Cats pass Toxoplasmosis to Wildlife

Here is a real threat-

Although anti-wolf people try to scare us with the seldom caught Hydatid disease which is almost entirely spread, by dogs, fox, and coyotes, here is the latest on a very important threat from scat — domestic cat scat — toxoplasmosis gondii.

I have mentioned T. gondii a number of times. The latest research (from the Journal of Wildlife Diseases) show cats sicken many kinds of small wildlife, as well as 25 per cent !! of the human race. Cats Pass Disease to Wildlife, Even in Remote Areas. Science Daily.

One of the most creepy things about T. gondii is that directs the brain of the host animal (what about people?) in some cases. For example, it makes rats and mice love the smell of cat. How excellent for the cat! How Different Strains of Parasite Infection Affect Behavior Differently. Science Daily. On the basis of sheer statistics, a number of folks reading this post are infected with this parasite.

Dangerous snow: Is foot rot taking hold at the National Elk Refuge?

Rot is caused by freeze-thaw cycles in unsanitary snow-

We just have to keep pointing out that persistant winter feeding of elk breeds disease. Now 23 elk have been put down for what is thought to be foot rot. No doubt more will die.

Foot rot suspected in elk deaths on refuge. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole Daily.

Deer prions could jump to humans, study says

Currently Chronic Wasting Disease does not infect humans, but . . .

Chronic wasting disease is spreading more and more widely.  Our anti-conservation friends in the Department of Livestock and the various anti-wolf groups worry about brucellosis and dog tapeworms, but here is something that would be truly terrifying. Prions jumped from sheep probably to cows to cause “mad cow disease.”  Then it jumped to humans.  Scientists worry the same could happen to the prions that destroy the brains of deer, elk, and moose and remain in the soil, infectious, for so long it might as well be forever.

Deer prions could jump, study says. Scientists fear chronic wasting disease protein could spawn new human illness. By John Fauber of the Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)

Disease Jumps From Domestic to Wild Sheep

More reporting about the bighorn/domestic sheep disease study

Other than the study itself, this is the first time that I’ve heard Dr. Srikmaran talk about last year’s study which confirms that domestic sheep diseases kill bighorn sheep.

“I am not that happy about this finding. Some people’s livelihood depends on domestic sheep,” [But the] “organisms did not exist anywhere else. They could only come from one place, the domestic sheep.” – Dr. Subramaniam Srikmaran

Some people who support the sheep industry have made misrepresentations of what the study actually says. They say that “these data show that even extended fence line contact of 2 months didn’t lead to disease and death. Disease required co-mingling for a minimum of 48 hours and this was after transmission had already occurred in three of the bighorn sheep.”

I’ve had the chance to read the study and, in fact, it does not say that it took two days of commingling to produce disease. It says that one of the sheep died within two days of the beginning of commingling portion of the experiment. All four of the bighorn sheep, even the one which did not contract M. haemolytica during the fenceline portion of the study died within 9 days of the beginning of the commingling portion of the study. There is no evidence to support the claim that “disease required co-mingling for a minimum of 48 hours”.

Western Washington’s bighorns slammed by disease

Another 2010-was-a-deadly-year-for-bighorn story-

The culprit is almost entirely pneumonia, and almost all of it, maybe all of it, comes from domestic sheep and goats.  The Western Watersheds Project, and closely related groups like Advocates for the West, are  just about the only organizations that are willing to step forward, tell the truth, and go after the offending herds of livestock.  I hope folks will consider and give WWP and Advocates a donation if the appalling death tool of bighorn sheep in the West bothers you. Ralph Maughan

Western Washington’s bighorns slammed by disease. Outdoors Blog. The Spokesman Review.

– – – – –

Related Dec. 31. Bighorn sheep killed on Montana highway one. AP (in Great Falls Tribune).  I remember posting an almost identical story for the same place a couple years ago.  Some money needs to be spent at this location.    “a state wildlife biologist says between four to 15 of the animals are killed every year [at this location]*

Montana bighorn just keep dying of pneumonia

Twenty-one more dead bighorn-

Pneumonia persists in Anaconda bighorns. Montana Standard.

Seems to me like Western Watersheds Project is about the only private organization doing anything to stop the spread of this disease that is taking such an awful toll.

Comment on IDFG’s Bighorn Sheep Management Plan

Don’t color outside the lines

Bighorn Sheep © Ken Cole

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has released its Draft Bighorn Sheep Management Plan which essentially draws lines around existing bighorn sheep populations and prevents recovery to historical habitat. This is a big problem because the bighorn population has been in steep decline due to diseases spread by domestic sheep.

A population that recovered from over hunting and disease in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s started to increase after hunting regulations and reintroductions took place but the recovery was short lived and now the native and reintroduced populations have suffered from repeated contact with diseased domestic sheep and goats. The population numbered around 5000 in the 1990’s but is now about 2900 and continuing to decline.

Two areas, the Pioneer Mountains west of Mackay, and the Palisades east of Idaho Falls, are areas where dispersing sheep are commonly seen. Under this plan these areas have been essentially written off due to the presence of Federal sheep grazing allotments. Another area that isn’t included as a priority area for sheep recovery is the Sawtooths and the Boise and Payette drainages. These areas contain very suitable habitat yet there are domestic sheep allotments there as well.

The Management Plan is not likely to curb the declines in bighorn sheep populations and the IDFG is afraid to advocate for bighorn sheep conservation. They hold the power to really make the Federal agencies pay attention and close sheep grazing allotments but the IDFG is a captured agency that depends on the good graces of the livestock industry dominated legislature.

Comment on the Bighorn Sheep Management Plan.

The Comment Period Ends September 30, 2010.

Spread of Bighorn Sheep Pneumonia Continues

Domestic sheep spread deadly disease to wild bighorn sheep

It’s been a bad year for bighorn sheep in Montana.

Spread of Bighorn Sheep Pneumonia Continues – New West

While we see an increasing amount of media attention that bighorns are dying of disease, unfortunately, with this article, there is a familiar omission of context regarding a likely source of disease for bighorns in general; namely, domestic sheep.

This is worth pointing out over and over again, as it has significant policy implications.

Earlier, Ken Cole put together a comprehensive illustration of a WAFWA report that summarizes bighorn outbreaks this past year.  It’s worth looking at.

Tis the season for hantavirus, tick fevers

Forget the manufactured scare about tapeworms, it’s time to be alert for real disease dangers if you are outdoors-

I got my first tick the other day while hiking the foothills in the Deep Creeks SW of Pocatello. Despite numerous forays this year, I haven’t seen many ticks — luck? Nevertheless, this is the time of year when ticks are most active, and the number of cases of Lyme Disease from the small deer tick is a silent epidemic in its expanding range. Fortunately, there are few infected deer ticks so far in the interior West. In Idaho the much larger Rocky Mountain wood tick is much more common. Every year they transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and Colorado tick fever.

This is also the time when hantavirus cases peak as people clean out their cabins, second homes, and outbuildings where deer mice have spent the winter. The mortality rate of this disease is high.

Risk of Lyme, other tick-borne disease peaks in spring. Daily Herald.

Nationwide now, mosquitoes carry West Nile Virus, and, of course, they are often most fierce in late June, depending on the elevation. The percentage of mosquitoes that are infected rises throughout the summer, however. So a bite is more cause to worry in August than in June. I wear long shirts and netting a lot more than I used to.

Mangy Druid wolf shot south of Butte, MT

Druid 690F shot by rancher south of Butte-

She was sick and beaten up by attacks from other wolves. She was trying for some livestock.

Butte, of course, is quite a distance from Yellowstone Park.

Yellowstone Park wolf killed near Butte. By Nick Gevock. Montana Standard

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.

Montana Legislature Environmental Quality Council holds hearing on the tapeworm and more

Dr. Norman Bishop reports on the testimony-

I think the recent controversy over one kind of tapeworm that infests wolves and other canids and which can cause a secondary infection in other animals, including people, is mostly hot air meant to scare. However, in response to the controversy the Montana Environmental Quality Council held a hearing a few days ago. Dr. Norman Bishop of Bozeman, a naturalist with long experience with wolves and other wild animals testfied.

