me the following question last week----"I have heard coyotes howling in Yellowstone, Arizona, Florida, etc. as well as right here around my home in central New York".......... "Perhaps I can be enlightened by some one but I have never heard a coyote during the day or at dusk or dawn i.e. crepuscular"............ "Coyotes in my experience only howl during the night, well after dusk and well before dawn"............ "Often during the night here in New York I awaken to what sounds like scores of howling coyote howling all around my house".. I would be interested to hear if indeed they do howl at dusk or dawn in other areas(of the Country)"...................Dave, From the articles below, it does appear that both Wolves and Coyotes do howl during daylight hours------Gary Clancy is a hunter and writes a column called SPORTSMANGUIDE.COM------He writes: "Coyotes are most vocal from sunset until an hour after dark and again in the morning just before the first break of day, although they will howl off and on all night long"............"I have heard coyotes howl during the middle of the day on a few different occasions, but this is not common"..............From FREEWEBS.COM comes these statements: "While howling, wolves often alter their voices considerably"........... "As a result people are often "fooled" into believing that there are more wolves present than there really are when they hear wolves howling"................. "People have often guessed, based on listening its howls, that a pack of wolves contained up to 20 individuals, when there were only 3 or 4"............"Also, wolves do not howl only at night"........."They will howl during the daytime, evening or early morning".................From WOLFPARK.ORG comes this commentary---"Despite the assertions of popular mythology, the wolf does not howl only during the full moon"............ "Wolves howl during the day, at night, and any time of year, no matter what the moon is doing".................." Wolves howl most often at dawn and dusk, when they are most active, and during late January and early February, the breeding season"-------Dave, hope this sheds some further light on Wolf and Coyote HOWLING-----Best to you and all our readers for a Merry and a Happy!

Why do wolves howl? Scientists unravel mystery. http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0822/Why-do-wolves-howl-Scientists-unravel-mystery?cmpid=addthis_email#.UrovKFJBnAo.email

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

wolf howling
freewebs.com


There are many misconceptions regarding the reasons wolves howl. Contrary to popular belief, wolves do not howl for the sake of howling at the moon, and despite the traditional imagery, wolves do not always sit when they howl - they often remain standing. Also, wolves do not howl only at night. They will howl during the daytime, evening or early morning.

 They often howl together in a group, and one wolf in the pack will usually start the howling session by pointing its nose towards the sky and howling. The other members of the pack will soon join in excitedly. Under ideal conditions, wolf howls can be heard from as far away as 10 miles (16 km).

While howling, wolves often alter their voices considerably. As a result people are often "fooled" into believing that there are more wolves present than there really are when they hear wolves howling. People have often guessed, based on listening its howls, that a pack of wolves contained up to 20 individuals, when there were only 3 or 4. Some people have claimed that wolves do that deliberately, in order to fool neighbouring packs into believing that there are more animals present than there really are. However, many naturalists and wolf biologists do not accept that idea.

Wolves seem to howl for many reasons. They often howl before they go on a hunt, possibly to rally the pack together, and they often begin to howl after a successful hunt. That suggests that howling serves to assemble a pack together, as wolves often become separated from each other during a hunt. They do not, however, howl while they are hunting, as that would alert potential prey items to the wolves' presence, giving them more time to escape.

 In addition, a wolf may howl alone if it is having troubles locating its pack, as pack members seem to recognize each other's voices, since individual wolves often have their own characteristic way of howling. Wolves will also howl in apparent grief after the death of their mates, and lonely wolf pups often howl in distress. And, as R. D. Lawrence has written in his book, Trail of the Wolf, "somewhat like humans, they [wolves] enjoy a singsong."

Wolf packs may also howl to communicate with other packs, as two different wolf packs will sometimes answer each other's howls. Wolves will also often answer the calls of humans mimicking wolf howls. L. D. Mech (1970) notes that wolves often remain silent for 20-30 minutes after a howling session. He suggests that such a silent period would allow each pack to listen for other wolf packs. If different packs repeated their howling right away, it would be difficult for any one pack to determine how many other packs were in the area.

