Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Help us run more ads like this one that ran in the Washington Post Express today.

Service delays national delisting…for now – We were all surprised and greatly relieved on Monday when the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was delaying indefinitely its premature national gray wolf delisting proposal (see our press statement). Hopefully, the delay means that the Obama administration is rethinking its position. Perhaps the 112,295 (and counting) email messages our wolf supporters have sent to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell haven’t fallen on deaf ears. Or maybe it was convincing letters from independent biologists, the American Society of Mammalogists and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent to agency officials in the past week that made the difference. Whatever it was, we need to keep the pressure up to ensure that this isn’t just a temporary reprieve. Wolves still need federal protection to recover in vast areas with excellent habitat, such as the Pacific Northwest, northern California and the southern Rockies. You can help us secure a brighter future for wolves by supporting our latest outreach efforts, including an advertising campaign that launched today in the Washington Post Express!

Meanwhile, our colleagues at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a lawsuit demanding information from 2010 meetings between state and federal agencies regarding wolf biology and management. Their efforts may help reveal the motivation behind the premature delisting of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies and shed light on current plans to abandon wolf recovery nationwide. As PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch said, “By law, Endangered Species Act decisions are supposed to be governed by the best available science, not the best available deal.” We couldn’t agree more, and Defenders Executive Vice President Don Barry emphasized that point on the air recently when he had the chance to discuss the importance of maintaining the integrity of the ESA and protections for gray wolves. Listen to his interview with KTVA near Los Angeles:

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Bill sponsors and supporters join Gov. Inslee for the signing of critical wolf funding legislation in Washington.

Gov. Inslee signs wolf funding bill — Washington ranchers will soon have more resources at their disposal to help wolves and livestock coexist, thanks to the state legislature. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill this week that is expected to raise more than one million dollars for nonlethal wolf conservation management efforts and compensation for livestock producers.  Champions of the bill included Representatives Hans Dunshee and Kristine Lytton and Senators Kevin Ranker and Christine Rolfes.  Defenders regional wolf conservationist Suzanne Stone was present at signing and added, “This is a great example of the benefit of working collaboratively to tackle conflicts instead of just fighting over them.  This legislation is a win for wolves and for ranchers.” Thanks to all our colleagues and supporters in Washington and across the country who helped get this key piece of legislation passed and signed!

Oregon livestock losses highlight need for nonlethal deterrents – According to the latest update from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the state’s wolves have been getting into more trouble with livestock. Last week, OR-4 of the Imnaha pack was implicated in the death of a yearling cow, and at least one Umatilla wolf was involved with the death of four sheep. Overall livestock losses to wolves are still extremely low in Oregon, as well as across the rest of the West. But these incidents provide an important wake-up call for ranchers in the region who are turning their animals out on pasture this spring and summer. Using proactive strategies and nonlethal deterrents is essential to minimizing livestock losses in wolf country. Often all it takes is a few guard dogs, a range rider or portable fencing to ensure that livestock and wildlife can safely coexist. Such measures will be vitally important as wolves continue to expand into areas where they have been absent for nearly 80 years.

Discover wolves in North America – A new series called “North America” premiered on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, and of course wolves were featured prominently. Watch these incredible clips of wild wolves chasing bison and caribou, engaged in the perennial showdown between predator and prey:

©www.joelsartore.com

Joel Sartore, Photographer & Defenders of Wildlife Board Member 

For more than 20 years now, I’ve been a contributing photographer for “National Geographic Magazine.” They’ve sent me to every continent, and I’ve worked on 33 photo essays so far. Most dealt with conservation issues.

But it has not been enough.

Every year I see more habitat lost, more species consumed for food, medicine or simply for decoration.

The Photo Ark was born out of desperation to halt, or at least slow, the loss of global biodiversity. Frankly, I didn’t know what else to do.

I’ve started a 20-year project to document the world’s myriad species as studio portraits. I’ve been at it nearly seven years and have some 2,600 species to show for it. I’ll go on as long as I can.

I photograph captive animals, mostly, at the world’s zoos and aquariums. I visit well-run facilities where there is abundant attention and care. I like the educational aspect of zoos, and feel strongly that we need some live animal ambassadors to engage the masses if we’re to have a real shot at moving public opinion.

Zoos and aquariums not only entertain millions of guests a year but work to instill a conservation message that needs heard in the worst way these days: that we need to change substantially in how we treat the Earth. In the end will it be enough to stop our relentless march toward consuming everything on the face of the planet? I just don’t know. Right now the only thing I’m certain of is that future generations will really hate what we’ve done to the place.

