"On Thursday of this week, June 28, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made public the final Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan Supplement: Habitat-Based Recovery Criteria for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem"............."The final Recovery Plan provides(what the Service believes to be) objective, habitat-based criteria for the recovery of the estimated 1000 Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly bears, and builds upon the existing roadmap to grizzly bear recovery"..................."Three-quarters of the bear’s habitat is found on federal lands managed by the Forest Service and the Park Service"..................."Coordination across multiple federal, state, and tribal interests is essential for Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear recovery"..................."Indian Tribes have a tremendous amount of traditional ecological knowledge and scientific information to contribute to this matter"..................."The goal of the Service’s grizzly bear recovery effort is to ensure the long-term existence of a grizzly bear population in this system"..............."The habitat-based recovery criteria will also inform the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy, the guide for coordinated management of the bear after it is recovered and removed from the list of threatened and endangered species"

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.seeleylake.com/story/2018/06/28/news/conservation-strategy-for-grizzly-bears-completed/3739.html&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoTNTIzODg1NzEzMjkxODgwODMxNTIaNTZkMWU3ZjE5ZThmOTk5MTpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNFW89RwU3WrmMnEiooQBMbg0yo8RQ

Conservation Strategy for 

Grizzly

 Bears Completed

By Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee; June 28, 2018

A grizzly bear in the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage.

An interagency team of biologists, researchers and managers from State, Tribal and Federal agencies completed a Conservation Strategy for grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in northwest Montana.

Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in northwest Montana

 The Conservation Strategy is a comprehensive document that seeks to maintain a recovered, genetically diverse grizzly bear population into the future. The NCDE Subcommittee, as part of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, crafted the document as a way for the respective authorities to maintain and enhance the recovered status of the grizzly bear in the NCDE by implementing regulatory mechanisms, interagency cooperation, population and habitat management and monitoring, and other provisions of the Conservation Strategy. 

The Conservation Strategy provides a cohesive umbrella for all signatories to operate under and reference, but each signatory would have their own legal, and public, process and authority to implement aspects of the Conservation Strategy. This Conservation Strategy would remain in effect beyond recovery, delisting, and the minimum five-year post-delisting monitoring period required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA).The overarching goal of the Conservation Strategy is to maintain a healthy, recovered grizzly bear population throughout an area known as the Demographic Monitoring Area (DMA; see maps included in the Conservation Strategy). This area features the Primary Conservation Area (PCA), which includes Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. The PCA represents the core habitat for grizzly bears in the NCDE and is expected to support the highest densities of bears.  It will be managed as a source area where the objectives are continual occupancy by grizzly bears and maintenance of habitat conditions that are compatible with long-term population stability.  It is mostly comprised of public land (85 percent) and is the area where the most conservative habitat protections apply.

The Conservation Strategy also identifies the goal of maintaining demographic and genetic connections with Canadian populations and providing the opportunity for demographic and/or genetic connectivity with other ecosystems (Cabinet-Yaak, Bitterroot, Greater Yellowstone).

"The key to successful management of grizzly bears is to balance multiple land uses, public safety and careful consideration of grizzly bear needs across northwest Montana, including Glacier National Park, parts of the Flathead and Blackfeet Indian Reservations, parts of five national forests, Bureau of Land Management lands, and state and private lands," said Jeff Mow, superintendent of Glacier National Park and the chair of the NCDE Subcommittee.

One of the listed objectives in the Conservation Strategy is to "manage mortalities from all sources to support a 90 percent or greater estimated probability that the grizzly bear population within the DMA remains above 800 bears. Importantly, given the commitment to incorporate all forms of uncertainty into the population modeling, this objective necessitates maintaining an actual population size that is likely closer to 1,000 bears, and an even higher population size should uncertainty increase.

This Conservation Strategy is the culmination of many years of work by an interagency team that have assembled the best information available on maintaining a recovered grizzly bear population within the NCDE.  It is also the culmination of a revision process that has included multiple agency reviews, independent peer reviews and opportunities for public input.

Development of the Conservation Strategy began in 2009. In 2013, although not required to do so, the agencies agreed to release a draft of the Conservation Strategy and the USFWS opened a 60-day public comment period via a notice of availability published in the Federal Register. Over 2,400 comments and three peer reviews were received. In 2017, the NCDE Subcommittee re-assembled its team to respond to public comments and to update and revise the draft document in response to comments and to new information, as appropriate.  The latest Conservation Strategy includes an appendix with roughly 60 pages responding to public comment.