I also asked him to write up an account of the testimony given by the other participants in the hearing. I’m glad he took the time to do it rather than simply rely on media reports. Here is his report. I want to thank him for his testimony and time-consuming note-taking and write-up.

– – – – – – –

Notes by Dr. Norman Bishop

I attended the Montana Legislature Environmental Quality Council’s session at the Capitol in Helena Friday May 7, 2010. Their agenda was Agency Oversight: FWP – Wolf Management.

On the topic of Echinococcus granulosis, (E.g.), Dr. Valerius Geist, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science, University of Calgary, gave a ten-minute talk via conference phone to the Council. He had emailed a 4-page statement to them. He said there was a chance of transmission of E.g. from deer and elk wintering where family dogs may be. He proposed a number of draconian preventive measures against E.g. spreading into family dogs: promote deworming, reduce straying and scavenging by dogs, medicate dogs after hunting. He would reduce wolves and coyotes; wolves, to prevent infections of humans when fearful elk seek refuge near buildings. He recommended hunting big game on their summer ranges, and targeting wolves there as well. He would reduce hydatid disease in wolves by using airborne baits with worming agents. He said to trap coyotes, and to burn grasslands to eliminate E.g. eggs. He warned against touching freshly skinned canids, cleaning the skins, and soaking them in helminthic. He said not to poke around scats, don’t pick berries or mushrooms, and eat with clean hands; cook liver and lungs of game over a campfire to kill cysts.

Vet’s View on Tapeworms, Wolves, Coyotes, Foxes and Elk

Respected wildlife vet says reintroduced wolves had no tapeworms when they were brought down from Canada-

The anti-wolf fringe is working 26-hours a day trying to scare people about wolves and tapeworms. The media has hardly bothered to cover them, so with each news release they get more extreme. They are having a rally at Libby MT where they say even the air in NW Montana is dangerous to breathe because it is full of tapeworm larva.

There is no doubt that maybe half the wolves are infested with Echinococcus, but Mark Johnson who participated in the wolf capture and treatment of the new wolves says they didn’t have this infestation when they were processed.

As I’ve said from the start, the parasite was already here. A Google search tracked its presence in Oregon in deer back to the 1920s.

Vet’s View on Tapeworms, Wolves, Coyotes, Foxes and Elk. Public News Service.

“[Veterinarian Mark] Johnson notes that human cases are rare since egg-laden feces must be ingested to become infected.”

So it’s doubtful anyone is going to be infected with Echinococcus except those stupid enough to eat canid shit, but given the hysteria from this band of clowns who knows what they’ll do. 😉

Lyme Disese in Utah?

Most common tick borne disease has mostly spared interior Western states-

Lyme disease hits Lehi. Wildlife officials will likely begin canvassing for ticks that carry disease. By Kirsten Stewart. The Salt Lake Tribune.

Unhappy news. I know several folks on this forum have contracted Lyme Disease during their outdoor adventures.

Jackson Hole area bighorn sheep herd showing signs of pneumonia

Disease so far seems limited in area-

Jackson bighorn sheep herd showing signs of pneumonia. Pinedale Online. From Wyoming Game and Fish

A new tick-borne disease

Here is something more for our tapeworm-fearing friends to worry about, though it’s doubtful they will-

Emerging Tick-Borne Disease. ScienceDaily

Chronic wasting disease claims 1st Utah elk

Brain disease is already established in Utah deer-

Utah’s large moose population seems to be free of this spongiform encephalopathy so far.

Chronic wasting disease claims 1st Utah elk.  By Brett Prettyman. The Salt Lake Tribune

Pneumonia now killing bighorn in NE Utah too

Disease Kills NE Utah Bighorn. AmmoLand.com

Ken Cole finds ID Fish & Game, wolves, coughing bighorn

Coughing bighorn. That is so ominous!

So our editor, Ken Cole, just got out of the Frank and the Salmon River Mountains. Very interesting news.

An ID Fish and Game helicopter was getting fueled at Corn Creek Bar. The two people in the chopper said they had seen some wolves but none collared. On the trail, Cole found a freshly-killed elk wolves had nailed. The next day he found it had been pretty much all eaten during the night.  He said there’s no way they could collar wolves in the steep country where he was.

Next week Fish and Game is moving into the Middle Fork. Heads up to all the spotters there.

Ken saw lots of deer and elk and bighorn, but one very scary thing about the bighorn — four of them were coughing badly. That was on the slope near the confluence with the Middle Fork.   Has the Montana plague spread into central Idaho? Does anything other than pneumonia cause them to cough?  What a dismal development? He reported his observations to the ID Fish and Game office in Salmon.

Coughing Bighorn Sheep © Ken Cole

Helicopter doing game surveys in Frank Church Wilderness © Ken Cole

Montana FWP to let pneumonia take course with Rock Creek bighorn sheep

Culling sick bighorn just too tough in their rugged home-

More bad news about the pneumonia in the big, bighorn population east and southeast of Missoula, MT.

FWP to let pneumonia take course with Rock Creek bighorn sheep
By Rob Chaney
Missoulian |

More on the beleaguered bighorn

Four Montana herds, two in Washington plagued by disease-

Here is another update on the pneumonia killing  so many bighorn. The article also gives the total estimated bighorn populations of Idaho, Montana, and Washington.

Hard times hit area bighorns. By Rich Landers. Spokesman-Review.

“The Payette National Forest [in Western Idaho] recently released a draft proposal for keeping domestic sheep from intermingling with wild bighorns. The plan was triggered by a lawsuit that charged the forest with failing to adequately protect wild sheep from the risk of contracting pneumonia from domestics.”

This draft is something I’ll put a link to when I find it. Webmaster

Deadly bighorn pneumonia east and southeast of Missoula spreads still further.

Both upper and lower Rock Creek herds are now infected-

Worse, the terrain is too rough in lower Rock Creek to cull the herd.

It appears that over 400 bighorn are at risk. Well over a hundred have already be culled. Others have just died on their own.

Pneumonia confirmed in Upper Rock Creek bighorn sheep herd. By Rob Chaney. Missoulian

Update 2/3/10: I’ve put together maps showing the locations of the bighorn populations that have shown signs of pneumonia across the west with some close-up maps of the areas.  The green areas are where bighorns currently live and the red areas are those showing signs of pneumonia.  Ken Cole

Map of the sick bighorn populations in the west

Mange in the mountains

Here is the story how mange came to be in the Northern Rockies-

There has been a lot of discussion of mange in this forum lately, including one thread that got out of hand. Fortunately,  Mike Stark of the Billings Gazette wrote a story about it in 2007.

Mange in the mountains. Disease used to help wipe out wolves century ago plagues animals today.

This is truly a sorry story and for more than the wolves.

The wolf tapeworm scare

Montana official says it boils down to anti-wolf propaganda-

This is about the 4th time I have written about Echinococcus granulosus, but here is more information.

It made the news in the Bozeman Chronicle today. “Tapeworm in wolves causes stir, but biologists say there’s little to fear.” By Daniel Person.

This week the Montana State official wolf news — “the Wolf ‘Weekly” — contained the following about tapeworms and wolves.

Echinococcus granulosus was recently documented in Montana and Idaho wolves in a peer reviewed journal article, although it is not known for sure where the E. granulosus originated.  It is considered baseline information for wolves in Montana and Idaho.  FWP has recently completed a fact sheet on Echinococcus, a tape worm.  Here is a short summary.

