Why is the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission looking to stop the spread of Black Bears into the Piedmont area of the State just when the land is healthy enough to once again harbor a vibrant population of the Bruins?........Are they just taking the easy way out and just not wanting to educate Piedmont residents on how to coexist with the Bears?...........Backwards thinking as Wildlife Biologist and hunter John Wooding states in the article below

State's use of black bear hunters will kill wildlife success storyFrom John Wooding, Ph.D., certified wildlife biologist
charlotteobserver.com:


The Piedmont was mostly woods when Native Americans made land use decisions. Then European farmers took over, and with African help, they cleared the forests, and the land was mostly fields. 

  Beginning 80 years ago or so, steady paychecks lured rural people to town, leaving fields idle. Idle fields do not stay fields for long in the Piedmont, and within a decade, such fields grew into young forests. The Piedmont contains more forested land today than it did in 1940 due to fields reverting to forests.

  Wild animals that live in fields are becoming rare. Bobwhite quail are a good example – they are headed towards extinction in come counties. Their time has ended.

On the other hand, wild animals that live in forests have rebounded. Deer and turkeys are back from near extinction.
 Black bears were once abundantin Piedmont forests. They are ready to come back along with the deer and turkeys.

The habitat can once again support black bears. The mountain bear population is ready to expand into the western Piedmont. The coastal bear population is prepared to move into the eastern Piedmont.

  This is great news for people who appreciate forest wildlife. But not everyone sees it this way. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission does not see it this way. The conservation agency is opening new bear hunting seasons this fall to dissuade bears from spreading in the Piedmont. If hunters kill too few, and bears expand their range, the agency plans to increase hunting pressure to make sure the bear restoration is stopped.

  The state is using hunters to stop a wildlife success story. If black bears were ferocious bears, like grizzlies, I could understand. But black bears are mostly vegetarian, secretive, mild-mannered animals.
The agency knows this. However, many citizens don't, and it is common for citizens who don't understand bears to panic upon seeing one, and to immediately call wildlife officials with demands the state come get the bear.

  Bears can thus be a nuisance and extra work to the state, and conservation officials have decided the appropriate policy for the agency is to get hunters to kill the bears before they get a good paw hold in the Piedmont.

  Maybe it's just me since I'm partial to wildlife, but this seems anti-wildlife. I'm not opposed to bear hunting. Bears are great game animals, with delicious meat.  But I do think it's odd that the state conservation agency hopes to stop the natural restoration of bears into the Piedmont. It makes me question the agency's priorities and commitment to wildlife conservation.

The Piedmont region

  It would be better to let the bear population build, and then allow hunters to take a few without endangering the population. In the meantime, the agency staff should teach citizens the true nature of black bears. People in the mountains and coastal plain live with bears, and so can we in the Piedmont. If you would like to know more about the new bear seasons, the state's approach to bear management, and want contact information, go to ww.ncwildlife.org.
 

The 50 or so Woodland Caribou that still calls Idaho, Washington State and southern Briitish Columbia home are in dire need of critical habitat protection............There was a proposal made months ago by the Federal Fish and Wildlife Agency to designate a matrix of 376,000 acres of federal state and private lands as a reserve for the herd...........Of course every narrow minded politician as well as various ranching and hunting groups have been hammering away at the proposal so as to get it scrapped completely--the basis for this being that there are not enough animals left in the region to so called tie up the land in special protection status..........So now the Feds are backpedaling and coming out with reports stating that the cost of creating the reserve will be high while still postulating in favor of going forward...........Talk about "hal-ass"/half-hearted B.S. pandering and you have a documentary of it playing out in the Northwest by the Fish & Wildlife numnuts!

Caribou habitat costs studied

Federal analysis finds greatest impact on logging

By Becky Kramer The Spokesman-Review

  Protecting old-growth habitat for endangered woodland caribou will cost about $1.5 million over the next 20 years, according to a draft economic analysis prepared for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Designating critical caribou habitat in North Idaho and northeast Washington would have the greatest impact on the timber industry, which could face up to three-year delays for some types of logging operations, the study said.

Those delays would occur in relatively rare circumstances, the study said. One possible scenario: If a timber company needed special permits to use Forest Service roads in caribou habitat to get to private lands for logging, the company would have to go through a formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that caribou weren't harmed.

The proposed critical habitat area includes 375,544 acres of federal, state and private lands. Harvests on 4,300 acres of private forest could be affected by a caribou habitat designation, the study said.
About 46 woodland caribou are believed to remain in the South Selkirk herd, which occupies territory in North Idaho, Northeast Washington and southern British Columbia. Fragmentation of old-growth forests is one of the main threats to caribou.

Woodland caribou migrate to deep-snow forests over 4,000 feet in elevation in the winter to feed on lichens on old-growth fir and spruce, and to evade predators."We don't want to dismiss that there are costs associated with protecting caribou or managing caribou," said Bryon Holt, a biologist for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

But the 87-page economic analysis generally confirms the agency's assertion that designating critical caribou habitat in Idaho and Washington would have little effect on day-to-day use of public and private forests, he said.

Caribou were listed as an endangered species in 1983. Nearly 80 percent of the proposed critical caribou habitat is on federal land, which Holt said is already managed to protect old-growth habitat for caribou, grizzly bears and Canada lynx.

The draft analysis was done by Industrial Economics Inc., a consultant in Cambridge, Mass. Public comments on the analysis will be accepted through July 2."I'm anxious to read it," said Mike Nielsen, a Bonner County commissioner. "We'd like to be able to compare their report with our report."

Bonner County is working with the Idaho State Snowmobile Association to produce its own economic analysis of the cost of caribou protection, which will be released Monday afternoon. Nielsen said that report will be comprehensive look at the "social and economic" costs of caribou protections since the 1980s, including the ongoing effect on winter recreation.

He represents the resort community of Priest Lake, where business owners say that backcountry restrictions on snowmobiling to protect caribou habitat have had devastating repercussions for the local tourist industry.

Only four caribou were spotted south of the Canadian border during last winter's aerial census, which has fueled residents' resentment of habitat protections. Bonner County recently petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove woodland caribou from the endangered species list.
Environmental groups sued the agency to force it to designate critical habitat for caribou. The Fish and Wildlife Service opted not to designate habitat in the 1980s because officials feared that releasing habitat maps would lead to poaching of caribou.

With an estimated 30 Lynx remaining in the entire Pacific Northwest, the esteemed Washington State University"s LARGE CARNIVORE LAB has been tagging and following one third of the "big pawed cats" for the last number of years.......The goal of their efforts is to create additional protected habitat for the Cats as well as supplementing their population with Lynx transplanted into Washington from British Columbia

Where Are the Missing Lynx?

With only an estimated 30 lynx left in the Pacific Northwest, a recovery team led by Washington State University researchers is fueled with a sense of urgency.

Using box cages baited with raw meat, wild lynx are trapped just long to attach a GPS collar, and then are released unharmed into the wild.

The lynx recovery program, recently coordinated by WSU researcher Rob Wielgus, as associate professor in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, brings together researchers, scientists and funding support from Washington State University, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Washington, and Seattle City Light.

