Jackson Hole News: WY Elk numbers way above objectives

Elk in Wyoming are doing well, even when you look at individual herds-

The Jackson Hole News and Guide April 28 reported their analysis of the 2010 Big Game Management Summary of Wyoming Game and Fish. This article is not on-line, so I will summarize.

The annual census reported almost 103,000 elk in the 27 herds counted this winter. The state’s overall objective for these herds is about 76,000. The post-hunt count early in 2009 was about 1000 less and back in 2008 it was only 93,000 elk.

Some folks complain that elk might be numerous overall, but they are way down where I outfit, hunt, or whatever. The News reports, however, that 20 of the 27 herds were above objectives. Seven were at objective. None were below. There was incomplete data for 8 (so not included in the 27 herds).

Hunters in WY killed 22,839 elk in 2009 compared to 20,866 in 2008. The time for the average hunter to kill an elk declined in 2009 to 17.6 recreation days compared to 18.9 in 2008. Note that this calculation also includes those who hunted but were not successful.

The Jackson Hole elk herd count was 11,693, 6% above objectives. The objective is 11,000. The cow/elk calf ratio was 24, down from the 10-year average of 25.  The ratio was suspected to be lower in the Teton Wilderness and southern Yellowstone Park. It was not calculated.

The Targhee herd was not surveyed. The Fall Creek herd, to the south of Jackson was 16% over objective. More tags for that herd will be issued this year.

Folks should remember that the state’s elk objectives, including local objectives are set under strong pressure from the powerful livestock industry.  They usually don’t like to see “important animals” like cattle and sheep having to compete much with elk for grass.

A sometimes solution for nuisance bears? Feed them.

Biologist thinks it may be the answer if done properly-

Please DO Feed the Bears, Biologist Says. By Lia Kvatum. National Geographic News.

Gulf oil spill could hit Louisiana coast Thursday night

Oh yes, let’s drill for a lot more off-shore oil. They have great, green technology now!

Although this Administration is not responsible for this huge oil leak, it highlights their boneheaded policy of greatly expanded off-shore drilling.  It looks like this could be almost as bad as the 1989 Alaska catastrophe with the Exxon Valdez . . .  and the petroleum keeps leaking out of the wrecked bottom of the oil platform. It could take 90 days to stop the leak!

The oil is now just offshore. It will hit a wildlife management area first!

4/30. As oil spill hits Louisiana coast, critics assail Obama’s offshore drilling plan. By Steven Mufson and Michael D. Shear. Washington Post Staff Writer

4/30. New. Gulf Coast oil spill could eclipse Exxon Valdez. Video. By Cain Burdeau And Holbrook Mohr. Washington Post.l

4/30. Update. Video. Oil reaches the coast.

Gulf oil spill could hit Louisiana coast Thursday night. By Steven Mufson. Washington Post.

Growing Gulf of Mexico oil leak called spill of ‘national significance’. Greenspace in the Los Angeles Times.

Oil Execs Called To Testify Before Congress On Gulf Coast Spill, Consumer Pricing. Huffington Post.

The slick as seen from space. NPR

Gulf oil spill and BP profits. Dallas Morning Tribune blog. By Todd Robertson.  And I thought BP referred to “beyond petroleum”. Now they tell me it has always been British Petroleum. grrrrr!

Hair rub technique appears to yield cheaper, more accurate data on grizzlies

More grizzlies than thought in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem

Grizzly feeding on elk © Ken Cole

The grizzly bear DNA study that Senator John McCain often ridiculed out of ignorance has shown that there are many more grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem than previously estimated. The technique is effective enough that individual bears can be recognized and the parentage of the bears can also be determined.

The researchers estimate that there are about 765 grizzlies in the area which is 2 1/2 times higher than previously thought.

Industry groups like this information because they want grizzlies to be taken off the Endangered Species List. They are hoping for eased restrictions on logging, mining and other activities.

Hair rub technique appears to yield cheaper, more accurate data on grizzlies.
Juliet Eilperin – Washington Post

Wolves make few unnecessary elk kills, study says

Wyoming study shows surplus killing is uncommon-

So the Jackson Hole wolves rarely engage in surplus killing. This uncommon event is morphed into “killing for fun” by hard core antis. Wolves are most likely to abandon a carcass when humans disturb it, but that is only some packs.  Another Wyoming myth dispelled is that the elk leave usually leave the state feedgrounds every time wolves make a kill.

About the study in the Jackson Hole News and Guide. . .  Wolves make few unnecessary elk kills, study says. Wapiti tend to stay on Gros Ventre feedgrounds during attacks. Story is by Cory Hatch.

Be sure to read the refusal of a local outfitter to believe the study. He questions the motives of the USFWS and thinks that they are trying to make the wolf “sound as good as they can”. This lack of acceptance  is what I’d expect. A person’s attitudes are tied together if they are strongly held. When new information arrives that does match the attitudes, a person will change their thinking in the way that causes them the least discomfort. In this case, the easiest change is to discredit the study (after all it is a federal study).  Attitude change is large topic in the field of social psychology. One conclusion is that people are not rational in the short run when they get dissonant information (information they don’t like). That is because accepting unpleasant information may make them feel silly, harm their ties to friends, require them to change a lot of other attitudes, cause them to be frightened, etc.

The newspaper story also mentions the data from the latest Wyoming wolf weekly. Here is a direct link.

Idaho scientists find fabled worm

The Giant Palouse Earthworm persists.

Giant Palouse earthworm

The significance of this discovery could be pretty great. The earthworm has been the subject of a petition to list it as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act but it was denied protection because too little was known and there hadn’t been a specimen seen for many years. That all changes now but to what degree is a good question. The worm lives in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in an area known as the Palouse which has become developed for agriculture over the last century.

There was quite a discussion about an article we posted in January. You can read the post here: Great White: Rare worm vs. farmers

Idaho scientists find fabled worm.
NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS – Associated Press

An interesting blog

coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com

I’ve had this blog on the blogroll for over a month. It’s still small, but the webmaster has the talent to put it simply with interesting video. You might want to check it out.

California utility plows ahead with midsize solar

PG and E to install 500 megawatts of solar that doesn’t require transmission lines-

Finally, doing solar electricity the right way. It’s called “distributed power generation” as opposed to centralized generation. The solar cells will go on the vast rooftops of malls, and office complexes (or adjacent to them) in California.

