The digest is a roundup of news concerning fish and wildlife management in Washington and beyond.

Washington Fish & Wildlife News

Index

Washington Fish & Wildlife News

National & International Fish & Wildlife News

On the Lighter Side

Washington Fish & Wildlife News

Petition to List Chinook Salmon on the Federal Endangered Species List

A petition to put king salmon on the endangered list is raising alarm across Alaska.  Shelby Herbert, Alaska Public Media. June 12, 2024.

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), is considering a petition from the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) to list Alaska Chinook (king) salmon as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The request could have a significant impact on commercial fishing across the Gulf of Alaska.

Comment extension deadline requested on GOA chinook salmon litigation. Margaret Bauman, The Cordova Times. June 12, 2024.

• The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has asked NOAA Fisheries to extend the comment deadline on the petition to list Alaska Chinook salmon as endangered from July 23, 2024 to at least September 6, 2024.

Navigating the implications of Chinook listing under the ESA. Charles Ess, National Fisherman. June 13, 2024.

• The writer claims that if Alaska Chinook are listed as endangered, the listing could force the closure of other fisheries in mixed stock offshore fishing areas.

Sullivan Condemns NOAA Finding on ESA Petition for Gulf of Alaska King Salmon. Alaska Native News. May 28, 2024.

• Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) released a statement condemning NOAA Fisheries’ determination that a listing of Chinook salmon in the Gulf of Alaska as threatened or endangered under the ESA may be warranted: “It’s important to note, the petition for this listing comes from the Seattle-based ‘Wild Fish Conservancy,’ the same radical, far-left activist group that filed a meritless, deceptive lawsuit last year to shut down our small boat, hook-and-line troll salmon fishery in Southeast.”

NOAA to Determine if Chinook Salmon Should Be Declared Endangered. Fishermen’s News. May 29, 2024.

• The article contains numerous opinions from Alaskan government officials opposed to the listing petition. One example: “The petition was clearly drafted by people with little knowledge of Alaska and Alaska salmon stocks,” ADFG Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said. “It was rife with significant factual errors, omits important data that are widely available, and does not accurately describe the status of Chinook salmon in Alaska.” The commissioner said he found it “mind boggling that [NOAA Fisheries] could make a positive finding based on cherry-picked data to support a pre-determined viewpoint.” Vincent-Lang also said the Endangered Species Act is the wrong tool to address a downturn in Chinook salmon productivity and that Wild Fish Conservancy is using it as a weapon to further their own interests.

Federal review will determine if king salmon should be listed as endangered. Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal. May 29, 2024.

• Extensively quotes an Anchorage-based attorney who has worked on ESA cases. The attorney describes the ESA as a “blunt instrument” that would “ignore economic considerations and shift oversight and management from the federal government” from the state, noting that the drivers of Chinook salmon’s decline are varied and that there is no one silver bullet.

Murkowski, Sullivan, Peltola Denounce NMFS Move to Study Gulf of Alaska Chinook for ESA Listing. SeafoodNews. May 28, 2024.

• All three of Alaska’s representatives to the U.S. Senate strongly denounced the decision by NMFS to begin a robust scientific study to determine if Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon should be added to the “EPA’s” [sic] endangered species list. The article claims that Wild Fish Conservancy’s petition has been described as containing numerous factual errors, omissions, and incomplete references.

Comment: Do this to save killer whales and wild salmon from extinction. Adrian Tuohy, Times Colonist. June 1, 2024.

• Pausing ocean-based Chinook fisheries in Alaska and B.C. would immediately increase Chinook abundance for Southern Resident killer whales by 25 percent, writes Tuohy of WFC.

More Top News

WDFW scientists lay out reasons for sensitive wolf proposal. Don Jenkins, Capital Press. June 24, 2024.

• This article in the agricultural newspaper quotes Julia Smith, WDFW’s endangered species recovery manager, as she explained the department’s drive to downlist wolves from “endangered” to “sensitive” at the last Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting: “This is just to say, ‘Hey, do we think that they’re going to go extinct in the near future?’ We don’t.” In counterpoint, Jenkins quotes Claire Loebs Davis of Washington Wildlife First: “I would submit that DFW’s efforts should be focused on finding a better way and quicker way to getting to recovery standards.”