Two different species of the tape worm are known to exist in Montana wildlife and the environment.  The life cycle requires two different “hosts” – typically a definitive canine host where the worms live in the intestinal tract and from which eggs are shed in feces (wolf, coyote, fox, or domestic dog) and an intermediate host (rodents, domestic or wild ungulates, or occasionally a human) that ingests the eggs previously shed in the definitive host’s feces.  In the intermediate host, eggs can turn into cysts in the organs (liver, lung, or brain).  If the organ tissue of an infected intermediate host is eaten by a wild or domestic canine, adult tapeworms can develop in the intestinal track of the canine and be shed in feces.  Cysts are rarely documented in muscle tissue of the immediate host.

Bighorn east of Missoulia are dying like flies

Pneumonia in bighorn has now spread to Rock Creek-

It just keeps getting worse for the bighorn hit by the pneumonia outbreak near Missoula. Bighorn sheep in Rock Creek latest hit by fatal pneumonia outbreak. By Rob Chaney. Missoulian.

Well-known female cougar dies from plague. Carcass found in Grand Teton National Park.

This cougar was the fifth plague victim in recent years in the Greater Yellowstone-

Well-known female cougar dies from plague. Carcass found in Grand Teton National Park. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

The plague is generally carried by rodents. I wonder how common it is among the rodents of the Greater Yellowstone.

Yakima Bighorn Sheep are Experiencing an All Age Die-off

Source of disease is unclear.

Bighorn Sheep © Ken Cole

The bighorn sheep in Central Washington’s Yakima River Canyon are dying of pneumonia. It appears likely that ODFW officials will try to stop the epidemic by killing the infected animals so that they won’t infect healthy bighorns.

Two Stories
Big decision on bighorns
Scientists may have to thin the herd in order to save it from disease
BY SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

What’s the source of pneumonia in bighorns?
BY SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

WY “Sportsmen for Fish and Wildife” still donating hay

Despite brucellosis and chronic wasting disease, they can’t seem to kick this bad habit-

Wyoming group donates hay to feed elk this winter. AP in the Billings Gazette.

Bighorn sheep near Darby, MT dying of pneumonia

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

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

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

This is a large and successful bighorn herd.

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

Could predation slow the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yellowstone Park wolves to decline for second year in a row

27 % decline in 2008 will be followed by another decline in ’09-

At the end of 2007 there were 171 wolves that lived primarily inside Yellowstone Park, but very high pup mortality due to disease (distemper) along with the natural attrition of adult and sub-adult wolves caused a 27% decline (124 wolves). Disease had hit the pups two other years since wolves beginning in 1995 were restored to Yellowstone. In each case, pups and the population rebounded the next year. Not so in 2009.

Once again pup mortality is very high. The Druid Pack lost all 8 of its pups, for example. There is one important pup mortality difference from 2008. This year the poor pup survival does not appear to be due to a distemper outbreak or other obvious disease.

Mortality of adult wolves is increasing from the mange infestation that seeped into the Park. Mollies Pack was the first pack known to have become infested, although Park border packs in Montana in eastward in Wyoming have suffered from the debilitating mite for years now. Doug Smith, Park wolf team leader, told me that Mollies still has mange, but is showing some improvment. Perhaps the most infested pack is the famous Druids. On the northern range, the Mt. Everts Pack also struggles with mange, but the Blacktail Pack, Agate Pack, and Quadrant Packs are mange free. It is expected that at the end of the year there will probably be 6 “breeding pairs” of wolves in the Park (the same as 2008).

For the first time there are more Park packs living south of famous Northern Range. Packs inhabit all corners of the Park, although the Bechler Pack in Park’s  southwest corner lost its only radio collar when its big white founding male finally died this summer. He originally migrated from the Northern Range all the way down. He was born to the once famous Rose Creek Pack, which was slowly driven northward out of the Park by other packs to eventually disappear as a discrete entity.

The decline of Park wolves has management implications for Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Wolf managers in the states are generally quick to say,”Oh, studies show you can manage for 30% wolf mortality a year” (note that unlike with other animals, the word “manage” when used by state wolf managers always means to kill). Even some non-affiliated biologists say 30% wolf mortality a year and a stable population go together.

Data from Yellowstone Park shows this generalization has one big exception, and it would be wise to expect that more will happen on other places.

In other news, wolves have been visible inside Grand Teton National Park, with the Antelope Pack being particularly out in the open where visitors can watch them.

12 – 15,000 birds dead of botulism near Pocatello, ID

Botulism outbreak at American Falls Reservoir is slowing down after a massive kill-

Die-offs due to botulism are often the result of standing, shallow, deoxygenated water on top of what are usually mud flats in late season. This is the indirect effect of the wet year in SE Idaho. Less water was needed from the reservoir. As a result it had more water in late season than for many years.

Bird die-off slows. Idaho State Journal.

A very unpleasant story. Perhaps different operation of the system of dams could have prevented the reservoir from being this full. This reservoir is not an isolated one, but part of a large system of reservoirs on the upper Snake River and its tributaries.

Feces on elk feedgrounds could spread wasting disease. Officials call for phaseout of feeding elk herds

They read the article in Nature we posted last week!

Feces on feedgrounds could spread wasting disease. Officials call for phaseout of feeding elk herds. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

At least we heard from some groups and officials about the direct implications of the study in Nature, but what about this quote from Wyoming Game and Fish, “ Kreeger* continued. ‘If this is the primary way that this disease is spread, nothing comes to my mind what we could do.’ ”

And maybe we could ask Bob Wharff of SFW Wyoming about this finding. Bob, do you want to comment, and in Idaho does elk ranch lobbyist Stan Boyd have anything to say?
– – –
*
Terry Kreeger is supervisor of the Veterinary Services Branch of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department!

More trouble for deer. Endocrine-disrupting compounds make weird genitals

Bitterroot Valley resident tracks growing deformities by examining road kill-

New West has a story today about the likely effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on deer.  Bitterroot Rebel With a Cause. Genetic, Genital Damage in Montana Wildlife? (bad link is now fixed). By Joan Melcher. New West.

Almost half of the bucks had structural abnormalities.

Cause of spread of “mad elk”, “mad deer” disease found

It’s in their droppings, and the infectious prions never go away!

Really, really bad news about chronic wasting disease.  Study Spells Out Spread of Brain Illness in Animals. By Sandra Blakeslee. New York Times.

“Dr. Aiken said prions tended to bind to clay in soil and to persist indefinitely. When deer graze on infected dirt, prions that are tightly bound to clay will persist for long periods in their intestinal regions. So there is no chance chronic wasting disease will be eradicated, he said. Outside the laboratory, nothing can inactivate prions bound to soil. They are also impervious to radiation.” [emphasis mine]

Update. Here is the link to the abstract in Nature

New Update: Wyoming boosts CWD survey. This season, more state and federal agents will take samples from hunters’ deer and elk. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Western Watersheds spreads bighorn campaign to Arizona

Rocky Barker notes this morning the Western Watersheds now is busy trying to prevent the transmission of disease from domestic to wild sheep in Arizona.

. . . some important additional information. WWP now has an office in Arizona. . . also an office in Montana (Missoula), and Wyoming, Utah and California. They have several offices in Idaho.

My view is if you want more wildlife of all kinds in your Western state, donate to the them. An office could come to your area too.

Stockgrowers sue to protect non-existent cattle from a non-existent threat

Ridiculous lawsuit to show who is boss over everything and everyone in Montana is being heard today.

Montana Stockgrowers Association is suing to make sure bison are removed from the Horse Butte, which is devoid of cattle, by May 15th of each year. They would force the State of Montana to violate private property rights of those who live on the peninsula each and every year.

Cattle are no longer grazed on Horse Butte and there are few cattle grazed in the entire Hebgen Valley.  Even those cattle don’t arrive until late June long after there is any threat of brucellosis transmission.  Even so, bison are hazed, captured, and slaughtered by State and Federal Agencies at taxpayer expense at the cost of $1.5 million dollars per year to protect a few operators from a non-existent threat.

