Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Wolves, like this on in the Cascade Mountains, are receiving the ire of the Yakima County Farm Bureau even though only one livestock loss has been attributed to wolves in Washington in more than five years.

Tempers flare in Pacific Northwest – Though there are fewer than 30 wolves in Washington, and the state’s wolf management plan has only recently been approved, wolf opponents are already pushing for more aggressive control actions. Legislators are proposing a significant decrease in the fine for illegally killing wolves from $4,000 to $1,000 and relisting wolves as a “game” animal instead of endangered. The Yakima County Farm Bureau is opposing the state’s wolf plan outright. Some of their members want all wolves to be eliminated, even though there has only been one confirmed livestock loss to wolves since they returned to Washington more than five years ago.

At least some landowners are taking a more measured approach. Dan Studley, quoted in the Yakima Herald, says he’s not too concerned about wolves:

As the story points out, Defenders has already chipped in $15,000 in start-up funds to help Washington get a compensation program off the ground. We are also organizing another series of workshops to help local, state, federal and tribal wildlife managers enhance their skills in field investigations and nonlethal deterrents.

Montana county considers wolf bounty – This week, anti-wolf zealots in Jefferson County, Montana are pushing to reinstate a wolf bounty program that would pay people for killing wolves. Only three cattle were lost to wolves in Jefferson County in 2011 according to state compensation payment records, but rather than taking steps to learn to live with wolves, county commissioners are considering a bounty to encourage all wolves to be killed. But not all residents of Jefferson County are on board with the proposed bounty. One hunter, quoted in the local paper, said that the state should be given a chance to manage wolves responsibly before counties take more aggressive action. Another person suggested that cougars and coyotes are likely taking more elk calves and fawns than wolves are, and another said bounties often amount to legalized fraud. Read more in the Helena Independent Record.

Wood River overseas – This summer we were lucky enough to have Pete Haswell, a young biologist from the UK Wolf Conservation Trust, volunteering on the Wood River Wolf Project. He spent his days and nights with our field team tracking wolves and sheep through the central Idaho wilderness, and when he returned, he had some great stories to tell. One night he came within 60 feet of a wolf in the Phantom Hill pack and exchanged late night howls with other packs as well. More importantly, he got to learn first-hand about the nonlethal tools we use to deter wolf attacks, which he hopes to utilize in his work in Eastern Europe. Pete also created an interactive map to keep track of known wolf locations in relation to grazing bands of sheep. Read more about Pete’s adventures in Idaho in the latest issue of Wolf Print, the quarterly magazine of UKWCT (see pg. 14). Pete also wrote a blog post for Defenders during Wolf Awareness Week.

Video of OR7 in his Oregon days – While OR7 remains in northern California in the shadows of Mt. Lassen, his legend continues to spread. This week a video surfaced of the lone male wolf from his Oregon days. The goal of the group named “Oregon Wolf Education” that sponsored the video is “to educate people on how the recent invasion of the Canadian gray wolf is affecting our lives.” But the video also tells a different story of a lone wolf that repeatedly moved through cattle pastures without causing trouble, due at least in part to the effective use of a range rider. Decide for yourself whether the short video portrays OR7 as a serious threat or just another wild animal sharing the landscape:

OR-7 from Pahsimeroi Pictures on Vimeo.

And in case you missed it, OR7 has also made news in the New York Times and TIME magazine!

What does the data show? – Understanding wolf behavior and their interactions with both wild ungulates and livestock isn’t easy. Wolves share the landscape with other animals that target the same prey, so it takes some careful analysis to determine the impact of any one species on another. That’s why Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is leading an in-depth study of predator-prey interactions in the Bitterroot Valley, where elk herds have declined in recent years. There are two years remaining in the study, but so far state biologists are learning that cougars in the area may be having a bigger impact on elk populations than wolves (last year, cougars killed 13 tagged elk calves and wolves killed three). The results of the study should yield important information about the relative impact of wolves on elk. Read more in this feature story from the Missoula Independent.

How coal is killing America’s freshwater mussels

Mussels act as a water filter, keeping our rivers clean and healthy. But species like the tan riffleshell can no longer keep up with coal pollution. More than a third of freshwater mussel species are critically imperiled or already extinct.

