THIS BLOG HAS MOVED

If you are still using a link to this blog to get to The Wildlife News, please update your bookmark to: http://www.thewildlifenews.com

Welcome to the new version of The Wildlife News!

Well, we finally pulled the plug on the old blog. We hope you like the new one.

A few comments might have been lost in the transition. Sorry!!  No doubt there will also be some bugs that need to be corrected.

Ralph Maughan, Brian Ertz, Ken Cole

Winter Visitor in Leadore

Okay, no carcasses this time. Just an old mule deer doe with the maze-running skills of a champion lab rat. We looked out the kitchen window one afternoon and she had worked her way past Bob’s gauntlet of fence panels toward the prize: the bird feeder. Once at the center of the puzzle, she has to avoid the guy wires that prevent the post from falling over. But the reward comes as she inhales the fallen millet and sunflower seeds. Problem is, it doesn’t stop there. She has been known to knock the bird feeder clear off and stomp on it.

We were careful not to go outside the house or let the dogs out while she was inside, lest she panic and hurt herself. Bob actually thought he had her outfoxed with this assembly, but no. Next day he had to improve it, which has finally done the trick. No soup for you, Muley! Bird food is for birds, chipmunks, Ratatosk the squirrel, voles and deer mice. I know, I know: we are already working on a better design so this doesn’t happen next winter. We need a taller, sturdier post that will put the feeder out of reach of a deer on its hind legs. Or something.

Next day: Outside and pissed off about it! 

Teff Tiff

Earlier this month, a judge in Malheur County, Oregon, ordered a year’s probation for a grain farmer from Caldwell, Idaho. Wayne Carlson was convicted of harassing a rival tef grower. Tesfa Drar, the other farmer, is general manager of Teff Farms in Minnesota, and he says that “Carlson approached him and told him to go back to Ethiopia, where he came from.”

Teff is a grain, native to Ethiopia, which is acclimatized to high elevations and low precipitation. Sort of explains why it’s being tried out in Idaho and eastern Oregon, but I’m sure the short news stories aren’t telling us the whole story. Is the teff market really that cutthroat? Is teff cultivation just a niche market, or will it eventually take over some serious acreage? Any chance it will displace the water-sucking alfalfa that dewaters so many of the West’s streams? (Not holding my breath.)

It appears that Carlson, who founded The Teff Co. and has worked with many growers in the region, saw the Ethiopian from Minnesota as a rival poaching on “his” territory.

Carlson had worked in Ethiopia in the 1970s, and “was fascinated by the geological and climatic similarities of the Snake River region and the East African Rift.”

Tesfa Drar was in the area to talk to local farmers about partnerships. The altercation occurred in a restaurant in Vale.

The Teff Co.’s website tells us that “The Teff Company has been supplying the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities for nearly twenty years with American-grown Maskal Teff. With the fertile fields and ecologically sensitive farming methods some of the best quality teff in the world is produced in Idaho.”

I guess to Mr. Carlson, immigrants from east Africa are a good thing, as long as they buy their grain from a Swede from Caldwell, but not such a good thing if they threaten to actually compete with him. Ain’t free enterprise great?

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/04/28/1627713/caldwell-man-sentenced-for-harassing.html#ixzz1L3E3bnBK

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/11/09/1410632/caldwell-exotic-grain-producer.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1L3EfxJBV

Kathie Lynch on Yellowstone wolves: Cold April in Yellowstone

Kathie Lynch has written her latest Yellowstone wolf report.  It is always a cheer when Kathie writes about this place where wolves can live, wild and free. Wolf watching in April this year sounds very cold, but the wolves love it!

Ralph Maughan

– – – – – – – – –

April 2011 wolf notes by © Kathie Lynch-

In Yellowstone, “spring” break in April is not necessarily synonymous with springtime! Days of granular corn snow flurries (or worse), biting wind and morning temperatures in the teens often ended with the drip, drip, drip of water melting off the edge of receding snow banks. Even though it seemed like winter would never end, the Wicked Witch of the West was doomed.

Of course, as soil and sage replaced the diminishing blanket of snow, the wolves became even harder to spot. Considering that only three packs (Blacktail Plateau, Lamar Canyon, and Agate Creek) are likely possibilities for watching in the Northern Range these days, I felt lucky to see a wolf most days–although my first day was a “one dog day,” and that “dog” was a coyote!

The Blacktail pack provided some excellent viewing for a couple of days as they fed on a bison carcass at Blacktail Lakes. The wolves had to share the treasure with a big, dark grizzly boar who had awakened to a mother lode of winter-killed carcasses. Thanks to the extremely severe winter, the bears will have plenty to eat for a while and won’t have to usurp the wolves’ kills, as they often do.

Debris flow creates a big rapid on the Salmon River (central Idaho)

The new “Black Creek Blowout” could be the biggest rapid on the river-

This is big news for all who float or boat the main fork of the Salmon River below the Corn Creek put-in. I’d like to know more about what caused this blowout on April 1.

White water created on Salmon River by blowout. By Eric Barker. The Lewiston Tribune as reported in the Idaho Statesman.

Moose

Here is a moose that was killed on Highway 28 just north of Leadore, late this winter. I stopped to take these pictures because I wondered whether the moose had actually been killed by a car, or had been murdered by some motorized nimrod. Moose are so big that they bring out the idiot – never far below the surface – in some of the male apes hereabouts. Moose don’t flee when a vehicle stops nearby. They don’t seem to realize that people are No Damn Good.

My suspicions were aroused because there were no skid marks on the pavement near the carcass. However, apparently this was yet another case of death by vehicle. You can see the moose’s broken hind leg. But that big hole in her head may indicate that someone shot the disabled animal “to put it out of its misery.”

I felt more than usually sorry about this because the same moose (or its twin) had spent some time ambling around our place; we found its tracks out in the old sheep corrals. And one day I looked out the upstairs windows and there she was, stepping over barbed wire fences in her ludicrously effortless way. I do wonder what killed her – tractor-trailer, diesel pickup? Probably not a hybrid, or we would have read about human casualties.

So a young, healthy moose, its best reproductive years still ahead of it, was killed not by the evil wolves [sarcasm alert], but by the only moving thing out there bigger than she was. When I look at the decomposing pile of hair and meat and bone, I think that $10 a gallon gasoline can’t come fast enough. And I wonder, does anyone know where to get some Buprestid (sp?) beetles? I covet that skull, hole or no hole.

