Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The paranoia and lack of knowledge by the folks who want Wolves and Grizzlies reduced to meaningless numbers is just astounding..............At the end of the day true sportsmen who are in touch with reality are those who recognize that large swaths of land not punched with roads, wells, pipelines and infrastructure are the key for the land to be populated with wildlife of all kinds, including carnivores..............To be against road closing because anything the Feds do is wrong, is assnine.............Why do you think so many ranchers in the Midwest just fought hard to stop the Tar Sands pipeline from Canada..............They know that these type disruptions kill the land and all on it.............You want to hunt the road closed regions,,,,,,,then my advice is that you park at the furthest point allowed-----AND THEN GET SOME NEEDED EXERCISE AND WALK IN

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GRIZZLY ROAD CLOSURES Jim The Dispatcher Thanks for the update on this proposal, Jim. When you add this hundred plus miles of roads to th...
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Ohio State's Jeremy Brukotter's article in THE WILDLIFE NEWS highlighted a critical question about Wolves East of the Upper Midest............ The original Great Lakes delisting ruling seemd to suggest that If the USFW did subsequently designate Wolves in the Eastern States to be a distinct species(C.lycaon) from The Gray Wolf(C.lupus),,,,,,,,,, that it would have been possible for a Federal Judge to then invalidate the entire delisting rule which would have potentially put Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin Wolves back on the Endangered Species list..........In Bruskotters's own words: "Because the proposed removal of wolves in the eastern United States relies upon "unsettled" science, it puts the whole Rule at risk from a legal perspective; that is, a judge may find no flaw in the FWS's removal of wolves in the Great Lakes, but might object to their removal from ESA protections in 29 eastern states–especially if new research contradicts the FWS's claims regarding wolves' taxonomic classification or their analysis of the historical range of the various wolf sub/species. In such a scenario, the judge may be forced to invalidate the entire rule–keeping wolves in the Great Lakes listed. From my perspective, the classification of wolves in the eastern US should be handled separately from the removal of wolves in the Great Lakes. These actions affect separate populations of potentially different species, and thus, their statuses should be judged and handled in separate rules in order not to jeopardize the rule that delists the wolf population in the Great Lakes",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Bruskotter can rest easy as a subsquent USFW update removes this concern as follows: "We are separating our determination on the delisting of the Western Great Lakes DPS from the determination on our proposal regarding all or portions of the 29 eastern States we considered to be outside the historical range of the gray wolf… A subsequent decision will be made for the rest of the eastern United States"

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The Federal Status of Wolves in the Midwest and the East: Conflict on the Horizon? In May of this year, the US Fish and Wildlife Service pro...
Monday, December 26, 2011

Elk numbers down, shoot wolves..............Deer numbers down, shoot wolves..............Caribou numbers down, shoot wolves...................And finally with Moose numbers down on the Kenai Peninsula South of Anchorage, Alaska, a debate continues over whether to allow Wildlife Officials to thin out Wolves through shooting from airplanes..........We never seem to consider how we have manipulated the landscape so as to cause prey animals to go into decline..........We reluctantly if ever, put the health of the land first and hunters need second................So instead of taking the long view as almost any good business does to optimize future results, we "manipulate the books" in the short run by killing wolves so as to be able to say we are doing something about ungulate decline...........Pathetic that this anything-but-positive behavior or ours keeps repeating itself time in and time out................New Years resolution to redouble our efforts to open up State Game Commissions to multiple stakeholders with many points of view so that killing carnivores is not the only tool utilized in wildlfe management

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Alaska officials postpone decision on wolf kills   ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska wildlife managers have postponed a decision on a ...
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While Pronghorn are not related to Antelope, early settlers called them by that name as they resembled those found in Africa...........Jim Yoakum is the specialist in the USA on Pronghorns....He was the first Biologist to be hired by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.....With his colleague, Bart O'Gara, they invested 32 years to write what is known as the "Pronghorn Bible", PRONGORNS: ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT.......Now 85 and retired for the past 25 years, he is still considered by all as the----THE PRONGHORN GURU----.As he himself put it recently: "Wildlife has been my entire life,,,,,, All my life."

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Jim Yoakum: Wildlife biologist wrote the bible on pronghorns Brian Nordli WHAT IS A PRONGHORN WHAT: Pronghorns are a part of the family An...

Biodiversity is what we must seek to live optimum and healthy lives both now and in the future............."What good are rattlenakes?............Their venom just might prove to be an excellent cancer fighter!

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NM rattlesnakes used for cancer research trials      ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Four Western diamondback rattlesnakes from Albu...
Sunday, December 25, 2011

As the State Game Commision has done in California, Utah is preparing a Management Plan for when(not if) Wolves rewild their State.......They are looking to classify Wolves as game animals(like bears and Cougars) that can be hunted seasonally.....Of course, USFW will have to federally delist wolves first before such a hunt could commence..........