Stockgrowers sue over Horse Butte bison
Bozeman Daily Chronicle

A reminder of the consequences of this policy:

10th Circuit Court rules in favor of WY state elk feedgrounds on U.S. public lands

More marching ahead down the road to elk disaster-

Court rules for feedlots. By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole Daily

Judge Affirms Public Access to Science Advisory Committees

Woolgrowers try to spin the decision to muddy the waters on Bighorn/Domestic sheep disease

Bighorn sheep lamb © Ken Cole

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill has voided the Payette National Forest Science Advisory Committee’s contribution to management decisions when it decides whether or not to ban or reduce domestic sheep grazing on the Payette National Forest.

Federal judge voids bighorn sheep disease report – AP

The Woolgrowers successful claim means that the public should have been granted access to ‘listen in on’ the Science Advisory Committee, which was assimilating and summarizing existing information.  This decision cuts both ways, ensuring access for industry as well as conservation advocates.  The Woolgrowers were not successful in overturning previous decisions restricting domestic sheep grazing.  

The judge goes out of his way to affirm that the existing information, including the scientific data demonstrating evidence of disease transmission from domestic to wild sheep that the committee summarized, can still inform management actions.

Not included in the article is the irony that Mark Rey, former undersecretary for natural resources and agriculture for the Bush Administration, is the man responsible for establishing the science advisory committee at issue.

Mourning the Loss of Our Friends

Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
June 18, 2009

——————————
——————————

In this issue:
* Update from the Field – Four Bulls Killed by Agents
* Our Friend Frog: BFC Celebrates His Life, Mourns His Passing
* Last Words
* Kill Tally

U Idaho knew bighorn disease link after ’94

Conflict of interest results in suppressed study ?

Note: a more robust story than initially has been linked to below

Marie Bulgin is Coordinator of the University of Idaho’s Caine Veterinary Teaching and Research Center, a prominent research facility that has investigated potential links between domestic sheep disease and bighorn die-offs. At the same time serving as head of the research facility, Dr. Bulgin raised domestic sheep herself, and has served as the President of the Idaho Woolgrower’s Association. Marie Bulgin has long held that there has been no evidence of direct transmission of disease linked to the die-off of bighorn from domestic sheep in the range :

We do know that they do have die-offs periodically and the more recent ones that I’m familiar with have been pneumonia and the pneumonia is a pasteurella caused pneumonia, bacterial, and domestic sheep die of pasteurella pneumonias, but so far in the research we’ve done here, and we’ve done quite a bit of it, we haven’t been able to connect the pasteurella in domestic sheep with that that causes the die-offs in bighorn sheep.

She has testified to this under oath in federal court and to the Idaho legislature and her testimony has been widely used by sheepman, local politicians, and local media (as recently as 2 days ago) to deny the direct link between domestic sheep transmission and muddy the waters concerning bighorn management – and she’s gotten away with it.

Now, a study has emerged, conducted by her own University of Idaho Caine Veterinary Center, by researchers more recently under Dr. Bulgin’s charge. The study demonstrates compelling evidence that transmission of disease between domestic sheep to bighorn sheep does in fact take place in the wild. The research paper was completed in 1994, but for some reason, the study has not shown up until very recently.

U Idaho knew bighorn disease link after ’94 – Associated Press

Why was this important study held ‘under the radar’ for so long ?

Nez Perce Tribe quits Idaho bighorn working group

New state law on bighorn undermines the working group process, tribe says-

This is good news about the sorry situation. Everyone should quit this group set up to make it appear that the Otter Administration gives a damn about bighorn.

Bad news!

And on top of this a bighorn mixed with domestic sheep (on private land), but adjacent to one of these troublesome BLM sheep allotments near Riggins the other day. Then the bighorn went back to its herd.

I understand that today they are deciding whether to kill the bighorn herd of ten bighorn rams because of this interaction likely to spread sheep disease back to the bighorn.

Story: Nez Perce Tribe pulling out of bighorn work group. AP

Wyoming, including Yellowstone wolf news

The federal report this week is A LOT more interesting than usual (e.g., YNP wolf chases bicycles, motorcycles, etc.)-

This is the wolf weekly news put out by USFWS because Wyoming can’t manage wolves.

Be sure to read the “monitoring” and “control” sections.

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Update: There is essentially no new news here, not contained in the report below; but it has made it into the traditional media.

Yellowstone workers to kill problem wolf. By The Associated Press

Ralph Maughan

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WYOMING WOLF PROGRAM

WEEKLY REPORT

• To:                   Regional Director, Region 6, Denver, Colorado
• From:               USFWS Wyoming Wolf Recovery Project Leader, Jackson, WY
• Subject:           Status of Gray Wolf Management in Wyoming and the NRM
• WYOMING WOLF WEEKLY- May 11 through May 15, 2009

Web Address – USFWS reports (past weekly and annual reports) can be viewed at http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov . Weekly reports for Montana and Idaho are produced by those States and can be viewed on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Idaho Department of Fish and Game websites. All weekly and annual reports are government property and can be used for any purpose.  Please distribute as you see fit.

Annual Reports

The Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery 2008 Annual Report is available at: http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov .

Ranch north of Yellowstone meant for migrating bison goes unused this winter

All “the action” was at Horse Butte west of the Park-

They were going to let 25 of what I sarcastically called “cyberbison” use the CUT (Church Universal and Triumphant)  land north of Yellowstone Park, but there was no northward migration this winter.

Ranch land for bison sees no activity first year. By Daniel Person. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

Brutal harassment of bison west of Yellowstone Park

Whatever happened to the vaunted new May 15 tolerance date?

Supposedly it would be different this spring. Bison would allowed to migrate out of the Park and onto Horse Butte free from harassment until at least May 15. The reality is pretty much like recent years. Brutal Montana Department of Livestock agents and Yellowstone Park personnel on horses are chasing bison back into the Park. Helicopters harass them from above. Not just bison, but all Yellowstone wildlife on the west side of the Park are disrupted.

The whole exercise is pointless because there are no cattle in the area to which the bison can theoretically transfer brucellosis. According to the Buffalo Field Campaign, there remains just one small hobby rancher in the area who won’t have cattle on his ranch until mid- to late-June.

In case anyone has missed it, my view is that the entire point of this yearly outrage is simply to show us who really runs things in Montana, and it’s not the citizens of the state or of the United States.

Please contact President Obama. It’s time to see if our new President cares any more about this than George W. did.

Ralph Maughan

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Here is the report from the Buffalo Field Campaign.

~Update from the Field

This mama buffalo and her newborn calf have had a very difficult week.

Chaos is reigning along Yellowstone National Park’s western boundary as the thumping of chopper blades and the shouts of government agents repeatedly harass wild buffalo families and all wildlife near the Madison River.  Nearly 200 buffalo – including dozens of newborn calves, yearlings, and pregnant mothers – have been ruthlessly run off of their spring habitat within the Gallatin National Forest.  Agents are out harassing buffalo as this Update is being written.

Newborn buffalo calves and many pregnant buffalo cows have been run for miles through pockets of deep snow, barbed wire fences, thick forests laden with dead-fall, fast moving river currents, mucky wetlands, and steep, sandy bluffs.  For these babies, it is a terrible and sometimes deadly introduction to the world.  The new and developing muscles of these little ones cannot sustain such abuse. Today, mounted Montana Department of Livestock and Yellowstone National Park horsemen have picked up the hazing operation at Yellowstone’s border, after it left Gallatin National Forest land, and are currently pushing the exhausted buffalo deep into Yellowstone National Park’s interior with the assistance of the Montana Department of Livestock’s helicopter.

Hazing Begins: Helicopter Harasses Bison, Grizzlies

From Buffalo Field Campaign’s Update from the Field

It has been an intense week for buffalo. BFC volunteers are out in the field and on the road with the buffalo nearly 24 hours a day. If you are able to join us on the front lines, please see our call for volunteers below. The buffalo and BFC need you!