Northern Utah, the land of filthy air

Worst in the country in the winter-

“Oh ye mountains high and the clear blue sky . . .”  These are words from a Mormon hymn that isn’t sung in church much anymore. I don’t know the reason, but it is appropriate because northern Utah has slowly developed the dirtiest air the country in the winter. High emissions are one reason, but the biggest factor is the strong temperature inversions that form in the mountain valleys whenever high pressure builds. High pressure usually means good weather, but not in northern Utah.

Cache Valley is the best (or worst) example. In part, I grew up there. I still remember the dirty winter fogs and the cloud of black that hung over Logan, a large town, when I was in high school. The black is gone because coal isn’t burned any more for space heating, but the pollution is now more widespread and more toxic.

The population of Cache Valley has grown. This is in part because of its beauty 3 seasons of the year. This means more traffic. In the remaining agricultural parts of the valley, CAFOs have proliferated. The result is residents breathing sun-modified auto emissions and manure emissions throughout the winter.

Utah’s bad air. Opinion in the Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.airquality.utah.gov/aqp/  This URL gives real time pollution levels, and they are not bad in the springtime.

Why I Know Wolves Aren’t Running Through Downtown Leadore, Eating Little Children at the Bus Stop

This past winter a big fat doe was killed on the county road in front of our property; a couple of immature bald eagles soon appeared and we were worried about them perhaps getting struck by a car as they tried to feed on the narrow right-of-way. So we dragged the carcass into the field out behind our yard. Unfortunately, the result was that a couple of coyotes appeared in broad daylight and that was it for the eagles. “Bastards,” they said to us as they retreated to the cottonwoods along the creek. “Why couldn’t you leave well enough alone?” But the coyotes, one of whom had an injured or crippled foreleg, were happy. I walked right up on this fellow by moving when he had his head buried in the carcass. The moral of the story is that if we had a pack of wolves in the vicinity, this fellow wouldn’t still be alive to stand around and eat venison in the daylight with a bad foot.

New Mexico woman killed in attack by 4 dogs

Pit bull mixes attacked while she was on a walk-

I won’t bother to say the obvious about the danger of dogs versus wolves.

Killer dogs attack.  Idaho Statesman.

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? March 28, 2011

Note that this replaces the 26th edition. That editionwill now move slowly into the depths of the blog. 

Cottonwood in Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park. © Ken Cole

Please do not post entire articles here, just the link, the title, and your comments. Posting other people’s writing is a violation of copyright law and  takes up too much space.

WTF! What are they talking about here?

“NRA, SCI, and CSF Disavow Misleading Press Release-“

This news release/warning or whatever it is has been making the round. Can anyone figure it out? Ralph Maughan

– – – – – – – –
NRA, SCI, and CSF Disavow Misleading Press Release

Today the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation publicly disavowed a misleading press release distributed on Friday, March 11th to congressional offices and other outlets.  The press release blatantly misrepresents the position of these organizations regarding legislation to delist gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

The draft release was circulated by an individual representing Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife and Big Game Forever.  The individual representing these two groups was immediately advised to remove the aforementioned organizations named in the release.  Unfortunately, he did not, and the release was transmitted without correcting the inaccurate information.

The release in question claimed that the NRA, SCI and CSF along with the other organizations listed below are opposed to language relating to the delisting of gray wolves in spending legislation currently pending before the U.S. Congress.  In fact, these organizations support that language, as well as every other measure that has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to date addressing this important issue.

Congressional offices and members of the media should exercise caution in accepting as fact, or repeating, any claims made by Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Big Game Forever or any person claiming to represent them.   Due to the blatant misrepresentation contained in the press release circulated by these two groups, any claims they make in the future should be thoroughly investigated and independently confirmed.

If you would rather not receive future communications from National Rifle Association, let us know by clicking here.
National Rifle Association, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030 United States

Squirrel attacking residents of Vermont neighborhood

This is a small item of interest, but it is interesting that there are more squirrel attacks in the lower 48 states (one attack), then there are wolf attacks.

Squirrel attacking residents of Vt. neighborhood. AP in Yahoo.

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? March 15, 2011

Note that this replaces the 25th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Sticky Geranium and a Crab Spider © 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.

Penned Yellowstone National Park bison eat a lot of hay

The 600 temporarily captured bison eat about 6 tons of hay a day-

For whatever the real reason Montana’s Governor Schweitzer spared the bison captured at the northern boundary of Yellowstone Park, most folks on this forum were pleased. The bison do eat a lot of hay and, of course, the feeding increases the chance they will return next year, although they don’t seem to like being penned.

It’s interesting that the Park Service has not ruled out killing the 40% of the bison who tested positive for brucellosis. The pointlessness of this harsh action has been pointed out many times.

Captive bison eating Yellowstone National Park’s stockpile of hay. By Brett French. ‌ The Billings Gazette |

A chance to participate in a new study on carnivore conservation and management

We are posting this intriguing research effort by Dr. Jeremy Bruskotter. You are invited to participate.

Readers of the Wildlife News:

My colleagues and I are preparing a nationwide survey to help us better understand people’s preferences for large carnivore conservation and management.  In particular, we are interested in understanding the attitudes and policy preferences of people who are knowledgeable and/or care deeply about these issues (if you’re reading this, you fit that description).

The survey consists of questions designed to assess your attitudes and preferences concerning large carnivore conservation, endangered species restoration, and gray wolf management.  If this topic interests you, we could really use your help!  The questionnaire should take you about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

You can take the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XKZ8PCL
(More information is provided if you follow the link)

Thank you for your interest!

Jeremy Bruskotter, PhD
School of Environment & Natural Resources, The Ohio State University

Contact: 614/247-2118

‘The Wildlife News’ Site Update

Friends,

The Wildlife News is undergoing some changes.  We’ve been migrating the site over to a ‘self-hosted’ webpage which we hope will better accommodate the rich conversation/debate about western public land and wildlife issues you’ve grown to expect over on our corner of the inter-tubes.

By migrating the site from wordpress.com over to our own server we won’t need to pay to keep the site ad-free, we’ll be able to better illustrate many of the western wildlife issues of interest to you – as well as utilize many more ways for visitors to contribute.

Soon, the layout/look of the site will be slightly different.  The site will also have a different web address.  Don’t worry !  All those links to ‘wolves.wordpress.com’ will still work (redirect) and it’s the same community of folk it’s always been …

Thanks to The Wolf Recovery Foundation and Western Watersheds Project for their support of these much-needed changes !