After spending over 20 days exploring the California and Nevada deserts I am more opposed than ever to the use of lands that are remote from the load for solar electricity.

California utility plows ahead with midsize solar. By Martin LaMonica. Green Tech in CNet News.

Sierra Nevada from across lower Owens Valley. In my opinion not the place for a vast solar farm. Photo taken April 2010 by copyright Ralph Maughan

Judge sets date to hear wolf-lawsuit arguments

Oral arguments set for June 15

Judge sets date to hear wolf-lawsuit arguments.
EVE BYRON Independent Record

Livestock waste found to foul Sierra waters

Unsafe levels of livestock associated pathogens infest alpine waters

Alpine lakes and streams of the Sierra Mountains are fouled with Giardia, E. coli, and other pathogens from livestock grazing on Forest Service Lands. Dr. Michael J. Connor, the California Director of Western Watersheds Project is one of the authors of the paper.

You can read the paper here:
Derlet, R. W., Goldman, C. and Connor, M. J.: Reducing the Impact of Summer Cattle Grazing on Water Quality in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California: A Proposal. Journal of Water and Health. 8(2): 326-333. 2010.

Livestock waste found to foul Sierra waters.
Sacramento Bee

Initiative instigators

Montanans for Trap Free Public Lands working to gather signatures for a Montana Ballot Initiative.

Montanans for Trap Free Public Lands is out pounding the street to get signatures for its ballot initiative to ban trapping on public lands. They have gathered 6000+ signatures and they need 25,000 by June to get it on the ballot.

Initiative instigators.
Martin Kidston – Helena Independent Record

3 wolf packs in SW Montana to be eliminated

Big Hole Valley will be empty of wolves after control actions finish.

The rancher who closed his land to public hunting will get his way once all of the wolves in the Big hole Valley are killed.

3 wolf packs in SW Montana to be eliminated.
By Nick Gevock, Montana Standard

Wind resistance

Will the petrocracy — and greens — keep Wyoming from realizing its windy potential?

Wind power is not a popular thing in Wyoming for some and very popular for others. It is very unpopular for advocates for sage grouse and other birds.

Wind resistance.
High Country News

New Brucellosis “Hot Spots” Found In Yellowstone Area

Is this going to result in a new power grab?

This seems to be what is behind the attempt to put elk under the purview of the Montana Department of Livestock. The article indicates that brucellosis is more prevalent on private lands where hunting is limited and elk congregate. I think the real question that should be asked is should livestock be the driving force behind wildlife management. Not only has this issue been devastating to bison, now it appears that the livestock industry is building up momentum for the same for elk. Anal probes for bull elk now too?

The hysteria surrounding brucellosis has allowed the livestock industry to fight even modest attempts at change in how it is managed. For several years the Montana Stockgrowers Association has fought attempts to create a zone around Yellowstone which would call for mandatory vaccination and greater testing of livestock by saying that it would be unfair to the ranchers who would be affected. In reality, the plan takes away from their ability to hold the brucellosis myth over the heads of the entire state by limiting the area affected by a brucellosis infection to just the zone around Yellowstone instead of the entire state. They don’t like this and they’re fighting.

Let’s face it. Brucellosis is here to stay. There is no way to rid the ecosystem of it now that it is an endemic part of the Greater Yellowstone, and keep in mind, it was brought here by the livestock industry in the first place. The same livestock industry that was partially responsible for, and benefitted from, the destruction of wolves, grizzlies, bison and Native Americans which inhabited the West.

New Brucellosis “Hot Spots” Found In Yellowstone Area.
MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press

The Problem with Wildlife Services

The leaders in the war on wolves

When was the last time you heard about Wildlife Services talking about non-lethal methods of preventing livestock losses to wolves? The only place in Idaho that this is practiced is with the sheep passing through the Wood River Valley each year and by Lava Lake Land and Livestock but nowhere else has it even been talked about.  In their annual reports they talk about how they want greater latitude to kill more wolves rather than try to avoid conflicts in the first place.

The Problem with Wildlife Services.
Switchboard, from NRDC :: Andrew Wetzler

APHIS on Horse Butte

APHIS putting residents of Horse Butte at risk for a pointless study

From yesterday’s Buffalo Field Campaign Weekly Update [emphasis is mine]:

Along Yellowstone’s western boundary, the Duck Creek, Cougar Creek and Madison River corridors are flowing with the migration of the country’s last wild buffalo.  Buffalo families, solitary bulls, and bachelor bull groups beautifully ignore the ecologically meaningless man-made boundaries between Yellowstone and Montana as they spiral through this tiny fraction of their native homeland.  As they gently graze the new spring grasses, they are taking a lead role in healing the wounded land that suffers in their absence.  And in so doing, they also lift our spirits.  Volunteers have been engaged in a total celebration of buffalo, and this week, we were gifted with the sightings of two newborn calves.

Patrols have also been blessed with the sightings of a grizzly bear, Sandhill cranes, white pelicans, otters, ospreys, bluebirds, great blue herons, bald eagles, moose, flickers, and many of the area’s animal inhabitants.  This region, while sadly just a wee dot on the map, is huge in its wild majesty.

The buffalo’s spring migration has been keeping BFC quite busy along Highway 191, which cuts through the buffalo’s migration corridors.  Patrols have been out at all hours, into the early morning darkness, warning traffic and helping buffalo (and motorists) survive this aspect of their journey.  BFC’s night patrols are a huge boon to the buffalo and the community, and while it’s truly the responsibility of the State, Montana looks to BFC and we are honored to offer this service that has a direct and positive impact.  BFC will continue to call on Montana to do more, including construct safe-passage projects that allow wildlife to cross the highway without setting foot on the asphalt.

Bull buffalo near Duck Creek. BFC file photo by Stephany.