The team has been tracking lynx for years, but at the end of January began increasing trapping to define the current lynx population and ultimately to help the species recover. Most of the lynx they’ve tracked so far have been males, Wielgus said. “We know we have females, but we want to get a better idea of the numbers,” he said. “We want to know if they are successfully reproducing and having kittens here in Washington State.”

The team recently began trapping in Loomis State Forest and the Black Pine Basin in the northern part of Washington. The team also believes lynx were living in the Kettle Crest area, but have since been extirpated there.

Lynx kittens in their den.

Every morning, research teams check about 45 PVC-pipe and chicken wire box-traps in the study areas. If a lynx is found inside the trap, it is sedated for about 50 minutes, leaving enough time for researchers to slip a GPS-tracking collar around the cat’s neck.


As of mid-February, the team had trapped 12 new lynx and placed GPS-tracking devices around ten, said Gary Koehler, wildlife research scientists for the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Ben Maletzke, a WSU researcher, said they are trying to save the collars for the females who will ultimately be needed for a species recovery. He said the mothers tend to avoid the traps to protect their kittens. The team trapped only one female last year.

Using GPS-tracking devices, the researchers are able to pinpoint six locations the lynx go throughout the day. “Hopefully, we’ll get a location every four hours of where that lynx is and from that we can determine the habitats the animal is selecting and what forest conditions they need out on the landscape,” Maletzke said.

In 2006, a wildfire north of Okanogan wiped out a large part of lynx habitat, taking with it a substantial portion of the lynx population, Wielgus said. As climate changes, there is an increased likelihood of forest fires. That, coupled with the fact that boreal forests naturally burn, seriously threatens lynx habitat and their continued survival as a species. Therefore, Wielgus said he’d like to set up a series of large habitat islands. “We’d like to establish a series of lynx preserves or lynx habitat islands, so if catastrophic wildfires take some of them out, the population isn’t extirpated,” he said.

The team will continue trapping until March. If all goes as planned, Wielgus said they hope to see significant gains in habitat and population management within the next four years.

If I can demonstrate that these lynx are viable, that the females are reproducing successfully, then I think we stand a good chance of obtaining lynx from British Columbia for a transplant augmentation in the Kettle Crest sometime down the road,” he said.

By Rachel Webber, WSU CAHNRS MNEC news writing intern

Large Carnivore Conservation Lab, PO Box 646410, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-6410, 509-335-2796, Contact Us

While Black Bears are a permanent denizen of Western and Northwestern Massachusetts(approximately 3000-3600 bears), they have not resided in the Southeastern part of the State for the past 50 years.........Now there have been two sightings in this region with the most recent one over the Memorial Day weekend---making his appearance on Cape Cod!......As our friend Jon Way(Coyote Biologist) states in his EASTERN COYOTE RESEARCH blog, lets bring in a couple of female bears so that a breeding population can contribute to the vitality of the Bay State's Eastern Shore

Police confirm: A bear is here on Cape Cod

The bear that's roamed free in West Barnstable since first being spotted on Sunday likely swam across the canal to get to the Cape, a representative from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife said."It's highly unlikely that it went over the bridge given the amount of traffic at all times of day and this weekend being Memorial Day weekend," Jason Zimmer, southeast district supervisor with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife said. "Bears are very good swimmers and it could swim across the canal without any problem 

Barnstable patrol Officer Patrick Fallon said Monday night that the police are considering reports of the bear to be confirmed after about a half-dozen additional calls plus a photo of a bear that was brought to the police station by a local family.Fallon said a team of state environmental officials are expected to come to the Cape today to respond to the reports.

The bear, believed to be the same one that broke into a few chicken coops in Middleboro last month and most recently was spotted in South Plymouth, is the second one spotted in Southeastern Massachusetts in 50 years, Zimmer said."It's extremely rare for one to be on the Cape," he said. "It's really rare for one to be seen in Southeastern Massachusetts in general."

The four-legged beast that's kept West Barnstable in a bit of a tizzy over the past 24 hours is more than likely a young bear, around 2 years old and about 200 pounds.t was likely that the bear was separated from its mother and began traveling eastward. Male bears are more likely to travel greater distances, Zimmer said.

The bear was first seen Sunday morning in the area of Route 6A and High Street, the police and Zimmer said.Police say they don't believe the bear is a danger to the public, and Zimmer said the bear hasn't gotten into any real trouble in the past."Obviously a bear is something that people should respect, because they do possess the ability to harm a human, but you just keep your distance," he said. "Just treat it like you would a 200-pound skunk."

Black bears are native to Massachusetts and were once widespread throughout the state but disappeared from Cape Cod centuries ago, according to Fisheries and Wildlife.

In 1998, there were an estimated 1,750 to 1,800 bears in Massachusetts, with the population growing at about 8 percent annually, according to the division's website. As of 2003, the site said bears are found almost everywhere west of the Connecticut River, but they are absent from Southeastern Massachusetts.Or were.

Zimmer said wildlife officials anticipate that bears will begin to recolonize the area.

Typically, he said, they would let the bear roam free in its natural habitat as long as it isn't causing adisturbance or becoming a threat. The only time we consider moving a bear is when it's an immediate public safety hazard," he said.

Zimmer said people should be cautious and keep their garbage, bird feed, pet food and any other sort of food source properly secured.Beekeepers should keep their hives secured properly, he said.

Claire Desilets, secretary of the Barnstable County Beekeepers Association, has 10 or so hives in the backyard of her East Sandwich home. She said bears aren't just after honey, as everyone thinks.

"That's not it. It's not a Pooh bear," she said. "They are after the brood (the young larvae), the pollen and the protein for their diet. I'm sure they're going to enjoy the honey for dessert."

But bears can be a potential nightmare for beekeepers, easily knocking over hives and ripping them apart to find whatever they are looking for, she said.

Chris Bolgiano is an expert on Eastern Pumas and has written some of the most authroritative books reviewing the historical record of 18th and 19th Century Puma sightings.............She celebrates the 1 year anniversary of the Black Hills, South Dakota Puma who journeyed 2000 miles into Connecticut before being run down by an auto.......In chris' words: "If one wild cougar can be recorded making this extraordinary journey, it’s possible that others of this secretive species may be moving without leaving any trace"..... "It’s already well-established that some western cougars move eastward"...... "In the last decade, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Illinois have all confirmed cougars killed or photographed in places where they haven’t been seen in a century".............."Cougars were once integral to life here".... "Does that give them a right to return?".... "It is possible that cougars could thrive again in parts of the East, especially the Adirondacks and Appalachians, where large swaths of public lands were purchased in the 20th century to restore forests nearly destroyed by unregulated logging"........"Overwhelming evidence shows that top predators are critical to maintaining an ecosystem’s health"............. "The rapid spread of Lyme disease, carried by deer ticks; millions of dollars in annual vehicular collisions with deer; and widespread eating of forest regeneration, are all being demonstrably caused by overabundant deer browsing"-------Chris, we hope you get to publish your next book about Puma restoration in the East becoming a reality rather than just a hypothetical!