Human Activity Displaces Predators more than their Prey

Human Activity Displaces Predators More Than Prey. Science Daily.

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? March 7, 2011

Note that this replaces the 24th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Tundra Swans and greater white-fronted geese. Near Burns, Oregon © 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.

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? February 24, 2011

Note that this replaces the 23rd edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Bighorn Ram © 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.

Three Men vs. Fifteen Hungry Lions. [VIDEO]

Over the years we have heard so many times from manly-men hunters who go out into the back country with their high powered rifles, handguns, and what have you, to then come back home with tales of being scared by wolves.

A recent story comes to mind but there are many others as well.

Maybe these manly-men should take some advice from these manlier-men in Africa. 😉

Three Men vs. Fifteen Hungry Lions. [VIDEO].
BBC One – Human Planet

Bison Abuse Merits Harsh Criticism

Guest editorial by Dr. Brian L. Horejsi-

Bison Abuse Merits Harsh Criticism

Harsh criticism is increasingly justified in todays world of National Park and public land management, a world in which regulatory retreat from principles and regulation is the new norm and “gut and grab” politics seem to be an every day threat. One such issue deserving of harsh review is the continuous persecution of bison in the Yellowstone ecosystem. What is happening on Yellowstone’s borders is no less offensive than the corralling and clubbing of dolphins in Japan, the clubbing of seal pups off Canada’s coast, or the indiscriminate slaughter of African elephants that eventually led to massive population declines barely a decade ago.

The Silence of the Fishers

We don’t really know what sounds these rare predators make-

The Silence of the Fishers. By Roland Kays. New York Times.

Do fishers scream? Just what kind of noise or noises do they make?

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? February 14, 2011

Note that this replaces the 22nd edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Coyote in the snow. © Timz

 

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.

Corn Prices and Falling Cattle Numbers

I’m a devotee of Market to Market, Iowa Public Television’s farm program. Because Idaho PTV broadcasts it at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. on Saturdays, I seldom see it on TV, but I can catch it on the internet anytime, and even see episodes I’ve missed.  To get in the spirit of the thing, I suppose that by 6:30 I should already have been up and out to check the sheep, or something. Oh, wait, I used to do that during lambing season — and at  midnight, at 2, at 4….it was enough already.  And my in-laws in Illinois, who actually do grow corn, are on the Redneck Riviera this time of year, so they’re not sitting at their kitchen table in their John Deere caps at that hour of the morning, either.

My favorite part of the program is the last segment, where one of several rotating commodities experts pontificate on whether it’s time to sell that big pile of corn that we all have in our backyard silos — fraught with tension, these discussions.  Will prices rise or fall?  Time to buy some puts?  Fun, especially if you have no money invested yourself.  My favorite gurus are Virgil Robinson, Sue Martin, and Tomm Pfitzenmaier.  I love Virgil because he predicted the big run-up in grain prices back in 2008.  I like Sue because I can imagine being her, if I’d been born with better career sense.  Virgil always thinks prices are rising, and Sue always thinks prices are about to fall, so if you alternated acting on their advice, you’d probably break even.   Tomm Pfitzenmaier — well, I just like his name.

So what are these experts saying?   I’ll paraphrase the last few episodes.  Cotton first: where prices have been screaming higher and higher for months and are now over $1.60 a pound.  This after years and years, decades really, of prices between 40 and 60 cents a pound, prices that effectively held down other fibers, like wool. Some of this was due to the subsidies paid to American agribusiness to grow cotton, one of the most soil-draining, pesticide-intensive crops ever.  And it’s not like we actually even make anything from our cotton anymore: we apparently ship almost all of it to mills in Asia.  But the subsidies caused overproduction which in turn bankrupted poor cotton farmers in Africa.

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? February 7, 2011

Note that this replaces the 21st edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

White tail deer fawn © 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.

Hunting versus animal rights

Editorial. By Ralph Maughan

I hate this argument.  It can’t be resolved and prevents people from discussing wildlife.  It just results in stereotyping and bad feelings. In the larger world, the argument is deliberately pushed by those who do not want to see any cooperation between hunters and those who don’t hunt.

There are many kinds of hunters and many kinds of people who don’t hunt.  Dividing them into just two groups distorts reality; so, of course, people get angry.

May I suggest that you ignore these discussions if they get started.  I’m going to shut them down if they do.  Those who persist will be asked to comment on another blog, not this one.

~Comments are closed~

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? January 24, 2011

Note that this replaces the 20th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Sunset on Mt Borah and Chilly Slough © Ken Cole

We understand this page is slow loading.  We will take care of it this evening.  It has probably become too big. Ralph Maughan

Obama Administration Refuses to Reform Public-lands Grazing Fee

Fee is only $1.35 to graze a calf cow pair for a month.

Obama Administration Refuses to Reform Public-lands Grazing Fee
For immediate release – January 18, 2011

Contacts: Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project, 520.623.1878
Mark Salvo, WildEarth Guardians, 503.757.4221
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, 928.310.6713
Brent Fenty, Oregon Natural Desert Association, 541.330.2638
Ronni Egan, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, 970.385.9577

Tucson, Ariz. – After a lengthy delay, five conservation organizations finally received an answer today from the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture concerning the artificially low fee federal agencies charge for livestock grazing on public lands. Claiming higher priorities, both agencies declined to address the outdated grazing fee formula. The government’s response was prompted by a lawsuit filed by Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, and Oregon Natural Desert Association.

Conservation organizations submitted a petition in 2005, asking the government to address the grazing fee formula and adjust the fee in order to cover the costs of the federal grazing program, which costs taxpayers at least $115 million dollars annually according to a Government Accountability Office report. Conservationists contend that Americans lose even more in compromised wildlife habitat, water quality, scenic views, and native vegetation.

“Today’s long-awaited answer was a huge disappointment,” said Greta Anderson, Arizona Director for Western Watersheds Project. “Year after year, we watch as the government gives a sweetheart deal to public lands ranchers at the expense of taxpayers and the environment. We had hoped the Obama Administration would have done better, but it’s business-as-usual for the western livestock industry.”

“Subsidizing the livestock industry at the cost of species, ecosystems, and taxpayers is plainly bad public land policy,” said Taylor McKinnon, public lands campaigns director with the Center for Biological Diversity, “Today’s choice to continue that policy is both a disappointment and a blight on the Obama administration’s environmental record.”

Woolly Mammoth Could Soon Be Resurrected

If this is done, should a population of the them be created?