They say that people will only save what they love. And they certainly can’t love something if they don’t know it exists. That’s where these photos come in. By isolating animals on black and white backgrounds, we can look them directly in the eye and quickly see that these creatures contain beauty, grace and intelligence. Perhaps some even hold the key to our very salvation.

The plain truth is when we save species, we’re actually saving ourselves. In the grand scheme of things, healthy forests and oceans regulate our climate and provide us with food to eat. On a smaller scale, individual plants can provide us with chemical agents that we can use for medicines. And animals teach us new things all the time about things as varied as communication (dolphins), hibernation (Arctic ground squirrels) and pollution (freshwater mussels).

Beyond all the self-serving reasons though, each and every species is a work of art, created over thousands or even millions of years, and is worth saving just because each is so unique and priceless.

Today, all too many of the creatures that I photograph for the Photo Ark exist only in captivity. And with each species that falls, I keep thinking that the world will finally wake up and pay attention.

So are things hopeless? Not at all, but we must think and act differently. The era we live in today is full of endless possibilities, but we must act now. By supporting conservation organizations, captive breeding efforts and public awareness, we can work wonders.

And one more thing for those of you who still don’t know what to do about all this.

Know that every time you break out your purse or your wallet, you’re saying to a retailer, “I approve of what this was made from, the distance it was shipped to me, and I want you do to it again and again.” The power of the dollar is real, and it moves mountains if enough people pay attention. What kind of wood is that new dining room set made of? Do you eat locally grown fruits and veggies in season? What’s the packaging on the products you buy? Have you bought a smaller car and do you drive it less?

No one person can save the world, but each of us certainly can have a real and meaningful impact. Many of the species that are featured in The Photo Ark can indeed be saved, but it will take people with passion, money or both to step up and get involved. A little attention is all some need, while other species range globally and will be harder to protect. Every bit of effort helps though, and awareness of the problem is the first step toward a solution.

The bottom line for me is this: at the end of my days, I’d like to be able to look in the mirror and smile thinking that I made a real difference.

Now, how about you?

To see more of Joel’s work, visit www.joelsartore.com. 

Erin Edge, Rockies and Plains Associate

In the spring of 2009, two grizzly bears named Rainy and Scarhip were seen frolicking through fields and across highways. Soon thereafter, both bears were captured near Seeley Lake, Montana and fitted with tracking collars. To have any chance of survival, Rainy and Scarhip would have to avoid a variety of temptations, including garbage cans, birdfeeders, and chicken coops – all containing delicious snacks for a hungry bear.

A grizzly bear roams into an apple orchard.

Needless to say, the outlook was not good, and Scarhip was getting into people’s yards almost immediately. But food attractants aren’t the only threat to grizzly bears, and in October of 2009, Scarhip was mistakenly shot and killed by a black hear hunter. Meanwhile, Rainy stayed out of trouble all summer long before heading to her den north of Lake Alva. The following spring she emerged with two cubs and spent the next few months in the Placid Lake area. Then, suddenly, on July 14th, she was documented near Seeley Lake again, feeding on garbage, grain, bird seed and dog food. Females with cubs need as many calories as they can find, and Rainy had hit the jackpot.

That was the beginning of the end for Rainy. Before long, she and her cubs were climbing onto porches, damaging buildings and approaching people. Due to escalating concerns for human safety, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks decided to trap all three bears. But it was too late — one of Rainy’s cubs was hit by a car crossing Highway 83. A month later, FWP trapped Rainy and her remaining cub and sent them to a zoo in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sadly, the cub died a year later from a rare fungal infection, while Rainy still remains at the zoo.

The saddest part of the story, however, is that the loss of these bears was almost entirely avoidable. Simple solutions like electric fencing are highly effective at securing attractants like bee yards, apple orchards, lambing pastures, chicken coops and compost piles. Other successful deterrents include bear-resistant garbage enclosures and using livestock guard dogs, range riders and alternative grazing methods.

Some of these tools can be expensive, but there are resources available to help residents protect their property and prevent conflict. For example, Defenders of Wildlife started a program in 2010 to help pay for smaller fencing projects. So far the program has secured 58 sites in Montana and helped save grizzly bears.

Electric fencing around bear attractants like chicken coops can make a big difference.