Wolves howl less frequently during May and June than they do during the rest of the year, likely because that is the time that packs are most likely to have young pups present. It is possible that wolf packs who have young pups present often keep silent so they do not attract attention to their whereabouts, since pups are vulnerable to predators like bears and cougars.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Scoop On(COYOTE)  Howling sportsmanguide.com By Gary Clancy Howling is a very effective way to  locate coyotes and in  one very specific circumstance, \ howling can be used to  bring a coyote into gun range. Here is the scoop on howling. The Locator Howl Coyotes are very communicative.  They use barks, yips, whines, growls and a wide assortment  of howls to communicate with other coyotes in their packs and  also with other individual coyotes and other packs. Sometimes  I think, especially on nights  with a full moon, coyotes howl just  for the fun of it. Coyotes are most vocal from sunset  until an hour after  dark and again in the morning just  before the first break  of day, although they will howl off  and on all night long.  I have heard coyotes howl during  the middle of the day  on a few different occasions, but  this is not common. I use howling to locate good places from which  to call. With the exception of some Western states,  coyotes are not so plentiful that you can just walk  into any old section and expect your calls to be  heard by a coyote or two. When I take the time  to hike into a section and set-up to call, I want to  be assured that coyotes are hearing my calls. I like to cruise the backroads in my pickup truck an  hour or two before first light or for an hour or so  after sunset. I stop every one-quarter to one-half  mile to howl and then listen for a reply from a pack  or a single coyote. When I get a reply, I make note  of the location so that I can return later to call. If I  am familiar with the country, I will usually just tie a piece of orange flagging tape to a nearby branch,  road sign or fence so that I can find the exact  location again when I return to call. If I am hunting Electronic Calls Work Most of the time, I rely upon an electronic call and Johnny Stewart's tape CT 161 Coyote Locator. When I get to a spot from where I want to howl, I pull over and park. I get out of the truck, hold t he speaker at arms' length, turn the volume up about half way on the caller, and slowly move the speaker in a circle so that the sound is directed  in all directions. Then I turn the volume off and  listen for a reply. Usually, if there are coyotes  around they will already be howling when you turn  off the volume. If I don't hear any, I crank the volume all of the way up and repeat the process.  If there is no answer, I'm back in the truck and down the road. Using this method I can usually locate two to six good locations from which to call in a morning or evening of howling. If you don't have an electronic caller, you can use  a mouth blown call. The best I have used is the CH-1, which also happens to be from Johnny Stewart calls. It is easy to blow and has good volume. To learn to make howls on the CH-1, pick up the instructional tape, "ICT 402 Secrets  Of Successful Coyote Howling." I'm firmly c onvinced that one of the most important things you can do to up your calling success is to  locate coyotes with howls before calling. The Lone Coyote Challenge Howl This howl is not a locator call, but is designed to bring a dominant male coyote to the gun. It is most effective during the breeding season, which over much of the country is in late January through the month of February. Coyotes  are territorial and every pack of coyotes will have one "boss dog." This dominant male will  perform the bulk of the breeding duties within  the pack's territory. If a dominant male hears  the challenge howl, the response is usually dramatic and immediate. I've had a couple of big males nearly in my lap. That will get your attention! Coyotes are most vocal from sunset until an hour after dark and again in the morning just before the first break of day, although they will howl off and on all night long. The challenge howl is not a good call to use  for calling in numbers of coyotes because it  is usually only effective on the dominant male in each territory and may even put other  coyotes on the run. I have had a pair of coyotes respond to the call, however. I assume  that the dominant male was already in the  company of a female when he heard the lone coyote challenge and the female just tagged  along with the male when he responded to my howling. Bad mistake on her part, both times! But usually, the challenge howl is only going to  be of interest to the biggest and smartest male  coyote in the area. When calling at this time of the year, I will often start off with the challenge howl in the hopes that  there is a dominant male within hearing. I'll wait 10 minutes for the boss dog to show himself. If he has not arrived by then, odds are good he is not within hearing of the challenge howl. I will then switch over to a conventional call, such as  a cottontail in distress or fawn bleat -- something that will appeal to any coyote within hearing distance. Gary Clancy writes a weekly column for  sportsmansguide.com. Gary has hunted  whitetail deer in 20 different states and  provinces. He has harvested many record-book  animals, and presented hunting seminars from  Tennessee to Wisconsin. Gary also has authored  or co-authored six hunting books, four on   whitetail hunting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WOLF HOWLING Despite the assertions of popular mythology,  the wolf does not howl only during the full moon.  Wolves howl during the day, at night, and any  time of year, no matter what the moon is doing.  Wolves howl most often at dawn and dusk, when  they are most active, and during late January and early February, the breeding season. Wolves do not howl to "strike terror" into the hearts of their prey. Prey can smell that wolves are around and  do not need to be warned by sound of their presence — and it does the wolves no good to  warn the prey that they are hunting. Wolves  hunt in silence, and make use of the advantage  of surprise whenever they can.  A wolf’s howl may be heard up to ten miles away depending on weather conditions and terrain. There are several different kinds of howl, and each has a different meaning depending on the context in which  it is used. The chorus howl, where three or more wolves howl together, is used both to call the pack  members together and to warn other packs of the presence of the howling wolves. The solo howl, howled by one wolf, is primarily used to attract  a mate or to relocate a pack from which the lone wolf has been separated. Duet howls, by two  wolves, have different meanings depending on  whether the wolves are howling simultaneously  or alternately, and on the histories of the two  wolves.  Chorus howls may become rallies, where the howling  wolves and sometimes the whole pack come together  in a mob of wagging tails and sniffing noses. The wolves greet each other during a rally and act very  excited. Lower-ranking wolves will often rally to higher-ranking wolves, directing their greeting behavior primarily toward the dominant animals  and following them around as they howl, offering  them submissive greetings and affirming their status. Sometimes rallies end in small arguments  as the greeting ceremony brings two wolves who  would rather not be near each other into close  contact as they greet others in the group. Source: http://www.wolfpark.org/wolffaq.html