And if a population is created, how should it be managed?  I see great potential for controversy here 😉

• Woolly Mammoth Could Soon Be Resurrected. Scientist says extinct beasts could be back within 4 years. By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
• Mammoth cloning possible in 4 years – Mammoth babies coming. NotHuffington (blog)

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? January 10, 2011

Note that this replaces the 19th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Red Breasted Nuthatch © 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.

Google used to make mass-animal-death map

It’s a lot more than a flock of dead blackbirds in Arkansas-

Google’s mass-animal-death map. The Week.

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? December 4, 2010

Note that this replaces the 18th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Western Rattlesnake © 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.

Northern Arapaho seek to restore historic link to buffalo

Northern Arapaho seek to restore historic link to buffalo.
By TOM MAST Casper Star-Tribune

Two new cases of brucellosis in Wyoming.

Park County bison tests positive for brucellosis
By BOB MOEN – Associated Press.

Herd tests positive for brucellosis
By BRENNA BRAATEN – Cody Enterprise.

Idaho sheriff denies SSS raffle aims for wolves

And people wonder why wolf advocates are wary of state management of wolves…..

Idaho sheriff denies SSS raffle aims for wolves.
Washington Examiner

Intelligentsia of the North Fork

Saw this sign late in October near Gibbonsville, Idaho. This business serves beer and pizza to hunters.  I wonder if the Guv knows how literally some people here take his pronouncements. Then again, he probably does.  And doesn’t care.

New Hurdle for California Condors May Be DDT From Years Ago

DDT breakdown products and lead poisoning still threaten this high profile endangered species-

New Hurdle for California Condors May Be DDT From Years Ago. By John Moir. New York Times.

Bighorns transplanted to WY Seminoe Mountains doing well

. . . and another transplant to this obscure mountain range planned-

We’ve been following this for about a year now, and it’s good to hear good news on bighorn sheep because so much has been bad.

Article on the transplants. By Jeff Gearino. Casper Star-Tribune in the Billings Gazette.

Seminoe Mountains BLM photo

Hunting and Predators–does it work?

George Wuerthner questions whether hunting predators solves human conflicts with them-

Wuerthner argues that a lot of the arguments in favor of hunting predators fail to take into account the contradictory effects of sport hunting them, such as fewer wolves than before the hunt but distributed in more (but smaller) wolf packs might kill more elk than before the hunt.

He is hardly the first to make this argument.  It has been noted for years that general killing of coyotes can actually increase the number of coyotes, and even it it doesn’t, increase the number of domestic sheep killed by coyotes.

Hunting and Predators—does it make Sense? Unfiltered by George Wuerthner, New West.

Proposed bill would strip feds of wolf authority within Montana

Another temper tantrum from the reactionaries in Montana.

State Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman is planning on reintroducing a bill which claims that the Federal government has no right to manage wolves in Montana. This contradicts numerous court rulings and would most certainly cause the state its present ability to manage wolves and further put any delisting effort out of reach for the region.

Of course it puts in place a few ridiculous sanctions against wolf supporters who may be “party to a lawsuit with the purpose of preventing or delaying the implementation of state management of wolves.”

Another overreach by the reactionary right who want to distract people away from the issues that their ideology fails to solve. This won’t solve joblessness or any of the other problems faced by many in this poor economic climate. It might make a few people happy but the only thing that is really clear is that more jumping up and down and screaming about how unfair things are doesn’t solve the problem that they have identified.

Go ahead Joe. The wolves will thank you.

Proposed bill would strip feds of wolf authority within Montana.
Rob Chaney Missoulian

Felony refiled in poaching case

Tony Mayer faces loss of hunting privileges and prison.

After one of the charges, a felony, had been dismissed due to improper procedure with rating the elk antlers on the Boone and Crockett scale, the charge has been refiled. Tony Mayer, the founder of an anti-wolf website, once again faces a lifelong hunting ban.

Felony refiled in poaching case.
Idaho Mountain Express

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? November 5, 2010

Note that this replaces the 17th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Bitterroot © 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.

Records of Wolves in Idaho Predate Settlement

This was the title of an October 15 article I wrote for the Farm & Ranch supplement of the Idaho Falls Post Register, in rebuttal to an October 1 article by Heather Smith Thomas. Heather writes a weekly column in the F&R, usually about livestock management, but she ran several consecutive columns about hard times on the range for ranchers due to wolves. A lot of her verbiage consisted of interviews with ranchers, and however much we may disagree with the sentiments, still, that’s what they said. However, when she began issuing flat, unattributed statements that there were no wolves in central Idaho before white settlement (they followed the cows and sheep in, don’t you know), I couldn’t let it pass, and e-mailed the editor, Bill Bradshaw. “Six hundred words by Tuesday,” he said, and this was the result:

Heather Smith Thomas’ article “Wolf Losses Go Beyond Actual Kills,” (Intermountain Farm and Ranch, October 1) is wrong in its assertions that wolves did not live in central Idaho before white settlement, and that “the wolves came later, following sheep and cattle herds brought into this valley.”

She cites no sources for this claim, except to mention that during Lewis and Clark’s stay in Lemhi County in 1805, they observed little game and no wolves. Apparently, if the Corps of Discovery didn’t see it, it must not have existed.

Yet, a little research would have turned up first-hand accounts of both abundant big game — and wolves — in central Idaho long before white settlement.

In 1831, for instance, the American Fur Company trapper Warren Ferris saw the Big Lost River valley “covered with Buffalo, many of which we killed.” His party also killed 100 buffalo, and two grizzly bears, on the Pahsimeroi River.
The following summer on Birch Creek, “our slumbers were disturbed by the bellowing of a herd of bulls, near us; and by the howling of a multitude of wolves, prowling about the buffalo. We were approached by a formidable grizzly bear, who slowly walked off, however, after we had made some bustle about our beds.”

On August 24, “we followed the trail to the forks of Salmon River, passing several other [deserted] encampments, which were now occupied by bears, wolves, ravens and magpies, which were preying upon the yet undevoured particles of dried meat, and fragments of skins scattered around them….in the night we were serenaded by the growling of bears and wolves, quarrelling for the half-picked bones about them.”

A few days later, “eight miles into the mountains that separate the valley of Salmon River from the Big Hole….we killed a grey wolf which was fat, and made us a tolerable supper; we likewise wounded a grizzly bear…”

They ate another wolf in the Big Hole, then wounded a buffalo. When they found the carcass the next day, it was surrounded by “thirty or forty wolves.” They drove the wolves off and scavenged the remains, while the wolves waited “politely” for them to finish. Continuing on to the Beaverhead, they bagged elk, deer, and antelope.