Eastern Cougartown: Return of a Native Predator

Commentary by Chris Bolgiano As the first anniversary of the Connecticut Cougar’s death approaches this summer (June 11), I’m still stunned by the facts of his truly fantastic life. Identified by DNA as originating in South Dakota, the Connecticut Cougar left hair or droppings across the watery Great Lakes landscapes of Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York before leaving the ultimate evidence, his dead body, on a Connecticut highway. Clearly, that cat could swim. Having researched cougars for decades — people called me “that cougar woman” long before the name took on its current lurid meaning — I knew that this almost magically elusive cat species appears in unexpected places at inopportune times. But a 140-pound fit, wild, 4-year-old male cougar from the Black Hills on a Connecticut highway nonetheless seems as outrageously improbable despite the fact that his historic journey from the West to the East was scientifically documented.             Native throughout North and South America when Europeans arrived, cougars —also known as mountain lions, puma and panthers— continue in patchy populations across the western United States, but are officially extirpated in the East. The Connecticut Cougar traveled nearly 2,000 miles, three times farther than the record for the species. I feel an abiding sorrow that he did not survive such a valiant search for sex, which is what he was likely doing. Despite their independent habits, cougars are as addicted to social networks as humans, sending excretory rather than electronic signals. There couldn’t be much scent remaining in the East. By the early 1900s, cougars were persecuted down to rare individuals in remote hollows of the Adirondack and Appalachian mountains. Wildlife agencies have traditionally ascribed the dozens of cougars confirmed across the East over the last half-century as escaped or released pets. If one wild cougar can be recorded making this extraordinary journey, it’s possible that others of this secretive species may be moving without leaving any trace. It’s already well-established that some western cougars move eastward. In the last decade, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Illinois have all confirmed cougars killed or photographed in places where they haven’t been seen in a century. Inexpensive trail cameras have opened up wildlife science to citizen participation, valuable despite the perennial photo hoaxes of western cougars portrayed as eastern that go around the Internet.     Pumas would help "dent" the out-of-control white tail deer #'s     Even if other males make it here, though, females usually stay close to home. Some biologists doubt that cougars can build viable populations in the East without human help, such as reintroducing a few females where a male is known to roam. Cougars were once integral to life here. Does that give them a right to return? It is possible that cougars could thrive again in parts of the East, especially the Adirondacks and Appalachians, where large swaths of public lands were purchased in the 20th century to restore forests nearly destroyed by unregulated logging, and there would be some benefits. Overwhelming evidence shows that top predators are critical to maintaining an ecosystem’s health. The rapid spread of Lyme disease, carried by deer ticks; millions of dollars in annual vehicular collisions with deer; and widespread eating of forest regeneration, are all being demonstrably caused by overabundant deer browsing. Cougars, which prefer deer for dinner, aren’t the full answer to this problem, but studies out West show that they help keep deer populations at stable levels, allowing both cougar and human hunting while sustaining healthy deer numbers. But cougars also challenge human tolerance in a primal way. Hunting alone, cougars rush from behind cover, and can easily eat people and livestock. They attack people so rarely that the risks are far less than getting hit by lightning, although some people might find lightning more appealing. Experience on Western ranches shows that most depredations can be avoided through the management of livestock and people. Millions of people in Western states live successfully with cougars, albeit because they have to as subdivisions invade cougar habitat. Returning cougars offer an opportunity to rethink our relationship with nature in the ravaged forests of the Eastern United States. Since the Connecticut Cougar made headlines, cougar sightings — the bane of wildlife biologists because there’s rarely any physical evidence involved — have increased dramatically. Just last week I got an excited call from a neighbor, here in the Appalachian Mountains of western Virginia, that yielded photos of dog tracks. Other reports proved to be a dead deer, a dead house cat and a video of a dog. People see what they want to, either out of fear or hope. Chris Bolgiano is the author or editor of five books. This commentary is distributed by Bay Journal News Service.

The Red Fox population in Labrador, Canada has entered the rabies cycle again after seeing little of the dreaded disease since 2005..........While Coyotes can contract rabies, there never seems to be a widespread outbreaks in their population..........However, Foxes have always been a vector of the disease and area Vets say that the Arctic Fox seems to serve as a permanent reservoir for rabies and that this species of Fox tends to.infect the "Reds" in Labrador..........Fox numbers ebb and flow with the outbreaks which seems to be one of natures ways of controlling this canids numbers

Foxes fuel Labrador rabies fears

By ALY THOMSON The Canadian Press; thechronicle.ca

A red fox sits in the grass. A outbreak of rabies in Newfoundland and Labrador worries the province's chief veterinarian.           

Newfoundland and Labrador's chief veterinary officer says a "significant" and widespread outbreak of rabies in Labrador is cause for concern.The province's Natural Resources Department has confirmed 16 cases of rabies in red foxes since January, 12 in Labrador City and Wabush.
Prior to this year, the last confirmed case was in 2005.

But chief veterinary officer Dr. Hugh Whitney said it's not only the number of cases that is worrisome, but also how widespread the disease is across Labrador."This one is quite a significant (outbreak)," said Whitney from his office in St. John's. "There are few places left on our map that it hasn't touched.""We have 15 cases, which is not a large number, but 15 cases over a very large geographic area suggests that it could really be 100 cases, could be 500 cases in reality."
Whitney said that 10 people have been vaccinated for exposure to rabies this year for incidents ranging from bites to handling the carcasses.

"Rabies is a significant concern because...we have the added problem that it affects all mammals. It can get into dog populations. Dogs can affect people or foxes can attack people," said Whitney, adding that the disease is preventable in humans, but needs to be identified.Whitney, the province's chief veterinary officer for more than 26 years, said the disease's seven-year absence is not unusual, as outbreaks run in cycles. But officials have little foresight, as a number of factors make it difficult to predict when the next outbreak will happen.

The Arctic serves as a permanent reservoir for Canadian fox rabies, said Whitney. He said Arctic foxes bring the disease down into northern Quebec and Labrador and infect the region's red foxes. If the red fox population is high and food is scarce, the diseased animals will start moving away from the woods and into communities, he said.

"So, for the years between 2005 and 2012... there could have very well have been an outbreak of rabies, but there wasn't enough foxes around for the foxes to actually come to the communities and exhibit the outbreak," said Whitney.Whitney said public education is paramount when dealing with an outbreak, as little can be done to prevent or eradicate it."We cannot influence the wildlife populations, nor their movement," said Whitney.

One of the ways of potentially limiting the number of wolves killed in Minnesota this coming Fall is to buy one of the 6000 hunting tags being offered up by the Dept of Ntl Resources.............If enough folks who did not want Wolves killed did this, then perhaps the 400 targeted Wolves to be removed from the population could be spared..................One hunter is going to do exactly that because as he saids below: " As a deer hunter who knows the value that wolves provide in culling deer herds of their unhealthy numbers, among other benefits for the soul, I plan to do just that"

Buy a wolf license to save a wolf

       

By Karl Bremer;minnpost.com

Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Evidently, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and a majority of the Minnesota Legislature—the parties responsible for ramming a wolf hunting season through the Capitol five years ahead of schedule.