Take the Morris family, for instance. They’re a 4-H family from northwest Montana with pigs, goats, sheep and chickens. Last year, the Morrises routinely had grizzly bears on their property and had Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks on “speed dial.” They wanted to install a sturdy electric fence but didn’t think they could afford one. FWP directed the Morrises to our incentive program, which helped pay for installing the fence they wanted — a win-win solution for both bears and people. The Morrises finished their electric fence last October and are expecting local wildlife residents to be quite “shocked” when they come around this spring.

Since 1997, Defenders of Wildlife has also been compensating ranchers for livestock losses to grizzly bears. This year, Montana will take this program over through the state’s Livestock Loss Board. Though not a perfect solution, compensation programs help mitigate the financial impact on ranchers and their families. But compensation only addresses conflicts after the damage has already been done. It’s far better to find ways to prevent conflicts from occurring in the first place. And on the rare occasions when these tools aren’t enough, wildlife managers need the flexibility to relocate or remove grizzly bears that are deemed a serious threat to humans.

Aldo Leopold, the grandfather of wildlife conservation, once wrote, “Relegating grizzlies to Alaska is about like relegating happiness to heaven; one may never get there.”

By the late 1800s, this became a real fear. An estimated population of 50,000 grizzly bears plummeted to just a few hundred in less than one percent of their historic range. Fortunately, grizzly bears were protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1975 and have been making a strong comeback ever since. Today, there are approximately 1,700 grizzly bears in the lower 48. Most of us have welcomed these magnificent creatures back to our landscape. But it will take concerted efforts by all of us living in grizzly country to ensure continued recovery of the species. Ultimately, the fate of grizzly bears in Montana and across the West still rests in our hands.

I hope grizzlies are never relegated to Alaska nor happiness to heaven. And hopefully, by working together, we can ensure that our children and grandchildren can continue to find both right here in Montana.

To learn more about what you can do to coexist with grizzly bears, visit defenders.org/GotGrizzlies.

Originally published by Montana Public Radio

Eliza Cava, Conservation Associate, Renewable Energy & Wildlife

How do we help advance solar and wind energy projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also protecting sensitive wildlife and their habitat?

As wind development grows in places like Oregon and Idaho, coordinated landscape-scale planning for both renewable energy and conservation can help us find the best places to build wind farms while protecting and improving habitat for pronghorn and other wildlife. (©Larry Andreasen)

We know that traditional energy sources like oil, gas and coal pose great risks to wildlife, be it from oil spills, habitat destruction or the release of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. But what about renewable energy, like solar and wind?

These are an essential part of reducing the pollution that comes from our energy use. But their size and how they function can have a huge impact on wildlife and their habitat. So, how can we develop these renewable energy resources without sacrificing wildlife?

The answer, as the saying goes, is “location, location, location.”

Traditionally, energy developers and land managers have picked project sites by focusing on the available energy resource; thinking about how those projects might affect natural resources and wildlife was an afterthought. But this way of doing business inevitably leads to delays, uncertainty, and conflict when developers discover after the fact that sensitive, threatened, or endangered wildlife may be on the site.

That’s where we come in.

Planning ahead for solar energy development in the desert Southwest can allow us to develop solar projects in the right places while protecting essential habitat for the Desert tortoise. (©Beth Jackson/FWS)

Defenders and our partners are working to change this paradigm in ways that reduce the potential for conflicts with wildlife while still permitting responsible renewable energy development to go ahead in the right places.

It starts with a landscape-scale analysis of energy potential and wildlife conservation priorities using many of the mapping tools and technologies currently available from state and federal wildlife agencies and non-profit conservation organizations. This allows energy developers to identify areas of potential energy-wildlife conflict and avoid them.

Next, developers can attempt to minimize wildlife impacts by adjusting the project’s scope or the way in which the project will be operated (e.g., installing radar to detect when birds are migrating through an area and shutting down wind turbines to reduce the likelihood of collisions).

Finally, when facing unavoidable impacts, developers can offset them by purchasing or restoring habitat or contributing funds to a “mitigation bank” from which proceeds can be used to protect other lands that will benefit the wildlife and habitats impacted by the project. The idea is to ensure that lands and habitat acquired or restored will make up for the lands lost or disturbed by the energy project.

Combined, these mechanisms for dealing with the potential risks posed by a project are referred to as the “mitigation framework.” And, they are the means by which we can produce renewable energy without sacrificing sensitive lands and wildlife in return.