For bull buffalo, the celebration has turned into a confusing nightmare.  After molesting 8 bull buffalo along Yellowstone’s northern boundary, the USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has arrived in West Yellowstone.  Beginning yesterday on Horse Butte, APHIS drugged and collected semen from five bulls – some as young as two and a half years old like this young fella – in their “study” to determine what is already known: that bull buffalo pose no measurable risk of transmitting brucellosis to cattle.  Under this extremely invasive study APHIS first darts the bulls to inject a drug to knock them out, then collects their semen by inserting a large vibrating probe in their anus.  Before injecting the downed bulls with the reversal agent that wakes them, they spray-paint a thick blue line across their magnificent hind quarters.  There will be no benefit for wild buffalo coming from this totally unnecessary and shameful study.

While BFC was documenting the first bull that went down, one of the APHIS technicians rudely and purposefully stepped in front of our camera multiple times, trying to prevent BFC from filming, causing a confrontation. He failed to stop us.  Later in the day, patrols reported that APHIS agents were cracking jokes about the invasive work they were doing, making a mockery of how they were “handling” the bulls.  In another instance, after APHIS darted a mature bull out of a bachelor group, one of the buffalo’s buddies got extremely upset and wanted to investigate what had happened to his friend, much like we witness during the buffalo hunt.  He approached APHIS with his tail up, ready to charge and defend his comrade.  APHIS responded by pepper-spraying the bull with bear-spray.  A brief discussion with APHIS after they were done with their “data collection” yesterday revealed to us that the drugs they use on the bulls can cause them to overheat, disturb gastrointestinal functions, and cause anxiety and anger.  They then monitor the bulls for a mere 30 minutes and then set their sights on another.  The young bull who was targeted yesterday was so confused and visibly humiliated he left his family group and ended up walking through a near-by neighborhood on Horse Butte.  We wonder if APHIS is warning Horse Butte residents that they are injecting bull bison with anger-inducing drugs?

Today, APHIS is again in our backyard, on the buffalo’s home turf.  At the time of this writing, patrols report that no bulls have yet been molested by APHIS.  They are being escorted around the area by a MT Department of Livestock agent, looking for “test subjects.”  APHIS let us know that they will continue to target bull buffalo until the DOL gives them the heads up that hazing operations will begin.   BFC will be with the buffalo, as we always are, ready to document all actions made against them, so we can share their story and turn the tide – with your help – towards a future where wild buffalo take precedence over the economic interests of the cattle industry.  Together, we will realize our vision of self-willed buffalo walking the earth as they please, with honor and respect bestowed upon them and their sacred relationship to the Earth.

For the buffalo, for all things wild and free, celebrate Earth Day everyday!

ROAM FREE!

March Idaho Wolf Management Progress Report released

28 wolves killed in control since the beginning of the year

The Idaho Wolf Management Progress Report has been released by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. So far the report says there have been 28 wolves killed for 14 livestock animals taken. This doesn’t make sense when you consider that last month’s depredation numbers were the same as this month’s yet they report that 8 calves were taken and 10 wolves killed this month. Something didn’t get updated properly.

It also notes that “Additional capture efforts are planned through April.” This is noteworthy since wolves den in April. Does this mean that they have been capturing pregnant females just before denning? Usually ground trapping doesn’t occur when there is a chance of freezing temperatures due to the possibility of injury to the wolves’ feet so presumably capturing refers to aerial darting of wolves.

Idaho Wolf Management Progress Report, April 20, 2010
IDFG

Montana, Idaho and Wyoming Wolf Policies Foreshadow Extinction

The federal authorization for each state to reduce wolves to 100-150 animals puts northern Rockies wolves on a spiral toward extinction.

Interesting opinion piece about the inadequacies of the States’ wolf management plans.

Montana, Idaho and Wyoming Wolf Policies Foreshadow Extinction
By Michael J. Robinson, Guest Writer for New West

Wolf count down at Isle Royale, moose hold steady

2 of the 4 wolf packs have disappeared and the overall population has dropped from 24 to 19 wolves

The interactions of wolves and moose on Isle Royale National Park have been studied for decades. In recent years the wolves, due to their low genetic diversity, have exhibited malformed vertebra and other deformities related to genetic inbreeding but they have persisted on the island.

Wolf count down at Isle Royale, moose hold steady.
By JOHN FLESHER – The Chippewa Herald

Wolf controversy polarizes

Conservationists accuse each other of distorting elk and wolf data.

This article is about the recent public fight between the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Defenders of Wildlife.

I think part of the reason that the feud has heated up is because of the use of words like “annihilation” when referencing wolves and elk. I don’t want elk or wolves to be annihilated and I don’t think it will be the case with elk but I do think the states of Idaho and Wyoming, in particular, but Montana to a lesser degree, have shown great public antipathy towards wolves. Also, RMEF has adopted some of the language of the anti-wolf crowd and that riles up people too, including myself.

I stand by the notion that Idaho does not want to manage wolves in the same stated way that they manage bears and lions which number 20,000 and 3,000 respectively. There is no goal of reducing the population of those species to a pre-defined number, especially one as low as 518 statewide. Needless to say, the Legislature of Idaho can force the IDFG to manage for the minimum number of 15 packs of wolves statewide, which is what is in the Legislature’s Idaho Wolf Conservation and Management Plan that was accepted by the USFWS.

Wolf controversy polarizes.
Jackson Hole News&Guide

Skunks, badgers enlisted to control Idaho pelicans

Is this a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

After being told by the US Fish and Wildlife Service that their plan to oil the eggs of nesting pelicans amounted to an eradication program, the Idaho Fish and Game has proceeded to introduce skunks and badgers onto Gull Island in Blackfoot Reservoir to eat the eggs or harass the birds. This seems to violate the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and amounts to a “taking” of migratory birds.

Gary L. Burton, Acting State Supervisor for the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office of the USFWS, in an email states that the office “has not issued any authorizations or approvals for this release.”

We have written about this previously
Idaho F&G plan to kill pelicans hits obstacles July 1, 2009
Pelicans in Idaho versus Yellowstone Cutthroat — rare bird versus rare fish? May 16, 2009

Skunks, badgers enlisted to control Idaho pelicans
Associated Press

Badger and Pelicans © Ken Cole

Feds Fight to Keep Names of Ranchers With Grazing Permits Secret

Information is needed to understand who the program benefits and how many livestock are grazing public lands

The program that is heavily subsidized by the public to the tune of $123 million annually is veiled in secrecy. Welfare ranching of public lands, simply put, is the subsidized destruction of our public lands for the benefit of just a few and those few are struggling to maintain anonymity.