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Legislative proposal would help prepare Utah for wolf hunt By Amy Joi O'Donoghue SALT LAKE CITY — Wildlife managers and public policymak...

A 100-120 pound male Cougar was shot in Iowa this past week.........It was not threatening anyone but Police felt it was too close to human habitation to take a chance(that truly is wrong; why not dart it and move it to a more outlying area?)........Unfortunately, Cougars have no legal protection at this time in Iowa

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Mountain lion shot, killed in Blencoe, Iowa This mountain lion was shot early Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, near Blencoe by Bill Noble. (Photo ...

Back in 2005, Maine Biologist(and friend of this blog) William Krohn compiled the writings of Manly Hardy, a mid and late 19th Century Maine resident who was one of the preeminent Dealers in Animal hides and raw furs............Hardy1832-1910) traveled extensively into Maine's interior Forests as well as up and down its coastline............After retiring from business , Hardy devoted his time to writing about Maine's early game laws and wildlife.........He saw firsthand how our largest Carnivore and Hoofed Browsers were disappearing from our Northern Woodlands as the Industrial Revolution engulfed the Eastern States............Below is his commentary on the Lynx

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CANADIAN LYNX all words below written by: Manly Hardy "The Canadian Lynx, often called lucivee(loupcervier), has a foot as large a...
Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Tennessee Black Bear hunting season saw over 581 Bruins taken out of the woods...........This, compared to 29 Bears killed in 2001......A key first step to rebuilding Tennessee’s bear population was the establishment of national forests and parks that shelter and protect our sparse bear population. The establishment of the Cherokee National Forest (CNF) and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP) in the 1930’s is undeniably the most significant event in the history of bears in Tennessee. Additionally, bear sanctuaries were established and laws against illegal harvests and the hunting of adult females were strictly enforced. In addition to these important management steps, bear populations benefited from the maturation and increased productivity of key oak forest species in protected areas. With careful management and enforcement by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and ecological conditions in their favor, their populations have responded dramatically.

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New record harvest of black bears in Tennessee In 2001, Tennessee bear hunters had the most  successful  year since rec...

The Vienna based RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF WILDLIFE ECOLOGY has concluded that Red Deer lower their metabolism in Winter regardless of it being a mild or severe season..........This survival mechanism ensures that Deer(and likely other large mammals that do not hibernate) can handle the most challenging cold and snowy winters when they materialize and not be caught off guard by weather that severely limits their food supply

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Winter Diets? The Secret Is to Chill the Extremities  Large mammals living in temperate climates frequently have difficulty finding food dur...

Oxford University Researchers reporting that Mockingbirds tolerate invading Cowbirds leaving eggs in their nests........ The Mockingbird strategy to optimize their own clutch hatching successfully is the more Cowbid eggs in their nests, the greater the chance that subsequent Cowbird nest attacks will result in Cowbird egg destruction rather than destruction of Mockingbird eggs................In addition, young Mockingbirds seem to have enough grit to outcompete baby Cowbirds ............Not all birds hold up so well to the Cowbird nest invading......If you have ever seen Mockingbirds attacking cats or mobbing Crows, you know they are fighters and take no crap from any other creature including the aggressive Cowbird

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'Alien' Eggs Benefit Mockingbirds  Mockingbirds rarely remove the 'alien' eggs parasitic cowbirds lay in their nests because...
Friday, December 23, 2011

Today, a good friend of this blog panned the Great Lakes Wolves Federal Delisting with a caustic, sarcastic and spot on essay entitlted:: "HOORAY FOR DELISTING"(see below)..........What irks me about the anti-wolfers" and the State Game Commisions who just cannot wait to halve the remnant wolf population in America is that our history books tell us that the wildlfe slaughter we brought to bear on this Continent during our first 500 years was morally and biologically wrong ...............To repeat this and in essence do the same thing over and over again in bringing genocide to the land and the creatures that we share the land with should be seen by all Americans as a first degree murder felony....................But do we learn from history????????? Of Course not,,,,,,We instead close our eyes and make up lies to suit our short term economic needs...... Then we sanction the same genocide that we all saw happen and bemoan in DANCES WITH WOLVES and AVATAR...........Are we only able to be a rightious, sensible and moral people viewing destruction in movie theatres???????

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Happy New Year everyone, In the coming year there is no mention of any positive benefits of having wolves around BUT rest assured, you can...

Dave Foreman's thoughts in the recent REWILDING INSITUTE'S NEWSLETTER hits home loudly on the loss of true conservatism in the Republican Party..........This evisceration of conservatism as it relates to the environment was ushered in once Ronald Reagan took office and has grown with unruly vigor with the arrival of the Tea Party House Members...........Dr. John Bliese, a former University Professor and a proponent of a conservative/conservationist coalition has written: "If we go back to the 'Founding Fathers' of American traditionalist conservatism, we will find a solid philosophical basis that would lead conservatives to be environmentalists." ......."True conservatism has deep ties to conservation through the following thrusts: Anti-materialism, Piety, Prudence, Posterity, Values, and Responsibility"....................All Republicans need a "continuing education" course on this subject ASAP!!!

