Sen. Udall sponsors bill to attack pine beetles

Colorado Democrat Udall says his bill will combat a great natural disaster-

Yes there are millions of  acres of beetle killed pine trees in Colorado, but also Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon and Washington, New Mexico, British Columbia, Alberta and the Yukon. Local politicians respond to local demands to do something, but rarely do they realize or at least tell their constituents that that beetle kill is unstoppable by humans. The pine trees over hundreds of thousands of square miles are vulnerable to attack due to their age, but more due to winter’s failure to have sustained cold temperatures below -20 F.

I have never seen a large pine bark beetle infestation stopped anywhere by human means. I have been following mountain pine beetle kills since 1974 when I was first hired as consultant on the Targhee National Forest to help with the big mountain pine bark beetle infestation there, west of Yellowstone Park.  The current infestation is much large, it almost spans the Continent from north to south.

As far as the alledged fire danger of vast tracts of dead trees, it isn’t high, except for the year or two right when the tree dies and the needles have turned red, but not fallen off. At that time they might as well be soaked in gasoline. I have set fire to red-needled branches that were soaking wet.

After the needles have dropped forest fires can no longer crown, because the dead trees have no crowns. The only extreme fires that can happen are in gullies or other places where the dead trees are windthrown.  This means they pile on top of each other like the way you would arrange sticks and logs to get a campfire going. However, that is the exception.

The big, extreme forest fires take place in “red” timber and green timber during a drought, especially if it is hot and there is wind.

Yes, the forest has turned ugly, but the little bit of treatment humans can do at this late date is like pouring a glass of water on a house fire.

Sen. Udall sponsors bill to attack pine beetles. By Judith Kohler. Associated Press.

Sour economy may be a boon to Boise Foothills preservation

With many landowners eager to sell, much of the $5 million left in a fund to buy property could go to land deals-

Link is now fixed. Sour economy may be a boon to Boise Foothills preservation. Bethann Stewart. Idaho Statesman.

Bitterroot Valley: 3-way easement makes Upper Miller Creek ranch an elk haven

Critical elk migration route protected by easement-

3-way easement makes Upper Miller Creek ranch an elk haven. By Rob Cheney.  Missoulian

Wildlife Services blasts away Basin Butte wolf pack at Stanley, Idaho

Is there an explanation for this in the middle of the scheduled wolf hunt?

Right in the middle of the wolf hunt and in the zone where there is the highest quota, Wildlife Services took to the air this week in their gunships and blasted away the long-standing Basin Butte Pack at Stanley, Idaho. This is one of 26 wolf packs Wildlife Service has labeled as a “chronic depredating” pack, which seems to mean a pack that at one or more times killed some domestic livestock.

It doesn’t mean killed recently, however. All the livestock left the area for the winter in October.

This pack has lived around Stanley, mostly in Stanley Basin for about 5 years now. Even summer and part of the fall thousands of cattle and sheep are trucked into what many regard as Idaho most scenic valley.  Every year or so the pack kills a calf or two.  Amazingly it stays near the town of Stanley, even within city limits. If this was a pack that was going to be taken during the wolf hunt, this would seem to be it.

I think there needs to be some explanation why Idaho Fish and Game’s regional supervisor approved the killing of this pack of 7-10 wolves in the middle of the wolf  hunt 7 months before the cows show up again.

You might want to call Jim Lukens, the Salmon area regional supervisor and ask him. (208) 756-2271. Approval of Wildlife Services wolf kills has been parceled out to the regional supervisors, like Mark Gamlin (who seems to have few to no wolves in his district).

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The real wolf hunt is about to begin?

One possibility is they just got too frustrated watching this pack avoid wolf hunters. I have heard through the grapevine, however, that from now until the wolf population is down to the 500 they view acceptable (for now), Idaho Fish and Game and Wildlife Services is going to reduce the wolf numbers by any means possible. In fact, they admit it. They have spoken on the public record time and time again that they have lots of other “tools in the their toolbox.” The meaning should be clear. It is just the start date they haven’t announced.

WildEarth Guardians Seeks End of Aerial Gunning, Poisoning of Wildlife on Public Lands

Obama asked for executive order-

This is clearly something the President could do quickly to rehabilitate his tarnished image on wildlife. Ironically, it was President Richard Nixon who in 1972 issued Executive Order 11643 banning the use of poisons to control predators on Federal land. Reagan later weakened this. In addition, there is plenty of poison available. Much of it is left over from the 1970s.

While in the Senate, now Interior Secretary Salazar was one of those who opposed efforts to ban the use of compound 1080, an extremely poisonous, colorless, tasteless, odorless, substance that creates an agonizing death, and which would be an ideal poison for use by terrorists to put in a municipal water supply.

Meanwhile, as far as aerial gunning goes, USFA’s Wildlife Services killed off a famous Idaho wolf pack this week (more on this later). They used one or more of their aerial gunships.

Update 11-28.2009. A lot of newspapers picked up the AP story by John Miller on the petition.

Petition from WildEarth Guardians-

WildEarth Guardians Seeks End of Aerial Gunning & Poisoning of Wildlife on Public Lands

Denver, CO. The U.S. Department of Agriculture should stop sending its agents up in aircraft to shoot coyotes and planting lethal cyanide booby traps on the nation’s forests and other federal lands, according to a formal request filed today by WildEarth Guardians with the Obama administration.

“Federal wildlife-killing programs are unsafe, illegal, and reckless,” said Wendy Keefover-Ring, Director of Carnivore Protection for WildEarth Guardians. “We call upon the Obama administration to protect our native carnivores on the Nation’s public lands.”

The Urban Deerslayer

NYT says more urban folks learning to hunt for safe, low carbon-impact meat-

The Urban Deerslayer. By Sean Patrick Farrell. New York Times.

Fewer and fewer people have been learning to hunt, to the dismay of many. Hunting is generaly taught as part of a family tradition or with young friends while growing up.

The article writes of what might be an unexpected source of new hunters — urban adults who want a more honest connection to their food and/or worry about the hormones, fat, and other contaminants of factory farmed beef and pork.

My personal belief is that unless you have killed and eaten an animal, caught and gutted a fish, you don’t understand the value of meat. You don’t understand the difficulty getting high quality protein, nor what much of human history has been like.

Much of Eastern United States is overrun with whitetailed deer due to environmental changes that have lifted natural restraints on deer populations. Some urbanites are well situated to shoot a deer.