When the federal government removed gray wolves from the endangered and threatened species lists in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan in January, the wolf haters ramped up their bloodthirsty lobbying efforts for a 2012 season to start shooting them legally for the first time in Minnesota since the 1970s.

The DNR states that "Minnesotans clearly value wolves. Public opinion surveys and attitudes demonstrated during development of the state's wolf management plan show people view the animal as ecologically important, scientifically fascinating, aesthetically attractive, recreationally appealing and significant for future generations. Only a small minority fear and dislike wolves or believe Minnesota would be a more desirable place without this apex predator."

Yet it was that "small minority" that drove the legislature to start killing wolves this year rather than wait five years to see how the population stabilized after federal delisting, as the original plan called for. That same "small minority" has been shooting wolves illegally for decades and is now just looking for cover for their cowardly deeds. It's one of the few federal crimes that I hear people--including one state lawmaker--openly admit to committing.

'Pent-up enthusiasm'

DNR Fish & Wildlife Director Ed Boggess told a legislative panel earlier this year: "There's been a pent-up enthusiasm, a pent-up demand to hunt wolves." It's not likely that "enthusiasm" is driven by a sudden popularity of wolf fur among hunters. And it's certainly not for their meat.
The wolf season has little to do with protecting farmers from wolf depredation of livestock, either; they already are compensated for those losses. It has equally little to do with population management of wolves. According to the DNR, Minnesota's wolf population—the largest in the lower 48 states—has remained "relatively stable" at around 3,000 for the past decade without a hunting season.

A total of 6,000 wolf licenses will be made available via lottery (5,400 hunting and 600 trapping/snaring); 95 percent will be sold to residents and 5 percent to nonresidents. A quota of 400 wolves will be allowed to be killed during the season.
So the legal killing of wolves has been signed, sealed and delivered by the State of Minnesota, and the season is set. Nothing more that can be done about it, right?
Well, perhaps.

$34 to save a wolf?

If you're willing to invest $34, you can buy a chance on saving one wolf's life. Simply enter the lottery for one of the 6,000 licenses—a $30 wolf license must be purchased to enter the lottery, which costs another $4—and if you win the right to kill a wolf, don't exercise it.
There's nothing that requires you to use a wolf license just because you buy one. Since there's a cap on the number of licenses sold, every license that is won in the lottery but not used reduces the chances that the wolf kill quota set by the DNR will be reached.

Ordinarily, this might be seen as unwise meddling in a scientifically-based hunting season. But there is nothing scientific about this wolf hunting season. It's a purely political response to satisfy the bloodlust of a vocal minority of wolf haters. A season on wolves is not necessary to maintain a desirable wolf population. In fact, the DNR hasn't even determined what Minnesota's maximum wolf population should be, only that it shouldn't fall below a winter population of 1,600.
So if you think a season on wolves is one of the most idiotic things to come down the pike since a mourning dove season, step right up and invest $34 on a chance to buy a wolf a reprieve from the executioner. It may not stop the jackpine savages from shooting wolves altogether, but at least you'll get the satisfaction of making them work a little harder to "get their wolf."

As a deer hunter who knows the value that wolves provide in culling deer herds of their unhealthy numbers, among other benefits for the soul, I plan to do just that.

Habitat, Habitat, Habitat----- Whether it be Canada, the USA or any other Country across the globe,,,,,, if we do not provide wildlife with large protected core reserves combined with secure corridor links between the reserves, then expect extirpation and extinction events to multiply in frequency...........35 species have been identified by the COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF ENDANGERED WILDLIFE IN CANADA as being at severe risk of depletion and extinction

Habitat matters for Canadian wildlife species

By Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

OTTAWA, - Thirty-five Canadian wildlife species, from whales to mosses, were assessed as at risk at the recent COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta, April 29-May 4, 2012. Once again, habitat loss emerged as the most common threat to Canadian wildlife, underscoring that all species, not just our own, need a healthy home in order to thrive.

Fishes face increasing pressure from declining habitat
Habitat loss and degradation are the most common cause of species decline worldwide and Canada's freshwater fishes are no exception. It's not just freshwater fishes that rely on streams and rivers; a very large fraction of Canadian biodiversity including birds, insects, plants and amphibians rely on healthy aquatic habitats. Seven freshwater fishes were assessed by COSEWIC as being at risk in Canada. These include the Northern Madtom, Blackstripe Topminnow, Pugnose Minnow and Silver Chub, all of which are found in southwestern Ontario. In this region, the Sydenham River alone is home to a number of additional species previously assessed as at risk by COSEWIC. These include three additional freshwater fishes, five mussels and the Spiny Softshell. In every case, loss or degradation of habitat was key to these designations. While some aspects of water quality in the Sydenham River have improved as a result of environmental regulation that limits industrial pollution of the river, the habitat of these non-commercial fishes and other species remains threatened by agricultural inputs and urbanization. The unique biodiversity of this region will only improve with careful monitoring and rigorous protection of fish habitat.

Canada's prairie region

   

Canadian icon faces an uncertain future
Few species can match the Grizzly Bear as an emblem of Canadian wilderness. While grizzlies are at least twice as strong as the average human, in reality they are likely to pay with their lives when our two species interact. Over the past century, human-caused mortality and declining habitat have reduced the Grizzly Bear's global range by more than 50%. Today, Canada has a major responsibility for safeguarding remaining grizzly populations. In the southern part of their range, where they are in regular contact with humans, many populations are declining. In the north, the impacts of ongoing and escalating extraction of natural resources are a cause for concern. Considering these threats, the Grizzly Bear was assessed as Special Concern by COSEWIC. This assessment concludes a two-year process incorporating science and Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge.

Enigmatic American Eel swims against the current
American Eels are remarkable fish. They spend most of their lives in freshwater then return to the sea, migrating from streams and rivers that span Greenland to South America to spawn in the mid-Atlantic Sargasso Sea. Young eels journey over 7000 km to rivers and streams where they live for up to 20 years before starting their downstream migration to the sea. This complex lifestyle exposes the eels to a variety of threats over large areas and timespans, which resulted in a Threatened designation. American Eels that migrate to Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River have declined drastically over the past 40 years. Despite improvements to hydroelectric dams that reduce risks to young eels migrating upstream, older eels still suffer high mortality during the downstream migration. In Atlantic Canada, existing fisheries place additional pressure on the American Eel.

Canada's other beaver can't handle the heat
While nearly all Canadians can recognize the North American Beaver, its distant relative, the Mountain Beaver is probably unknown to most. Mountain Beavers occur in Canada only in the Coast Mountains and south of the Fraser River in British Columbia. Mountain Beaver, the last living representative of an ancient lineage of rodents, was assessed as Special Concern. These beavers live in underground dens built in deep, loose soil along the edges of cool, forested streams. These sites can be degraded by forestry practices that compact the soil. Mountain Beavers are highly intolerant of heat and drought, and are especially sensitive to climate change. The Magnum Mantleslug, another wildlife species assessed as Special Concern, is similarly restricted to edges of cool streams and seepages and also faces threats from logging and climate change.