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Around the Campfire with Uncle Dave – "Piety, Prudence, Posterity" by The Rewilding Institute Perhaps the two topmost organizing...

I am all for not letting illegals into our Country..........I favor putting as many National Guardsmen on the Mexico border as necessary to close the floodgates on illegal immigration.............But we have to take down that inane border fence now!!!............It is so wrong to keep Black Bears, Gray Wolves, Jaguars, Ocelots, Margays and all the other crossborder animals from occupying their ancestral grounds and bottlenecking the genetic flow of these animals ............The border is a unique region, from a biological point of view, researchers say, with many North American species reaching the southern limit of their distribution there and many South American species extending not much farther north.............We are creating an artificial "island effect" through the use of this fence.........."Island Effect" sees populations of animals and plants gradually shrink and blink out as scores of species need much larger ranges to roam to ward off shrinkage from disease, fire, harsh winters, blistering summers, drought, change in prey species abundance and a host of other environmental factors that are constantly in flux...........BLOW UP THAT FENCE NOW!!!

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Border Fence Blocks Bears in Migration, Study Finds By MARC LACEY   GILA BEND, Ariz. — The much-ballyhooed border fence  has not...
Thursday, December 22, 2011

Durham University researchers have led a study of Mountain Goats in Italy which has revealed that some males go all out at an early age to mate successfully,,,,,, while others bide their time and wait until they are much older before "dating seriously"..............Those that wait, strut their stuff until they no longer walk this earth.............Implications on how to successfully optimize Goat populations are called into question as it relates to how many older males hunters should be allowed to remove from the population.........If too many larger, older males are taken out of a population, younger males may be able to muscle in and start breeding. Years of rutting could exhaust these younger males, meaning that they are in poorer condition when they reach old age............. If this reasoning is accurate, selectively hunting older males in populations such as this will have the effect of reducing the condition of older males in the future..............The same conclusions were reached by another Study of Bighorn Sheep in the USA

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Complex Sex Life of Goats Could Have Implications for Wildlife Management  A new study of the mating habit...

A California Writer contacted the CALIFORNIA WOLF CENTER to get their take on whether thealleged periodic sightings of C. Lupus have any validity to them............With a wandering Oregon Wolf coming within 30-50 miles of Redding(Calif) a couple weeks back, the debate is heating up on not if wolves will make it back to California,,,,,,,,,,,but when!!!!

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Wolf sightings -- experts are skeptical I'm in no position to argue with people who think they've spotted a wolf in t...

So January 2012 is the target date for Federal delisting of Wolves in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin...........I think many of us understand that a contiguous population of 4000 wolves is a magnificent accomplishment of the Endangered Species Act and if in fact the 3 States involved in the future management of these wolves were not seeking to reduce by 50% the current population, all would be cheered..........Unfortunately, like in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington, State Game Commisions are ruled by Livestock and Hunting Groups who make or break Govenorships/Mayorships/Senate and Congressional seats with their financial clout............So when they say cut the wolf population by as much as half, the biologists in these States say 'YES SIR",,,,,,,SHOULD WE KILL EVEN MORE SIR"?..........As so many truly independent observers and Wildlife experts have commented,,,,,,,"Management of Carnivores left in State hands is a travesty waiting to happen"............Until all voices and stakeholders take part in State Management plans, Wolves will get shot and trapped without regard for the ultimate health of our Forests and Meadows....................In other news on this delisting front, the Fish and Wildlife folks in D.C. have decided for now that Eastern wolves are in fact Gray wolves and not a distinct species............So in theory, C. lupus can be restored to New England, New York State, Pennsylvania and the Southern Appalachians and be under the auspices of the Endangered Species Act.............Unfortunately, the Feds do not have the will to do any further restorations, so a hollow protection status rather than a practical protection hangs over a wolfless East

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GREAT LAKES WOLVES TO BE DELISTED cbs reports  After devoting four decades and tens of millions of dollars to saving the g...
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Blog readers........this has been a challenging and active year in our quest for North American rewilding and habitat connectivity...........Like every year, we face strong opponents who have financial agendas that ring loudly in State and Federal conference rooms and boardrooms across the Continent...............We fight the good fight and with enough resolve, smarts and focus, we can prevail for the benefit of all living creatures(including the folks who oppose our goals)............With all that said, a little end of year humor and good cheer is necesary and welcome to recharge our batteries............A good friend and relentless fighter for the environment and its top predators sent me a truly funny Christmas and Holiday message(below) that I hope will bring you the same bellylaugh that it brought to me......Enjoy "BEAR GUN"

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Bear Gun .... Small, yes, but properly employed,  very effective .   My personal favorite bear defense gun  has always ...