There should be a word of warning, however. First, if you can’t shoot your deer locally — if you travel many miles — your meat acquisition does not save a lot energy. Secondly, if the deer graze contaminated zones, the meat might not be safe. Third, bullets fragment. If you use lead bullets, there will be lead in your venison.  Use of ground venison maximizes the amount of lead. The type of bullet makes a big difference. Lead shotgun slugs and encased (jacketed) lead bullets leave the fewest fragments. If you hit large bone, there will be more fragmentation. Best, use copper bullets or go bowhunting.

Thanksgiving. 3-million visits to this blog.

On Thanksgiving Day, this blog should record its 3-millionth visitor.

Thanks for reading and participating.

Ralph Maughan

Buffalo Battle: BFC Will Be on TV’s Planet Green!

Below is this week’s Buffalo Field Campaign Update from the Field. I’ve been holding my tongue about “Buffalo Battle” which is a pilot episode for a possible new series about the bison issue and the Buffalo Field Campaign. The episode will air on December 5th on Planet Green.

I’ve seen two early cuts of the episode and I think it does a great job of explaining the issue and showing how the Buffalo Field Campaign conducts its field operations. It was filmed this past spring during the big hazing operations which moved the buffalo off of Horse Butte back into Yellowstone National Park.

Buffalo Battle is directed by Matt Testa who produced The Buffalo War, another documentary about the buffalo issue and the Buffalo Field Campaign, in 2000.

We are excited and hoping that this will become a series so that the light of day will shine on this issue and the plight of the buffalo. I hope you can watch.

Ken Cole,
BFC Board Member

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Buffalo Field Campaign

Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
November 19, 2009

BFC Klean Kanteen Water Bottles Make Perfect Gifts. Order Yours Today While They Last!

——————————
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In this issue:
* Update from the Field
* TAKE ACTION: Help the Buffalo with Your Comments to APHIS
* Buffalo Battle: BFC Will Be on TV’s Planet Green!
* Do You Like to Cook? BFC Needs You!
* Buffalo Field Campaign Wish List
* Last Words
* Kill Tally
* Important Links

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Exposure of “predator derby” goes viral, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife takes down dead coyote photos

Photography web site gives exposure to killing contest, provokes big reaction-

The “predator derby” held annually by Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife is not well known outside of its participants. I don’t know about it until someone brought it up in comments. One web site, however, really took note of it.

A story at iamidaho.deviantart.com about Sportsmen for Fish and Wildife’s carnivore-killing contest apparently went viral. As a result SFW has taken down their photos of dead carnivores killed in a “predator derby” and Nikon has withdrawn their apparent sponsorship of SFW’s webpage. However, the photos are still up at http://iamidaho.deviantart.com/

See more at  http://iamidaho.deviantart.com/journal/28470288/#comments.

The event to see who can kill the most “predators” is still planned for the Pocatello area on Nov. 27th – 28th. For more information on the event and others in Idaho, go to http://www.sfwidaho.org/SFW/Idaho_Predator_Derby.html.

We had no idea this effort to widen knowledge of the event was going on. It certainly shows the power of the web to make folks aware.

Bighorn sheep near Darby, MT dying of pneumonia

Two dead bighorns could be a big threat to East Fork Bitterroot Herd-

The article says they have no knowledge that these bighorn encountered domestic sheep, but there are “isolated herds in the area.”

Dying bighorn sheep. Herd to be culled. By Perry Backus.  Ravalli Republic

This is a large and successful bighorn herd.

Environmentalists, outfitters file suit to end grazing in Upper Missouri River Breaks

Western Watersheds new Montana office goes to work on another lawsuit-

Environmentalists, outfitters file suit to end grazing in Upper Missouri River Breaks. By Matthew Brown. Associated Press

Note that earlier they filed to let Yellowstone bison use national forests outside of Yellowstone. This lawsuit was assigned to Judge Molloy. The bison lawsuit went to another Montana federal judge.

Wild cards: What we’re really doing by reintroducing wolves

“But is it really ‘bringing back the wolf’ when the wolves wear radio collars and generate better genealogical records than most humans do, and when their whereabouts at any time can be ascertained with GIS coordinates?” . . . from “What we’re really doing by reintroducing wolves.” Writers on the Range. George Sibley.  Missoula Independent.

Sibley writes a clever article/essay regarding all the information that has been generated about wolves, even down to the individual  wolf, and whether such well observed wolves can be properly called “wild.”

I don’t know because “the wild” is a human mental construct of outdoor things unmodified by humans. If the radio collar is placed by Wildlife Services so the wolf can be easily located and killed (this accounts for the largest number of collars), I’d say “no. It isn’t wild.”  If it is a Yellowstone Park wolf where the collar only modifies the animal’s behavior slightly, then maybe “yes” or “it depends.”

Sibley also argues that while the polls in Washington State show a lot of generalized support for wolves, anti-wolf people show up and dominate the public meetings. Apparently this is not true, but some might believe is so based on a couple unrepresentative newspaper articles. Here is some email objecting and giving some facts.

Mr. Sibley is mistaken when he writes about the Washington hearings: “one frazzled wildlife official noted, ‘The 80 percent of the people in this state who are supposedly for the wolves coming back are not the ones coming to the meetings.” The people showing up are mostly the grandchildren of those who eradicated the wolf from the West 70 years ago.”

Yes, there have been meetings (Yakima, Colville and a few others) that were dominated by the ant-wolf crowd. But there was Spokane, Seattle, Mt. Vernon, Sequim, and Vancouver that had more wolf supporters (in the case of at least Seattle and Sequim, it was 97% pro-wolf, 3% anti-wolf) than anti-wolf people. All in all, I feel the hearings were balanced and that was the opinion I heard from Harriet Allen, who has been at every meeting, when she reported back to the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

David

David G. Graves
Northwest Field RepresentativeNational Parks Conservation Association
Protecting Our National Parks for Future Generations

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Salazar continues Gale Norton’s “no more Wilderness” policy

New York Times editorial complains-

No ‘No More Wilderness’. New York Times editorial

Speaking of Utah specifically. Despite a huge base of roadless country, Utah has made a small contribution to the National Wilderness Preservation System compared to other Western States, especially given the high percentage of state being U.S. public lands.  Utah could stand another roadless area inventory, coupled with Wilderness recommendations, but the state delegation has not supported any Wilderness bills for the state in Congress except for one recent unique designation of a Great Basin mountain range in order to block access to disliked proposed nuclear waste disposal facility on the Skull Valley Indian Reservation.