The NCDE Conservation Strategy is posted on the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee website, http://igbconline.org/n-continental-divide-subcommitte.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the NCDE? The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) is one of six recovery zones for grizzly bears in the lower-48 States. It's situated in northwest Montana, and includes Glacier National Park, parts of the Flathead and Blackfeet Indian Reservations, parts of 5 national forests (Flathead, Helena, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark and Lolo), Bureau of Land Management lands, and a significant amount of state and private lands. Also within this region are four wilderness areas (Bob Marshall, Mission Mountains, Great Bear and Scapegoat), one wilderness study area (Deep Creek north), and one scenic area (Ten Lakes).

How many grizzly bears are in the NCDE? Based on multi-agency population monitoring, the NCDE is believed to have the largest population of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states, with more than 1,000. For more information about grizzly bear population monitoring, visit 

http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/management/grizzlyBear/monitoring.html

What is the NCDE Subcommittee? The NCDE subcommittee is part of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee and features members from State, Tribal and Federal agencies including Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, USDA APHIS-Wildlife Services, US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Land Management, Blackfeet Tribe, and Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The subcommittee meets biannually to coordinate grizzly bear recovery efforts throughout the ecosystem.

 For more information about the IGBC and NCDE Subcommittee, visit http://igbconline.org.

"A pack of Synchronous Fireflies -- "lightning bugs," as many of us called them in childhood.............The display happens every year in North America as Spring ebbs into Summer"........... "It sweeps north as temperatures warm, up from Tennessee's Smoky Mountains to, on this June night, the thick woods of the 500,000-acre Allegheny National Forest, 100 miles from Pittsburgh"............"Of hundreds of types of fireflies, these are perhaps the most remarkable"............"What they do, in a world of mass-produced experiences, is organic and natural and utterly unplugged".............. "People come from around the world for this"..............."Peggy and Ken Butler org'anize an annual Pennsylvania Firefly Festival here, offering an intricate, quiet and fleeting experience where science and poetry live side by side".................."Synchronous males can see each other light up, and they can reset their internal pacemakers in real time to sync with male counterparts flying nearby, according to researchers"................"Females wait below, in brush near the ground"................"The males light up to attract them, as with most firefly species"...........But why do all the males light up simultaneously rather than individually?................."There are three theories: The first, known as 'visual clutter', suggests that it's to male fireflies' advantage to cluster so they're broadcasting in sync with other males in their line of sight, thus attracting female attention"..................."The second theory, the 'silent window' focuses not on the synchronized lighting but in the pause for darkness between bursts".............."Perhaps, that theory goes, if they're all dark for six seconds or so, they can more easily see females flashing in the brush below"............."The third hypothesis suggests that If they can coordinate their signals to flash simultaneously, perhaps the brighter light can be seen farther away and entice females to fly into the trees to mate"

firefly festival

A forest on the trail of fireflies

by :TED ANTHONY
AP National Writer

Posted: Jun. 22, 2018

KELLETTVILLE, Pa. -- Picture a moonless June evening, shortly after midnight, deep in a northwestern Pennsylvania forest. Wild sounds echo gently. Stars glow far above through the canopy of trees. Otherwise it is dark -- so very dark.

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar — Peggy Butler, organizer of the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival looking at some fireflies in a jar during an evening hike overlooking the Tionesta Creek and Firefly Island, left rear, on June 14 in Kettleville, Pa. For several weeks in June each year people from around the world make the trek to this northwest Pennsylvania forest to see all manner of fireflies.
Gene J. PuskarSTF

But wait. There -- right there, to the left -- a single tiny light flickers on. And then another. And another. In moments they are switching on and off in stunning synchronicity, as if, deep in the woods, you have come upon a magical summertime Christmas tree. It's a show of light and nature, biology and dreaminess. It's everything the glowing screen in your pocket is not.

This is what it's like to walk smack into a pack of synchronous fireflies -- "lightning bugs," as many of us called them in childhood. But these possess the unique capability of flashing in glorious, almost otherworldly unison.

The display happens every year in North America as spring ebbs into summer. It sweeps north as temperatures warm, up from Tennessee's Smoky Mountains to, on this night, the thick woods of the 500,000-acre Allegheny National Forest, 100 miles from Pittsburgh.

Of hundreds of types of fireflies, these are perhaps the most remarkable. What they do, in a world of mass-produced experiences, is organic and natural and utterly unplugged.