Between 1827 and 1832, Hudson’s Bay Company factors Peter Skene Ogden and John Work led several trapping expeditions into central Idaho, where scores of hunters and their families found abundant bighorn sheep just outside the city limits of Salmon. They killed buffalo in the Lemhi Valley foothills, saw “incredible” herds of antelope near Copper Basin, and yet more buffalo in the Pahsimeroi Valley. They trapped thousands of beaver. On what is now the INEL, buffalo were so plentiful that one of Work’s expeditions left most of the meat “for the wolves and starving Snakes [Shoshone Indians].”

In the winter of 1831-32, Captain Bonneville’s American trapping expedition moved their camp from near Carmen to the North Fork, where they found “numerous gangs of elk” and large flocks of bighorn sheep, which were easy to hunt and delicious.

In 1834, ornithologist John Kirk Townsend accompanied an expedition to the Columbia River which passed through the Salmon River country. He described an abundance of almost tame “blacktailed deer” in the Salmon River mountains. And somewhere between Big Lost River and Camas Prairie, he noticed “a deserted Indian camp” and “several white wolves lurking around in the hope of finding remnants of meat.”

Wolves are native to central Idaho. There’s no need to invent a past that never was, in an attempt to justify a point of view.

Heather has another article  up this morning in the Farm & Ranch (“Wolves Go Where the Food Roams“), in which she admits that yes, there were a few wolves, but they were smaller, different wolves. Then she starts making stuff up again: “There were no elk in central Idaho in recent history.”  Stay tuned as Round 2 begins!

Sheep link to bighorn illness adds to grazing controversy

BLM reviewing sheep allotments within 30 miles of bighorn populations.

Bighorn Sheep © Ken Cole

This is another exposé about the fallout of the Payette bighorn viability decision and the latest science which conclusively shows that domestic sheep diseases kill bighorn sheep. What jumps out at me is the information contained near the bottom of the article which says that the BLM is evaluating its policy regarding the two species in Idaho.

“BLM spokeswoman Jessica Gardetto said her agency is working statewide with agencies and grazing permittees on regional separation response plans, but has no timeline for their completion. Biologists are using a 30-mile separation as a guide and will review grazing allotments within that distance first.”

The bigger question here regards what is happening elsewhere. Are the BLM and Forest Service reviewing their sheep grazing permits in other states? I should hope so because, in places like Nevada, where sheep grazing routinely occurs extremely close to, or within, occupied bighorn habitat, the risk of exposure is extremely high and underestimated by the agencies in favor of the “custom and culture” of the elite ranchers who often turn out to be big corporations like Barrick Gold or the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Outdoor recreation: Two-wheeled off-road safer than ATVs

Review shows ATV crashes much more likely to kill or injure than dirt bikes-

This is probably a big surprise. It is to me. I broke my collarbone on a dirt bike way back in ’84.  I didn’t ride them again.

Surprise: Two Wheels Safer Than Four in Off-Road Riding and Racing, Study Finds. ScienceDaily.

Have you come across any interesting Wildlife News? October 5, 2010.

Note that this replaces the 16th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Great Gray Owl near Beaver Creek Summit (Lowman area), 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.

Supposedly extinct red fox discovered near Yosemite National Park

Good News ! :

Photo: Sierra Nevada red fox in Lassen Peak region/Keith Slausen, US Forest Service

Supposedly extinct red fox discovered near Yosemite National Park – LA Times

Deadly illness continues to spread among Washington bighorn sheep

Preemptive killing didn’t stop the outbreak.

After wildlife officials killed many bighorn sheep last winter, in the Yakima River Canyon, to prevent the spread of deadly pneumonia, the outbreak continues to kill most of the newborn lambs.

Deadly illness spreading among bighorn sheep .

Seattle Times

Oregon range rider hired to watch out for wolves, quits

The unique Oregon effort garnered international attention-

OPB News · Wolf-Watching Range Rider Quits.

Don’t know what really happened here, but the suggestion that the range rider was forced out for not being anti-wolf enough is disturbing.

I think it is true that there is social pressure in many rural areas to be anti-wolf.  If you are not, best be quiet if you don’t want trouble. This, of course, is how cultures maintain their hold over people, and one reason why many young people leave the little town they grew up in when they are old enough and get an opportunity.

Have you seen some interesting wildlife news? Sept. 12, 2010

Note that this replaces the 15th edition. That edition has been moved into the blog’s archives.

The Bulls of August. Near Hells Canyon. Aug. 9, 2010. Copyright Ralph Maughan

School bus-sized boulder hits Madison Dam. Ennis Lake to be drained

About the “boulder.” Story by Lauren Russell, Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

Update Sept. 4. Road closed due to damaged dam to open for Labor Day weekend. Bozeman Chronicle.

Have you come across some interesting Wildlife News? Aug. 18, 2010

Note that this replaces the 14th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Western Toad © 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.

Have you come across some interesting Wildlife News? Aug. 5, 2010

This replaces the 13th edition. That edition has now gone down into the depths of the archives-

– – – – –

So are people getting tired of this format? Does something new need to be done?
Any comments on this  will be welcome. Webmaster

Another pneumonia outbreak in Montana’s bighorn sheep

Herd lives close to site of previous die-offs

Bighorn Sheep lambs © Ken Cole

After last winter’s disastrous die-off of bighorn sheep in Montana, Utah, Nevada, and Washington State it seemed the news couldn’t get any worse for bighorn sheep. Well, today comes news of another outbreak of pneumonia in a heard of 100 bighorn sheep east of Hamilton, Montana. Officials have shot 8 of the sheep and have found at least 5 were suffering from pneumonia.

Pneumonia found in 5 bighorn sheep near Hamilton.
KULR-8 News

More Pneumonia Discovered in Montana’s Bighorn Sheep Population
New West

USFWS investigates Mexican wolf killings

Two Dead, another missing

Two alpha males Mexican gray wolves have been found dead under suspicious circumstances and another collared alpha male wolf is missing. This is a disaster for the struggling population of wolves in Arizona and New Mexico.

US investigates wolf killings.
Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

Have you seen interesting wildlife news. July 5, 2010

This replaces the 12th edition. That edition has now gone down into the depths of the archives-

Wolf Delisting Court Hearing: Sense and Nonsense

Louisa Willcox of NRDC writes about the Delisting Hearing

Louisa Wilcox, of NRDC, has written a great piece about the hearing and how the arguments by the government were disjointed and more about the politics than the law. She raises some good points and gives more information about the judge’s questions of the government’s conflicting arguments.