DeChristopher probably going to prison

Fake bidder for oil and gas leases to stop last Administration’s leasing near Utah national parks loses his bid to rest his trial on global warming-

It looks like Tim DeChristopher will pay heavily for his civil disobedience. Republican prosecutors were not amused, and the judge will not allow a defense based on necessity to protect the climate.

Here is an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune on the DeChristopher ruling: An evil day for justice. By Rebecca Hall

Learning from first Montana wolf hunt

The Missoulian reflects on the first wolf hunt in Montana. It is now over-

Learning from first wolf hunt. Mssoulian editorial.  Posted: Sunday, November 22, 2009 2:00 am

The Missoulian finds lessons to be learned by Montana FWP such as “wolves that are causing no problems with people – such as those in national parks and wilderness areas – should be largely left alone”

Yellowstone wolves barely outside the park in the Wilderness area to the north were very vulnerable.

Before the hunts I posted a list of questions both Idaho and Montana needed to ask, gather data to answer, and act on. It would be terrible if most of these questions go unanswered. After all, finding out what would really happen was supposed to be one of the justifications for the hunts. Here is that list again.

Wolf hunt information and effects that needs to be collected. I hope folks will link to this, modify as they see fit, add to it, ask their Fish and Game folks, spread it around.

Wyoming Game and Fish establishes a season on antler gathering

Season established to reduce disturbance of ungulates on their winter range-

Antlers and some horns (such as bighorn) are very valuable. There a quite a few “horn hunters” — people who gather them after they have fallen. As a result, there is competition and an incentive to get into the wintering grounds early, often when the animals are still wintering. So the Commission has a season. The horn hunters must wait until April 1 in areas west of the Continental Divide in Wyoming.

State sets limits on hunting antlers. By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole Daily.

Grizzlies On the Move, Back to the Wide-Open Prairie

As many as 70 to 80 grizzlies may inhabit the high plains east of the Rocky Mountain Front-

There is more about grizzlies moving east of the Rocky Mountains in Montana, out on the high plains. The article below appeared in New West.

Grizzlies On the Move, Back to the Wide-Open Prairie. By Jason D.B. Kauffman

On the Rocky Mountain Front, Montana. Copyright Ralph Maughan

Hoskins: Illegal plan just makes Turner richer

Robert Hoskins’ op-ed on FWP giving the quarantined bison to Ted Turner-

Op-ed in the Casper Star Tribune. Illegal plan just makes Turner richer. By Robert Hoskins

Work progresses on wildlife overpass near Elko, Nevada

Stimulus funds being used to solve high vehicle/ungulate collision area on US 93, north of Wells-

Story on wildlife overpass. Las Vegas Sun

Wolf pack of at least ten in Oregon’s Imnaha River drainage

Here is some really good news to offset that about Idaho Fish and Game Commission-

The alpha female is former Idaho wolf B300F. I predicted earlier that the Imnaha River was a natural migration corridor for Idaho wolves into Oregon.

– – – – – – – – – –
News Release

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact: Michelle Dennehy (503) 947-6022; Fax: (503) 947-6009
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us

Nov. 19, 2009

Video shows 10 wolves in the Imnaha pack

A video taken by ODFW on Nov. 12, 2009 in the Imnaha Wildlife Management Unit (east of Joseph, Ore. in Wallowa County) shows at least 10 wolves make up a pack that ODFW has been monitoring since June 2008. The video was taken from an adjacent ridge across a canyon and shows a mixture of gray and black individual wolves moving upslope.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/video_gallery/imnaha_wolf_pack.asp

Also found here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/IEODFW

“ODFW has been regularly monitoring this pack but until this video was taken, we only had evidence of a minimum of three adults and three pups making up the pack, says Russ Morgan, ODFW wolf coordinator. “Pups can be difficult to distinguish at this distance, but it appears there may be as many as six pups in the video.

Scientists zero in on reason for mammoths’ demise

It wasn’t climate change, asteroid impact, or habitat change. Human hunting was maybe a factor-

Why did the giant bison, mammoth, mastadon, giant ground sloth, etc. disappear so quickly? There are a number of hypotheses. This article describes some progress.

Dung Fungus Provides New Evidence in Mammoth Extinction. By Betsy Mason. Wired Magazine

If it was human induced, the evidence says it must have people before the relatively sophisticated Clovis culture.

Idaho Fish and Game Commission votes to extend wolf hunt until March 31

Commission votes to extend the hunt through all of the winter into the spring !!

Zones will have to reach quota before being closed. The three closed zones won’t be reopened.

Idaho Fish and Game extends wolf hunting season. Idaho Statesman staff.

Interestingly, not-wolf-friendly Magic Valley Times News just had an editorial asking them not to do this. Don’t fuel the fire: End wolf hunting season Dec. 31. The editorial says “Fish and Game should treat wolves the same as any other big game. Pursuing animals when they are stressed by winter is not the Idaho way.” It may not be the Idaho, but it is the way of this motley crew of political cronies of the governor.

This may be for the best. It should help Judge Molloy make his decision.

Judge Molloy rejects feds request to reconsider his relisting of the Yellowstone area grizzly bear

So feds, live with it and start protecting the bear’s habitat better-

link fixed! Judge keeps Yellowstone grizzly on threatened list. AP

Interior Board rejects all appeals to BLM travel plan in SW Montana

New rules governing use of vehicles on BLM land will now go into effect-

I’m not familiar with the details of vehicle use in this area, but it sounds like all sides appealed, although probably more on the off-roaders side.

Travel plans, once relatively non-controversial documents, have become major public land controversies almost everywhere in the last 15 or so years.

Interior Board of Land Appeals upholds travel plan in Butte area. By Nick Gevock. Montana Standard.

Animals: Bigger Not Necessarily Better, When It Comes to Brains

Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals-

This finding really amazed me, but we certainly see it in some birds like ravens and crows. They are no “birdbrains.”

Bigger Not Necessarily Better, When It Comes to Brains. ScienceDaily

Islam Siddiqui, Obama Nominee, Under Fire From Environmentalists

Friend of pesticides and hormones for livestock nominated to be Chief Agriculture Negotiator-

He even criticized Michelle Obama’s organic garden, but still got the nod.  And the Republicans say Obama is some kind of anti-corporate socialist!

Islam Siddiqui, Obama Nominee, Under Fire From Environmentalists. The Huffington Post. Jenna Staul

Questions for a Trade Official. New York Times editorial saying this is a bad nomination.

Obama represents big business first and foremost. Orange County Populist Examiner. By Joe Sabet

One more trophy moose poached in Montana

Poaching was on the Rocky Mountain Front west of Choteau-

Wardens seek poacher who killed moose on Front. Great Falls Tribune.