Canada's Boreal Forest("the lungs of the the north")

No avoiding human impacts
Northern and ocean-dwelling species should be buffered from human activity because more than two-thirds of all Canadians live within 200 km of our southern border; this is not true for many Canadian wildlife species. As with the grizzly, whose movements are increasingly disrupted by human encroachments into boreal and arctic regions, other northern and marine species live under the specter of human activities. For the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, a shorebird assessed as Special Concern, increased resource exploration on their Canadian Arctic nesting grounds poses a threat. The Marbled Murrelet, assessed as Threatened, is a charismatic diving bird that occurs in Canada along the BC coast where it is vulnerable to the loss of ancient forests where it nests. In the marine environment where murrelets feed, proposed increases in shipping traffic pose an additional threat. On the Atlantic coast, Leatherback Sea Turtles encounter fishing gear while feeding in Canadian waters. Entanglement with fishing lines and ropes attached to traps pose a key threat to this wildlife species, assessed as Endangered by COSEWIC. These species demonstrate how Canadian wildlife depends critically on habitat protection.

Next Meeting
COSEWIC's next scheduled wildlife species assessment meeting will be held in Ottawa, ON, in November 2012.

About COSEWIC
COSEWIC assesses the status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other important units of biological diversity, considered to be at risk in Canada. To do so, COSEWIC uses scientific, Aboriginal traditional and community knowledge provided by experts from governments, academia and other organizations. Summaries of assessments are currently available to the public on the COSEWIC website (www.cosewic.gc.ca) and will be submitted to the Federal Minister of the Environment in late summer 2012 for listing consideration under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). At that time, the full status reports and status appraisal summaries will be publicly available on the Species at Risk Public Registry (www.sararegistry.gc.ca).

There are now 650 wildlife species in various COSEWIC risk categories, including 287 Endangered, 161, Threatened, 179 Special Concern, and 23 Extirpated (i.e. no longer found in the wild in Canada). In addition to these wildlife species that are in COSEWIC risk categories, there are 15 wildlife species that are Extinct.

The Algonquin pond and eastern forest region of Canada

COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal entities (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Canadian Museum of Nature), three Non-government Science Members, and the Co-chairs of the Species Specialist and the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittees.

Definition of COSEWIC Terms and Status Categories:
Wildlife Species: A species, subspecies, variety, or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and is either native to Canada or has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years.Extinct (X): A wildlife species that no longer exists.Extirpated (XT): A wildlife species that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but exists elsewhere.Endangered (E): A wildlife species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.Threatened (T): A wildlife species that is likely to become Endangered if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to its extirpation or extinction.Special Concern (SC): A wildlife species that may become Threatened or Endangered because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.Not at Risk (NAR): A wildlife species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk of extinction given the current circumstances.Data Deficient (DD): A category that applies when the available information is insufficient (a) to resolve a wildlife species' eligibility for assessment or (b) to permit an assessment of the wildlife species' risk of extinction.Species at Risk: A wildlife species that has been assessed as Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened or Special Concern.

While conflicts between Wolves and Pumas have always taken place where the two carnivores share habitat, Wolves usually dominate the larger Pumas because of their pack behavior(too many wolves versus the solitary puma)..............Pumas can top off at 200 pounds whereas the largest Wolves(without their bellies full of deer or elk) tip the scales at roughly 120 pounds.........Bitteroot, Montana biologists have recently come across dead wolves that apparently were done in by Pumas,,,,,,,probably lone Wolves seeking to steal a deer carcass from a Puma cache...............Will the increased hunting and trapping of Wolves in the Rocky Mtn States result in fractured wolf packs disbanding and survivors getting into more conflicts with resident Pumas?

Mountain lions kill collared wolves in Bitterroot

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Mountain lions have killed several wolves in the Bitterroot in recent months.

By PERRY BACKUS -missoulian.com

Mountain lions are taking a toll on Liz Bradley’s collared wolves in the Bitterroot this year.

Since January, two wolves radio-collared by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wolf biologist have been killed by mountain lions.Last week, she found the latest dead wolf in the Warm Springs area, west of Sula.Like all the others she’s investigated since 2009, the wolf’s skull showed a severe puncture wound – a trademark of a lion kill.

In the Sula case, the lion ate a good portion of the wolf and then covered the carcass with debris.
“It’s hard to say what happened,” Bradley said. “There was no elk or deer carcass nearby that they may have been competing over.”There was, however, a deer carcass near the dead wolf she found in the Carlton Creek area west of Lolo in January. In that case, the wolf wasn’t consumed, but it did have the same canine tooth puncture through the skull.“That one was probably a conflict,” she said.

Last year, Bradley found two dead wolves that were probably killed by mountain lions. One was in Davis Creek, east of Lolo, and the other was south of Conner.In both cases, the carcasses were too far decomposed for positive identification on the cause of death. Both had clear puncture wounds through the top of their skulls.

In 2009, the first apparent lion-killed wolf was discovered in the West Fork area.
The number of wolf and lion encounters is unusual. “I haven’t heard of it happening anywhere else,” Bradley said. “It’s pretty interesting that the Bitterroot has had so many.”

Large predators sometimes do kill each other. There have been documented cases of that happening in many places around the West.“They compete for the same resource,” she said. “When there is overlap in areas where you have lots of prey, conflicts occur.”Four of the five wolves that Bradley knows were probably killed by mountain lions were fitted with a radio collar.“It’s too bad because we don’t have those now,” she said.

At the end of last year, Bradley had collars in seven packs in the Bitterroot. She’s now down to four.
“Ideally, we would have at least half of the packs collared in the Bitterroot,” she said.
Bradley estimates there are 14 packs in the Bitterroot, which includes the area around Lolo all the way down the east and west forks of the Bitterroot River.On average, pack sizes are smaller in the Bitterroot following last year’s hunting season. The largest pack now has nine wolves. Most have four to seven adults, with several including just a male and female.

Going into the pup season, Bradley estimated that there were between 60 and 70 adult wolves in the entire Bitterroot area.“That’s a little bit lower than what we had in 2011,” she said. “We had about 80 last year. We had some mortality.”Bradley won’t know this year’s numbers of pups until sometime later this summer.

She is asking the public for help in locating packs for collaring this spring, especially in the Darby and Sula areas, as well as the north Bitterroot Valley.Sightings can be reported by going to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website under the wolf section. For recent wolf sightings of multiple animals, Bradley asks that people call her cell phone at (406) 865-0017
“I’m especially interesting in hearing about sightings in the Sula area right now,” she said.
If anyone stumbles across a dead wolf or mountain lion, she would be interested in hearing about that too.

By the looks of the article below, many folks in Alabama need some educating about how to coexist with Coyotes........While many Armed Forces bases around the Country have very forward thinking wildlife policies, Redstone Arsenal is on a wrongheaded course,,,,, trapping and killing them.............The City of Decatur is just plain misguided, thinking that there are "hundreds of them" within their city limits...........Town Fathers should create ordinances that do not allow cats and dogs to run free,,,,,,as well as guding their citizens on how to intimidate the coyotes rather than killing them(which just encourages younger and inexperienced Coyotes to reoccupy the vacancies created)............Kudos to the City of Huntsville where Officials have concluded that it is best to "pretty much leave them alone"

Coyote sightings increasing in North Alabama as municipalities grapple with shooting vs. trapping

Deborah Storey  Huntsville TimesThe Huntsville Times

A coyote on the Indian Creek Greenway. .