Near Gardiner, along Yellowstone’s north boundary, National Park Service and Department of Livestock agents have been actively hazing various groups of buffalo. Multiple management actions aimed to appease cattle interests have been taking place within this enormous wildlife migration corridor. So far, there have been no buffalo captured. Yesterday, four bulls were hazed back to Yellowstone, and again today, Park Rangers hazed 32 buffalo to just outside the Roosevelt Arch. Other groups of buffalo are around the Gardiner area, including some in town.

On the western boundary, a few bull bison were hazed back into Yellowstone National Park earlier this week by Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) agents. The buffalo’s “crime” was in stepping onto the private land of the Koelzer family, who allows the DOL to operate the Duck Creek bison trap on their property. Like so many other obstacles the buffalo must face, the Koelzer property and other houses with fenced in yards block a migration route favored especially by bull bison.

There has been a large bachelor group of bull bison roaming the area near Duck and Cougar Creeks, along Highways 191 and 287 this week; they are massive and incredibly impressive. BFC has been with these bulls every day and through the nights, warning traffic of their presence. Buffalo have no qualms about walking right down the middle of the road, sometimes side by side in numbers, taking the highway over. It’s a beautiful sight; this is their land and they are happy to remind us of it. Numerous travelers can’t help but pull over in admiration; being in the presence of North America’s largest land mammals is truly an awesome experience. It is shameful and sad that these magnificent creatures who have been around for over 10,000 years are forced to abandon their ancient practices, and unwillingly yield to the selfish wishes of Montana’s cattle industry. So far, other than the challenges of fences and traffic, these bulls have been left alone, but we don’t trust that the DOL will leave them in peace for long.

Swine Flu Outbreak — Nature Biting Back at Industrial Animal Production?

Mexican CAFOs are an excellent mixing bowl for new flu viruses-

Well it looks like we’re in for some fun and games with a novel strain of influenza. Hopefully it won’t kill too many of us, and maybe a lesson will be learned (don’t count on either).

There is a lengthy article on this in the Huffington Post. Swine Flu Outbreak — Nature Biting Back at Industrial Animal Production?

Idaho Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Advisory Group Waiting for Governor Otter

If SB1175 is signed into law collaborative group may collapse

Bighorn sheep lamb © Ken Cole

Today there was meeting of the Idaho Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Advisory Group which ended early due to concerns of various groups about how Senate Bill 1175 will affect what the group does.

At the present time SB1175 is awaiting Governor Otter’s signature or veto and no-one is sure where he stands. The Idaho Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Advisory Group was formed at the behest of the Governor to address how to protect both bighorn sheep and domestic sheep but many in the group fear that SB1175 subverts this process and defines the policy of the State of Idaho without the input of all parties.

At the beginning of the meeting Senator Jeff Siddoway, a Republican sheep rancher from Terreton, Idaho and sponsor of SB 1175, was in attendance and was asked to describe what the bill does and to answer other questions. He seemed, to my eyes, uncertain about many of the aspects of the bill and could not answer some pointed questions about it such as what is meant by “appropriate separation” between bighorn sheep and domestic sheep and what exactly is meant by this passage:

It is the policy of the state of Idaho that existing sheep or livestock operations in the area of any bighorn sheep transplant or relocation are recognized and that the potential risk, if any, of disease transmission and loss of bighorn sheep when the same invade domestic livestock or sheep operations is accepted

Specifically, what is meant by transplanted or relocated sheep? Does this refer to sheep that will be transplanted or relocated or does it refer to sheep that have been transplanted or relocated.  Also, what does recognizing existing sheep or livestock operations in affected areas mean?

Marvel says bighorn bill helps his cause the most

“It correctly constructs in the public eye the clash of values we are experiencing”

Bighorn Sheep ©Ken Cole

Rocky Barker interviews Jon Marvel (my boss) of Western Watersheds Project about the recent bill SB 1175 which requires the IDFG to kill bighorn sheep that enter domestic sheep grazing allotments.

“The legislature is creating a trap for ranchers and the state as a whole,” Marvel said. “The state will begin to lose sovereignty over wildlife.”

Marvel says bighorn bill helps his cause the most
Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman

Protein linked to wasting disease found in elk antler velvet

Consumers of “health supplement” may be at risk, study says-

Protein linked to wasting disease found in elk antler velvet.  Consumers of health supplement may be at risk, study says.  By Hanneke Brooymans. The Edmonton Journal.

Sheepman/elk farmer Siddoway’s bill to kill bighorn in domestic sheep areas advances

Bill passes key State Senate committee 7-2-

The bighorn is in big trouble in Idaho with the population dropping from 6,500 in 1990 to about 3,500 today. One full curl bighorn ram can be worth as much as an entire band of sheep.

Bill would prohibit bighorns in sheep grazing areas. AP

In an April 4 article in the Lewiston Tribune (subscription only)reporters Bill Spence And Eric Barker wrote that Hells Canyon on the Idaho/Oregon/Washington border once had about 10,000 bighorn, but it has dwindled to just 875 today.

Almost all biologists believe that the presence of domestic sheep near bighorn results in lethal pneumonia for the bighorn. A number of courts cases in Idaho federal courts the last several years favoring bighorn has caused a furious reaction among sheep operators.

I find it amazing that wolves get so much attention when it is bighorn in danger, not elk, although elk farms are a likely danger to elk due to the advancing front of chronic wasting disease and other pathogens.
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Note that yesterday, Siddoway abstained from voting on the bill.

Advisory Against Visiting Caves

People might be spreading White-nose syndrome-

Federal officials are asking people to stay out of caves in states from West Virginia to New England, where as many as 500,000 bats have died from a disease called white-nose syndrome.

The Fish and Wildlife Service made the request to guard against the possibility that people are unwittingly spreading the mysterious affliction when they explore multiple caves. There is no evidence that the disease is a threat to people.

Advisory Against Visiting Caves.  Associated Press.

Another Idaho Anti-Bighorn Attempt Falls

Rancher and Idaho state senator Jeff C. Siddoway

Yesterday I posted a review (with a little help from the Idaho Attorney General’s Office) about Idaho Senate Bill 1124, an anti-wildlife bill sponsored by rancher Monty Pearce that seeks to punish bighorn-sheep conservation efforts.

Today, the Idaho state Senate Resources & Environment Committee considered another anti-bighorn sheep attempt.  RS18882 was draft legislation, introduced to the committee by another domestic sheep rancher and Idaho state senator Jeff C. Siddoway.

Idaho not liable for sheep rancher losses – AP

RS18882 :

provides that domestic sheep and livestock operators will be held harmless from adverse impacts by the State of Idaho; provides for control of certain bighorn by the Director; and the shared veterinarian program between IDA and IDFG be dissolved.

The exact language of the legislation is not available because the draft legislation was rejected by the committee before becoming a bill.

Idaho Anti-Bighorn Bill May Backfire

A Review of Idaho Senate Bill 1124

Bighorn Sheep in the East Fork Salmon River Canyon. Photo © Ken Cole

Earlier I wrote about a member of the Idaho legislator and livestock rancher, Monty Pearce, who has recently taken aim at bighorn sheep conservation and restoration efforts in response to a sheepman’s call for special treatment from the Idaho legislature.  This after the Payette National Forest’s proposal to drastically reduce his permitted domestic sheep grazing on your federal public land.

Rancher Pearce’s legislation, Idaho Senate Bill 1124, seeks to bring to a halt the Idaho Department of Fish & Game’s efforts to transplant and relocate bighorn sheep – and potentially most big game – in the state of Idaho.

Ironically, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office answered some legal questions that suggest Idaho Senate Bill 1124 might be just as likely to backfire, removing a federal obligation the Forest currently has to consult with the state over wildlife issues.

The Most Dangerous Animal of Grand Canyon National Park

Is it a huge predator with big fangs and claws?

The Most Dangerous Animal of Grand Canyon National Park. Christian Espanol. Examiner.com (Boise, ID)

Distemper devastates Yellowstone wolves

Wolf population has dropped by 27% in Yellowstone.

Distemper devastates Yellowstone wolves.
Powell Tribune

Wolves brucellosis-free

I’m glad we answered that question.