New Study Finds that Mountain lions prey selectively on prion-infected mule deer

Could predation slow the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease?

A study conducted in Colorado, where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has become widespread among deer and elk, indicates that mountain lions prey selectively on infected individuals over healthy deer. I think that healthy populations of large carnivores like wolves and mountain lions could help slow the spread of this disease which has been found in a moose near Wyoming’s petri dish elk feed grounds. It has been shown that chronic wasting disease can bind to the soils and infect an area indefinitely exposing generations of cervids to this protein virus or prion.

It is possible that CWD has already infected Wyoming’s feed grounds since it may go unnoticed. Testing for CWD is usually done on brain tissue obtained from deer and elk that have been killed by hunters.

Mountain lions prey selectively on prion-infected mule deer
Biology Letters
Caroline E. Krumm, Mary M. Conner, N. Thompson Hobbs, Don O. Hunter and Michael W. Miller

Idaho to pay to settle lawsuit on who can bid for grazing leases

Lawsuit’s aftermath forces Idaho’s Land Board set rules allowing conservationists to lease state grazing lands-

The Western Watersheds Project was born when Jon Marvel outbid a rancher at a state grazing lease auction, and the Land Board gave the lease to the rancher anyway*. Finally, Idaho’s Land Board is apparently going to let other interests compete for grazing leases on the state’s school endowment lands. This is a victory for Idaho’s school children, wildlife. It is also a victory for the Idaho and U. S Constitution, that we are equal under the law . . .  a well deserved slap at Idaho’s livestock nobility.

Idaho to pay $50K to settle grazing lease lawsuit. By John Miller. Associated Press Writer.

I met the winner of lawsuit, Gordon Younger, one time. He is a self-made millionaire, orginally from Washington State. He speaks very directly and is not impressed by Idaho’s livestock nobility. Younger’s attorney was Laird Lucas, executive director of Advocates for the West.

This is great! 🙂

Update. Here are the opinions. The first was March 2007.It was a decision by US Magistrate Judge Mikal Williams, which upheld the validity of the equal protection claims under federal civil rights law.
The second is by US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which affirmed Judge Williams and held further that the individual state officials could be personally liable because their discrimination against conservationists violated clearly established law. The Ninth Circuit decision is reported as Lazy Y Ranch v. Behrens, 546 F.3d 580 (9th Cir. 2008). I couldn’t get an electronic copy of the published version, but have the slip opinion.
Lazy Y March 07 dismiss order
Lazy Y Ninth Circuit opinion

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*Actually Marvel didn’t strictly outbid the rancher. The rancher refused to bid at all. Nevertheless, he was given the grazing lease. Reading about this blatant unfairness, my spouse and I immediately joined Marvel’s  nascent Idaho Watersheds Project.

Utah governor to go slow in negotiating agreement with Nevada to dewater Snake Valley

Nevada court decision against Southern Nevada Water Authority cautions Utah’s new governor-

Herbert agrees to ‘go slow’ on Snake Valley water deal. In the meantime, Nevada courts are sorting out an in-state conflict. By Patty Henetz. The Salt Lake Tribune

A danger is that Harry Reid will use the US Senate to help Nevada developers steal the water.

Idaho wolf hunt meets quota in another zone

Dworshak-Elk City zone closed as 18 tags are filled.

Idaho wolf hunt status information.

Poll: Montanans support grizzly bear ESA protection, Tester’s Wilderness bill, and the wolf hunt

Scientific survey shows thumbs up for Schweitzer, Tester, Rehberg; big drop for Baucus-

Story in the Missoulian. Baucus’ approval rating among Montanans drops by 20 percent. By Matt Gouras. Associated Press

In any survey, it is good to look at the actual questions. Here are the full survey results.

Montana wolf hunt to end today

Quota of 75 will be reached-

Updated Montana wolf hunt ends today. By Matthew Brown. Associated Press.

It looks to me like wolf hunting has been easier in Montana than Idaho. Although over 100 wolves have now been killed in Idaho, Idaho’s hunt began earlier and goes longer.  Idaho also has about 50% more wolves than Montana.

The AP story above is a new longer version. In it we learn for the first time that Idaho’s Fish and Game Commissioners are thinking of being duplicitous and extending the wolf season in some parts of Idaho’s already overlong season.  From my perspective, one that admittedly lacks information because Idaho Fish and Game has given out very little specific information about the hunt, I don’t think it has been all that terrible. However, changing the rules, such as extending the season, is exactly what critics of the hunt predicted would happen.

Montana wolf hunting season status page.
Idaho wolf hunting status page.

Pocatello: George Wuerthner presentations on “Thrillcraft”. Nov. 16-17

George Wuerthner, ecologist, writer, photographer, will be the featured symposium presenter in Pocatello, Idaho-

This will be of interest to SE Idaho outdoor enthusiasts.

Here is the story on the Nov. 16 presentation from the Idaho State Journal. Public lands v. Private Recreation. By Jimmy Hancock. Idaho State Journal. The headline is misleading because Wutherner clearly had no problem with recreation in general, just what he called “thrillcraft.”

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service retakes helm of Mexican wolf management

Lawsuit settlement results in USFWS reclaiming decision-making authority over Mexican wolves-

Folks are now hopeful that the failing effort to restore the Mexican wolf is out of the hands of a committee that had become captive to local anti-wolf interests.
Deal on Mexican Gray Wolf. Associated Press in the New York Times

– – – –  –
NEWS RELEASE

Endangered Mexican Gray Wolves Get a Boost on Road to Recovery

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service retakes helm of Mexican wolf management

Contacts: Eva Sargent, Defenders of Wildlife, (520) 834-6441
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club – Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter (602) 999-5790
Matt Kenna, Western Environmental Law Center, (970) 385-6941 x 131
Michael Robinson, Center for Biological Diversity (575) 534-0360
Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project (520) 623-1878
Kim Crumbo, Grand Canyon Wildlands Council (928) 638-2304

TUCSON, Ariz. (Nov. 13, 2009) — The Mexican gray wolf recovery effort took a pivotal turn in the right direction today as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reclaimed its decision-making authority over management of this highly endangered animal that roams Arizona and New Mexico’s backcountry.

Settling a lawsuit brought by conservation organizations, the Fish and Wildlife Service reasserted its authority over a multiagency management team and scrapped a controversial wolf “control” rule that required permanently removing a wolf from the wild, either lethally or through capture, after killing three livestock in a year. Conservationists had criticized the rigid policy, known as Standard Operating Procedure 13 or SOP 13, for forcing wolves to be killed or sent to captivity regardless of an individual wolf’s genetic importance, dependent pups or the critically low numbers of wolves in the wild.