Calgary Grizzly Bear Deaths have hit 29 for the year, twice the number of last year,,,,,,,,,,,,,and the highest death total of the last decade..........The Griz population of this region continues to shrink with an estimated 700 or so Bears still remaining............The advocacy Group, YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON is calling on the Province to update and implement a Grizzly management plan that will minimize human caused deaths caused by road collisions and infrastructure building............

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Province+urged
+boost+protection+grizzlies/9202572/story.html

Province urged to boost protection 
of grizzlies

BY COLETTE DERWORIZ, CALGARY HERALD NOVEMBER 22, 2013

The deaths of 29 grizzly bears in Alberta in 2013, nearly double last year’s deaths and the highest number in a decade, has sparked calls for the province to increase protection for the threatened species through a land-use plan that is currently receiving public input.

Photograph by: Herald files , Parks Canada

CANMORE — The high number of grizzly bear deaths in Alberta this year points to a need for the province to fully implement its own grizzly bear recovery plan, say conservation and education groups.

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development has so far recorded 29 grizzly bear deaths across the province — almost twice last year’s deaths and the highest number in a decade.

“It’s shocking and disappointing to hear,” said Kim Titchener, program director with Wildsmart, which works to reduce conflicts between people and wildlife in the Bow Valley.

“It shows that there is a real need to not only have a great recovery plan for grizzlies, but also some really great outreach and financial support put toward working with communities across Alberta to reduce these conflicts and mortality rates.”

It’s still unknown how many of this year’s deaths were caused by humans (some of the cases are still under investigation), but the province’s carnivore specialist Nathan Webb said the majority will be due to some type of conflict between a bear and a person.