Cougar Overhunting May Increase Human-Cougar Conflicts (op-ed). Timothy Coleman, Statesman Examiner. June 25, 2024.

• Coleman, executive director of the Kettle Range Conservation Group, explains that the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is right to consider a new cougar rule limiting excess mortality, in part because overhunting destabilizes the population: “Science says that high mortality creates population ‘sinks’ that attract younger dispersing male cougars…As the younger male cougars in an area increase, so does the likelihood of conflict.”

Estimating wolf abundance with unverified methods. Adrian Treves and Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, Academia Biology. May 25, 2023.

• Last year’s study by Treves of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison and Santiago-Ávila of Project Coyote evaluates new methods used in many states to estimate wolf populations. It concludes that many methods may be unreliable and lead to overestimating wolf abundance with far-reaching consequences for their populations, such as increased wolf killing.

Predators and carnivores are not four-letter words (op-ed). Sristi Kamal, Oregon Capital Chronicle. June 13, 2024.

• Kamal of the Western Environmental Law Center writes that “unless we change the narrative on what is means to be a ‘predator’ in the animal world; unless we start framing predators as assets that are important to the health of an ecosystem instead of spotlighting only negative impacts, we will not change social tolerance and human behavior toward animals whose worlds we have changed.”

Washington State Public Lands Chief Criticizes Federal Plan to Kill a Half-Million Barred Owls in Pacific Northwest. Animal Wellness Action. June 19, 2024.

• In a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz criticized the scheme to kill barred owls to benefit endangered Northern spotted owls. She called the plan costly and unworkable and claimed it may result in adverse collateral effects.
• See also the Seattle Times article on Franz’s position.

Negative profits. Craig Medred News. June 14, 2024.

The Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association “may have become the Alaskan leader in putting the ‘non’ in non-profit,” according to Medred. Having lost an average of $1.5 million per year for the past 10 years, the state-sanctioned salmon-farming business is again borrowing state money to stay afloat with no plan to achieve solvency other than to keep trying to produce fish. The article notes that wild salmon are declining in part because of these hatchery programs and highlights the fact that an “outside” group, the Wild Fish Conservancy, is the organization that asked the NOAA to consider whether Alaska’s wild Chinook salmon warrants ESA protection.

Poisoning of wolves ‘becoming an epidemic’ in Oregon. Kendra Chamberlain, Columbia Insight. May 28, 2024.

• Oregon’s wolf population has been growing much more slowly than expected – only about 6% compared to projections of 30% – and an “epidemic” of poisoning may be behind the low numbers, according to Amaroq Weiss of the Center for Biological Diversity. Nineteen wolves have died of poisoning since 2015, including 18 in the past three years.

Beavers. Stafford Green, The Eastlake News. Summer 2024.

• Green praises Ann Prezyna and Washington Wildlife First for our work to transform the government to value science, respect nature, and prioritize the protection and preservation of wildlife and wild fish on behalf of all Washingtonians.

Outcry From Animal Welfare Groups as NOAA Grants Makah Tribe Permission to Hunt Gray Whales Off Washington State. World Animal News. June 14, 2024.

• Animal welfare groups such as the Animal Welfare Institute are objecting after the U.S. federal government granted the Makah Tribe a waiver of exemption to the Marine Mammals Protection Act to hunt gray whales. The groups write, “Although there is significant respect for the cultural traditions of the Makah Tribe and other indigenous groups, we do not support the killing of gray whales, especially considering the extensive efforts to recover the species from the brink of extinction.”
• See also coverage in WJCT News, Delta Optimist, The Guardian, and The New York Times, as well as the NOAA Fisheries press release.

Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission Deliberates on Beavers, Bald Eagles, and Cougars at Vancouver Meeting. Emily Tran, Hoodline. June 25, 2024.

• Tran summarizes the June 20-22 Commission meeting, including deliberations on wolf downlisting, the draft cougar rule, a permanent beaver relocation rule, bald eagle and peregrine falcon status, and more.
• See also WDFW’s press release.

Vote nears on ending ‘endangered’ status for WA wolves. Laurel Demkovich, Washington State Standard. June 24, 2024.