Western Watersheds puts up a bison page

A new resource page for the case Western Watersheds Project, et al. v. Salazar

I hope this new page will prove to be another site for good information on efforts to compell the Park Service and Forest Service to stop cooperating in the bison slaughter and eventually allow a significant number of bison to live on the open range outside Yellowstone Park in Montana.

See Yellowstone Bison. Western Watersheds Project.

Marie Bulgin, suspended UI prof, repeats sheep claims in journal

After her suspension and all the evidence against her claims from the very laboratory she supervised, this is amazing.

New, longer version of the story. Suspended UI prof repeats sheep claims in journal. By John Miller.  Associated Press Writer.
– – – –

The blog has posted many articles about Bulgin her discredited claims that domestic sheep do not pass on diseases to bighorn sheep.

Talk about reintroducing bison to Banff National Park area

Alberta opposes Parks Canada plan for bison in Banff-

I’m not suprised Alberta opposes it;  a regressive province, but it sure works for me.

Story in the Calgary Herald.

A new park to save the plains?

As the economy of the high plains falters decade after decade, the idea of a big high plains park could really help the economy-

A new park to save the plains, KansasCity.com

We already have approached this idea here in our discussion of the population decline of northeast Montana with wildlife from the Rockies, such as grizzlies and others, moving out onto the high plains on their own.

Canada’s boreal forest top-rated carbon warehouse

The Carbon the World Forgot — the boreal forest-

“The boreal forest stores more carbon than any land-based ecosystem on the planet, according to a new report that says the Amazon is no match for Canada’s boggy bush.”

It turns out that a major reason is all peat under the trees. Too many carbon sequestration analyses only look at the vegetation above the ground, maybe not even the roots, and certainly not the soil. Very serious errors of policy will be made unless the entire structure of the land from bedrock to the tallest vegetation is not taken into account.

Story: Canada’s boreal forest top-rated carbon warehouse. By Margaret Munro, Canwest News Service.

Info on Idaho wolf hunt

This was prepared for the Idaho Fish and Game Commission meeting to be held Nov. 18-

You can find this at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/about/commission/09agenda/nov/11.pdf

We urge folks to attend this meeting. They are already making plans for next year’s hunt, including changes. Seems a bit premature to us. Apparently they feel they do not need more data from the on-going hunt.

– – – – – – –

Meeting Date: November 18, 2009 Agenda Item No. 11
Agenda Item: Wolf/Grizzly Bear Update, wolf harvest
limits update/direction

Approved by: Prepared by: Jon Rachael and Jeff Gould for Jim Unsworth

Background:
At the August 2009 Commission meeting, the Commission established a statewide harvest limit
of 220 wolves and individual harvest limits for 12 wolf management zones and directed staff to
provide an update for their review in November (attached). Overall, the regulatory mechanisms
are operating well and the information outreach has been effective.
Wolf hunts opened September 1 in the Lolo and Sawtooth wolf management zones, September 15
in the Middle Fork and Selway wolf management zones, and throughout the rest of the state on
October 1. The greatest spike in harvest occurred during the 3-day opening weekend of deer
season, October 10-12.
As of October 28, total documented mortality from all causes (harvest, lethal removal of
depredating wolves, illegal take, natural, and unknown causes) has been lowest in the Salmon,
Selway, Lolo, Panhandle, and Palouse wolf management zones (<10%). These zones have all had
very-low to no lethal wolf removal for depredation control and low hunter harvest.

The Commission will be provided with a current update of total mortality by zone at the commission meeting.

New Web site launched to track wildlife along Interstate 70 in Colorado

Wildlife is the third most common reason for crashes on I-70-

Story 1. New Web site launched to track wildlife along Interstate 70. Sky Hi Daily News.
Story 2. Colorado officials and advocates conserving wildlife by stopping roadkill. By Caroline Griesel. Examiner

How many readers have hit large animals? Maybe I should ask how many haven’t?

Nevada no 1 in per capita water use; Utah no 2

These most arid states are frivolous in their water use-

The direct reason for this is their determination to grow and do things that belong in water rich areas — fight the areas’ natural lack of water or fight some other natural factor.*  That’s why they build so many dams, dewater their streams, construct huge water pipelines, and mine desert aquifers.

The article below says Utah is making considerable progress reducing per capita consumption.

Conservation report card: Utah trying to cut use, but still a top water guzzler. By Patty Henetz. The Salt Lake Tribune

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* Rich County, Utah is the coldest area in Utah during the winter.

$11,000 now the offer for info on poaching of huge MT grizzly

This is a brief, but important update on the story we ran earlier this year on the 800 pound grizzly poached on the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana.

Reward now $11,000 for information about grizzly poaching. Great Falls Tribune staff.
Here is the original story from the blog. Giant, 800 pound grizzly illegally killed on the Rocky Mountain Front

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Editor’s comment on poaching stories.

On another thread, some are arguing that there is a rash of poaching going on. I don’t know that this is true. Simply reporting more poaching stories can create this impression. The number of stories on a subject and the amount of trouble actually going on are loosely related at best.

It is well known that the American media’s focus on reporting crime stories led to a public perception of a crime wave for a decade or longer after actual crime in the U.S.  had peaked and gone into steady decline. In the meantime politicians jumped on the bandwagon. They passed a number of draconian laws after the problem was getting under control. We still live we some of these laws. Some have a great monetary expense. An example is  “three strikes and you’re out.”

Added 11-11. This morning’s Missoulian has an article by Michael Jamison on the shooting of the big grizzly (Maximus). The article is long compared to the original in the Great Falls Tribune, and it  has a long discussion about why so much poaching.  So whether poaching is really increasing or not, the article shows the some major Montana media believes it is. This could have favorable consequences by fueling more resources for this crime. Story: Reward for grizzly ‘Maximus’ poacher raised to more than $11,000. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

Montana: Trophy bull moose poached near Cardwell

Moose was well known to local residents-

The moose was left to rot/be scavenged

Cardwell is on the Jefferson River east of Whitehall.

Story. Moose poached.

Wolf quota reached west of Glacier National Park after Monday morning kill at Big Creek

Quota of 2 wolves has been reached in North Fork of Flathead area-

The quota was only two, but three wolves were poached in the during the hunt.

Story: Wolf hunt closed west of Glacier. Missoulian.