“Is it rational for the states to manage wolves when their plans are not legally binding or enforceable? When their primary defense is a “trust us” argument? Was not the failure of the states to recover wolves a major reason that wolves got listed in the first place? Given the states’ track record, what rational person would be satisfied with a “trust us” defense?”

Have you seen interesting wildife news? June 16, 2010

Note that this replaces the 11th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Nesting Sandhill Crane © 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.

Appeals court denies earthworm protection

Court says there is not enough evidence to show that worm is threatened.

The recently rediscovered giant Palouse earthworm won’t be given protection because not enough is known about it.

Appeals court denies earthworm protection.
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS – The Associated Press

Have you seen interesting wildife news? June 3, 2010

Note that this replaces the 10th edition. That edition will now move slowly into the depths of the blog.

Antelope on the Big Desert NW of Mud Lake, Idaho. March 2010. Copyright Ralph Maughan

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.

The Spill, The Scandal and the President

The inside story of how Obama failed to crack down on the corruption of the Bush years – and let the world’s most dangerous oil company get away with murder

A revealing article in Rolling Stone points out how Obama and Salazar did nothing to reform the well known corruption at MMS. It is expected that industry will try to cut as many corners as possible but the culture at the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service did nothing to curb the corruption of gas and oil companies and instead facilitated the current destruction of the Gulf of Mexico.

“Bush owns eight years of the mess,” says Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican from California. “But after more than a year on the job, Salazar owns it too.”

Opinion poll in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle to vote on.

There is a poll today Bozeman Daily Chronicle which asks:

Do you agree with the decision by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to at least double the number of wolves that hunters can kill next year?

There is a concerted effort by wolf foes to manipulate this poll so I thought it would be good to jump into the fray as well. I think it is time the pro-wolf folks speak just as loudly as those who are willing to intimidate and lie at the top of their lungs to rid the Northern Rockies of any meaningful benefit of wolves. We should speak just as fervently but we can do it without the intimidation and name calling and we don’t have to make up crap because the facts are on our side.

You can vote here:

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/poll_eebadb72-6139-11df-a987-001cc4c03286.html

Nanosunscreens threaten your health

Nanoparticles of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are not safe-

This is very important for outdoor enthusiasts.

There has always been controversy over sunscreens — about their effectiveness, screening UVA versus UVB, and migration of sunscreen chemicals into your body.  Two you could always count on for safety, however, were the mineral oxides (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide), bright white and inert.

However, people didn’t like the white film they left on their skin.

In recent years very small particles over many elements and chemicals have been developed.  The physical and chemical properties of these tiny particles are amazing, useful, and sometimes dangerous. Nano-sized particles of a chemical often behave very differently than powders of a larger size. With zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, the white film and somewhat greasy feel disappears.  They are invisible soon after application. They still reflect UV rays. However, they sink deep into your skin. This allows the reflected rays to bounce sideways into your skin. Much worse, some of the oxide sinks right through your skin into your blood. From there they are distributed throughout your body.

These are very hard powders, even nanosized.  Your body cannot expel them. They stick in your organs and they provide a surface for many kinds of chemical reactions. Almost all sunscreens with these oxides today are nanosized, and they don’t have to tell you.

Friends of the Earth just put out an alert on them, but I have rejected their use for about three years now.  You can still get the effective, safe, old-fashioned oxides, but it usually means ordering online. You won’t find them at the grocery or drug store. I ordered some at Amazon.com.

Have you seen any interesting wildife news? May 23

Note that this replaces the 9th edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the depths of the blog.

Lewis' woodpecker © 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.

Norm Bishop’s comments at Montana wolf meeting

There will be media stories, good comments, and ignorant angry comments, but here’s one from a person who knows-

Without commenting specifically on numbers or distribution of hunting quotas, I offer just these notes for your consideration.

Aldo Leopold; forester, wildlife ecologist, conservationist, father of game management in America, lived from 1887 to 1948.  In 1944, he reviewed Young and Goldman’s Wolves of North America, which chronicled the extirpation of wolves.  In his review, Leopold  asked, “Are we really better off without wolves in the wilder parts of our forests and ranges?”  He also asked, “Why, in the necessary process of extirpating wolves from the livestock ranges of Wyoming and Montana, were not some of the uninjured animals used to restock the Yellowstone?”  Thirty years later, in 1974, the planning began, and in 1995, twenty years later, wolves were restored to Yellowstone.

Leopold’s thinking about deer, wolves, and forests is epitomized by his essay, “Thinking Like a Mountain.”  In brief, he shot a wolf.  In later years he came to “suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain (and its plants) live in mortal fear of its deer.”  To deer, we could add elk.  In Yellowstone, the lack of wolves led to woody species like willow and aspen being suppressed by elk browsing.  With the return of wolves, willows are growing, once-rare birds are nesting in them, beavers are building dams from the willows, and the wolves are feeding a couple of dozen species of scavengers, including eagles and grizzly bears.

I’m far more concerned about disease than about predators on our large game.

Chronic wasting disease could wipe out our elk and deer.  Wolves test elk and deer, looking for vulnerable animals all day, 365 days a year.  You and I can’t do that.   N. Thompson Hobbs (2006) evaluated the potential for selective predation by wolves to reduce or eradicate chronic wasting disease (CWD) in populations of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park.  If it works, can we afford to throw away our only means of controlling CWD?

Hurricane season comes to oil slick country

Will hurricanes add to the on-going unnatural disaster?

Hurricane season begins June 1, and its peak is late August when the the relief wells might have finally stopped the oil gusher. Hurricane Season Raises New Fears. By Kenneth Chang. New York Times.

I recall that last year the hurricane season was quite mild in terms of them hitting the United States, but a tropical storm did form in the Gulf of Mexico in June and pounded ashore near where the oil slick floats.

Update: As if to underscore the beginning of hurricane season, the first tropical storm of the season hit central American May 30-31 and killed about 150 people. Nearly 150 dead from Central America storm. By the CNN Wire Staff

Bob Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management, to take over running MMS

Not sure what this will mean for BLMs programs, if anything–

Bob Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management to take over running MMS. Huffington Post.

Buffalo Field Campaign – A Buffalo’s Trail Of Tears

Here is a presentation on the annual hazing of the last wild and free buffalo.