Who cares about some little mussel that inhabits a few rivers in eastern Tennessee and southwest Virginia? Well, if you happen to live in the area, news that the tan riffleshell is on the verge of extinction could mean that your water isn’t safe to drink. For the rest of us, it’s yet another sign that pollution is taking a very serious toll on the environment.

These endangered mussels are the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” for Appalachian rivers, and they’re just one of 10 species identified in a new report released today called Fueling Extinction: How Dirty Energy Drives Wildlife to the Brink.

Like all freshwater mussels, the tan riffleshell makes its living by eating small particles in the water. These so-called “filter feeders” remove sediment and other pollutants, thereby keeping our streams healthy enough to support other plants and animals, including ourselves. So when these little shellfish start disappearing, that means one of nature’s vital water filters is broken and can longer keep up with all the pollution being dumped into the river.

North America once boasted some 300 species of freshwater mussels, according to the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society. But as a result of land development, over-harvesting and chronic pollution over the last 200 years, 38 mussel species are already thought to be extinct and another 77 are considered imperiled.

Today, the greatest threat to mussels comes from various by-products of coal mining and coal-burning power plants. These pollutants contaminate our waterways with heavy metals and other environmental toxins that can kill mussels as well as countless other plants and animals.

Mussels aren’t the only ones threatened by fossil fuel development, however. More familiar imperiled species include:

• Bowhead Whale: The remainder of the endangered bowhead whale population is at risk from contaminants and noise from off shore oil drilling and deadly collisions with ships. An oil spill could easily wipe out the small population of whales, which exists only in Arctic waters.
  

  This Kemp's ridley sea turtle was rescued from the Gulf oil spill.

• Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle: According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kemp’s ridley is the most seriously endangered of all sea turtles, and they only breed in Gulf waters. In the immediate aftermath of the Gulf oil disaster, 156 sea turtle deaths were recorded – most of them Kemp’s ridleys.
• Whooping Crane: There are just 437 whooping cranes in the wild today, after overcoming near extinction in the 1940s. But the proposed Keystone Pipeline would run along the crane’s entire migratory path from Canada to Texas, and could destroy the flock with toxic waste , collisions and electrocutions from power lines, and the risk of oil spills.

Drilling in the Arctic. Spilling oil in the Gulf. Building a pipeline across the country. Removing mountaintops to get at more coal. All of these actions have dire consequences for our land and wildlife. Fossil fuels are dirty and dangerous, and they’re pushing many at-risk plant and animal species toward extinction. Oil company executives take home millions of dollars every year while the rest of us have to clean up the mess. It’s time to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and rescue these species from the brink.

To learn more about the top 10 U.S. species threatened by fossil fuels, visit http://fuelingextinction.org.

Read more about the importance of freshwater mussels on Defenders blog and in our magazine.

Watch the interview below with “mussel man” Monte McGregor, a malacologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources:

Wolves in town – Residents of west Jackson, Wyoming, had some uninvited guests drop by this week when three wolves were spotted on the outskirts of a subdivision. The area is not far from Grand Teton National Park, so the locals are already accustomed to seeing wildlife moseying through town. Elk commonly move through the area seeking refuge from wild predators. But this marks the first time that wolves have been seen in a primarily residential part of Jackson. While the wolves are not considered a threat to humans, residents should take steps to remove any attractants and protect their pets.

As of now, wolves are still protected in Wyoming under the Endangered Species Act, which means they cannot be harassed or harmed unless a person’s life is in danger. But that may not be the case for much longer. The comment period closes today on the federal proposal to strip protections for wolves in Wyoming that would allow wolves to be shot on sight across the majority of the state, including on some national forest lands that provide excellent wolf habitat and where wildlife is supposed to be a priority. In the latest wrinkle, federal park officials are raising concerns that the current state management plan would allow wolves to be hunted in along the Rockefeller Parkway that connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton National Park.

OR7 stirs the California pot – OR7 (aka, Journey) has been in California only two weeks, but his appearance has been greeted with both cheers and fears. The lone dispersing male has been on the move, making his way into northern Lassen County early in the week. Meanwhile, at a meeting in Yreka with a capacity crowd, Siskiyou County supervisors listened to comments and concerns of local residents. Some urged the county to ban wolves outright, while others pleaded for tolerance and celebrated the return as a momentous occasion.