Federal judge in Montana asked to end Yellowstone bison kills

Suit asks federal judge to stop Forest Service and Park Service from participating in Montana’s annual bison slaughter-

As winter comes, Montana Department of Livestock and 4 other agencies are again gearing up to kill bison that wander from the confines of Yellowstone Park under the discredited argument these will spread brucellosis.

This year they are being hit with a big fat lawsuit. Federal judge asked to end Yellowstone bison kills. AP. By Matthew Brown in the Billings Gazette. Please notice the excellent links attached to the story in the Billings Gazette.

The plaintiffs bringing the suit are Western Watersheds Project, Buffalo Field Campaign, Tatanka Oyate, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Native Ecosystems Council, Yellowstone Buffalo Foundation, Meghan Gill, Charles Irestone, And Daniel Brister.

More Media on suit.

Groups file lawsuit over Yellowstone-area bison. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole Daily.

Putting wind and solar on formerly contaminated sites

Could the use of  “brownfields” reduce the conflicts over the placement of these land-expansive uses?

Contamination transformation. Contaminated sites being used to house wind farms, solar arrays and geothermal power plants. Mother Nature Network. By Jessica A. Knoblauch

It appears there is a lot of land in this category and many are near existing transmission lines.

More on Interior Appropriations as it applies to Montana

There are numerous items. The largest goes for complicated land transactions near the Blackfoot River-

One of the items we need to find more about is Jon Tester’s addition of $1-million to pay livestock owners for livestock killed for wolves. It also provides funds for  projects keeping wolves away from livestock. The later could be of great benefit, but is it just window dressing?

Story:  $8.4 million appropriated for Blackfoot Community Project, finalizing purchase of 89,000 acres. By Rob Chaney, Missoulian.

Several days ago. Stories on “goodies” in the Interior Appropriations bill

Second Idaho wolf hunting zone meets quota, closes

Fifteen wolves shot in McCall-Weiser zone in western Idaho-

First the Snake Rive zone in Eastern Idaho closed. The quota was five. Now the more wolf abundant McCall-Weiser zone on the other side of the state has met its quota of fifteen. In total 97 Idaho wolves have been tagged. 123 out of the total of 220 remain to be filled.

Another grizzly shot in Montana

Hunter shoots a rare Cabinet Mountains grizzly bear-

Man shoots Cabinet Mountains grizzly. Montana FWP says it was self-defense. AP

Bighorns, domestic sheep don’t mix [in Washington State either]

Domestic Sheep/bighorn conflict is not limited to Idaho-

Most of our news on this issue has been in Idaho where the Payette National Forest is about to come out with an environmental impact statement on how to protect the bighorn. This will have national effects such as described in this story about the two animals in Washington state.

Bighorns, domestic sheep don’t mix. By Scott Sandsberry. Yakima Herald-Republic in the Casper Star Tribune.

Two close encounters with cougars in Montana in a month

Florence, MT man rescues dad from mountain lion. By Brett French. Billings Gazette. 64 year old father probably saved when his 41 year old son shot the cougar.

Earlier this month the Montana Standard reported a cougar stalking an adolescent boy who was hunting with his father southwest of Butte. The 14-year old boy shot the cougar. Story from the Montana Standard.

Wolf management plan draws big crowd at Sequim, Washington

Wolf management plan draws big crowd. By Diane Urbani de la Paz. Peninsula Daily News

More hunters now relying on mountain bikes

An environmental and hunt-friendly method of transport?

This article might well be read along with the one I posted, The confessions of an off-road-vehicle outlaw.

A horse is very useful hunting, especially for getting your kill out, but many people don’t have the means or the property to keep a horse. Rather than turn to an ATV, this might be a good solution.  Of course, for a raw and, I think, ethically satisfying hunting experience packing it on foot out is best. Having done this myself, however, it is misery.

Four Montana wolves taken on the Rocky Mountain Front

Fifty out of 75 tags are now filled in Montana wolf hunt-

Four wolves taken along the Front. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer. The article provides some detailed information, but in short three of the four wolves were shot on private land southwest of Augusta, MT in the Bean Lake area. The 4th wolf was shot in Lime Gulch, west of Augusta.

Americans flock to the nation’s “best idea”

Record Number of visits to Yellowstone Park in 2009-

This has been in the news the last couple days. Rocky Barker blogged today about it, tying it to the recent popular PBS television film, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”  Here is Barker’s blog in the Idaho Statesman. Americans flock to nation’s “best idea.”

My comment is that it’s true Americans love their national parks, except for a relative handful of anti-government types. I also know from experience in the field and teaching that most Americans are generally clueless about the rest of the public lands they own: national forests, national wildlife refuges, and, especially the BLM lands.  Granted people will say, “Oh yes, the national forests, but it doesn’t come to mind quickly. This gives a great opportunity for special* interest groups to dominate how these other public lands are used. Lack of public knowledge makes hard to organize folks to defend what we might call “the public interest” in these matters.

Politicians and interest groups that have big plans for the public lands often try to smooth folks by saying “our plans in no way involve our wonderful national parks.”  What they don’t say is their plans will affect maybe millions of acres of BLM lands.

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* As a political scientist I prefer the more neutral term “interest group, which simply means an organized group that seeks to have the government do (or not do) something over which it has jurisdiction.

The confessions of an off-road-vehicle outlaw

He had a change of heart when other off-roaders ruined his elk hunt-

The confessions of an off-road-vehicle outlaw. By Garrett Veneklasen. Op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune. Writers on the Range.

Wyoming Game and Fish sets wildlife guidelines for wind developers

Wyo. sets wildlife guidelines for wind developers. By Matt Joyce. Associated Press.

Another Western Watersheds Project victory in Arizona

Western Watersheds Project Wins Summary Judgment on the 100,000 acre Byner Complex Allotments. BLM-

This no “family ranch” but a spin-off of Freeport-McMoRan mining.