Buffalo Field Campaign – A Buffalo’s Trail Of Tears.

Montana deals with worries over worms

The msm Media just aren’t buying the scare tactics-

“I believe that there are some who wish it … to be the silver bullet to remove the wolf,” said state Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, R-Kalispell. “And it isn’t going to work.” Read the rest in “State deals with worries over worms” in the Daily InterLake. By Jim Mann.

These folks should face it, aside from their own group of wolf haters, the newspapers, TV and regular people just aren’t buying their scare about tapeworms.

Mt. St. Helens blew its top 30 years ago

The landscape has been reborn-

However, the rebirth is, as you can see below, a hundred years from maturity.

Aftermath of Mt. Saint Helens in 2008. Copyright Ralph Maughan

Mount St. Helens Eruption (PHOTOS): National Geographic Marks Its 30th Anniversary

How far did the ash travel from the Mount St. Helens eruption? The Big Blog

Idaho Fish and Game authorizes wolf kills in Lolo Zone

Will allow 4 outfitters to kill 5 wolves each

Idaho Fish and Game authorizes wolf kills in Lolo Zone.
Lewiston Tribune Online

New major book on wolves

I assume this replaces “Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation”, ed. by Mech and Botiani-

The above is a very important book that I consult often and learned a great deal from. It is time for an update given all the recent research.

The new book is The World of Wolves: New Perspectives on Ecology, Behavior and Management. Edited by Musiani, Botiani, and Paquet

I just preordered it from Amazon.com for only $24. It will be $35 when it comes out later this month.

Update: Amazon has canceled pre-orders on this book. Larry Zuckerman posted in comments that these men have another new book out:  “A New Era for Wolves and Men”
see: http://www.amazon.com/New-Era-Wolves-People-Environment/dp/1552382702. I ordered that one instead.

Have you seen any interesting wildife news? May 11

Note that this replaces the 8th edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the depths of the blog.

Burrowing Owls © 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.

Yellowstone bison drive planned through this week

To hell with private property rights, to hell with wildlife, we must protect cattle that aren’t even here.

Hazing bison inside Yellowstone National Park on Madison River ©Ken Cole

The ridiculous annual event of hazing bison during their calving season is underway even though this year the bison are likely to come back out of the Park because the green-up of grass hasn’t started there due to late season snowstorms.

Each year the residents of the West Yellowstone area have to endure this fiasco on behalf of a few ranchers who whine and cry that their cattle might get brucellosis from bison when they don’t even bring them to the area a until after the buffalo have all calved. This year, due to the late green-up, it will likely be even later.

On numerous occasions I have witnessed Montana’s helicopters chasing buffalo deep into the Park even beyond the border of Wyoming in front of bewildered tourists. Last year, while hazing herds of newborn calves and their mothers off of private property where there never will be cattle again, Buffalo Field Campaign filmed a calf that had broken its leg in the malay of the hazing operation. These kinds of incidents are a common occurrence and there is no justification for it.

Plight of the Pacific lamprey: Is it a keeper?

The fish is in serious trouble due to dams on the Lower Snake and Columbia Rivers

The Pacific Lamprey had seen drastic declines in population over the last few decades and is quickly becoming a rare sight. Last year it was estimated that only 30,000 crossed Bonneville Dam, down from 350 million to 400 million in the 60’s and 70’s.

via Plight of the Pacific lamprey: Is it a keeper?.
Seattle Times Newspaper

A Letter From: The Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park

British Painter Julie Askew Ventures Into The Dale Of Wild Wolves and Goes ‘Eye to Eye’

Rather than post the story about the ignorant Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks new wolf quota for 2010, I am running this story and artwork by an English painter published in the latest Wildlife Art Journal. Todd Wilkinson of the WAJ has made this available for free for several days. It lifts my spirits to see the beauty portrayed by someone who seems more than cattle.

A Letter From: The Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park. By Julie Askew. Wildlife Art Journal

– – – – – – – – –

Here is another photo essay from the Wildlife Art Journal. The Great Aerial Plains: Christopher Boyer’s Amazing Views From The Sky. These are beautiful and horrible photos of how the Plains actually are. It’s horrible ones — not fun to take, but are probably the most important.

Idaho: White Cloud – Boulder Mountains Wilderness bill revised, reintroduced

Another story on the reintroduction of a revised CIEDRA-

Wilderness bill revised, reintroduced. Controversial land transfers near Stanley dropped. By Jason Kauffman. Idaho Mountain Express Staff Writer

~~

We posted an earlier story on this.

Have you seen any interesting wildife news? May 2 – May 11

Note that this replaces the 7th edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the depths of the blog.

Vultures in Scott Valley, east of Cascade, 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.

Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness bill is finally introduced in US Senate

Will 2010 finally be the year Idaho’s Boulder and White Cloud Mountains get Wilderness protection?

Although Representative Simpson (R-Idaho) has not introduced his CIERDA bill this year in the House, Idaho’s two U.S. Senators yesterday introduced it in the Senate. If it moves, it will probably get attached to omnibus or other legislative and sort of by-pass the House.

This year’s version, which I have not reviewed, strips out some controversial public land giveaways at Stanley, Idaho.

Unlike Senator Tester’s Wilderness bill in Montana, the Idaho bill provides a mechanism and incentives for the voluntary retirements of grazing allotments.

Story: Rep. Simpson’s Boulder-White Cloud bill is introduced in the US Senate. By John Miller. AP

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Hyenas’ Laughter Signals Deciphered

The laugh tells other hyenas the animal’s social status, age, health, and just plain identity-

It also has many other uses such as the recruitment of allies and warning.

Hyenas’ Laughter Signals Deciphered. ScienceDaily.

Have you seen any interesting wildife news? March 16 to March 30

Note that this replaces the 4th 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.

Have you seen any interesting wildife news? March 1 to March 15

Note that this replaces the Third edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the “bowels” of the blog.

Please don’t post entire articles here, just the link, title and your comments about the article. It violates copyright law.

Have you run across any interesting news, February 20 to the 28th

Note that this replaces the second edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the “bowels” of the blog.

F&G to get tough on wolves

This story is one outcome of the leaked Feb. 10 memo-

There was no indication Idaho Fish and Game was ever going to release their memo to the media, but thanks to JeffE, who sent it to me, it has moved out into the public beyond this forum.

Story in today’s Times-News. F&G to get tough on wolves. By Nate Poppino – Times-News writer.