“Without names and addresses, advocates say, it’s virtually impossible to know who is using federal public lands for grazing, how many animals are involved, and on how many allotments. In short, no one can develop a profile of the typical public rancher. Yet the BLM administers a massive grazing program —18,000 permits for nearly 16,000 livestock operators using 138 million acres of public lands — that comes at a steep price.”

Livestock grazing is the most destructive and widespread practice on public lands and is responsible for the extinction and imperilment of numerous species across the west.

A cow that died from poor grazing management on public lands © Katie Fite

Feds Fight to Keep Names of Ranchers With Grazing Permits Secret
By Kristen Lombardi – Center for Public Integrity

Sage grouse disappearing in S.D.

Only 1500 birds left in the state

Habitat destruction and fragmentation has caused a severe reduction in sage grouse numbers in South Dakota. Livestock grazing and energy development, especially wind, is a serious threat to the remaining birds there. The birds are behaviorally disposed to avoid tall vertical structures because they provide perches to predators.

Sage grouse disappearing in S.D.
JOHN POLLMANN • FOR THE ARGUS LEADER

Wood bison are on the comeback

May be reintroduced to Alaska as an experimental, non-essential population.

Alaska wants to reintroduce wood bison from Canada but they are currently listed as an endangered species by the USFWS. In response there is an effort to classify them as an experimental, non-essential population under the 10(j) rule so that there will be less protection and no critical habitat designation. They would still be protected from intentional harm. It seems that the oil and gas industry is worried they won’t be able to exploit the land if there are protected species there.

There haven’t been wood bison in Alaska for 200 years or so but there are some plains bison which were introduced into the Copper River Delta in 1928.

You can read about the plan to reintroduce wood bison here.

Wood bison are on the comeback
Wild wood bison could be roaming Alaska again if effort succeeds
By MIKE CAMPBELL

Panel recommends spilling, barging of salmon

Mixed strategy recommended by independent panel for 2010

Chinook Salmon © Ken Cole

NOAA Fisheries wanted to barge all of the salmon from the Snake River around the dams and not spill any water over them because of the low water year that is predicted to be 54% of the normal flow. An independent panel said no and suggested that there be spill and barging due to a host of problems as a result of barging.

Some suggest that NOAA Fisheries wanted to avoid spilling so that more power could be generated by the dams.

Meanwhile the chinook salmon are returning in high numbers over Bonneville Dam with 7762 on the 19th and a cumulative total of 47721 spring chinook this year. You can see the numbers at the Fish Passage Center website.

Panel recommends spilling, barging of salmon
BY KEVIN MCCULLEN, HERALD STAFF WRITER

Severe pneumonia outbreak kills bighorn sheep

Lamb survival to be closely monitored for several years

Another overview story about the bighorn sheep die-offs around the west. Estimates of the death toll have reached 1000 bighorns.

Severe pneumonia outbreak kills bighorn sheep.
American Veterinary Medical Association

Could Idaho’s wolves be a tourist attraction?

Can wolf watching make money outside of Yellowstone?

People have been paying for wolf outings in Yellowstone for years now and it is pretty big business there. Can it work in Idaho too? I think it depends on many variables.

Could Idaho’s wolves be a tourist attraction? Some see potential for ‘hunting’ the predators with cameras, binoculars
BY JOE JASZEWSKI – Idaho Statesman

Have you seen any interesting wildife news? April 20-May 1

Note that this replaces the 6th edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the depths of the blog.

Red necked grebes, Warm Lake, Idaho © Ken Cole

Please don’t post entire articles here, just the link, title and your comments about the article. Most of these violate copyright law. They also take up too much space.

Study: Elk more likely to flee from humans than wolves

New study shows elk move into Yellowstone Park or unaccessible private lands.

Elk in Yellowstone © Ken Cole

We’ve all witnessed, or heard the stories about, how elk move to areas with less access or are closed to hunting, well this study basically demonstrates this. They do it more so in reaction to hunters than wolves.

Study: Elk more likely to flee from humans than wolves
BY MATT VOLZ • ASSOCIATED PRESS

If you have a subscription to the Journal of Wildlife Management you can read the study here.

Wyoming wind project offers grouse conservation plan

1000 turbine wind farm proposed in Wyoming “Core” Sage Grouse Habitat

Misplaced Wind Destroys Wildlife Habitat

It seems the Wyoming Governor’s “core” sage grouse habitat mapping doesn’t mean much. Removal of fencing or marking it with reflectors doesn’t get around the fact that there will be gigantic wind turbines in the middle of sage grouse habitat. Sage grouse don’t like such things and will likely quit using the area. But they will still call it “green” and people will buy it.

Wyoming wind project offers grouse conservation plan
By MATT JOYCE – Associated Press

Accounts conflict on how jaguar was trapped

Was Macho B intentionally caught?

The question about whether or not jaguar scat was placed at the trap site or not is the focus of the article. One former employee says she placed the scat at the trap site on the orders of her boss while the employee who was fire recently says she is lying.

Some have suggested to me that the use of a snare may have greatly contributed to Macho B’s death. There are photos of his paw which show it being swollen and that this may have caused much stress as well as caused infection.

Accounts conflict on how jaguar was trapped
Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

Future of elk hunting in Montana is in jeopardy

Former Montana FWP Employee Warns of Pending Legislation.

The bill would hand over management of elk to the Montana Department of Livestock, the same agency responsible for the continued war on bison. If you think this isn’t a threat to elk then you’re crazy.

Imagine helicopters and snowmobiles chasing elk out of the state or massive roundups of elk for a test and slaughter program.

Montana has brucellosis. Live with it.

Future of elk hunting in Montana is in jeopardy
BY VITO QUATRARO

Grizzly bear to be relocated to Cabinets

A female grizzly without any history of human conflict will be selected for the move.

This has been done a few times over the years but the idea of moving grizzly bears into areas that don’t already have them or across state boundaries has been out of the question due to the hysteria that surrounds them.

Grizzly bear to be relocated to Cabinets.
The Western News

IDFG releases Video Summarizing Wolf Hunt

Cal Groen Claims that the balance in the Lolo “is completely out of whack”

People have been discussing this on another thread but I thought it deserved its own.