It led to calls Friday for the province to immediately use its own recovery plan to protect the remaining population. “There’s an incredible opportunity right now to implement that through the land-use plan,” said Karsten Heuer, president of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

Alberta is in the midst of public input on a draft land-use plan to guide future decisions on development, recreation and conservation for all of southern Alberta.

Heuer said there’s clearly a need for prompt action on grizzly bears.

“The numbers are pointing to something other than the status quo,” he said. “The whole grizzly bear recovery plan has been this document that has languished since 2008.”

There are only about 700 grizzly bears left in Alberta, leading the province to develop its recovery plan and list them as a threatened species in 2010.

Webb said this week that the province is working to implement the recommendations in the plan, but he noted that conflicts are increasing as the population grows and more people are out on the landscape.

The recovery plan is currently being rewritten by the province and a draft is expected sometime next year.

Anne Raver writes a periodic Nature Column in the New York Times that never fails to get my attention for it's tendency to revolve about the natural beauty of our land............Last week, she focused on a Virginia couple who over the past 20 years has rewilded their once 100 acre abandoned farm field and brought back many of the native plants and animals that call the Virginia Commonwealth home................Part of why I started writing this blog revolved around my own ambition to one day re-wild my own 100 acres, perhaps in Vermont.............Enjoy this article..........For those of us who feel the tug of the land and all of it's creatures, this read bottles the Christmas and holiday spirit like a fine bottle of wine

Sent by rick.meril@gmail.com: In the Garden Where the Wild  Things Are Now By ANNE RAVER Turning an overgrown cornfield into  an enchanted landscape  takes sweat and a serious professional. Or, copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://nyti.ms/1jjYwN9

Where the Wild Things 

Are Now

Rob Cardillo for The New York Times

100 Acres of Poison Ivy Transformed: It took 23 years, but Wayne and Beth Gibbens eventually turned the cornfield they bought in Virginia horse country into a naturalistic landscape.

By ANNE RAVER

Published: December 18, 2013

MIDDLEBURG, VA. — This 100-acre rolling landscape in the middle of horse country was an old cornfield when Wayne and Beth Gibbens bought it in 1990.

“Not one tree on it,” said Mr. Gibbens, 77, a retired Washington lobbyist for the oil and gas industry. “The cornfield was so overgrown with poison ivy, we had to cut it with chain saws.”

And the thicket of multiflora rose and invasive vines was so dense, they had no idea there was a dry stone wall, built before the Civil War, running along their property line.

“We used to come up here and envision what we wanted,” said Mrs. Gibbens, 74, standing at the edge of a wide, lichen-covered outcropping they call Picnic Rock that overlooks the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But when you’re restoring 100 acres, where do you begin?

For starters, she said, “We knew we wanted trees.”

Without the cover of evergreens and deciduous trees, there were few birds, except for starlings and crows. And as a founding member of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center in Austin, Tex., Mrs. Gibbens was determined to encourage wildlife.

“We wanted to bring it back from the cornfield to a natural habitat for creatures, something looked like Virginia,” she said. So the first thing the couple did was plant oaks from acorns and a grove of pines.

Twenty-three years later, the cornfield has been transformed by a combination of their labor and the vision of W. Gary Smith, a designer renowned for his artful naturalistic landscapes. As Elizabeth Epley, the couple’s daughter, said, “Gary created a language, destinations, a story. It calls you to that place.”

In the beginning, there was a lot of hard work, but their story evolved with each discovery: finding Picnic Rock beneath the brush; catching a glimpse of the first song birds to inhabit the nesting boxes they built; watching a female fox carrying a fish from the creek to her pups.

To see these two in their old clothes, hacking away at weeds or picking up rocks in the field — they still do this — you would never know that Mrs. Gibbens came from a cattle ranching family in Texas with ties to the Johnsons, or that Mr. Gibbens had served in the Texas Legislature and recently was a co-chairman of a benefit that raised $5 million for cancer research. They got a good laugh one day when a woman stopped her car to tell them she had been observing what good workers they were and asked if they might have time to help out at her place.