Defenders is developing and promoting this approach on many fronts. Last June, Defenders and our partners hosted a workshop on mitigation policy in Washington, DC. Leaders from the conservation community, energy industries, and state and federal agencies gathered to discuss the latest techniques and tools in mitigation and how to continue to improve their use. We followed that up this spring with another workshop at the annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources conference in Arlington, VA, where Defenders and others led a series of panels and presentations on landscape-level planning and mitigation.

Panoramic view of the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone in southern Nevada’s Mojave Desert. (©BLM)

In between these two conferences, we have been working on using the mitigation framework to improve the planning and placement of individual solar and wind projects, and we participated in a series of groundbreaking workshops led by the Bureau of Land Management to define the first Region-wide Mitigation Plan for one of the solar energy zones identified by the Department of the Interior in their western solar plan. We helped Argonne National Laboratory develop a new data mapping tool for understanding and reducing wildlife conflict in transmission line planning, worked with the Arizona BLM on its first-of-a-kind Restoration Design Energy Program to identify and avoid places of high conflict across the landscape, and we continue to participate in the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan process in California.

As our country further embraces renewable energy, the question of how it affects wildlife and habitat will continue to be key, and Defenders is committed to promoting a landscape-scale approach to planning for energy and wildlife conservation in key areas. Remember: “location, location, location…” By using existing science and mapping technologies, we can work with the solar and wind energy industries to help them build better projects – better for wildlife and better for them because reducing conflicts with wildlife increases the likelihood that projects get built in less time and at lower cost. That, in turn, means that more clean energy is available to meet our nation’s energy needs and less dirty energy is needed. And that will benefit us all, particularly sensitive wildlife already threatened by a warming planet and increasing habitat loss.

Happy Bear Awareness Week, everyone! To kick things off this year, I thought I’d share a story about what inspired me to get involved with fighting to protect grizzly bears in Montana.

My first bear encounter

In the late ‘90s, I was working in Yellowstone National Park as a waitress, a city girl inexperienced about wilderness. Wildlife, in my mind, consisted only of the opossums, deer, raccoons and squirrels that had frequented my neighborhood in Missouri. Little did I know, my summer job would forever change my conception of wildlife – and my entire life.

A family moment. (Photo Credit: Stephen Oachs)

One sunny day I set out on a hike with friends into Hayden Valley. The grass was as tall as me, gold and thick, and bison grazed in every direction. Suddenly, we noticed a grizzly bear off in the distance. My instinct was to run in the opposite direction, and I actually did briefly until a friend asked where I was going. Sheepishly, I stopped. We took out our binoculars and the grizzly stood up, her coat gleaming in the afternoon sun. Then, the small brown head of bear cub popped out of the grass. Finally, a third grizzly bear emerged, slightly larger than the little cub. Three grizzlies! At once, all three bears dropped into the tall grass and disappeared.

Media headlines were racing though my head: “Female grizzly attacks hikers to defend her cubs!” I was horrified and certain that she was going to pop up right in front of us—a mad, mama bear—but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Soon, she reappeared farther off, near a wet, muddy hole. She lay down on her back watching the other two roll in the mud.

In that exact moment I was forever changed. All the information I had received about bears through movies, TV and news articles was inaccurate and sensational. This was beyond a doubt, what we humans like to call a “family moment.” The cubs were playing while mom soaked up some sunshine. I knew I had to better educate myself about bears and that I needed to share what I learned.

Helping people and grizzlies coexist

This moment comes to mind every spring when bears emerge from hibernation and we start gearing up for our summer field season. For the past 10 years, I’ve been working to promote tolerance and find ways for humans and grizzlies to coexist. My job is to make sure that people are doing their part to secure attractants so that bears can keep themselves out of trouble and continue to thrive on the landscape.

Me and Russ doing grizzly bear outreach in Missoula, Mont.

My colleague Russ Talmo and I got started early this year by participating in several workshops and outreach events. This included talking about raising chickens in bear country at two Montana Pastured Poultry Workshops hosted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology in cooperation with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. We also set up remote cameras at a lambing pasture on the Rocky Mountain Front and, while we didn’t catch any bears, we do have footage of a coyote, a skunk, raccoons and lots of sheep.