Some of the same old arguments on why even more wolves need to be killed next year are being made and how IDFG will allow even greater killing of wolves in the Lolo.

One notable comment made by Cal Groen is that the balance in the Lolo Zone “is completely out of whack”.

As JB points out:

The idea of “balance” is an ecological myth; it is disconcerting to see F&G agencies perpetuate this myth. Again, ecosystems are dynamic. To imply that populations are “out of whack” when they are changing suggests that there exists some ideal equilibrium between predator and prey. This simply is not true. Populations fluctuate and that fluctuation is natural. The real reason IDF&G wants to manipulate wolves is so that they can maximize elk hunting opportunities in these zones.

The following graphs show the trends in overall elk numbers in the Lolo Zone and are different from those presented here previously which showed harvest numbers. Harvest numbers are not a good representation of what is happening to the elk population because they are influenced by management decisions.

Elk numbers in Lolo Unit 12

Elk number in Lolo Unit 10

It is apparent from the graphs that something has been going on here for many years previous to wolves showing up. The video even explains that there has been changes in the habitat here but then goes on to implicate wolves as the reason that elk remain depressed. But WHY are wolves able to keep elk populations depressed here as opposed to other areas with wolves? The video doesn’t address this. Could it be the same reason that caused the decline in the elk population in the first place. Is it not possible that the habitat here just makes elk more vulnerable to wolf predation?

Another comment made is that the hunt is responsible for halting the 20% increases in population seen in previous years. Part of that may be true, the part about stopping the growth in the population but the rate of growth has been in steady decline for a number of years as the habitat filled with wolves and the 20% rate hasn’t been seen for several years. This same phenomenon has been seen in Yellowstone but to a greater degree. Wolves don’t “overpopulate” in the sense that a rabbit might. They may overshoot their resource but like in Yellowstone, their reproductive rate or success may be impacted by nutrition or outright killing by other wolves. Disease and parasites like parvo virus, distemper, and mange also played a role in Yellowstone.

Idaho wolf population growth rate

Year	Wolves	Percent Growth
1994	3
1995	14	367%
1996	42	200%
1997	71	69%
1998	114	61%
1999	156	37%
2000	196	26%
2001	261	33%
2002	289	11%
2003	362	25%
2004	418	15%
2005	518	24%
2006	673	30%
2007	764	14%
2008	856	12%
2009	843	-2%

Agency mulls selling public land for mine

1,142 acres of BLM Land in southeast Idaho could be sold to Simplot for phosphate mining

This would be a precedent setting decision that would eliminate access to this land and limit input into how it is managed.

Agency mulls selling public land for mine
TODD DVORAK – Associated Press

Feds consider adding wolverines to endangered list

Status Review is a result of a lawsuit

Wolverines are very rare in the Lower 48 but there have been a few notable confirmations of them in Colorado where there is one being tracked by a gps collar and another in California which has been photographed with a remote camera for three consecutive years. They also inhabit Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington but are under threat from winter disturbance by snowmobiling, and trapping in Montana.

Feds consider adding wolverines to endangered list
By JUDITH KOHLER Associated Press Writer

Feds: Fishers in Rockies may need protection

They need old growth forests for survival

My wife and I were fortunate enough to see a fisher as we were driving over Lolo Pass a couple of years ago. This is one of the few areas where fishers still have a native population in the Rockies and, according to the press release, they are genetically distinct from other populations. There have been several attempts at re-establishing them to other areas with limited success.

The decision to move forward is a result of a petition rather than a lawsuit.

Feds: Fishers in Rockies may need protection
By MATTHEW BROWN – Associated Press

Fishers in Rocky Mountains, Rare Forest Mammal, Closer to Winning Endangered Species Act Protection
Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Clearwater, Center for Biological Diversity press release

Scientists seek proof of N. Cascades grizzlies

Reported sightings in the Cascades of Washington State lead to funding to search for grizzlies.

There have been reported sightings of grizzly bears for many years in the Cascades of Washington but very little has been confirmed. As the article states, grizzly bears don’t usually disperse long distances like wolves do so colonizing new areas takes longer for them. Another reason for slow recovery for grizzlies is that they reproduce at a much slower rate than wolves and they have a fairly high human caused mortality rate.

Grizzlies here, as in other parts of the lower 48 have full protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Scientists seek proof of N. Cascades grizzlies
By K.C. MEHAFFEY
THE WENATCHEE WORLD

G&F worker is fired for alleged lying, cover-up in jaguar capture

The investigation of Macho B’s death is ongoing

Macho B after being collared

I saw this story but was too busy to post it when it was published last month. I’m posting it now because I think it is an important story and also because we’ve been covering the saga of Macho B, the last wild jaguar in the US.

He was captured in February of 2009 in Arizona, tranquilized, and given a gps radio collar. Shortly afterwards it was noticed that his movements became limited so he was recaptured and then euthanized. Investigators say that his death was hastened by capture related stress.

There have also been allegations claiming that jaguar scat was placed at the trapping sites in an attempt at capturing him while trapping cougars for an ongoing study. The worker fired by AZGF has said as much.

“One federal agency, the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General, concluded earlier this year that the capture by state workers was intentional and that the evidence points to criminal wrongdoing.”

G&F worker is fired for alleged lying, cover-up in jaguar capture
Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

Wildlife fauxtography: Nature as it isn’t

Ted Williams writes about how photography of game farm animals has become commonpace.

Wildlife fauxtography: Nature as it isn’t
Ted Williams – in the Salt Lake tribune

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Uses Hyperbole in Latest Press Release

Accuses groups of being party to may become “one of the worst wildlife management disasters since the destruction of bison herds in the 19th Century.”

I’m not going to say much more about this other than to observe that RMEF seems to be adopting the same type of hyperbole that they accuse the pro wolf groups of using. They are also adopting the unfounded language of some of the most hateful and vitriolic people on the anti-wolf side of the argument.

The fact remains that wolves do impact elk herds locally but the full reason for the declines in some populations are not fully represented in their press release. They infer that wolves are the reason that “[t]he Northern Yellowstone elk herd trend count has dropped from some 19,000 elk in 1995 before the introduction of the Canadian Gray wolf to just over 6,000 elk in 2008. At the same time the wolf numbers in this same area are on a steady increase.” This is disingenuous at best and an outright misstatement of the truth at worst.

Wasn’t reducing elk part of the reason that wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in the first place? Montana FWP specifically had late season hunts on cows in a concerted effort to reduce the population of elk, the winter of 1996/97 had a tremendous impact on them, and yes, wolves played a role along with bears and other predators but the elk population has stabilized and the wolf population has drastically declined as well.

And what’s this business about the “Canadian Gray wolf”? Are they seriously buying that line of crap?

RMEF Turns Up Heat on Pro-Wolf Groups
RMEF press release.

Federal Agencies Sign Agreement to Protect Sage-Grouse Habitat

But they continue to ignore the biggest threat to their habitat……….. GRAZING.
$16 million in handouts for this year alone.

Sage grouse tracks © Katie Fite

The NRCS is handing out more money to ranchers for “habitat conservation” or “habitat improvement” projects that maintain grazing on public lands.

There are some projects such as fence removal that will be funded but the proposed seeding projects may require new fencing to keep livestock out for measly the 2 years they recommend and in some circumstances they call for applying herbicides to restrict the growth of sagebrush so that the seedlings can get a foothold.

So many times we’ve seen that these kinds of projects are co-opted by the livestock industry to be of more benefit to them rather than the values the funding was made available for. I doubt this will be any exception since they have made a concerted effort to deny that livestock have any role in sage-grouse habitat destruction.

Biologists fear mountain goat presence in Grand Teton park

Mountain goats may compete with the struggling native bighorn sheep

Grand Teton National Park officials are worried that mountain goats may increase in the Park and compete with bighorn sheep. The goats were introduced into the Snake River Range by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and they have spread to the Teton Range. According to biologists there is no evidence that mountain goats inhabited the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Biologists fear goat presence in Grand Teton park
Victoria Advocate

Colorado scraps effort on sheepherder wages

Looking for a great career?

Do you want a sheepherder’s job? Look for yourself and you can make a whopping $650 – $750 a month! No, that’s right now, not some time in the future like 1950!

Type in the word “sheepherder” on the Idaho Works job search page and see for yourself: https://labor.idaho.gov/idahoworks/es/jobsearch/default.aspx

It’s a career full of challenge! You get to work with dogs, sheep, and sometimes goats! You also get to work for people who have great connections with the Legislature in any given western state! Hell, you might even get to work FOR a legislator!………. A lot! Doesn’t it sound exciting?!!!

Not only to do you get to experience extremely remote areas for long amounts of time you may be exposed to interesting diseases like Q-fever or others!

To find out more read this!

Colo. scraps effort on sheepherder wages
By IVAN MORENO – Associated Press writer

“Immigrant advocacy groups complain that the workers, who come to the United States mostly from Peru and Chile on temporary work visas, are sometimes subjected to 90-hour work weeks for anywhere from $600 to $750 a month on ranches in the West, including Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and California.”

US citizens need not apply.

Author details how rainbow trout conquered the world

Good or bad, they’re everywhere.

Introductions of rainbow trout have caused the extinction of many species and are one of the primary reasons that inland sub-species of cutthroat in the western US have declined, or in some cases become entirely extinct.

Rainbow Trout © Ken Cole

The Yellowfin, Waha Lake, and Alvord cutthroats, of Colarado Idaho, and Oregon respectively, have entirely disappeared due to the introduction of non-native rainbows which have hybridized them out of existence. Some subspecies only occupy tiny portions of their historic range for the same reason.

Brook trout in the eastern US are being displaced by rainbows in some places because they can inhabit warmer waters.

There are, however, the westslope and coastal cutthroat sub-species which co-exist naturally with rainbows.

Rainbows consist of several sup-species and are native to the rivers and lakes which flow into the Pacific Ocean from Russia to Mexico. They also inhabit some inland closed basins in California and Oregon where they became established when a stream or river changed course through a process called headwater transfer or when a river’s flow was insufficient to fill the basin and flow into the neighboring one.

Washington State biologist accused of steering donations to his nonprofit organization

Alleged actions are a violation of state law.

“A state ethics board alleges that William Weiler repeatedly used his position as a state biologist involved in permitting wind-power projects in Southwest Washington to influence turbine developers to donate money to the Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute, a nonprofit that he led.”

State biologist accused of steering donations to his nonprofit organization
By Hal Bernton – Seattle Times staff reporter

State biologist clarifies wolf myths

They really aren’t the huge, vicious “Canadian” wolves.

Jon Rachel of the Idaho Fish and Game talks about wolves and debunks many of the myths that the wolf haters wish were true.

State biologist clarifies wolf myths
By JON DUVAL – Mountain Express

Have you seen any interesting wildife news? April 10

Note that this replaces the 5th edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the depths of the blog.

Please don’t post entire articles here, just the link, title and your comments about the article. Most of these violate copyright law. They also take up too much space.

Alaska Board of Game nominee cites Bible as he skins a wolf

(VIDEO): Legislature To Vote On Confirmation April 9-

I’m on vacation, but this item on Huffington Post was too good to pass up.

It is just pathetic that a person like this could rise to a position of overseeing wildlife management in such an important place as Alaska.

Story on Al Barette. Huffington Post.

Washington man receives suspended sentence for poaching Bitterroot bighorn, mule deer

Two men accuse each other of poaching the bighorn while on a trip in Montana

The ex-wife of one of the men reported the 2003 incident to the authorities in 2007.

Washington man receives suspended sentence for poaching Bitterroot bighorn, mule deer
By PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic

Wolf pelt investigation yields other wildlife charges for two Twisp men

Numerous charges have been filed

This is in relation to a story that was first reported last year in March about someone who allegedly tried to send a package that was dripping blood and contained a wolf pelt.

Charges for killing the wolves have not been filed yet but charges for state game violations have been filed. Wolves in this part of Washington State are fully protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Lookout Pack is thought to have originated from dispersing wolves from the coastal region of British Columbia.