People come from around the world for this. Peggy and Ken Butler organize an annual Pennsylvania Firefly Festival here, offering an intricate, quiet and fleeting experience where science and poetry live side by side

Visitors come to see the "Chinese lantern" fireflies that seem to float through the air by Tionesta Creek. But they come, most of all, for the synchronous fireflies, that put on their choreographed light show for two weeks in late June in the forest around the Butlers' Black Caddis Ranch.

"It's so hard to put into words," Peggy Butler says. "A lot of people tell us they're here for a bucket list item. They're trying to find some missing piece of something."

THE EXPERIENCE

To walk on the edge of Tionesta Creek, cross over "firefly island" and wander into the forest to see the synchronous insects glowing and flitting above is to ponder a wonderful question: Where do the fireflies end and the stars begin?

The Butlers moved here from Ohio several years ago with no idea of the bounty in their backyard. Firefly researchers showed up and told them, essentially, "Prepare yourselves. You're going to get a lot of visitors."

They did. Last year, more than 500 people converged on their property for the festival. This year, campgrounds are booked for peak firefly season.

The phenomenon injects some economic energy into an area once dominated by sawmills, lumberyards and tanneries. But that traffic comes at a cost: "thousands of people traipsing through the forest, willy-nilly, looking for these things," as Butler puts it.

Because female fireflies stay close to the ground, as do firefly larva and immature insects, more foot traffic can mean more firefly casualties. And because fireflies light up less when light pollution is present, visitors with flashlights and cellphones can interrupt mating and impact the next firefly generation.

And yet, the appreciation of natural phenomena in an age of videogames and synthetic distractions is worth something, too.

"I'm very actively trying to spend my life not staring at a screen," says Kiley Voss, 21, of Buffalo, New York, who's studying conservation biology and interning with the Butlers. "I want to spend my life outdoors and be places where there's no cell service. This is one of those places."

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT

How do they do it? And why?

The first question has an answer. As for the second, firefly experts only have theories.

Synchronous males can see each other light up, and they can reset their internal pacemakers in real time to sync with male counterparts flying nearby, according to researchers.

Females wait below, in brush near the ground. The males light up to attract them, as with most firefly species.

But why? Why light up together, when that would seem to create competition for males trying to entice a female mate? Why create what Sara Lewis, who has researched fireflies for more than two decades, calls "silent synchronous symphonies"?

"It's still a mystery," says Lewis, a biology professor at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

"Why some, and why not others? Why are they doing it? We still don't know."

There are theories. The first, known as "visual clutter," suggests that it's to male fireflies' advantage to cluster so they're broadcasting in sync with other males in their line of sight, thus attracting female attention.

The second theory, the "silent window," focuses not on the synchronized lighting but in the pause for darkness between bursts. Perhaps, that theory goes, if they're all dark for six seconds or so, they can more easily see females flashing in the brush below.

The third hypothesis involves a particular species of synchronous fireflies that congregate in "display trees." If they can coordinate their signals to flash simultaneously, perhaps the brighter light can be seen farther away and entice females to fly into the trees to mate.

"It might be the most burning question in firefly biology that we don't have an answer to," Lewis says. "Why should thousands of males who normally would be competing for females' attention, why should they be cooperating?"

For Butler, biology and romance create something special. The fireflies, in addition to attracting mates, are attracting people to this small patch of Pennsylvania woods.

"There's this awe, every time. It's amazing," Butler says. "And this little bug has brought us so many interesting people."

If You Go...

SYNCHRONOUS FIREFLIES: The annual Pennsylvania Firefly Festival takes place Saturday at the Black Caddish Ranch and B&B in Kellettville (near Interstate 80) but tours and lodging are sold out; https://www.pafireflyfestival.org and http://www.blackcaddisranch.com. Campsites near the Allegheny National Forest fill up early in the season but plan ahead for next year: https://www.recreation.gov

FURTHER READING:

º"Fireflies, Glow-worms and Lightning Bugs," by Lynn Frierson Faust, University of Georgia Press, 2017.

º"Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies," by Sara Lewis, Princeton University Press, 2016.

Fight lyme disease and other tick borne bacterium in your own backyard by purchasing The “Tick Control System”(TCS®), ----- a small box that attracts small mammals................. "When rodents enter the TCS bait box box, they receive a small dose of fipronil, the active ingredient in many tick treatments used on dogs and cats".............. "Fipronil kills ticks on animals like mice and chipmunks, which are largely responsible for infecting ticks with the Lyme bacterium".............."Also available for purchase is Metarhizium anisopliae, a fungus that occurs naturally in forest soils in eastern North America"............ "It has been shown to kill ticks"..............."A strain of this fungus, Met52, has been developed as a commercial product".............."It can be sprayed on vegetation where it kills ticks looking for hosts on which to feed...........Details on both products are avaiable for your reference by clicking on the yellow highlighted links below

http://www.caryinstitute.org/science-program/research-projects/tick-project

To learn more on how to lower the density of black legged ticks that carry lyme disease, visit: www.tickproject.org

Here, we provide detailed information about the two products we are testing in this study: TCS bait boxes and Met52 spray. Click the links for product details.