Wolves brucellosis-free. By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Jackson Hole News and Guide

Bighorn battle could doom sheep ranchers

Idaho Sheep Ranchers are Struggling Against Reality.

The law and science are not on their side so they are pressuring the State to come up with a solution to protect them.

Bighorn Sheep in the East Fork Salmon River Canyon. Photo © Ken Cole

On Thursday February 26th the second meeting of what is being called the “Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Advisory Group” was held in Boise. At this meeting there was no discussion of bighorn sheep (BHS) and domestic sheep (DS) issues just introductions and discussions about process and ground rules.

These issues were described as “non-negotiables”

*Group is advisory, no regulatory or legal authority.
*Idaho wants bighorn sheep and domestic sheep.
*Group is collaborative. Will develop collaborative recommendations & Products.

It appears that science and reality are against the goal of maintaining viable bighorn sheep populations as well as viable domestic sheep operations.

Domestic sheep and goats carry diseases which have little effect on their own health but can kill bighorn sheep and there is a consensus among biologists that this is true although a particular pathogen has not been identified in every case. It could be a single pathogen, multiple pathogens, or a suite of pathogens that kill BHS but it has been documented on many occasions that contact with DS results in the death of BHS by pneumonia. In some cases the disease kills animals in all age classes.

Jimenez says Jackson Hole wolf pack has mange

However it is only up to 11 of about 50-55 wolves that now inhabit Jackson Hole-

Federal wolf manager for Wyoming, Mike Jimenez, says the Antelope Pack, which inhabits the central area of Jackson Hole has contracted mange.

On various days as many as 4 additional wolf packs can be in or very near Jackson Hole: Pacific Creek, Buffalo, Hoback and Pinnacle.

Story in the Jackson Hole News and Guide.  “Valley wolf pack has mange, biologist says. Collaring operation sees 15 animals fitted with transmitters for research”. By Angus M. Thuermer Jr.

In Loneliness, Immigrants Tend the Flock

Sheep Ranchers Claim Paying Minimum Wage to Workers Would Put them Out of Business.

Domestic sheep carry disease dangerous to bighorns and humans

This is an important article :

In Loneliness, Immigrants Tend the Flock – The New York Times

* Also, check out Captive Labor.

Environmental Costs

Domestic sheep ranching on public land is subsidized in many ways – environmental costs associated with the activity are largely covered by you and I – our tax dollars to slaughter predators that feed on untended sheep, blade otherwise unnecessary roads, build fences, abate weeds etc;  Our public lands leased at remarkably below market value, our bighorn sheep herds decimated by disease spread from domestic to wild sheep, our stream-waters rendered undrinkable, our public landscapes denuded precluding/depreciating habitat that might otherwise support untold numbers of wildlife – including big-game.

There are also the direct subsidies collected by sheepman – millions of tax-dollars for wool and other Ag subsidies.  But despite all of the ways that you and I prop up this destructive use of public land, their industry groups continue to maintain that if held to the same environmental and fair-market standard as nearly any other industry – even minimum wage for workers – they’ll go under.

Costs to Human Health, Safety, and Dignity

Texas May Let Hunters Shoot Pigs From Choppers

This method of hunting is rather difficult to enforce.

“You’re not going to have some bubba up there going, `Pass me a beer and ammo’ and hunting some hogs,” the legislator said. “We certainly want to do it right.”

Many are concerned that the temptation to shoot other animals by some who might engage in this “sport” might be hard to resist. It would be out of the reach of most people because of the expense involved to operate the helicopter.

Texas May Let Hunters Shoot Pigs From Choppers.
AP article on Huffington Post

Wild pigs are not native to North America, they were brought to Texas by Spanish explorers some 300 or more years ago. There have been issues with a more virulent form of brucellosis found in pigs, Brucella suis, which is a potential bioweapon. This is why Brucella abortis is classified as a potential bioweapon and the reason why the Department of Homeland Security escorts bison to slaughter.

Wild hogs also cause a lot of resource and crop damage and as many know, most of Texas is private property with little public hunting opportunity.  There are numerous other non-native species in Texas which were brought in for the pleasure of hunters.

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Addition  by Ralph Maughan on Feb. 23-

Ken C. posted this article. I want to add that I think folks might notice that feral hogs harbor the most dangerous kind of brucellosis. Where are the livestock associations that bemoan the brucellosis in Yellowstone area elk and bison?

Help Save Wild Bighorn Sheep

Your Comments Are Needed by March 3, 2009!

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Lamb © Ken Cole

Wild bighorn sheep are native to North America, and once numbered in the millions. But their numbers have drastically declined to just a few thousand. The biggest threat wild bighorns face is disease from domestic sheep.

Most experts agree that when wild and domestic sheep come into contact while grazing on the public lands, the wild sheep get sick and often die. What’s killing bighorns, they say, is a pathogen that is carried by domestic sheep. Bighorns with this pathogen can die or transmit a pneumonia-like disease to other bighorns. Lambs are especially vulnerable. Expert biologists and wildlife agencies recommend separating bighorn sheep from domestic sheep to minimize disease risk to the wild sheep.

Faced with declining Rocky Mountain Bighorn populations in Hells Canyon and the Salmon River regions of Idaho, the Payette National Forest is taking public comment on how to protect bighorn sheep from domestic sheep. Four ranchers have commercial grazing permits for about 20,000 head of domestic sheep on nearly 500,000 acres of public land in the Payette. To protect bighorn sheep, the Payette has proposed cutting nearly 60% of the public acres grazed by domestic sheep (called Alternative 7G).

Vet urges ranchers to adopt brucellosis plan

Producers in 7 Montana border counties would need to test, vaccinate. By Tom Lutey. Billings Gazette.

Study: Chance of brucellosis transmission posed by roaming bison is low

Scientific study pretty much says Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) is a waste of money-

For those of us not connected with the cattle industry the results of this paper coming out in the Journal of Applied Ecology are hardly surprising, but for the cattle bureaucrats it should be a real wake up call.

Study: Chance of brucellosis transmission posed by roaming bison is low. By Matthew Brown. AP. Casper Star Tribune.

Good news for NW Wyoming elk? Agency finds no further chronic wasting disease in Star Valley

Infected moose may have been an anomaly-

Wyoming’s ungulates herds in NW Wyoming, including Yellowstone Park may have dodged the CWD bullet for now.

Wyoming Game and Fish may still have a short time to do away with wintertime elk feeding. Of course, they won’t.

Story: Good news for elk? Agency finds no further chronic wasting disease in Star Valley. By Chris Merrill. Casper Star Tribune.

Elk meat recalled in Colo.; wasting disease found at elk farm

They say it won’t hurt you, but . . .

Elk Meat Recalled. Boise Examiner.

Silent Fall: B.C.’s vanishing wild salmon means trouble for all

This will certainly take down the great bears and orca–

The irony is that B.C. did not dam its salmon streams like the United States did.

Silent Fall. Posted By: Chris Genovali. B.C.’s vanishing wild salmon means trouble for all. Monday Magazine.

. . . more Saving Wild Salmon, in Hopes of Saving the Orca. New York Times. By Cornelia Dean.

The culprit may the infestation of salmon farms the B.C. government has allowed to crop up spreading disease and parasites.

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Salmon are in trouble in Puget Sound too, and the orca there are perishing. These orca are not just hungry, but full of toxic chemicals.

“Orcas are a call to action on Puget Sound cleanup. We have to act now to protect and clean up the waters in and around Puget Sound before all of the orcas are lost forever.” By David Dicks. Special to The Seattle Times

Wyoming wolf report – Nov. 10, through Nov. 21, 2008

Latest report says mange too is now hitting the Yellowstone Park Wolves-

Ed Bangs just sent out the Wyoming wolf report. It is below. I cut off the redundant “blah, blah” about delisting, etc. that is at the outset of every report.

The key is news is that mange it now hitting Yellowstone Park wolves. Other news is that research indicates the decline in moose in NW Wyoming is not due to bears or wolves, but mostly to the nutritional condition of female moose probably due to declining habitat.

