Outdoors news and notes: Wildlife vs. commerce, getting lost and Tahoe gets dumped on
Saw an interesting story on denverpost.com concerning a brewing controversy over the possible reintroduction of wolverines into the Colorado Rockies.
You can read the story here: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16907832
Wolverines vs. ski resorts?
The issue: Ski resort operators are worried that introducing wolverines into the state may trigger government restrictions on how ski resorts can operate or expand.
Wolverines are under a protected status. The debate has arisen that pits the possible reintroduction of 30 wolverines vs. the interests of businesses, their owners and the people who work there.
This is a recurring issues in the west, where the most famous controversy erupted when wildlife officials began introduring wolves into places in the northern Rockies. Ranchers cried foul, citing big financial losses due to wolf predation.
What are your thoughts? Drop me a line and let me know what you think.
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Speaking of wolves, there’s a plan by an environmental group to sue the U.S. government in an attempt to reintroduce wolves throughout the lower 48 states.
Here’s a story from The Associated Press:
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — An environmental group filed notice Tuesday that it intends to sue the federal government to force adoption of a plan to recover gray wolves across the lower 48 states.
The predators were poisoned and trapped to near-extermination in the United States in the last century. But they have bounced back in some wilderness areas over the last few decades.
Biologists with the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday they want to expand that recovery nationwide.
Could wolves be reintroduced in Oklahoma?
In the notice filed with the Interior Department, the group said it will sue within 60 days if the agency doesn’t start crafting a plan to expand wolf ranges. The Endangered Species Act requires the agency to be notified two months before a lawsuit is filed.
Despite making gains in some areas since the species was first listed as endangered in 1974, the gray wolf remains limited to about 5 percent of its historical range. About 6,000 wolves live in the lower 48 states. They are protected from hunting except in Alaska.
“Wolves once roamed nearly the whole country and down into Mexico,” said Noah Greenwald with the Center for Biological Diversity.
“We’ve learned from where wolves have been reintroduced that they have a tremendous benefit,” he said. “They force elk to move around more, which allows riparian vegetation to come back and increases songbirds, and they control coyote populations.”
Like the Bush administration, the Obama administration has pushed to end federal protections for wolves and turn control over the animals over to the states.
Could wolves be coming to Oklahoma? I’ve been getting a steady stream of people commenting on mountain lion sightings. Wolves would make for an interesting — and potentially controversial — addition to the state’s list of predator species.
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Ever been lost? Not like lost in a parking lot trying to find your car in the parking lot, or lost in a new city and you can’t find a specific address or street. I mean out in the bush, off trail, not sure where you are or how to get out.
If the answer is yes, let me toss in a few variables. Ever been lost in the dark? During bad weather? Now that can be scary. I came across this post courtesy of The Adventure Journal: http://aaronteasdale.blogspot.com/2010/12/winter-descends-on-kishenehn-glacier.html
This is a pretty fascinating read, given the extreme conditions the writer was dealing with and the presence of many large predators.
Do you have a similar story? Write me about it and I’ll share it with folks.
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I normally don’t post much information about far west skiing, but if you’re going to be headed to Lake Tahoe for the Christmas and New Years holidays, you are in luck.
That part of the world recently received somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 feet of snow recently. Just in time for holiday skiers.
Bob Doucette
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