Here is the WWP’s news release on the victory for the American people

♦Western Watersheds Project’s Arizona Office has been granted Summary Judgment byAdministrative Law Judge Harvey C. Sweitzer in a successful appeal of a grazing permit decision issued by the Kingman Field Office, Bureau of Land Management. ♦Judge Sweitzer agreed with WWP that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act on the Big Sandy, Los Molinos, and Diamond Joe Allotments (collectively called the “Byner Complex”). ♦The successful Appeal and Motion for Summary Judgment were written by WWP’s Arizona Director Greta Anderson. The rancher on the allotments is not a ranching family at all but a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Copper Company, the Byner Cattle Company. Freeport-McMoRan is one of the world’s largest copper and gold mining companies http://www.fcx.com/ ♦The 98,736 acres of public lands in the Byner Complex encompass a range of vegetation communities, including Joshua trees and saguaros, and provide habitat for Southwestern willow flycatcher, bald eagle, yellow-billed cuckoo, Sonoran desert tortoise, and other native and imperiled wildlife. ♦The Big Sandy River passes through the Big Sandy allotment, and numerous seeps and springs and ephemeral washes occur on all of the allotments. ♦The Byner Complex of allotments has some serious rangeland health issues, and the proposed action sought to limit livestock impacts in some key areas by moving livestock to new unexploited areas through the development of new water sources. To do this, the BLM had proposed building five new wells, eleven new troughs, twelve new miles of pipeline and fifteen new miles of fence, which all could have extensive effects on the landscape and the riparian areas. ♦The BLM failed to analyze or even disclose the descriptions of the new water facilities. Administrative Law Judge Sweitzer found the BLM’s behavior to be in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.This legal decision remands the final grazing decision to the Kingman, Arizona field office of the BLM to redo its analysis before issuing a new grazing decision. ♦The new analysis will need to address the failures of the BLM to analyze many issues including the effects on native ecosystems of invasive species introduced by livestock, the inadequacies of setting rangeland health goals based on existing conditions, the failure to exclude grazing in sensitive riparian areas, the failure to consider effects to imperiled species, and the existing degraded condition of soils, cultural resources, and wildlife habitats. ♦WWP anticipates a more complete and detailed analysis of the Byner Complex allotments by the BLM the next time around !   — Read the Full Order – – – – – – – – – –

Joshua Tree photo: USFWSYou Can Help   Southwestern willow flycatcher photo: USFWS

Western Watersheds Project Is A West Regional Conservation Organization Working To Protect And Restore Western Watersheds And Wildlife. Consider joining Western Watersheds Project yourself or enrolling a friend with a gift membership. Joining is easy at WWP’s secure online membership pageBe sure to visit the WWP web site at http://www.westernwatersheds.org.

Green Valley Dam could fail. Army Corps working hard to shore up dam above it.

This might sound a little confusing, but apparently the way to reduce the threat of the Green Valley Dam failing after heavy rains is to shore up the Howard Hanson Dam upstream. The article says this will reduce the chances of Green Valley failing to 1 in 25 this winter.

A failure would flood a heavily populated area just south of Seattle, WA.

Corps:  Dam work lessens Seattle-area flood chance. AP

Senate Democrats advance climate bill without GOP

Republicans boycotted the committee vote, so the Democrats passed the bill without them, 10 to 1-

What the Democrats did is what you might expect, but in the past the Democrats have said, “Oh we need some bipartisanship,” when it is clear the minority at present wants nothing to do with bipartisanship.

I guess no one will be surprised by the one Democrat to vote against it — Montana’s nobleman senator Max Baucus.

So the climate bill will head to the floor of the Senate.

Senate Democrats advance climate bill without GOP. By Dina Cappiello. The Associated Press
New on Nov. 6.  Democrats Push Climate Bill Through Panel Without G.O.P. Debate. By John M. Broder. New York Times.

Record returns for sockeye salmon in Sawtooth Valley

833 sockeye made the trip back to the Sawtooth Valley from the ocean this year-

This is a great success from the not too distant past when only one salmon returned — “Lonesum Larry”

Record sockeye salmon return. By Jon Duval. Idaho Mountain Express Staff Writer

The difference grazing cattle makes at the end of the season

Comparison of two sites, Nov. 4, 2009, in the Mink Creek drainage south of Pocatello, Idaho-

Mink Creek is a popular recreation area on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, just south of Pocatello, Idaho. The first 3-4 miles have no livestock grazing. As the drainage gains slowly in elevation, it is grazed from about June 1 to Oct. 15 by cattle every year.

I was up there this afternoon and I took two photos (actually more than two). They certainly show the difference. The first photo is lower down in the Mink Creek drainage with no grazing for well over a decade. The second is further up, in a wetter, actually a riparian meadow next to the South Fork of Mink Creek. The second photo should have the most grass were there no grazing.

Mink Creek drainage ungrazed. Nov. 4, 2009. The green on the right is a trail. Copyright Ralph Maughan

This riparian meadow is directly adjacent to Mink Creek (runs in the willows). It is also higher elevation than the first photograph. Taken Nov. 4, 2009. Copyright Ralph Maughan

Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team — raise GYE grizzly mortality limits?

IGBC has hard time understanding Judge Molloy ruled against them not because of grizzly mortality, but lack of food for grizzly in the area-

Perhaps the bear population could withstand more deaths; and, hey why not acquiesce with what is already happening? Bear bureaucrats could call that “adaptive management.” However, Judge Molloy didn’t relist the greater Yellowstone grizzly because too many bears were being killed. Oh well, here’s the story . . .

Link fixed! Grizzly group [IGBC] eyes raising bear death limits. Conservationists contest idea that more bruins could die without hurting regional population. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

And grizzly conservation groups need to push not so much on holding down the mortality limits as enlarging the great bear’s primary conservation area.

Schneider’s updates on Tester’s Wilderness bill

Over at New West you can follow the Montana Wilderness controversy closely-

Yesterday Ken Cole posted Senator Tester Betrays Montana Wilderness, a sharply critical opinion piece written by Brian Peck.

Bill Schneider has been following Montana’s 30 year Wilderness controversy for some time in his columns at New West. His many updates give folks a background, a history, as well as his perspective. Tester’s Wilderness Bill, Updates. By Bill Schneider. New West.

I want to add, however, that if folks want to have a wildlife migration corridor from the Greater Yellowstone to central Idaho, this Wilderness designation is of little help because the barriers to migration are 1. the Sheep Experiment Station which blocks a large swath of the Idaho/Montana border on the Continental Divide; 2. other livestock grazing on the public lands in the corridor; and 3. Interstate 15. Wilderness designation does nothing about these.

Wyoming legislation might require GYE backcountry users to have bear spray

Spike in unhappy grizzly encounters in Greater Yellowstone could result in bill-

While pepper spray isn’t always the answer in an encounter with a grizzly, most often it is with lots of benefits to humans and bears.

Bear spray bill on the way. Proposal would require permitted backcountry users in griz country to carry pepper spray. By Cory Hatch.  Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Report: Barbed Wire Fences Deadly To Sage Grouse

The impact to sage grouse numbers appears to be very large

Fencing is harmful to wildlife © Brian Ertz 2009

The thousands and thousands of miles of barbed wire fence chopping up lands throughout the west is bad for wildlife for many reasons.