They won't be using Acme bombs or anvils like in Road Runner cartoons, but Redstone Arsenal has announced it is "taking measures" to control the coyote population, measures that will kill at least some of them.

The move raises questions about the coyote population of North Alabama in general. When do coyotes become a problem? Do you kill them? Move them? Leave them alone? Let citizens trap them?

The arsenal Directorate of Emergency Services issued a press release earlier this month saying ongoing control measures haven't kept up with the animals' population growth.
Arsenal game warden Kelly Smith confirmed an upswing in sightings.
"It was not uncommon to see a coyote on occasion, but over the last four, five, six months they started becoming more regular in their appearances," he said.

Smith said the animals are getting "comfortable" around people and that's a concern.
Although he will trap skunks and raccoons and release them elsewhere on post, that's not practical with coyotes. He's killed eight in the last month or so. "It gives me no joy to do that," he added.
"With some of these coyotes my only option is to shoot them and remove them that way," Smith said. They are first caught in live traps (like cages)."I think it's very important to say that coyotes have their place in the ecosystem. I have no desire whatsoever to eliminate coyotes from Redstone Arsenal."We just have a few too many in some places that just can't hold that number of them."
In Decatur
Decatur, too, is dealing head-on with what city animal cruelty investigator Miles Naylor calls a "huge problem."
"At last count we were up to almost 60 pet deaths" in the last year, Naylor said last week. "I had one report today of two pets killed last night. It just keeps coming."
Asked if he thinks coyotes are solely to blame, Naylor replied:
"No, I know. I can look and hear the description and tell you that's exactly what that is. There's a certain way they kill and way they attack."In a typical year in the past, Decatur had seen about five or six pet deaths.

"Once you get 40 pets that are killed by a wild animal, how can you (tell) those 40 citizens that they have to hire somebody? They've only got the legal right to tell the person that they can use their small plot of land" to set traps, he said.
Since last July, 22 coyotes have been killed in the Decatur city limits -- a number that also includes road kill and attacks by dogs. The city catches them live in traps and puts them down, Naylor said. None have been rabid. He estimates there are hundreds around.

Several factors contribute to the coyote boom, he said, including less hunting and more animal rights activism. Yes, humans have encroached on their territory, "but we've also put less pressure on them.

"My personal opinion is that the state gives you the regulations, licenses and permits to deal with them. At what point do you deal with them? I feel like for the citizens that was the responsible move. We're a lot smaller than Huntsville. We had to address the issue."

Tracking coyotes is a "nightmare in the city," Naylor said, because they are observational learners. He makes them sound downright devious.

"A coyote will watch you pull up to your trap every day and know that you're going to be there at that time. That's how they get the pets. They watch your house every day, and once they know you leave at daylight, they don't come back until dark. Your little Chihuahua is out in the back, and it's their next meal.

"It's pretty amazing to me that you think you're safe from an animal that can jump 14 feet" by having a 4-foot chain-link fence, he said.

Not a protected species
Jud Easterwood, biologist at the state wildlife management office in Tanner, said "I can assure you coyotes are becoming a problem" and are clearly having an impact on wildlife.
The animals vary in color -- brown and even black -- and some people think they're seeing a red wolf when it's really a coyote, he said. Coyotes aren't a protected species and there's no hunting limit."They're open for the take," he said, during daylight hours in proper hunting areas.

Lee Kasmeier, a spokesman for North Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitators, said there are places where coyotes could be released in the wild -- such as Bankhead National Forest -- instead of killed."We have plenty of people who would go out of their way to help" relocate them, he said.

In Decatur, Naylor said some people have encouraged him to leave the critters alone."I've had some threats," he said. "I've had some people follow me. If we don't do something, you're going to have citizens shooting irresponsibly or dangerously through the city or setting traps or poison or different illegal means," he said."The last thing you want is a bunch of folks with 30-ought-sixes in your neighborhood shooting at coyotes at night."

In Huntsville
Urban coyotes are common in Huntsville, where they're pretty much left alone.Dr. Karen Hill Sheppard, director of Huntsville's Animal Services department, said there aren't necessarily more but they "have definitely become more visible.It's been pretty stable the 10 years I've been here," she said. "We know where people are most likely to see them -- anywhere along the mountains."

That includes "green corridors" near Monte Sano, Green and Huntsville mountains, plus the golf course on Bailey Cove Road, along Green Cove Road, in ditches along Carl T. Jones Drive and the Research Park area. Some communities like Monte Sano have become quite used to seeing coyotes, she said. In other areas, people are "shocked, like they saw a polar bear."

In consulting with wildlife control experts in other states about the growing number of coyotes, Sheppard learned that "what everyone is doing, by default, is nothing." Tracking them down "is not a wise use of taxpayer resources," she said. "We were never able to trap coyotes, and we're not going to shoot them. They don't go into traps. They are smart, smart, smart, smart.

"Most of our urban coyotes, what they do is stop and stare at you," she said. "I tell people to throw a rock at them, or yell at them. They think they're about to get taken out by a coyote, but they're not."
Sheppard heard about a woman walking a female dog (in heat) and two coyotes followed her. She was also carrying food. Andy Prewett, land manager for Huntsville Land Trust's roughly 6,000 acres, heard a similar report about a hiker with a dog on Monte Sano. The idea of menacing coyotes traveling in packs is "not realistic," he said.

Coyotes will run off with cats and dogs under 10 pounds, especially old or young ones, Sheppard said. If a dog is just injured, though, it's likely something else did it."The coyote would have eaten your dog," she said.Some residents have threatened to shoot coyotes. "We don't recommend that," Sheppard said flatly. It is illegal to fire a gun in the city limits, police spokesman Dr. Harry Hobbs confirmed, punishable by a $500 fine or up to a year in jail.If people are determined to get rid of coyotes, city animal control suggests they hire a private critter-catching company.

'Getting braver'
Chris Banks of Tennessee Valley Wildlife Control, which sells wildlife/pest removal services in North Alabama and Southern Tennessee, said he's probably killed "a couple hundred" coyotes in the last four or five years."They are eating a lot of cats," he said. "They are getting braver."
Near a horse ranch in Madison, he used foot traps and caught a male and a female the first night. "If you see their tracks, I can peg 'em."

He figures coyotes live 10 or 12 years with a good food source.
"They are going to keep multiplying and die of old age," he said.
"I caught one that looked like a wolf, and one that was as big as I was," he said. When he held the animal up by its legs, "its head was hanging past my feet." That was near Elk River.
Something else to think about: Banks figures he's killed 40 or 50 bobcats, too.