Right now grizzlies are out of their dens looking for food such as glacier lilies, spring grasses  and deer and elk that have died over the winter. But anthropogenic attractants like garbage, birdfeeders, livestock, bees and chickens can quickly lure a winter-starved grizzly. To help keep bears away from these potential food sources, Defenders started an Electric Fencing Incentive program three years ago that reimburses residents 50% of the cost of an electric fence around a bear attractant. Between 2010 and 2012 we completed 58 fences. This year our goal is to complete another 50 fencing projects, and we are well on our way with over 25 people signed up already to participate.  Additionally, we are working with livestock producers on larger electric fence projects, range rider programs and helping to purchase livestock guard dogs.

I’ll keep you posted as our field season gets under way. We have lots of coexistence projects to complete and lots of great stories to share from our partners, so stay tuned!

Another rocky start for Idaho ranch – You can bring a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.  Witness this old adage in practice in central Idaho where the Flat Top Ranch continues to practice antiquated lambing practices that have cost them far too many sheep, even though they have been offered assistance to avoid these losses.  Now wolves are being targeted by Wildlife Services with your taxpayer dollars in response.

According to the Idaho Mountain Express, ranch owner John Peavey has lost at least 31 sheep to wolves in the past week, offering a perfect example of what NOT to do in wolf country. Instead of providing extra protection for his ewes while they give birth to their lambs, he has sent them out on the range where they attract numerous wildlife species. Scavenging birds such as vultures and ravens pick over the afterbirth, and wolves, coyotes and other scavenging mammals follow soon thereafter. Once hungry predators are in the area, there’s nothing to stop them from going after defenseless lambs or their mothers. As our wolf expert Suzanne Stone says, it’s like setting the table and ringing the dinner bell for any carnivores in the area to enjoy the feast.

Defenders has repeatedly offered to help the Flat Top Ranch implement proactive strategies and nonlethal deterrents to prevent conflict, but each time our advice has been ignored. However, this does offer an important counterexample that proves the effectiveness of our work – none of our project partners have suffered similar losses. In fact, most ranchers we work with seldom lose sheep at all to wolves when properly guarded. In 2012, we protected 27,000 sheep and lost only four to wolves during the summer grazing season over a more than 1,000-square-mile project area. We stand ready and willing to help the Flat Top Ranch once they make the decision to stop range lambing methods that result in preventable losses of sheep, wolves and other native wildlife.

Atka goes to Washington.

A wolf in Washington? – That’s right. An arctic wolf was spotted in Washington, D.C. this week on Capitol Hill. Atka, an ambassador wolf from the Wolf Conservation Center in New York, was in town for a reception co-hosted by Defenders of Wildlife to celebrate the launch of our Conservation Crossroads campaign, as well as the 40^th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. What’s more — today is not only Atka’s 11^th birthday, it’s also Endangered Species Day! So pop the champagne, we all have something to celebrate this week.

Washington wolves move west – Speaking of wolves in Washington… Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is working with ranchers outside Wenatchee to provide safe passage for wolves traveling west through the state. For example, rancher Doug Hurd is keeping his cattle on a pasture with an electrified fence a little longer instead of turning his cattle out onto open rangelands while wolves chase elk and deer herds through the area. The precautionary measure should help prevent wolves from preying on the cattle and keep the wolves focused on hunting wild prey. Ensuring these natural movements across the landscape is vital to further wolf recovery in the state, as wolves start returning to central Washington. See the full report from King5’s Gary Chittim:

Montana proposes wolf hunting expansions – The public can now weigh in on a proposal that would extend Montana’s hunting season another month through the end of March and allow hunters to kill up to 10 wolves each. The proposed revisions would also permit hunters to shoot wolves standing near baited traps (read the full story from Reuters). Though the state’s wolf population dropped seven percent this past year, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is still attempting to reduce wolf numbers even further. Please tell the state wildlife commissioners to reject the proposed changes and focus on promoting tolerance and coexistence instead of more wolf killing. Click here for details on how to submit public comments.

Yellowstone area rancher forfeits second kill permit – KPAX reports that a rancher embroiled in a controversy over the killing of a Yellowstone wolf has forfeited his shoot-on-sight permit to kill a second wolf. The man has apparently removed his cattle from the area to their summer pasture and has moved his remaining sheep as well. He had killed a female wolf (831F) from Yellowstone’s Canyon Pack while she was on his property, after allegedly losing 13 sheep to a pair of wolves in a prior incident. The wolf he shot was not the one responsible for attacking the sheep but was likely lured to the site by a sheep carcass that was left behind. Hopefully the rancher will take additional steps to protect his livestock in the future, avoiding the need to kill more wolves.