Invasive Species
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In early June, Katie Fite and I visited southeast Nevada to examine the results of past vegetation treatments meant to “restore” sage grouse habitat in the Schell Field Office of the Ely District BLM. What we found was quite astonishing. Rather than restoring sage grouse habitat, the BLM targeted the best sage grouse habitat, near…
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More dollars to deal with these destructive invasives might get into federal budget- The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) gives the good news that federal appropriations might go up this year for feral hog control despite sequesters, debt limit confrontations, austerity programs, etc. USDA-Wildlife Services, an agency which most conservationists have a low opinion, would…
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With no predators, high reproduction rate, millions of hungry hogs tear up American landscape- Like most omnivores, pigs are smart. In addition, they are big, requiring a lot of food, and are physiologically similar enough to humans to share and transmit many of our diseases. Pigs have been escaping from farms for a very long…
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by George Wuerthner Introduction Livestock production is a contributing factor in the decline of many western species, including birds (Wuerthner and Matteson 2002). This is not surprising given the amount of land utilized for animal agriculture, including public and private lands. Approximately 578 million out of 1.9 billion acres in the West are grassland pasture…
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Growing movement said not to work, resulting in disappearance of wildlife and spread of disease- There is a new movement of sorts that does not believe that feral animals, primarily feral domestic cats and dogs should not be killed . . . at all. The “no-kill” movement has made surprising advances in cities and towns.…
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Hunting and eating feral hogs less likely to cause furor- I enjoy editing this on-line newspaper, but one of the things I don’t like is the never ending debate over whether hunting is right or wrong. It can never be settled and leads to disunity among those who use the outdoors and wildlife. I do…
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SAGE GROUSE: PROXIMATE AND ULTIMATE CAUSES When I was in college, one of my favorite courses was animal behavior. One of the more memorable lessons I learned was the difference between proximate and ultimate causes of behavior. Proximate and ultimate causes of events are important to distinguish. For instance, say a researcher finds that sedimentation…
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Rotenone poisoning begins Sept 10 in Elk Creek to eliminate non-native brook trout- Tomorrow eradication of brook trout will begin at Elk Creek. So too Lost and Yancy Creek tributaries of Elk Creek will be dosed with the fish poison rotenone. Before the project is over non-native fish are slated to be eliminated from these…