Those first years, they came up every weekend from their home in Arlington, Va., to plant trees: native oaks and hollies, little-known species like sourwood, yellowwood and black gum. Mrs. Gibbens put in a hedgerow of chokeberry, hackberry and dogwood.

They also dug a pond for wildlife and put up their first purple martin house on a tall pole. Within minutes, a purple martin had moved in. “Some people wait years,” Mr. Gibbens said.

They put up 10 more houses, each with a dozen compartments for nesting birds, and a purple martin hotel for many more. One summer, they counted 400 purple martins.

While they were at it, they set up bluebird boxes as well, two dozen of them, and counted 54 baby bluebirds one weekend.

But they still didn’t have a house for themselves on the property, so they found a used camper and parked it by a clear-running spring.

“A little tacky thing,” Mr. Gibbens said, “completely against regulations.”

In lieu of running water, he added, “We put a little pipe in the spring, so we could sort of clean up.”

A few months later, after the novelty wore off, they built a one-room structure that they referred to as their “temporary cottage,” although they used it for 10 years. But after their daughter married and had two children, she started bringing her family down from Bronxville, N.Y., on the weekends, and it got “a little tight and cozy,” Mr. Gibbens said. Especially when everyone’s dogs (various corgis and terriers) piled in, too.

“Beth and I would spend the night in the tack room of the stable,” he said, with the horses and donkeys.

By the time they got around to building a proper house, a decade or so ago, they knew enough to keep it low, nestled into the land. As Mrs. Gibbens said: “You know how it’s kind of rude to put your house right in the middle of the landscape? Well, we made this so you can’t even see it from the road.”

That’s the kind of wisdom that comes over time, after living on the land. But learning how to reshape a landscape proved to be more difficult.

They had tried planting wildflowers and warm-season grasses, scattering the seeds over a few acres of the mowed field, only to have them overtaken by weeds. And the trees they kept planting “were here, there and everywhere,” Mrs. Gibbens said. “We weren’t getting it quite right.”

Then one day in the mid-1990s, she heard Mr. Smith speak at the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference in North Carolina. “I called Wayne and said, ‘This is the guy,’ ” she said.

Mr. Smith, 57, is best known for public landscapes like Enchanted Woods at Winterthur in Winterthur, Del., and the Santa Fe Botanical Garden. But when he saw how much the Gibbenses had accomplished on their own — the curving paths and paddock fences that hewed to the topography, the trees and pond and birdhouses that brought in wildlife — he agreed to help them turn their property into a cohesive landscape.

He began by asking them to show him where they liked to go. They took him along the paths they loved to walk and showed him Picnic Rock, where they like to sit and dream, the hill where the groundhogs lived, the slope where they freed the young sycamores from choking vines, and the stream in the dappled glade with its mossy rocks.

“Every place has a narrative,” said Mr. Smith, who believes that naming places invests them with meaning that deepens with each experience.

He sketched out a master plan — a starting point, really, that would evolve over time — jotting down names like the Daily Jaunt, Picnic Rock, Groundhog Hill, Sycamore Slope and the Most Magical Place (which later became known as Where the Fairies Live, after the couple’s grandsons started to build bridges and catch crayfish in the stream there).

Now, as Mrs. Epley, a 46-year-old art historian, said, “Instead of just going for a walk, we have to check out what’s going on in Where the Fairies Live.”

And no one, it appears, feels silly using a name like that, not even her teenage sons.

One 20-degree day last month, six people, two corgis and a terrier piled into the family’s Kawasaki mule to chug over the hills and share stories about the land. We walked down to the stream, through a grove of old trees and past Woodpecker Hotel, a soaring tulip poplar full of holes. Sam, 17, and John, 14, led the way across the mossy rocks to Where the Fairies Live, talking about the crayfish they had caught and cooked over a fire there the day before.