The original story can be found here: Poachers kill wolves from Washington state’s first pack

Wolf pelt investigation yields other wildlife charges for two Twisp men
Methow Valley News

Obama Administration Denies Big Lost River Whitefish Endangered Species Protection

Rules that isolated population is not a distinct population

The mountain whitefish of the Big Lost River Basin was denied endangered species protection by Ken Salazar’s US Fish and Wildlife Service. They argued that the fish could not be considered a separate species, sub-species, or distinct population segment even though they have been isolated from other whitefish for more than 10,000 years and their habitat is being destroyed by water diversions and livestock grazing.

Big Lost Basin Whitefish - Idaho Department of Fish Game

Because of this isolation they have become genetically divergent form other populations and should be considered a distinct population segment. In fact, one report, which examined the genetic traits of these fish found them to be the most genetically distinct population.  The problem is that the USFWS based nearly their entire reasoning on genetics when little is really known about how important even slight variations may be in fish populations which are easily reproductively isolated and have very different ecological pressures as opposed to widespread land animals.  The USFWS didn’t consider distinct life history, habitat, or behavioral qualities. The idea that they are not a DPS doesn’t even pass the sniff test.

While whitefish are plentiful in many other places, this isolated population has been severely affected by irrigation dams which prevent movement up and down stream, dewater entire sections of river, and are not screened so fish are diverted into fields.

Cattle grazing has also eliminated them from some of the smaller streams such as Antelope Creek and the entire Copper Basin.

Mountain Whitefish in Big Lost River will not be protected
Idaho State Journal

Feds: No protection for whitefish
By SIMMI AUJLA – Associated Press

More on the Montana bighorn disease outbreaks

Same pathogen found in bighorn and domestic sheep after contact was observed

Bighorn Sheep © Ken Cole

Here are two stories outlining what happened this winter with the outbreaks of disease in bighorn sheep.  It appears that there are likely two different causes for the outbreaks.  In the East Fork Bitterroot it appears that bighorn contracted mycoplasma from a small herd of domestic sheep near Darby where the owner reported contact.  The sheep were later tested for disease and the samples matched what was found in the bighorn sheep.  To the north and east in the upper and lower Rock Creek herds and the Bonner herd it appears that something else is going on but, even though there are many domestic sheep in close proximity to these bighorn herds, no documented contact has been observed.  That doesn’t say much though and doesn’t eliminate the likelihood that contact occurred.  We’ve had reports on this blog of seeing domestic sheep in an area one day and bighorn sheep in the same area the next in this region.

It should be noted that the owner of the domestic sheep in the Sula, Mt. area has moved the sheep and is hoping that a new home can be found for them in an area that doesn’t have bighorn sheep.

Fortunately the outbreaks haven’t been as devastating as others on the basis of percentage.  Still, the overall numbers of bighorn sheep lost is staggering and the effects of the outbreaks will likely impact lamb survival for years to come.

Pneumonia outbreak cut bighorn herds in half
By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

Biologist: Bitterroot herd survived pneumonia outbreak
By PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic

American Pika Are Thriving in the Sierra Nevada and Southwestern Great Basin

Questions remain unanswered

Pika © Ken Cole

With very few systematic surveys of pikas there is not much to compare the results of this most recent survey to.  The questions that still needs to be answered are what impact is climate change having on the survival of pikas in, especially, the isolated ranges of the pika’s range?  Are the pikas being squeezed out of lower elevation sites to cooler, higher elevation sites?

A trend cannot be determined from just one sample and this information should be considered a baseline.

In places where pikas are systematically surveyed they are disappearing like in the Bodie Hills of California.

American Pika Are Thriving in the Sierra Nevada and Southwestern Great Basin
ScienceDaily

Millions of sea turtles dying in fishing gear, report warns

Bycatch and habitat loss have imperiled sea turtles world wide.

Green Sea Turtle in Hawaii © Ken Cole

“Trawlers are completely indiscriminate. The target might be shrimp but for every pound of shrimp that might comp up with a given haul, there might have five or 20lbs of bycatch. That could be turtles, it could be all sorts of things,” said Wallace, a professor at Duke University and science adviser to Conservation International.

Millions of sea turtles dying in fishing gear, report warns
Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent – Guardian UK

More livestock subsidies by the Federal Government

5-year “demonstration project” to compensate ranchers and fund proactive, non-lethal activities.

The USFWS has announced how it will disperse $1 million annually to the states with wolves for 5 years. This funding was approved in the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 which created several wilderness areas such as the Owyhee Wilderness in southern Idaho.

The law specifies that equal amounts of the funding must be used “(1) to assist livestock producers in undertaking proactive, non-lethal activities to reduce the risk of livestock loss due to predation by wolves; and (2) to compensate livestock producers for livestock losses due to such predation.”

No doubt there will be pressure to change how the money is spent so that more of it will go towards compensation of ranchers rather than proactive, non-lethal activities.

U.S. grants $1 million for wolf project
Great Falls Tribune

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces $1 Million to States For Wolf Livestock Compensation Project
USFWS Press Release

State	Proposed Allocation
MN	$100,000
MI	$90,000
WI	$140,000
ID	$140,000
MT	$140,000
WY	$140,000
AZ	$60,000
NM	$60,000
OR	$15,000
WA	$15,000

Sheep Station Restricts Grazing to Protect Grizzly Bears

The Agricultural Research Services’ US Sheep Experiment Station in Eastern Idaho has decided to stop grazing sheep in its easternmost pastures to protect grizzly bears and has discontinued working on an Environmental Assessment in favor of a more intensive Environmental Impact Statement of its operations.

As you can see from the mapping there are conflicts with grizzly bears and bighorn sheep on other lands used by the Sheep Station. Two packs of wolves were also killed off because of the sheep just last year.

The sheep station occupies one of the most important corridors along the Centennial Mountains for dispersal of grizzly bears, wolves and bighorn sheep.

Sheep Station Restricts Grazing to Protect Grizzly Bears
Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity press release.

Overview of ARS USSES used lands

The Privatization of Wildlife

How Ted Turner Scored Yellowstone’s Bison Herd

A good overview of the buffalo issue and how they continue to be persecuted by Montana’s livestock industry and how the buffalo from the quarantine feasibility study ended up going to Ted Turner.

The Privatization of Wildlife: How Ted Turner Scored Yellowstone’s Bison Herd
AlterNet / By Joshua Frank

Judge scolds WA for allowing grazing in state wildlife management areas

WWP wins again as state judge can find not one benefit for wildlife in state cow grazing of state wildlife areas-

We have written a number of times about the recent politically inspired introduction of livestock into the Eastern Washington state wildlife areas purchased specifically to help wildlife and water quality. The livestock interests get to trample the springs and vegetation without paying a dime. It’s a pure gift, and the judge figured it out.

The judge even gave a 10-minute speech from the bench as she issued her ruling.

Ruling leaves grazing up in the air. By SCOTT SANDSBERRY. Yakima Herald Republic
And
Judge dumps wildlife area grazing plan: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has been allowing cattle on Asotin parcel in pilot program
Eric Barker – Lewiston Morning Tribune

Feb. 3, 2009. Here is one of our earlier stories on this politically inspired grazing.

Southern Utah road battle turns into fight over records

Southern Utah county hides behind huge records request fee to keep citizens in the dark over efforts to build roads all over the public lands-

My hope is this county of inbred idiots keeps losing and wasting money until the public is totally outraged

Kane road battle turns into fight over records. By Mark Havnes. The Salt Lake Tribune

Idaho Wool Growers Sue IDFG Over Bighorns

Bighorn Sheep © Ken Cole

The Idaho Wool Growers Association and Shirts Brothers Sheep are suing the Idaho Fish and Game Department over an agreement that they signed in 1997 which would hold woolgrowers harmless if bighorn sheep introductions caused harm to their business. There are a number of problems with the agreement which make it unenforceable.

According to the lawsuit, “The Idaho Department of Fish and Game took no action to block the Forest Service from modifying the grazing allotments for Shirts and Shirts Brothers and took insufficient action to prevent Shirts and Shirts Brothers from being harmed by these actions”

I don’t know how the IDFG could block the Forest Service from making these changes. The IDFG has no control over the actions of the Forest Service. The IDFG does not manage grazing privileges on the National Forests and even if the lawsuit is successful it will not change the obligations of the Payette National Forest under the National Forest Management Act which requires them to manage the Forest in a manner which maintains the viability of native or desirable species, including bighorn sheep which have declined in number to only 3500 statewide.

In response to litigation by Western Watersheds Project, the Payette National Forest is drafting a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement which proposes an alternative which may close up to 60% of the Forest’s sheep grazing allotments to keep domestic sheep separate from bighorn sheep that inhabit Hell’s Canyon and the Salmon River Canyon.

Domestic sheep are known to carry diseases which are deadly to bighorn sheep and are likely to have killed hundreds of bighorn sheep throughout the west this winter.

Update 4/5/2010: A Copy of the Woolgrowers Lawsuit

~ be

Wool growers file suit against IDFG: Association claims state agency has not protected them from harm after introduction of bighorn sheep
Eric Barker – Lewiston Morning Tribune

Scientists say B.C. grizzly hunt could hurt recovery efforts in Montana

Alberta’s griz population has already collapsed, B.C.’s grizzly hunt quota too high-

Pitiful Alberta now has fewer grizzly bears now than Montana does, and scientists say that B.C. is going the same direction, most directly affecting Montana in the North Fork of Flathead.

Scientists say B.C. grizzly hunt could hurt recovery efforts in Montana. By Michael Jamison of the Missoulian

DAMS: Corps releases possible dam breaching plan of study

Plan required as part of the Adaptive Management Plan

The Army Corps of Engineers has released a plan of how they will study dam removal if it becomes necessary to remove one or more of the four Lower Snake River dams.

DAMS: Corps releases possible dam breaching plan of study
Tri-City Herald

An American icon looking for work: the cowboy

Economic woes threaten the ranching lifestyle

Another article about how the custom and culture of the ranching lifestyle is under threat but this one explains what the real threat is. Not so much environmentalists or government regulation but the economy and low beef prices combined with high beef processing prices are changing the economy for them.

The small, family rancher is having a hard time competing with big agribusiness which forces them to cut corners. Their children are leaving the ranch for better paying jobs elsewhere and the ranchers themselves often have to find other work to supplement their income or forgo hiring help.

Of course there are those who still hang on and stories like these are written about them.

An American icon looking for work: the cowboy
With costs up and the demand for beef down, ranchers have cut back hiring
BY RICHARD COCKLE – THE OREGONIAN

Utah’s Matheson to introduce wilderness legislation for Wasatch Front

Bill would add about 26,000 acres to wilderness protected areas just east of Salt Lake City-

Blanch Lake and Sundial Peak. Twin Peaks Wilderness. Wasatch Front. Copyright Ralph Maughan

A pretty fair portion of the rugged divides between the major Wasatch Mountain canyons at Salt Lake City are already protected as Wilderness. Rep. Matheson proposes to add to the Mount Olympus, Twin Peaks and Lone Peak wilderness and establish a new Wilderness near between Parley’s and Mill Creek Canyon — Wayne Owens Grandeur Peak-Mount Aire Wilderness.

Utah has poor senators on Wilderness issues, making Senate passage a problem. In addition Senator Bennett is being challenged by a far rightist who doesn’t seem to believe there should be public lands.

[Representative] Matheson to introduce wilderness legislation. By Patty Henetz. The Salt Lake Tribune

Personally, I always loved hiking the rugged Wasatch and like seeing them conserved from development.

Pneumonia continues to kill Nevada bighorn sheep

102 found dead so far in Nevada’s Ruby and Little Humboldt Mountains

Pneumonia continues to kill Nevada bighorn sheep
Associated Press

Idaho wolf hunt finally ends

Were more or fewer wolves killed than expected?

People will ask that question, but it’s hard to answer because there were so many different predictions. I said “it depends.”

Here are some stories.

Idaho wolf hunt draws to a close. By Roger Phillips. Idaho Statesman.
First wolf-hunting season a success, official says. Betsy Z. Russell. The Spokesman-Review
–new- Wolf hunt ends; state quota not met. Changes likely if second hunt allowed. By Nate Poppino. Times-News writer

185> 187 188 wolves were killed in the hunt that lasted as long 7 months in some places. The statewide quota was 220 wolves. So the quota wasn’t reached, but the various hunt zones all had sub-quotas and many of these were filled and some filled relatively quickly. All told, 5 of the 12 hunt zones did not meet their quota.

Here is the official Idaho wolf hunt page after season’s close