Met 52 product label
TCS rodent bait boxes
Met52 spray

The Tick Project

The Tick Project is testing whether environmental interventions can prevent tick-borne diseases in our communities. The need for prevention is stronger than ever, with expanding tick populations and more than 300,000 Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year.

The Tick Project is a five-year study to determine whether neighborhood-based prevention can reduce human cases of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The methods we are testing are simple and safe for people, pets, and the environment.

The study is taking place in Dutchess County, New York, which is home to some of the nation’s highest rates of Lyme disease incidence. We are recruiting residents of twenty-four neighborhoods to participate in the project. Each neighborhood consists of 6-10 square blocks and roughly 100 properties.

The study will determine whether two tick control methods, used separately or together, can reduce the number of cases of Lyme disease at the neighborhood level.

The “Tick Control System”, or TCS®, is a small box that attracts small mammals.  When an animal enters the box, it receives a small dose of fipronil, the active ingredient in many tick treatments used on dogs and cats.  Fipronil kills ticks on animals like mice and chipmunks, which are largely responsible for infecting ticks with the Lyme bacterium.

Fox killing mice

Metarhizium anisopliae is a fungus that occurs naturally in forest soils in eastern North America. It has been shown to kill ticks. A strain of this fungus, Met52, has been developed as a commercial product. It can be sprayed on  vegetation where it kills ticks looking for hosts on which to feed.

The study will answer once and for all whether we can prevent cases of tick-borne disease by treating the areas around people’s homes. If this approach prevents disease, we will be able to recommend plans that could be immediately adopted by local municipalities, governments, community groups, or neighborhoods.

To learn more, visit: www.tickproject.org

Four female Puma kittens have been born in the Simi Hills region of Los Angeles, a very human crowded section of SoCal, wrought with danger from the non-stop traffic of super freeways, 118 and 101(see map below)................."Except for the kittens' mother, researchers say every mountain lion they've tracked in the Simi Hills has crossed either the 101 to the south or 118 to the north".............. "The unfortunate reality facing these newborns is that since 2002, 18 Pumas have been killed on freeways and roads in this region"...............Let us root for the wildlife overpass to get built between Calabasas and Agoura, spanning the 101 freeway,,,,,,,,,,,and giving these kittens and the other dozen or so remaining Los Angeles Pumas an opportunity to spread out and have a chance at one day having litters of their own

https://phys.org/news/2018-06-mountain-lions-kittens-california-mountains.html

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE 4 NEW BORN lOS ANGELES PUMAS

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Mountain-Lion-Kittens-Simi-Hills-California-Den-Video-485934471.html

Four new mountain lions kittens found in California mountains

June 19, 2018 by Amanda Lee Myers

Four new mountain lion kittens have been found by researchers studying the wild cats living in Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains, wildlife officials announced in video posts Tuesday showing the blue-eyed babies meowing and one feisty one hissing and even taking a swipe at the person filming her.

The four female kittens are about 5½ weeks old and are the first litter that has been found in the Simi Hills, a small area of habitat between the Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountain ranges just north of Los Angeles.

Researchers have added the four kittens to their ongoing study of mountain lions in the area. Their mother is a mountain lion researchers have been tracking since January.

Researchers visited the kittens while their mother was away last week, taking tissue samples, conducting a general health check and marking them with ear tags, which will allow them to keep track of their movements as they grow up.

The 101 freeway(top and the 118 freeway(bottom) are the two major freeways
these Pumas have to cross to migrate either to the coast or the interior of the State of California

 It's the 15th den the researchers have marked as part of their study of mountain lions in the region.

Biologists have been studying the cougars to determine how they survive in fragmented wilderness amid metropolitan sprawl. Each member of the species, especially males, requires a very large home territory, and young cats face difficulties dispersing.

"We are very interested to learn about how they will navigate the fragmented landscape and whether they will remain in the Simi Hills or eventually cross one or more freeways to the north or south," he said.

Except for the kittens' mother, researchers say every mountain lion they've tracked in the Simi Hills has crossed either the 101 freeway to the south or State Route 118 to the north.