That weekend, the whole family had been helping Mr. Smith with one of the art installations he likes to create here. They gathered bundles of Indian grass in the meadow, tying them together to make a 45-foot rope. Then they laid it in a serpentine curve that began at the fire circle by the pond and ran up the slope to the house.

John said, “What’s really cool is, I’ve been coming here for all my life, and I never noticed how everything winds around here and the hills go up and down.”

Mr. Smith grinned. “That’s one of the things that art does,” he said.

Over the years, with Mr. Smith’s help, the family has created a naturalistic landscape of many destinations that somehow doesn’t feel contrived.

When the family wanted a gathering place, he suggested building a fire circle, using millstones to mark the four cardinal points. They planted 16 swamp white oaks around it, adding a few random oaks outside the circle. When you are sitting by the fire, you feel the circular pattern of the trees surrounding you, almost like the pillars of a classical temple, but from the outside it looks like a natural copse.

And when Mr. Gibbens would mention that he loved a certain kind of tree, Mr. Smith would say fine, but don’t plant just one. So instead of singular trees dotting the winding drive, there are groupings of species that look as if they seeded in together, blooming in masses in the spring and changing color together in the fall.

Designs evolved as they went along. Instead of a straight allee of deciduous trees leading to the house, as Mr. Smith first envisioned, they preserved the serpentine shape of the drive, cutting through a low hill. Now the arrival at the house, with its simple gravel entry court, is a pleasant surprise. The design has an understated formality, with a clipped hornbeam hedge on the south side, a mass of bright red winterberry on the north and a sweet bay magnolia gracing the front of the house.

“That tree was a potted magnolia, sent home with us after a party,” Mr. Gibbens said.

And the house serves as a viewing station for whatever is going on outdoors, with great, airy rooms that look westward over the meadows to the mountains.

The Epley boys fell in love with nature here. Sam learned to listen for the eerie call of the foxes in the night. John was enraptured by the sunsets and gathered the family together to watch the sky change colors.

Years ago, Sam asked his grandfather what heaven was like, and Mr. Gibbens said, “I made a stab at it, saying it’s a place of beauty, tranquillity and peace.”

Sam considered that for moment, then asked, “Well, isn’t this heaven?”

“Yeah,” Mr. Gibbens told him. “I think you hit it.
”

It is hard for me to be optmistic about what seems to be the foregone conclusion of the USFW wanting to delist Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone System.........Yes, Chris Servheen and his Grizzly Bear Recovery Team has done a stellar job increasing Griz numbers over the past decades..................And equally YES is the Wyoming/Montana/Idaho State Game Commissions "peddle to the metal" track record on hunting Wolves much too hard and often since their delisting,,,,,,,,,,,, disrupting Pack dynamics and having many(including this blogger) asking why did we go to such great lengths to bring back these keystone Carnivores if the moment there are a few thousand of them around, we go about blasting away at them like they are vermin??????------Hard to believe that anything will be different for the Grizzlies once these States take control of their fate

http://missoulian.com/tncms/asset/editorial/ce22e896-578a-11e3-9760-001a4bcf887a/#.Uq6b-oavtJo.email

Much work remains to build on grizzly bear successes

November 27, 2013 10:39 am  •  By CAROLINE BYRD

For those of us who remember the grim forecasts for Yellowstone grizzly bears in the 1980s, the news out of Bozeman recently was cause to celebrate.

From a low of fewer than 200 grizzlies a mere generation ago, more than three times that many roam Greater Yellowstone today. Eyeball tests have provided similar anecdotal data in recent years: Seeing a grizzly in Greater Yellowstone, while always a breathtaking thrill, is no longer the wildlife equivalent of a solar eclipse. More bears are in more places than they’ve been in our lifetimes.

Greater Yellowstone Coalition was founded 30 years ago to help rescue the Yellowstone grizzly from extinction. We rejoice with our partners – federal and state wildlife managers, fellow conservation groups, visionary landowners and many, many others – over one of the great conservation success stories of our time.