State and federal wildlife managers have been attending a series of meetings in northern California to address questions about the return of wolves and meeting with Defenders and other stakeholders in Sacramento. More information can be found on the state’s new wolf website at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf/

And in case you missed it, here’s Brian Williams’ report on OR7 featured on NBC Nightly News last Friday:

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Don’t turn that dial – Wolves were featured in a flurry of radio shows this week. First, American Public Media did an in-depth interview with Carter Niemeyer, former wolf trapper and recovery coordinator, who published a memoir about his experiences. His accounts are brutally honest, including often graphic detail of his gruesome depredation investigations. But his story reveals the complexities of dealing with both ranchers and wolf advocates during an extremely volatile period.

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Wednesday, Montana Public Radio aired a feature story about Nathan Varley who runs a wolf tourism business that operates in Yellowstone. Nathan regularly leads wolf tours focused on educating park visitors about basic wolf biology and behavior. Listen below, starting at the 15-minute mark:

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Yesterday, Defenders’ wolf expert Suzanne Stone did an extended interview with Christopher Gabriel, a popular talk radio show host in Fargo, North Dakota. She explained the importance of wolves in California, the ecological role of wolves, and the importance of reducing conflicts with livestock to promote social tolerance. And of course, she taught Chris how to howl. (Archived show coming soon!)

High school students perform the Quileute "wolf dance" while facing off against a visiting amabassador wolf from Mission Wolf.

Twilight in DC – The shape-shifting “werewolves” in the Twilight Saga are pure fantasy, but the Quileute tribe on which the story is based is not. These Native Americans have a long and rich history living on the Olympic Peninsula in modern-day Washington State that dates back to a time when real wolves still existed. In fact, the Quileute creation legend is that the original tribal members were transformed from wolves into humans. That’s why wolf iconography and ritual dances remain an important part of Quileute culture today. (Suzanne even got to witness the sacred “wolf dance” during a visit last summer when she met with tribal leaders to discuss the return of wolves!)

An exhibition of Quileute art opens today at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Click here for more details.

Photo courtesy of Randall Longcore

Well, it wasn’t a real jaguar but it was the 175 foot jaguar tapestry that Defenders of Wildlife, our supporters, and volunteers from across the nation helped to create and carry up Sentinel Peak Park’s A Mountain this past weekend at the first BEYOND Tucson event. This was one of a community-wide series of events that aims to keep the message of unity alive that the city experienced after the tragic shootings of January 8, 2011 and encourages residents to get out and enjoy public lands.

The “Sewing Spot Together” tapestry, which was conceived by local artist Stephanie Bowman, was created with the aim of drawing attention to the struggles faced by the jaguar in the southwest region of the United States as it tries to regain a foothold within its historical range. The variety of intricate panels that comprise the tapestry represent the diversity of the Tucson community, but they are stitched together in a single tapestry to send a united message of tolerance and openness to the return of the America’s biggest cat to Arizona’s wild lands. The event itself was a great success with over 30 Defenders supporters coming out to help carry the tapestry up the mountain as they marched beside other Tucson residents, high school students and boy scout troops from the area who had designed sectional panels of their own.

Jaguars once roamed as far north as the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Although now rare in the United States, jaguars are still sometimes seen in the southwestern US, and there is hope that they will return to their home in the borderlands.  It is believed that the most northern viable population of these big cats is just south of the US-Mexico border in the foothills of the Sierra Madre.  Their numbers are now perilously low due to human population growth, agricultural expansion, and poaching.  The jaguar is federally listed as endangered throughout its entire range.  For the long therm health of jaguar populations, the various “spots” in which they live must have wildlife corridors connecting them.  Like much of life, the jaguar needs room to roam.

Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support!

It’s been a chilly new year for Florida manatees, bad news for the temperature-sensitive marine mammals. Fortunately, Florida Power & Light officials came to the rescue during last week’s temperature lows, turning on the heater at the site of their former power plant in Riviera Beach, near the Palm Beach inlet.

Manatees are known to aggregate in warm-water outfalls at power plants on cold winter days, and those in the area didn’t waste any time in flocking to this site—check out some amazing footage below of the gathering. (Hint: watch until 0:47 to see some synchronized sea cow swimming!)