Since 2002, 18 mountain lions have been killed on freeways and roads in the region, most recently a 5½-year-old female earlier this year.

The area's most well-known mountain lion, P-22, has become famous for having somehow crossed freeways to take up residence in sprawling Griffith Park in the middle of Los Angeles.

Jeff Sikich, biologist for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said the spot where the kittens were found in the Simi Hills is "a critical habitat linkage between the Santa Monica Mountains and larger natural areas to the north."

"We are very interested to learn about how they will navigate the fragmented landscape and whether they will remain in the Simi Hills or eventually cross one or more freeways to the north or south," he said.

Except for the kittens' mother, researchers say every mountain lion they've tracked in the Simi Hills has crossed either the 101 freeway to the south or State Route 118 to the north.

Since 2002, 18 mountain lions have been killed on freeways and roads in the region, most recently a 5½-year-old female earlier this year.

The area's most well-known mountain lion, P-22, has become famous for having somehow crossed freeways to take up residence in sprawling Griffith Park in the middle of Los Angeles.

Video footage in the article below(click on link to watch) of Orca(Killer) Whales in Vancouver, Canada's Cowichan Bay hunting down Porpoises.................."Orcas have a formidable array of hunting strategies at their disposal, but one of their more impressive tricks involves launching prey into the air – a tactic that one of these orcas employed when it briefly breached, forcing a porpoise to take to the air as it struggled to escape the pursuing predator"..............."Like other whales, orcas belong to the order Cetacea, but these toothy behemoths are actually the world's largest oceanic dolphins (and members of the Delphinidae family)"................."Three distinct “varieties” of orcas can be found cruising the waters around British Columbia, but the porpoise-hunters in this video are known as "transient” or Bigg’s orcas".............. "They differ from their close cousins in that they live in much smaller groups and specialize in hunting other marine mammals like seals and porpoises"................."Orcas rank among the ocean's most efficient hunters"................."Weighing in at over 10 tons, armed with a mouth full of sharp, interlocking teeth, and capable of reaching speeds close to 35mph (56kph), these expert predators can kill with remarkable effectiveness"

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VIEW ORCA WHALES HUNTING PORPOISES
https://www.earthtouchnews.com/oceans/whales-and-dolphins/amazing-footage-shows-orcas-hunting-porpoises-off-the-coast-of-canada

Amazing footage shows orcas hunting porpoises off the coast of Canada

Amazing footage shows orcas hunting porpoises off the coast of Canada

BY: eARTH tOUCH nEWS; JUNE 15 2018Although we prefer to steer clear of the negative connotations of the “killer whale” label, these apex predators sure are skilled at taking down their prey. Simon Pidcock of Ocean EcoVentures Whale Watchingwas trailing a pod of orcas in Canada’s Cowichan Bay off the coast of Vancouver recently when the black-and-white hunters set their sights on a pair of harbour porpoises. Pidcock was lucky enough to capture some incredible footage of the hunt:

Orcas have a formidable array of hunting strategies at their disposal, but one of their more impressive tricks involves launching prey into the air – a tactic that one of these orcas employed when it briefly breached, forcing a porpoise to take to the air as it struggled to escape the pursuing predator.

"This one was very very aerial," Pidcock told Chek News. "They really try to wear down the porpoise they'll ram it down from underneath really launching it into the air.”

The orca pod split into two groups each pursing a porpoise – chasing their prey for some time before finally dispatching of it, Pidcock explained.

Like other whales, orcas belong to the order Cetacea, but these toothy behemoths are actually the world's largest oceanic dolphins (and members of the Delphinidae family). Three distinct “varieties” of orcas can be found cruising the waters around British Columbia, but the porpoise-hunters in this video are known as "transient” or Bigg’s orcas. They differ from their close cousins in that they live in much smaller groups and specialise in hunting other marine mammals like seals and porpoises.

Porpoises are common prey for these mammal-munching orcas, however, capturing footage of a hunt like this is rare. "Transient or Bigg's killer whales are relatively stealth whales – certainly when you're the top predator it doesn't make sense to advertise your presence," biologist Anna Hall told Chek News.

Orcas rank among the ocean's most efficient hunters. Weighing in at over 10 tons, armed with a mouth full of sharp, interlocking teeth, and capable of reaching speeds close to 35mph (56kph), these expert predators can kill with remarkable effectiveness.

Transient orca activity is on the rise off the Vancouver coast as many prey species are giving birth – attracting a bevy of opportunistic predators. According to Hall, the oceans become their playgrounds at this time of year – good news for whale watchers, bad news for porpoises.