Here is the actual news-

Control
Nothing to report at this time.

Research
Yellowstone Park began its annual winter study on November 15. Research objectives include: 1) documenting kill rates of wolves; 2) determining prey selection; and 3) estimating annual wolf population numbers. Park biologists suspect that the number of wolves in YNP in 2008 has decreased due to adult wolf mortality from conflicts between packs, increased pup mortality, and mange. Mange has been documented in >8 wolves from four different packs (Oxbow Creek, Mollies, Leopold, and one unnamed group of 4 wolves).

Bison management riles folks, again

25- 100 bison to be allowed to wander north of YNP this winter-

Most folks will remember this, but if not, last winter a very expensive deal with made to allow a limited number of bison to leave Yellowstone near Gardiner to wander northward.

The female bison will be fitted with vaginal transmitters to warm us of conditions there (“cyberbison? !!”).

Then, to recap, bison will allowed to migrate west of the Park to Horse Butte for the first time.

The deadenders in the Montana Stockgrowers Assn. are suing to try to stop these modest reforms.

Story in the Bozeman Chronicle. Bison management riles folks, again. By Jessica Mayrer staff writer

Cause of the great bat die-off found. It’s a fungus

Bat White-Nose syndrome is caused by a fungus-

Bat Disease Fungus Identified. By Henry Fountain. New York TImes.

How did moose get CWD? Star Valley deer, elk likely have the disease as well.

Damn!! In the Greater Yellowstone and on the Idaho border-

How did moose get CWD? Star Valley deer, elk likely have the disease as well. By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Maybe Idaho should sue Wyoming for wildlife malpractice?

Yellowstone Park sees major loss of wolf pups, adults this year

Yellowstone wolf population is hit hard this year. Reasons not certain-

Back in 2005 after years of major population growth tapering off to stability, the Yellowstone wolf population suddenly crashed when all but 20% of that year’s wolf pups died. While the cause was not determined for sure, most think it was due to canine distemper.

The next two years, however, saw a rebuilding of the wolf population with high wolf pup survival rates. 2008 began with what appeared would be more growth with reports of very high pup counts, e.g., 24 pups in the Leopold Pack.

The first signs of trouble came, however, from the Slough Creek Pack which had a number of pregnant female wolves, but only one pup was seen. As the summer wore on, many packs seemed to have lost all of their pups and most at least some. Currently only the Gibbon Pack has a large number of pups left — ten — and it is the largest wolf pack inside the Park with 25 or more members. Despite its size it is not commonly seen. Its territory is not close to the Park roads.

Chronic Wasting Disease issue heats up in Wyoming

Infected moose in SW of Jackson, plus Forest Service renewal of elk feedgrounds and doubledealing stoke the issue-

Wildlife disease debate heats up. By Chris Merrill.  Casper Star-Tribune environment reporter.

I have this feeling that the Forest Service and Wyoming Game and Fish are about as trusty as sub-prime mortgage investments.

Update. Oct. 22, 2008. Groups call for disease action. CWD found in moose in Star Valley a ‘wake-up call’ to Game and Fish, conservation groups say. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Terrible news !! Moose in Star Valley, Wyoming tests positive for chronic wasting disease

First case of “mad elk” (chronic wasting disease) in the Greater Yellowstone area-

Not surprisingly there a several Wyoming Game and Fish winter feedlots in this valley near the Idaho border for keeping elk like livestock and feeding them in the winter.

Moose in Star Valley tests positive for chronic wasting disease. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

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For more information about CWD in North America, visit the CWD Alliance Web site.

Montana DOL releases plan said to allow Montana to regain brucellosis free status

Brucellosis proposal released. By Matthew Brown. AP

Grazing may cease to protect bighorns

Grazing domestic sheep in bighorn habitat exposes bighorn to deadly disease and massive die-offs.  Western Watersheds Project successfully brought this point to the Payette National Forest via federal court winning a temporary halt to grazing domestic sheep in the critical bighorn habitat of Hells Canyon and the Salmon River.  Because of these decisions, the Payette National Forest is amidst an environmental review of domestic sheep grazing in bighorn habitat on the Forest, in its released draft EIS the Forest is finally proposing to end domestic sheep grazing in these critical bighorn habitats.

Grazing may cease to protect bighorns – Idaho Statesman

How far will Montana’s livestock industry go. Will they try to slaughter the Yellowstone elk to eliminate brucellosis

This is a long feature article in the Missoula Independent.

Bigger Game By Patrick Klemz

Anthrax NW of Yellowstone now killing wildlife

Anthrax NW of Yellowstone now killing wildlife. Bozeman Chronicle. By Jessica Mayrer

The anthrax that has killed about 250 of Ted Turner’s bison is now killing deer and elk in the area. When I think of this and Montana Department of Livestock’s single-minded focus on brucellosis, it makes me furious.

Apparently the anthrax was dormant in the area, not brought in by Turner’s bison.

Wildlife disease debate: To act or to react?

Elk feedlots spread disease – including chronic wasting disease.  The National Elk Refuge wouldn’t be such a tourist attraction with the lot suffering a widespread infection.

Wildlife disease debate: To act or to react? – Jackson Hole News & Guide
Wyoming only monitors spread of chronic wasting disease while some call for action.

More of Turner’s bison die in anthrax outbreak

More of Turner’s bison die in anthrax outbreak. By The Associated Press

Mad elk disease heads toward Wyoming’s elk feedgrounds

We have been writing about his since 2006 on this blog. Recently, I linked to a site I named “How Now, Mad Cow“on my blogroll. RM

Mysterious, fatal disease bound for elk feedgrounds. A cousin of mad cow, chronic wasting disease is a worry for Jackson Hole’s wildlife economy. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Three-state talks focus on brucellosis strategy. State veterinarians to meet

Three-state talks focus on brucellosis strategy. Veterinarians from Montana, Wyoming, Idaho meeting Friday in Helena. By The Associated Press

This is a chance for a big change, but where are the wildlife people?  My experience with the state vets is that they are beholden to the cattle industrye. Therefore, they have a very narrow perspective.

Update. June 28. Just what you would expect, no recognition that the continuing source of brucellosis is not inside Yellowstone Park, but south on Wyoming’s elk feedlots. State vets: Yellowstone must eradicate brucellosis. By Matt Gouras. AP.

When they are this utterly compromised, it makes you worry what would happen if some serious threat to livestock and wildlife emerged, oh wait, it has. They are doing zip about bluetongue.

Studies conflict on National Elk Refuge elk

The important lawsuit to rid the National Elk Refuge of artificial winter feeding of elk is underway. This article in the Jackson Hole Star Tribune touches on the testimony of two experts, one on each side.

If as the interest group, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife claims, closing feedgrounds will cause elk to transmit brucellosis to cattle, why does brucellosis keep showing up in the spring next to the elk feedgrounds rather than elsewhere?

This happened most recently near Daniel, putting Wyoming’s class A status in jeopardy once again. Several years ago cows caught brucellosis from elk at the feedground near Pinedale, Wyoming. Story on the Daniel infection Brucellosis now confirmed in cows near Sublette County, WY elk feedlot. June 17, 2008.

Brucellosis now confirmed in cows near Sublette County, WY elk feedlot

Brucellosis again in Wyoming, and, surprise, surprise, most likely from the nearby elk winter feedlot.

Brucellosis in Montana too, for the first time in a long while. it came from either elk or other cattle.

So what’s the government’s brucellosis policy directed toward? — killing thousands of bison.

Story in the Casper Star Tribune (with usual the typical scare tactics about human and other brucellosis). Tests confirm disease in cows in (WY) cows. By Chris Merrill.