The solitary and reclusive Wolverine covers vast amounts of territory and are difficult animals to study.....DNA studies have so far allowed researchers to genetically identify 19 individual wolverines — 12 males and seven females — across a 6,000-square-kilometre area in the Rocky Mountain national parks of Banff, Yoho and Kootenay.............While not happening frequently, last week a female Wolverine was killed by a car on the highway traversing across Kootenay National Park............With so few animals remaining in the Canadian Rockies, the death of any individual is concerning............And when it is a female, well, as we all know a very hurtful impact that is on the overall population.,,,,,,,you have just removed a critical reproducer!.....Additional wildlife road crossings are co critical to optimizing the chances of Wolverine persistance into the future

Rare wolverine found dead along busy Kootenay National Park highway

Huge volumes of traffic by vacationing Calgarians deadly for numerous wildlife species on road past Banff

By Cathy Ellis, For the Calagary Herald

 

The number of wolverines, like the one found dead this week along a highway in B.C.'s Kootenay National Park, is declining in Canada. The solitary animals cover vast amounts of territory and are difficult animals to study, but DNA studies have so far allowed researchers to genetically identify 19 individual wolverines — 12 males and seven females — across a 6,000-square-kilometre area in the Rocky Mountain national parks of Banff, Yoho and Kootenay.

Photograph by: Courtesy , Parks Canada

BANFF — A female wolverine has been struck and killed on a busy highway through Kootenay National Park — only the second of the elusive creatures to be killed there in three decades.
The animal was found dead in a ditch along Highway 93 South, about 1.5 kilometres south of Marble Canyon, on Monday morning.

It is the second known wolverine killed on that B.C. highway since 1979. The other was in 1990.
Trevor Kinley, a wildlife biologist for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay, said Parks Canada is greatly saddened by the loss of this important animal.

"Wolverines are a true symbol of Canadian wilderness as represented by our national parks," he said.
"It's extremely rare that you get to see a wolverine, and certainly we prefer not to see them this way. Thankfully, this is only the second collision involving a wolverine in Kootenay National Park over the past 33 years."

Wolverine numbers are declining in Canada, and because they are solitary animals and cover such vast amounts of territory, they are difficult animals to study.But the wonders of modern DNA are giving scientists some preliminary answers on how many wolverines may live in the mountain national parks of Banff, Yoho and Kootenay.

Researchers have so far been able to genetically identify 19 individual wolverines — 12 males and seven females — across a 6,000-square-kilometre area in the first of a five-year study.
While more closely resembling the appearance of a small bear, wolverines are actually the largest land-dwelling members of the weasel family.

These stocky and muscular carnivores are highly sensitive to a warming planet and human disturbance, such as busy highways and roads.Highway 93 South is proving to be a deadly road for wildlife as huge volumes of traffic buzz back and forth between Alberta and B.C., where many Albertans have vacation properties.

From 2000 to 2009, park staff recorded more than 400 large animal deaths along the highway through Kootenay, southwest of Banff National Park. Many more wildlife-vehicle collisions go unreported. The most commonly killed animals are white-tailed deer, an important prey species for wolves and cougar. Rare or sensitive species such as wolves and grizzly bears are also being hit.
Parks Canada has previously secured funding to allow them to build fencing and wildlife underpasses within a priority section of the highway.

A minimum of three kilometres of fencing and one wildlife underpass is to be established around the Dolly Varden area, about 35 kilometres from the south gate of Kootenay.
According to Parks Canada's website, construction is anticipated for 2012, although it's unknown what federal budget cuts could mean to the timing of this project.
Kinley said the death of the wolverine is an important reminder to drivers to stick to the speed limit through Kootenay National Park.

 

John Glowa continues to push both the USA and Canada to forge a joint wolf mangement and recovery plan so as to facilitate the return of the Wolf to New England and the rest of its Eastern USA historical home.

Wolf rebound depends on U.S./Canada plan

CBC News

 

A Maine conservation group wants to see wolf populations rebound in its state and said there's a good chance there are more wolves in New Brunswick that should be protected, jointly, by the U.S. and Canada.

DNA tests released last week confirmed the first known wolf kill in New Brunswick since the late 1870s.John Glowa, president of the Maine Wolf Coalition, believes the animals are trying to re-establish themselves in eastern North America and said over the past 20 years, wolves have been found in Maine, Massachusetts and New York State.

"It seems to be a new wolf species. These animals are ranging 80, 90 to 100 pounds," Glowa said.
"It's an extremely interesting and complex situation that scientists really haven't gotten a handle on yet."

Algonquin Park(Canada) Wolf

'It is happening. It's inevitable. But it will happen sooner if our governments work together to give wolves the protection that they're going to need.'
—John Glowa, President of the Maine Wolf Coalition

Glowa said based on these sightings, he predicted it was only a matter of time before one was found in neighbouring New Brunswick."New Brunswick has a tremendous amount of potential wolf habitat, large numbers of prey for wolves, and when you combine Maine and New Brunswick together —remember that wolves don't recognize international boundaries — you have in excess of a quarter of a million deer, and you have in excess of 50,000 moose. So this entire region would really be a wolf magnet," he said.

Glowa said wolves are an important part of the ecosystem and allowing wolf populations to rebound in eastern North America would be "righting a wrong," that humans perpetuated on the species.
He said the large meat-eaters pose very little risk to humans."To be honest with you, you're at far more risk of being injured or killed getting into your car and driving to the market in the morning, than you are being affected by wolves," Glowa said."The chances of it occurring are infinitesimally small. I would tell folks just go about their regular business and not give it a second thought. Wolves are wild animals, they don't want to bother people, they want to be left alone."

Canada a leader in wolf conservation

He'd love to see Canada and the U.S. work together on the issue.
"Wolves were never exterminated in Canada. People across Canada coexist with wolves now. So I think Canada can be a real leader on this issue and we're hopeful that they will be," Glowa said.
He said the the Maine Wolf Coalition's initial request to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and to Canada's Environment Minister did not get much positive response.

The group sent another letter last week, again asking that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service work with Canada to promote the wolf's natural recolonization."It is happening. It's inevitable. But it will happen sooner if our governments work together to give wolves the protection that they're going to need."

Glowa said to give the wolf a chance, hunters shouldn't pull the trigger if they're not completely sure what they're shooting.He said scientists should get a chance to examine any big, dead "coyotes."
Joe Kennedy, a biologist for the Department of Natural Resources, said it's often difficult to tell coyotes and wolves apart.He said the two species have similar coat colours and although wolves are often much bigger than coyotes, he has seen some very large coyote specimens."There's very strong similarities in appearance between to the two animals and occasionally there's not a great size difference," Kennedy said.

According to its website, the Maine Wolf Coalition is an all-volunteer organization founded in 1994 to support wolf recovery in Maine through research, education and protection.
The coalition's aim is to gather reports and follow up on possible wolf sightings, working to educate the public, public officials and the press.