Loss of warm-water habitat now poses the greatest long-term threat to manatee survival. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported last week that a cold-related die-off of manatees in early 2011 contributed to the high numbers of deaths for the species for the year. Scientists predict cold weather will continue to be a problem for the manatee population over the next few decades when aging electric power plants will be shutting down. The FPL plant itself was demolished last year, but the power company is required to warm the water when it falls below 65 degrees until it completes construction of its new natural gas facility in 2014.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working on an emergency rule to expand protected areas for Florida manatees, creating a refuge that includes all of Kings Bay in Crystal River. The rules will ensure the sea cows will have greater access to critical warm water areas during the winter months and address public concerns associated with local, wintertime manatee viewing activities. Learn more about the Kings Bay proposed rule.

Expert scientist questions Wyoming wolf plan – All five scientists asked by the federal government to review Wyoming’s proposed wolf management plans raised concerns about the plan. But one in particular said the plan could jeopardize the future of the state’s wolf population.  John Vucetich, a wolf biologist at Michigan Technological University, said the plan doesn’t provide sufficient safeguards to make sure that too many wolves aren’t killed. Specifically, he said the number of wolves allowed to be killed under the plan could result in more dramatic population decline than currently estimated. Read the full story reported in the Casper Trib and download the peer-review comments.

Lucky number 27 in Washington – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says there are at least 27 wolves and three breeding pairs in the state, according to their annual tally. Unfortunately, that’s one less than they would have had, after a collared wolf from the Diamond Pack wandered into Idaho and was trapped on Dec. 20.

Washington has five confirmed packs, with three (Salmo, Smackout, Diamond) in the far northeast corner of the state, one (Lookout) in the north-central part of the state, and one (Teanaway) right in the middle of the state. The Diamond, Smackout and Teanaway all had at least one adult male and one adult female wolf capable of breeding plus two pups that survived through the end of 2011. The wolf recovery plan adopted in December commits wildlife managers to managing for the return of at least 15 breeding pairs distributed broadly across the state.

"Journey" (aka, OR7) during his Oregon days. Photo by Allen Daniels, courtesy of Sacramento Bee.

Journey’s California journey continues, first photo emerges – The latest report from the Sacramento Bee indicates that OR7 remains in California and continues moving south. But now, true to celebrity form, the 2.5-year old wolf has adopted a stage name and his first paparazzi photo has emerged. “Journey” was the winning name in Oregon Wild’s contest, initially submitted by two different children and garnering 40 percent of the online vote. The first picture came from Allen Daniels, a 24-year old hunter in Central Point, Oregon, who set up a remote camera to take pictures of deer.

Hunting restrictions protect Yellowstone wolves – While at least 124 wolves have been killed so far by hunters in Montana, the state’s quota system has helped protect wolves that live primarily in Yellowstone National Park (see full AP story). According to Yellowstone wolf biologist Doug Smith, the four wolves killed this year just north of the park boundary did not live exclusively in the park. This is a sharp contrast to 2009, when 12 wolves were killed just beyond the northern boundary, and four of those wolves were part of the Cottonwood Pack that spent 98 percent of their time inside the park and had been studied closely for years. This year’s quota of three wolves was filled very quickly, and hunting in the region has been closed since October 6.

More evidence that wolves benefit entire ecosystem – A follow-up study by Oregon State University researchers Bob Beschta and Bill Ripple confirms that the return of wolves to Yellowstone has had a positive influence on the park’s ecology (see report in Chicago Tribune). Their most recent study, published online in the scientific journal Biological Conservation, shows that willow, aspen and cottonwood trees in parts of Yellowstone have started to recover since the reintroduction of wolves. Their findings lend support to the theory that wolves reduce elk numbers and change their behavior, which prevents the elk from destroying native vegetation that supports other species. With wolves back on the scene and fewer elk munching on plants in sensitive river bottoms, songbirds and beavers are thriving once again. These trickle-down ecological benefits, known as a “trophic cascade,” result from having more food available for a greater diversity of species. The impact that top predators have up and down the food chain in discussed in great depth in the feature documentary, Lords of Nature: