From the monthly archives: April 2015

“Voluntary adherence to an ethical code elevates the self-respect of the sportsman, but it should not be forgotten that voluntary disregard of the code degenerates and depraves him. Our tools for the pursuit of wildlife improve faster than we do, and sportsmanship is a voluntary limitation in the use of these armaments. It is aimed […]

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Privatization or transfer to states would be a massive loss of personal freedom-

In politics, it is common to hear that adoption of this or that policy would be a great loss (or gain) for freedom or liberty.

Very often such policies do involve economic liberty for some group or business. Other times the policy […]

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Action shows fragile nature of state level wolf recovery?

Friday in Bend, OR the state’s wildlife and fish commissioners launched a process to delist wolves from Oregon’s State Endangered Species Act. Oregon only has about 80-90 wolves (77 at the end of 2014), but the state rule for delisting wolves mandates the consideration of delisting when the goal […]

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The art of land and wildlife management has fallen into the hands of political actors who are beholden to powerful interests who only care about how much money they can squeeze out of our wildlife and public lands. When faced with making tough decisions, these professional bureaucrats have learned special skills to move up through […]

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Was it political expediency?

News release

RENO, Nev. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today abandoned its plan to give Endangered Species Act protection to Mono Basin sage grouse, a small and isolated population of prairie birds in Nevada and California that remain under threat from grazing, habitat loss and mining development. The agency’s decision […]

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Did winter ice allow most of the wolves to walk off the island, or did they die?

For a second winter season in a row Lake Superior froze around Isle Royale National Park. This potentially allows wolves and other land animals to walk over to the island or leave the island. Most winters there is no […]

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It is time to create a new page of “Interesting Wildlife News.”

 

Please put your wildlife news in the comments below. Do not post copyrighted material, and here is the link to the “old” news of March 24, 2015.

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A number of states have banned use of drones-

Whether by passing a new law or the state wildlife agency making a new rule, the use of drones in hunting is being shot down in the states.

Low cost drones continue to infiltrate our lives and the economy, and hunting is no exception. A common […]

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While this describes a single incident in Bend, the basic principle is the same everywhere. Indiscriminate killing of predators creates more conflicts with humans. State wildlife agencies argue that hunting/trapping will reduce human conflicts when in fact it often exacerbates them.

The recent killing of yet another cougar in Bend represents a tragic and unnecessary […]

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Koch Bros. will smile at his attempt to auction off our lands-

Ted Cruz has jumped on the billionaire’s land grab wagon by offering a bill requiring the federal government to give away or sell off what he terms “excess lands,” whether they be our national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges or BLM lands.

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Quote

‎"At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour."

~ Edward Abbey