Kristie Lewis is an independent writer and new friend of this blog...............She has penned the article below entitled: IN THE 'BURBS--HUMAN CONSTRUCTION ENCROACHING ON THE GRAY WOLF POPULATION---Kristie's take on how conscientious efforts by home and industrial builders to preserve open space can be a step in the right direction in helping wildlife to better persist amidst ever-shrinking natural habitat

In the 'burbs—Human Construction Encroaching on the Gray Wolf Population

For most of us, the thought of living in close proximity to wolves is not something that crosses our minds very often. For those of us who live in metropolitan areas, wolves are not a part of nature that we anticipate having much interaction with. However, humans have a long history of encroaching on the natural habits of regional animals and species. The fact of the matter is—we're the bigger breed. We have the power and ability to take over spaces and put them to our own use without any regard for those who might have been there in the first place. And, sadly enough, this is something humans have done for many, many years now.

Coyote trotting through suburban neighborhood

The grey wolf is one population that has been severely disrupted by human expansion and construction. At one time, gray wolves were the world's most dispersed mammal, living in most all areas of the Northern latitude. Today the gray wolf is an endangered species in the United States and has been forced into small pockets of "livable" habitats. This isolation is a direct result of human overpopulation and overgrowth. As we continue to build our own "habitats" in the natural environment of the gray wolf, they are forced into a smaller and smaller region. This poses worrisome problems to both the wolf population and our human establishments.

With humans building their towns, homes, ranches, and lives in areas that were once natural habitats to wolves, we are coming into contact with the creatures more often. Wolves are not animals that seek human interaction. Shy and skittish, wolves desire a habitat that is heavily wooded and secluded from humans. Unfortunately, urban growth has greatly reduced the amount of available natural resources for wolves and has forced them to live in closer proximity to us and forced them to seek resources and food from our own communities.


Black Bear wandering from woods into suburban backyard

Today, with an influx of interest in "green" living and "green" building, construction managers and builders are more concerned with preserving natural environments during their construction projects than they have been in the past. While this effort and interest is not directly related to the encroachment that has taken place on the wolf population in the US, it can help the problem to some degree. Better awareness about our building and constructions' impact on natural habitats and species is a step in the right direction.

 Byline:

This is a guest post by Kristie Lewis from construction management degree. You can reach her at: Kristie.Lewis81 @ gmail. Com.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES AUTHORED BY KRISTIE LEWIS

http://www.smallbusinesstech.co.uk/the-best-apps-for-tracking-your-businesss-finances/

http://www.mscareergirl.com/2012/04/20/3-tips-for-knowing-when-to-quit-your-dream-job/

http://constructionmanagementdegree.org/blog/2010/101-helpful-blogs-for-a-totally-eco-friendly-home/

http://savvyworkinggal.blogspot.in/2012/04/feel-stuck-in-your-industry-4-tips-for.html

http://constructionmanagementdegree.org/blog/2010/twitter-feeds-for-architecture-students/

http://webylife.com/design/10-things-to-remember-when-designing-highly-converting-forms/

We are such a confused species!!!!!...........We love to name and nickname our cars, sports teams and school mascots animal names while we simultaneously go about driving our wildlife to the brink of extinction......In a bizarre twist, a bipartisan bill backed by Western Senators has been introduced to designate the Bison as our national mammal..............I sugggest that rather than go through this exercise, the Senate should invest its time creating new wilderness areas and National Parks and insisting that the Dept. of Agriculture and the Interior Dept go about restoring our native species to those regions asap

Senators propose bison as 'national mammal'

By Ramsey Cox -         

Senators from plain states want the American bison to be designated as the national mammal of the United States.

Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) introduced S. 3248, the Bison Legacy Act, on Thursday. The bill would "honor" the animal by making it the nation's mammal.

"I ask my colleagues to help me support and pass this legislation honoring the bison and designating it as our national mammal," Enzi said. "The bison has and will continue to be a symbol of America, its people and a way of life."

 

Three states have designated the bison as their state mammal and American bison freely roam national parks, such as Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

"The bison has been integrally linked to the economic and spiritual lives of many Native American tribes over the centuries," Enzi said. "Since our frontier days, the bison has become a symbol of American strength and determination."

The bipartisan bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). The National Bison Association, Intertribal Bison Council and Wildlife Conservation Society also support the measure.

Intraspecific strife in Puma populations is normal and in non-stressed populations the way that male "cats" defend their territories against all males who seek to intrude..........Male Pumas will also kill the offspring of another male to bring a resident female into heat so as to sire young of his own..............The bottom line that this is the nature of Pumas...........Problems arise in constricted habiats like in Southern Florida and the Los Angeles Basin where Pumas do not have enough room to roam.........Dispersing young males cannot find enough vacant territory to create their own home range and end up getting killed in fights with the dominant resident male...............Florida just experienced two intraspecific deaths and along with the other 9 Pumas killed this year, the Florida population could see more than the 25 Pumas killed in 2011.............We urge the USFW folks to expand Puma critcal habitat as the original florida restoration plan calls for

Florida panther-on-panther deaths take toll

 

Lowry Park Zoo

The rapid pace of panther injuries and deaths so far this year has wildlife officials concerned about the 160 that remain in the wild.

By Christine Stapleton
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The death of three rare Florida panthers in six days brings the endangered cat's death toll this year to 12 - a pace that has wildlife officials concerned about the fewer than 160 remaining in the wild.
"We're not pushing the panic button just yet," said Dave Onorato, a panther biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Obviously if this keeps up for a couple more weeks we will be a lot more concerned."

Two of the three cats found this week - young males - died in fights with other panthers, according to commission reports. A third cat, also a young male, was found on the side of the road in Lee County on Wednesday after it was hit by a vehicle.

Spikes in panther deaths are not unheard of and can be followed by weeks and months with no fatalities, Onorato said. However, the nature of the recent deaths is a concern.

Last year the leading cause of death among the 25 reported panther deaths was traffic accidents. However, this year, "intra-species aggression" - panther vs. panther - is proving to be just as lethal. Of the 12 deaths this year, five were caused by vehicle, five by other panthers and two died of unknown causes.

Florida female Puma with her cub

The fatal, cat-on-cat fights are caused by territorial disputes and could be a sign that the far-roaming predatory cats are not able to find adequate space. Males typically need 160 to 200 square miles. The home range for females is between 60 and 75 square miles.

"If panthers are getting to the point of filling up their habitat, you'd expect the population to regulate itself," Onorato said. "That's the theory." This year's record-setting death rate grabbed headlines in April, when a volunteer with the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge spotted an injured panther kitten on a road in Collier County. Rescuers immediately took the then 12-week-old male kitten to an animal hospital in Naples.

Veterinarians found no major fractures or significant internal injuries but believe the kitten sustained brain damage. The kitten is unable to make purposeful movements and cannot eat on his own. His vision is also questionable and it is unlikely he can be returned to the wild. Another panther kitten, believed to be the brother, was killed by vehicle in early April.

There was some good news for panthers this week. On Tuesday a partnership of state and federal agencies, nonprofit conservation groups and Wal-Mart announced the purchase of a 1,278-acre wildlife corridor along the Caloosahatchee River in Glades County for panther habitat. The hope is that the panthers will migrate north from their native habitat in the heavily developed areas of Southwestern Florida to the less developed central parts of the state.

Sadly, the dead panther discovered on Wednesday was found on the same road that cuts through the new wildlife corridor announced on Tuesday.