One error that should be pointed out. The articles states: “Personnel at the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory have confirmed that two black Angus cows from one Daniel herd were infected with what scientists call brucella abortus, a bacterium that causes animals such as bison, elk, cattle and swine to abort their fetuses, and can cause undulant fever in humans.” [boldface mine]

There are many kinds of brucellosis. Not just brucellosis abortis. Brucellosis in swine is brucellosis suis, a more dangerous disease. It is spread by feral pigs and its incidence is increasing in the United States because of spread of these non-native animals. Feral pigs, however, have a hunting constituency.

Suit Opposes Elk Feeding in Wyoming

The New York Times details a recent lawsuit filed yesterday by environmentalists to stop the feedlot-like conditions of the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming.

Suit Opposes Elk Feeding in Wyoming – New York Times. By Jim Robbins.

The spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) threatens wildlife given its recent proximity to the “refuge” and is of particular concern given the congregated conditions fostered by feeding wild elk and the catastrophic potential for massive spread.

The feedlot-like conditions are maintained to keep wild elk off of land livestock producers covet as their own – the herds’ native winter range. When elk eat the forage, cows don’t have as much.

Opportunity for elk feedlots serving as de facto baiting-grounds for killing wolves post-delisting has also been a concern.

Story added. Jackson Hole News and Guide. Refuge feeding fought in suit. Conservation groups say practice threatens elk with disease; critics argue animals will starve. By Cory Hatch.

A visit to the “National Elk Soup Kitchen” at Jackson, WY

Too many elk and not enough tough love in Wyoming. By Jeff Welsch. Writers on the Range.

Chronic Wasting Disease found in elk

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has spread from white-tailed deer to wild elk and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment makes no press release.

Wasting Disease found in Sask. wild elk – The Edmonton Journal

That CWD has crossed from white-tailed deer to wild elk is alarming enough, but it also raises concern about the potential for spread to caribou, wood bison, and other wildlife.

Wyoming Elk Feedlots kept open a month longer than average

Wyoming’s Elk feedlots were kept open a month longer than usual. Managers of the National Elk Refuge are looking to expand the hunt and irrigate the feedlot saying that doing so will disperse the animals, reducing the disease potential. No mention of natural predators or preservation/restoration of the herds’ natural winter range.

Alfalfa pellets.

Winter feeding on elk refuge exceeds historical average
AP

Close Elk Feedgrounds Before It’s Too Late

Close Elk Feedgrounds Before It’s Too Late. By Brodie Farquhar. Wyomingfile.com

GYC alert to stop creation of yet another!! Wyoming elk feedlot

Good for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition on this! This alert gives the information and allows you to send an easy eletter against yet another disease-spreading elk feedlot in the Gros Ventre River drainage (of course, your completely personalized letter is always better).

NYT: “The sorry myth of brucellosis”

While it doesn’t directly address “the deal,” “the breakthrough,” the NYT just printed The Sorry Myth of Brucellosis.

The editorial is about Wyoming, not bison and Montana, but the media are starting to notice the connection between brucellosis and the dominance of the livestock industry.

The True Cost of Brucellosis

Robert Hoskins has a very good guest column in New West today (Feb. 7, 2008). The True Cost of Brucellosis. I fixed the link. RM

Groups unhappy with Idaho Fish and Game’s bighorn plan

Groups unhappy with Idaho Fish and Game’s bighorn plan. By Sven Berg. South Idaho Press.

The plan was forced on Idaho Fish and Game by politicians and domestic sheep interests. If anyone thinks Idaho will do a good job managing wolves, look at the bighorn sheep issue (an animal everyone likes except for some livestock interests).

I remains my opinion that the livestock industry hates all wildlife.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming hunters take 266 bison

I generally think this is a good thing. The Jackson Hole bison herd, unlike the Yellowstone bison, are not constrained by a shortage of winter range because they, like the Jackson Hole elk, are artificially fed during the winter. The result is a herd that is only constrained by its summer range unless there is a periodic reduction.

It should be noted (for about the 500 th time on this blog) that almost 100% of the Jackson Hole bison have antibodies to brucellosis, but, nevertheless they are pretty much allowed to wander where they want, showing the lies of the Montana Dept. of Livestock and the federal agency APHIS that keep the Yellowstone bison bottled up inside Yellowstone National Park using the propaganda that some of them have brucellosis.

Herd managers deem bison hunt a success. By Jeff Gearino, Casper Star Tribune.

Bighorn advocates butt heads

This is a long summary of where the bighorn sheep controversy in Idaho stands and who is saying what. I think it’s a useful article for bringing folks up to date.

Bighorn advocates butt heads. By Lynea Newcomer and Kathleen Turner. The Wood River Journal

Idaho Conservation League scolds Otter for bighorn sheep policy

ICL scolds Otter for bighorn sheep policy. Environmental group calls it a ‘top down approach’. By Matt Christensen
Times-News writer.

The governor’s bighorn sheep policy is supposed by announced Feb. 15.

Bill banning elk shooting farms introduced. Idaho state lawmakers say bill has no chance of passing

Here’s the story, but the interesting thing is why it has no chance of passing.

It’s because of the dominance of livestock lobbyists in Idaho. It won’t pass for the same reason the legislators rail and rave about wolves. The wolves are a diversion to keep hunters from seeing the privatization of wildlife in favor of lazy, Dick Cheney kind of “hunters.” It is also to wipe out the news about how the woolgrowers want to kill of most of Idaho’s bighorn sheep so to expand their disease ridden domestic sheep operations.

U.S. is declared “brucellosis free” (except for wildife).

Let’s all cheer. USDA has declared U.S. brucellosis free except for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park elk and bison.

“We must now focus our efforts on eradicating brucellosis from the free-ranging elk and bison populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area in order to protect our national cattle herd against future outbreaks of this disease.”  These are the words of some Bush USDA undersecretary.

Lies. Lies. The disease is not perpetuated in these national parks.

As we comb Bush’s phony budget, I think we can find some funds to cut here unless they start to focus on real disease threats.

USDA News Release 

Yellowstone Park wolves. Mange is showing up (and more news)

Here is the latest update on the wolves of Yellowstone Park. As usual there is a lot of news, especially interesting to those who follow the Park wolves closely.

Perhaps most important, however, is that the non-native parasitic mange infestation has finally spread from either Wyoming, or more likely Montana into the Park.

The first mangy wolf was discovered last year, a member of Mollies Pack who was old and soon died.

The closest source of mange outside the Park has always been from Gardiner, MT north, especially the Paradise Valley where many packs have battled mange. Just last week two mangy wolves in the area were put down. Of this, Ed Bangs wrote in his weekly wolf update report,

On the 24th, MFWP responded to a call of a sick wolf hanging out near a livestock feedlot in Paradise Valley, MT. The wolf was bedded in a stackyard and was extremely mangy. It was euthanized and found to be a disperser from Yellowstone Park’s Leopold pack.

On the 25th, MFWP set up over a mile of fladry around a calving pasture in the 8-Mile pack’s territory in Paradise valley. The wolves have been frequenting this area and the producer had started calving. Cracker shells were also issued and the producer will randomly fire these off during his night checks. The producer has also reported seeing a mangy collared wolf sleeping in his haystacks. The collar does not seem to be working.

On the 30th MFWP/MT WS euthanized a mangy wolf seeking refuge in a hay barn in Paradise Valley, MT. The collar was not working but the serial number indicated it was once a member of the Swan Lake pack (205M).

Uphill to the south inside the Park, several mangy wolves have been hanging out in the Mammoth area. In fact, mange is suspected as a possible reason why the new wolf pack that formed last winter in the Swan Lake flat/Gardiner’s Hole area fizzled.

Mangy wolves are susceptible to dying from the cold, which is why they are often found seeking shelter in barns. It is thought, but not proven, that very cold weather and, thus altitude, will limit the spread of mange deep into the Park.

A starving mangy wolf a few miles west of Tower Junction. Photo Jan. 2008. Copyright and courtesy Matt and Sarah Lewis. Apparently the wolf looked much worse from the rear.

The first phase of the winter study and wolf radio collaring is over. There are some surprising results.