Notice how this is all directed to protect the livestock industry.  Is IDF & G now the Idaho Department of Livestock?

These “unacceptable levels” of livestock losses for 2009 in Idaho were 76 cattle (mostly calves) and 295 sheep. Although the Director of Dept. of Fish and Game implies this is an increase, it is an increase only for sheep. In dollar values this was offset by a decline in cattle losses to wolves. In 2008, 104 cattle were killed by wolves. In 2009 that dropped to a mere 76. Sheep losses increased from 215 to 295.  Individual sheep are worth less than cattle.

For some reason, livestock losses to wolves make the news. Much larger losses get almost no media attention. This suggests to me attention to wolf losses shows a hidden agenda at work unrelated to the actual size of loss. To illustrate this, consider the post from April 24, 2009. SE Montana blizzard kills far more livestock in 2 days than Montana wolves in a year. Will the blizzard story last more than a couple days? Looking back, the story lasted just one day in the on-line news.  However, the size of the livestock loss was greater than the loses to wolves in Montana that year. Note: I never got a final count. I read somewhere that with losses in the Dakotas, it was over 7000!

Have you run across any interesting news, February 11 to 19, 2010

If so, post the URL, name of the story and the newspaper, magazine, etc. it comes from and a few of your thoughts-

Note that this replaces the first edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the “bowels” of the blog.

Huge boulder tumbles onto town next to Zion National Park

Another boulder is set to tumble down and smash things-

Massive rolling boulder rocks town of Rockville, UT. Buildings, vehicles damaged; another rock unstable. By Mark Havnes. The Salt Lake Tribune.

In the comments to this article in the SL Trib, one person wondered if folks looked uphill before they built?  I have often wondered about this in towns set in deep canyons.

Have you run across any interesting news? Feb. 4 – 11

If so, post the URL, name of the story and the newspaper, magazine, etc. it comes from and a few of your thoughts-

This idea came from Ron Kearns. Others thought it might be a good idea. It  may be a way to avoid the pitfalls of an open forum. Let’s try it.

Note that this post is no longer a “sticky post.” That means it will drift downward as new posts appear, gradually dropping to the “old posts” category.  What I’d like to do is put up a new “interesting news from readers post” every week.  If there are any comments about this please make them. webmaster

– – – – –

Some thoughts.

You can also write an essay.

Don’t post the actual text of an article (probably copyright violation)

Read the comments above yours. Some might have already posted the story

Yet another plane crash for wildlife counters

These 2 were not as lucky as the Idaho counters/wolf darters-

Fish and Wildlife plane crash in Oregon kills 2. News-Times.com. AP

Wolves to be tracked, darted, collared in Frank Church Wilderness

Forest Service will cave to Idaho Fish and Game’s plan to grossly abuse the concept of Wilderness-

Even though 90% of the comments received were opposed to Idaho Fish Game’s plan to violate the Wilderness Act because they want a better count of the number of wolves in the Frank Church Wilderness, this week the Forest Service told interested parties they were approving the request.

In 2006 Idaho Fish and Game was fended off, but this year they were back again claiming they needed to use high tech methods to count wolves in Wilderness. Because they have promised to maintain a population of 500 wolves in Idaho, well above the 100 required by the wolf restoration plan, their plan for unnecessarily exact counting is hard to understand. It makes folks very suspicious about their motives.  Worse this is a threat to the entire American Wilderness System on behalf of a one-state interest.

The purpose of the Wilderness System is to maintain wildness. Having high tech monitoring of the individual animals located by flying low, darting, and landing in this supposedly forever protected land is an abomination.

The Forest Service is advancing this plan by means of an non-appealable “categorical exclusion.” That type of document  is for public land matters so unimportant that an environmental analysis is not needed. The only remedy is to go immediately to court. The whole thing is a fraud. If it is so unimportant why did they fly up from Ogden, Utah to tell people their intentions?

The radio collaring is expected to begin in March.

Update added late on 12-17. Will helicopters land in Church wilderness? State seeking Forest Service approval to help collar wolves. By Jon Duval. Idaho Mountain Express Staff Writer

– – – –
Past stories on this.

Dec. 16. Scott Phillip’s LTE. No helicopters in wilderness. Idaho Mountain Express.

October, 2, 2009. Idaho again wants to land choppers in wilderness. By John Miller. AP
Sept. 18, 2009. Idaho Department of Fish & Game Moves to Collar Wolves in the Frank-Church Wilderness. By Brian Ertz
August 2006. Captive Wilderness. Discover Magazine.

Geothermal Project in California Is abruptly abandoned

It caused earthquakes!

Geothermal Project in California Is Shut Down. By James Glanz. New York Times.

The person who emailed this story to me wrote, “Boy – If you’ve ever read a geothermal EA to destroy the nearest hot springs  – BLM never says anything about the earthquakes …”

– – – – –
I have been skeptical of geothermal energy using hot springs and geothermal anomalies, which this seems to have been. No hot spring seems safe, nor even Yellowstone Park when there is a boomlet for geothermal power.

Open forum

This is for open discussion.

Yellowstone hotspot’s giant magma plume slowly eats its way northeast

Scientists confirm 500-mile finger of molten rock under Yellowstone-

Park’s giant magma plume eating up mountains. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole Daily.

Actually the hot spot is probably stationary. The apparent surface movement is due to the North American plate drifting to the southwest over the spot. The new information (at least to me) that is interesting is that the top of the plume is deformed like the wind blows smoke from a fire. So while the internal origin of the actual hotspot may still be under what is now SE Oregon, the magma rises at an angle. It rises toward the northeast.

I was also interested to learn that the source of the hot spot is very deep in the Earth. It is at least 500 miles deep. It might go all the way to the core.

The fact that the plume rises at an angle might well explain geologically recent volcanic activity well to the southwest of Yellowstone Park, e.g., the Craters of the Moon lava flows and cinder cones and the lesser known Willow Creek cinder cones and lava flows to the north of Soda Springs, Idaho. It might take a long time for the continental plate to pass completely over the magma plume.

My photos of the Willow Creek Lava Field.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4245367
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/12549114

Gros Ventre habitat plan would help swans

Restoration proposal would cover more than 600 acres, bring back streamside vegetation-

Wildlife habitat keeps getting better in the Gros Ventre river drainage.

Gros Ventre habitat plan would help swans. Halpin restoration proposal would cover more than 600 acres, bring back streamside vegetation. By Angus M. Thuermer. Jackson Hole News and Guide