Now, the impact that this installation for livestock production on public lands has to sage grouse is demonstrated in a study showing definitively that many sage grouse die in collisions with barbed wire fences. This should inform the US Fish & Wildlife’s court-ordered decision about whether or not to list sage grouse.

Report: Barbed Wire Fences Deadly To Sage Grouse – AP

Bear kills militants in Kashmir

They were making pudding in the bear’s cave-

The bear population is up Kashmir, and it seems for the good.

Bear kills militants in Kashmir. By Altaf Hussain. BBC News, Srinagar

Senator Tester Betrays Montana Wilderness

Brian Peck Excoriates Senator Tester’s “Wilderness” Bill And The “Environmental” Groups Who Support It.

He explains that the “bill would set aside just over 600,000 acres of Wilderness, withdraw current protection from nearly 250,000 acres, and require that 100,000 acres be made available for logging and roading in an already fractured landscape.”

Senator Tester Betrays Montana Wilderness
By Brian Peck, New West Unfiltered 11-03-09

US House passes amendment banning measurement of livestock-related global warming gases

We’ve talked about how despite Hamburgers being the ‘Hummers’ of Food in Global Warming, and How Meat, Especially Beef Contributes to Global Warming, big agribusiness and the livestock industry flex their political muscle and are exempted from Meating the Truth every time (like on the Climate Bill).

Now, a bill has just passed the U.S. House of Representatives that includes an amendment from Idaho’s Mike Simpson that :

prevents the Environmental Protection Agency from being allowed to gather any data on the contribution that animal agriculture makes to climate change.

So even the EPA conducting scientific inquiry into Livestock’s contribution to Climate Change could be cut off, if the President signs the bill.

Simpson even opined: “If the EPA had existed in Biblical times, there is no question in my mind that it would have regulated gas emissions from Noah’s Ark. Poor Noah and his livestock; they could withstand a 40-day flood, but they would never have survived the EPA.”

This news right after a new report suggests that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s report (Livestock’s Long Shadow) estimate that Livestock contribute 18% of human global warming gases in the world (more than all trains, planes, and automobiles) might have significantly underestimated Livestock’s relative contribution to Climate Change :

Livestock and Climate Change – by Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang

Wolf supporters dominate Seattle, WA meeting

Most favored alternative 3 in the state’s wolf plan-

While there seems to be no newspaper story on-line, I have heard from someone who attended the Seattle meeting on the Washington wolf plan. Wolf supporters dominated the meeting. Most of them favored alternative three, which is generally thought to be the alternative most favorable to the wolf, but is not proposed alternative.

Once again,  link to the plan.

First Idaho wolf hunt zone closes as quota is reached

Quota of five wolves has been filled for the Upper Snake wolf hunting area-

This is in Eastern Idaho, in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The wolves killed may or may not have wolves that usually inhabit Yellowstone Park.

Here is the Idaho wolf quota area map.

Nov. 3. E. Idaho wolf zone closed as hunters reach limit. Associated Press

Grizzlies home on range – again

For all those discouraged folks out there, I think this f- – – – ing wonderful!

Grizzlies home on range – again. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer.

Is anyone interested that grizzlies are abundant enough and northern Montana empty enough that grizzlies are spilling out onto the plains?

Video of “ecofriendly” wind power

Utah: Nuclear power water rights protests triggers public hearing

Are local people waking up to the fact that energy development in the remote West lacks the water necessary-

The attitude of many interior Western politicians is, and generally has been, that they are happy to be a colony for the rest of the country as long as they can be glorified for a few myths like “The Cowboy State,” or the West, land of rugged individualists.

With this in mind are some people in rural Utah waking up? If they think this plant needs a lot of water, wait for the applications for oil shale development.

Nuclear power water rights protests triggers public hearing. Hundreds of people and organizations have filed objections. By Patty Henetz. The Salt Lake Tribune

Albino black bear moved to Glacier National Park

Move was to protect it during the general hunting season-

Albino bear moved. Bozeman Chronicle.

October was a bad month for grizzly bears in NW Montana

October is always bad; this year worse.

Even so,  NW Montana grizzly mortality is low compared to that in Greater Yellowstone. It’s pretty clear to me that the Yellowstone grizzly needed to be put back on the list, just as Judge Molloy did. Fortunately, grizzly deaths are down this year in the Greater Yellowstone.

Grizzly bears fared poorly this October in Montana.  By Rob Chaney. The Missoulian

Shooting of collared wolves impacts research

Game managers may make changes in hunting season for next year-

Wow! The stories about the shooting of the Park wolves who happened to be just north of the Park keep coming. This is another one.

This one today is by Brett French in the Billings Gazette.

Actually we don’t know that this hasn’t happened in Idaho too.  Idaho’s “Upper Snake” wolf hunting zone wraps around the SW corner of Yellowstone Park and almost touches Grand Teton NP where the wolf population seems to have been expanding a bit lately.

Idaho doesn’t report where the wolf kills took place  except by zone. Last week I called Idaho’s wolf manager for additional info, but he never returned my message. You have to wonder.

Montana: Landowners increasingly shut access to popular spots

I see it as a way for our western “royalty” to try to coerce Montana FWP into supporting wildife and fish-harmful plans-

The land barons are trying to use hunters to pressure FWP into policies that are harmful to wildlife, but friendly to their private interests. The article says that for access, lots of these pint-sized earls and duke are trying to get sportsmen to sign petitions, etc. to support policies unrelated to access to their land.

Don’t fall for it. Fight back and join organizations that want to reign in their arrogant abuse of power. Landowners increasingly shut down popular spots. By Nick Gevock. Montana Standard.

Here is a link to the Montana Wildlife Federation. For a real kick in their pants join the Western Watersheds Project.

Montana: Poaching, other issues throw wrinkles in state’s wolf hunting quotas

Is one state doing a better job than the other on the hunt?

I think it’s still too soon to say, and too soon on the quotas too.  Wolves killed picked up quickly in Idaho as more elk and deer hunts opened. Now the number killed is slowing down, but wait until there is more snow on ground and the wolves can be tracked. Idaho’s hunt goes for months too. What will happen will the wolves, as they have to, come down to the winter range with their prey? They will be easier to see.

I still worry about non-hunt wolf kills by the states. The 23 wolves killed by order of Montana on the Blackfeet Reservoir still has no publicity or explanation. That is 1/4 as many as their state wolf hunt quota.

Poaching, other issues throw wrinkles in state’s wolf hunting quotas. By Michael Jamison. The Missoulian