So, what’s next for the great bear?

We cannot simply rub our hands in congratulatory satisfaction and move on to the next challenge. In many ways, our work on the Yellowstone grizzly bear has just begun.

GYC’s focus today is on one fundamental question: What’s best for the Yellowstone grizzly bear long-term?

For three decades, GYC and other bear champions have been playing defense. Our mission has been to save a keystone species and ensure that Greater Yellowstone remains one of the planet’s 12 intact ecosystems.

We will of course remain vigilant, whether it’s the federal government or Montana, Idaho and Wyoming managing grizzlies. But we believe the bear – and the people who live, work and recreate in Greater Yellowstone – will be served best by sharply focused on-the-ground efforts that foster coexistence with humans while also protecting habitat and ensuring linkage with other bear populations in the Northern Rockies.

Specifically:

n Conflict reduction and social tolerance. The majority of grizzly mortality is the result of unfortunate encounters with people. Working with our partners, GYC’s goal is to reduce human-caused mortality and build durable social acceptance for living safely with bears. Tangible ways to accomplish this: Outfit Greater Yellowstone’s communities, campgrounds and trailheads with bear-proof containers; ensure every hunter and hiker in grizzly country carries bear spray; and educate residents and visitors about proper storage of bear attractants.

Other effective tools are at our fingertips. Electric fencing keeps livestock safe. Carcass removal on ranches eliminates bear magnets.

Does it work? Yes. Since 2007, GYC has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and Idaho Fish and Game to distribute more than 200 bear-proof garbage bins. The result: Only one conflict over garbage in 2013. A shining model for such work is under way in Montana’s Blackfoot Valley, where landowners, wildlife managers and conservationists have used similar programs to reduce grizzly bear conflicts by

96 percent – 96 percent! – over the past 15 years.

n Wildlife corridors to and from Greater Yellowstone. Perhaps the greatest threat to Greater Yellowstone’s grizzlies in a time of climate change is that they are an island population, separated from other bears. Connecting those distinct populations will be a game-changer for the grizzly’s future.

To that end, GYC and partners are engaged with landowners and wildlife managers to protect and reconnect habitats, especially along streams. In the upper Madison River valley, for example, we’re working to restore riparian areas and other key places bears use to move across the landscape – to the benefit of all wildlife, not just bears.

n Habitat within Greater Yellowstone. Without question, safe and secure habitat for grizzly bears is critical to their long-term success. The same wild country that produces clean water, unparalleled hunting and fishing opportunities, world-class wildlife watching, and drives the tourism and business economy also is critical for grizzly bears. We will continue to work with federal and state agencies, communities, landowners and others to ensure this region remains intact and functional – for bears and for people.

Yellowstone’s grizzlies have made a remarkable come back, and for that we celebrate. Now, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and do the work necessary to sustain Greater Yellowstone’s iconic symbol of wildness – the grizzly bear.

Caroline Byrd is executive director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a Bozeman-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting the lands, waters and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

At what point will we require the lawmakers that we elect to State and Federal Offices to read up on the measures and positions that they take................Pennsylvania is acutally considering wasting money on a Coyote bounty when even their own State Game Commission has told them that you would have to kill 70% of the Coyote population into perpetuity to reduce their density--- A HORRIBLE WASTE OF MONEY..............JUST SO WRONG AS IT RELATES TO THE HEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA WOODLANDS AS THE COYOTES AND BLACK BEARS IN THIS STATE ARE NOT DENTING THE DEER POPULATION AND ACCOUNT FOR A MINESCULE % OF FARMER LOSSES OF LIVESTOCK

http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131222/pas-crafty-coyotes-expanding-their-range#.UreYD14KxoA.email

CLICK ON LINK ABOVE TO READ ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA'S PROPOSED WASTE
OF TAXPAYER MONEY TO IN INSTITUTING A COYOTE BOUNTY THAT WILL
ONLY BACKFIRE AND INCREASE THE "WILY" POPULATION