Policies (legal and management)
'That's a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests [national public radio - October 10, 2024]
'That's a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests [national public radio - October 10, 2024]
'That's a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests [national public radio - October 10, 2024]
Commentary by Tom Skeele, CCC
Posted on October 12, 2024
Thanks, NPR, for covering this federal program. As many of you know, I started my wildlife conservation career focused on this issue (circa 1991-1999) and it is sad, but not surprising, that “Wildlife Services” – a moniker that epitomizes the concept of greenwashing – carries on as such. It speaks to how the livestock industry still runs roughshod over the open range and politics of the western states.
Back in the day when my group published its own annual report on what was then called Animal Damage Control (we affectionately referred to is as “All the Dead Critters”), we summarized the federal program this way: public money is being spent to kill publicly owned wildlife, often on public lands, for the benefit of a small percentage of private livestock producers who are neither required to change their management practices to reduce livestock/predator conflicts nor directly pay for this government “service.”
Based on the information NPR provided in this story, some things haven’t changed.
One of the things that hasn’t changed about this agency is its use of non-native animal kill figures – mostly birds – to water down the relative percentage of native wildlife it kills. I can understand efforts to control these birds for two reasons: [1] they are mostly non-native and [2] most of these birds are killed at airports to keep we humans safe in the air (a “service” that benefits most Americans).
However, let’s label Wildlife Services referencing its invasive animal kill figures for what it is: a red herring meant to distract us from the agency’s historic and still primary raison d’etre: to kill predators – primarily coyotes, foxes, bobcats, badgers, bears and cougars – in the western seventeen states for the benefit of a relatively few ranchers.
The recalcitrant nature of Wildlife Services ultimately led me to pursue other strategies for protecting native predators. I was a co-founder of Predator Friendly Inc., a coalition of sheep producers, conservationists, wildlife ecologists, and clothing entrepreneurs attempting to open markets for wool products produced without killing predators. This project was one of the initial efforts that led to what is now a worldwide "wildlife friendly" movement.
Wildlife Services, and the federal government more broadly, would do well to use our tax dollars promoting this type of non-lethal strategy and solution, rather than killing literally tens of thousands of our public wildlife in the west each year.
Finally, thanks to those of you who continue to work on reforming (or ending) the federal predator control program. You are making progress and I (along with many others) appreciate and value your efforts.
Photo Credit: from the National Public Radio article; shows a gray wolf in a trap laid by a Wildlife Services employee; image obtained from the USDA via the Freedom of Information Act.
California enacts unprecedented restrictions on rat poisons in bid to protect wildlife [Los angeles times - October 1, 2024]
'That's a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests [national public radio - October 10, 2024]
'That's a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests [national public radio - October 10, 2024]
Posted on October 3, 2024
"California has become the first state in the nation to restrict use of all blood-thinning rat poisons due to their unintended effect on mountain lions, birds of prey and other animals."
"A 2023 California Department of Fish and Wildlife report found that roughly 88% of raptors and 90% of pumas tested were exposed to the poisons."
Photo Credit: from the Los Angeles Times article.
CALIFORNIA SENATE DECLARES ‘YEAR OF THE CALIFORNIA GRIZZLY BEAR’ [Center for Biological Diversity - April 8, 2024
'That's a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests [national public radio - October 10, 2024]
CALIFORNIA SENATE DECLARES ‘YEAR OF THE CALIFORNIA GRIZZLY BEAR’ [Center for Biological Diversity - April 8, 2024
Posted on May 4, 2024
"The California State Senate today passed a resolution to officially declare 2024 the “Year of the California Grizzly Bear” to mark the 100th anniversary of the extirpation of California’s official state animal. The last reliable sighting of a wild grizzly bear in California was in the spring of 1924 in Sequoia National Park."
"The extirpation of the grizzly bear from California a century ago is the most significant species loss in the state’s history,” said State Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), author of the resolution. “The grizzly was ecologically and culturally significant to California, and today, 100 years since its disappearance, it remains an important icon for the state, evident by its place on our state flag and seal. This year more than ever, we should reflect upon its loss and do everything we can to ensure no other native species goes extinct under our watch.”
Photo Credit: from Center for Biological Diversity press release.
WOLF TRAPPING BLOCKED IN MUCH OF IDAHO TO PROTECT THREATENED GRIZZLIES [courthouse news Service - March 20, 2024]
'That's a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests [national public radio - October 10, 2024]
CALIFORNIA SENATE DECLARES ‘YEAR OF THE CALIFORNIA GRIZZLY BEAR’ [Center for Biological Diversity - April 8, 2024
Commentary by Tom Skeele, CCC
Posted on April 4, 2024
Last week, a federal judge in Idaho ruled that year-round wolf trapping and snaring should be stopped across much of Idaho because the traps are likely to capture and harm grizzly bears.
The attached article highlights the fact that "the judge ruled wolf traps were likely to ensnare grizzly bears even if all procedures were properly followed."
Congrats and thanks to the many conservation organizations who challenged the state of Idaho's liberal wildlife control, er, ah, management policies.
Photo Credit: from Courtroom News Service article.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IDENTIFIES ‘PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE’ TO RESTORE GRIZZLY BEARS TO THE NORTH CASCADES. [Friends of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear - March 21, 2024]
Posted on March 27, 2024
"National Park Service Identifies ‘Preferred Alternative’ to Restore Grizzly Bears to the North Cascades... federal agencies announced their preference to bring grizzly bears back to the North Cascades Ecosystem."
Thanks to Conservation Northwest for letting us know about this great news.
Photo Credit: from Friends of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear article.
WELCOMING RELATIVES HOME: THE RETURN OF THE LYNX [resilience - March 5, 2024]
Commentary by Tom Skeele, CCC
Posted on March 23, 2024
Here's the gist of the story, gleaned from the article originally published by YES! magazine:
Lynx once existed in abundance in Washington state—including on the Tribes’ ancestral territories—before colonization, habitat destruction, trapping, and climate-change-worsened wildfires all took their toll.... the already small lynx population in Washington could soon be left without adequate habitat. Lynx disappearing from the state has become a real possibility.... Increasing wildfire activity has left conservationists concerned that the existing population of lynx in Washington state may be further threatened, leading to an increased interest in re-establishing a population in the Colville Tribes area.... The return of lynx to the Colville Confederated Tribes’ lands represents an important geographical reciprocity. Some of Whitney’s human relatives, too, are reestablishing themselves in B.C., where they once lived with the lynx, the salmon, the elk, and myriad other relatives. “We’re intermingling,” he says. “They’ve taken care of the habitat up there for us and ensured our return, so we’re helping them return as well.”
Photo Credit: from Resilience article.
GUEST LETTER: FWP MISSES THE MARK ON GRIZZLY DELISTING [MOUNTAIN JOURNAL - FEBRUARY 28, 2024]
GUEST LETTER: FWP MISSES THE MARK ON GRIZZLY DELISTING [MOUNTAIN JOURNAL - FEBRUARY 28, 2024]
Commentary by Tom Skeele, CCC
Posted on March 23, 2024
The subtitle to this article is "Six wildlife experts say Montana isn't ready to remove grizzly bears from the Endangered Species List."
When the former grizzly bear recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, two former members of the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, a former National Forest supervisor with the U.S. Forest Service, a former regional supervisor with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and a former tribal wildlife program manager with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes collectively speak up about grizzly bear management in Montana, we all should listen.