• This article discusses WDFW’s recommendation to downlist endangered gray wolves to “sensitive” in the region of the state (the eastern third) not covered by the federal endangered status. Washington Fish and Wildlife Commissioners debated WDFW’s proposal at the Commission meeting on June 22, with Vice-Chair Tim Ragen voicing concerns over the flaws of WDFW’s population projections and Commissioners Molly Linville and John Lehmkuhl supporting the downlisting.

Inside Olympia – Fish and Wildlife Commissioners Barbara Baker and Jim Anderson. TVW. June 13, 2024.

• Austin Jenkins is hosting a three-part interview series on TVW on the management of fish and wildlife in Washington State. The first interview with Commissioners Barbara Baker and Jim Anderson is now available on TVW. The two commissioners discuss the governor’s order to begin rulemaking on curbing wolf-killing in situations of conflict with livestock, the role of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in balancing conservation and recreation, consumptive users’ backlash against the Commission, and the need for reform. Claire Loebs Davis of Washington Wildlife First is scheduled to be interviewed in Part 3 of the series.

Inside Olympia – Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind. TVW. June 20, 2024.

• In the second installment of the series on Washington fish and wildlife management, Jenkins speaks with WDFW director Kelly Susewind about the role of hatchery fish in fisheries and conservation, WDFW’s position on the Columbia River dams, the governor-mandated rulemaking on limiting killing of wolves on behalf of ranchers, hunters’ “lack of trust” in the Fish and Wildlife Commission, and other topics. Susewind claims that he has steered WDFW toward accountability toward all citizens, not just the “hook-and-bullet club.”

WA proposed cougar hunting rules are good science (op-ed). Mark Elbroch, The Seattle Times. June 20, 2024.

• Elbroch, one of the foremost authorities on cougars in the country, writes that proposed changes in Washington’s cougar rules could make Washington home to the most scientific and progressive cougar harvest regulations nationwide and urges people to support them.

Accused poacher bragged about kills on social media, WA officials say. Helena Wegner, The News Tribune. June 12, 2024.

• A 29-year-old hunter who illegally baited deer, elk and black bears and trespassed onto private property to kill them has been sentenced to 80 hours of community service and fined $8,000. Police investigated him after he posted his actions on social media.
• See also WDFW’s news release.

Wildlife Managers Transported Mountain Goats to the Cascade Mountains in Washington to Boost Population Numbers, But Many Are Mysteriously Dying. Emily Chan, ChipChick. June 5, 2024.

• WDFW’s project to relocate mountain goats from the Olympic Mountains to the Cascades has resulted in the deaths of 165 out of 217 goats. Mountain goats were once common in the Cascades, but their numbers have dwindled there due to overhunting, and they now cause problems in the Olympics where they decimate vegetation.

Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation Argues Before Washington Supreme Court. Sportsmen’s Alliance. May 30, 2024.

• The hunting group is presenting oral arguments in the case of Sportsmen’s Alliance v. Lorna Smith, accusing the Washington fish and wildlife commissioner of breaking the law by holding two appointive offices in what it says is a violation of RCW 77.04.040. (Editor’s note: another commissioner, Molly Linville, also holds two appointive offices, but the group did not sue her.) The Washington State Supreme had previously ruled against Smith, who agreed to resign from the advisory Jefferson County Planning Commission. The governor’s office and attorney general appealed to the state Supreme Court.
• Scott Olmsted in NRA American Hunter writes that Smith, an “anti-hunter,” was told by a judge in 2023 that her simultaneous occupation of two appointive offices in the state was illegal and that to protect her and other “ideologue” appointees, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, along with Attorney General Bob Ferguson, appealed the judgment of the state superior judge.

Net Pens, Dead? Don’t count on it. Thank Hilary Franz. Al Bergstein, The Olympic Peninsula Environmental News. June 3, 2024.

• An article submitted by the Coastal Watershed Institute notes that the Washington Department of Natural Resources has not taken any action to codify the rule that would ban net pens on state aquatic lands, leaving open the possibility that the net pen ban could be rescinded by the next lands commissioner.

General Wildlife Management

Why fight so hard to keep sewage in Puget Sound? Tacoma’s court case raises questions (op-ed).  Alyssa Macy, The News Tribune. June 7, 2024.

• This opinion article by Alyssa Macy, CEO of Washington Conservation Action and a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, relates how a group of cities, counties and sewer districts that discharge sewage into Puget Sound is pursuing a case before the state supreme court. The case could “seriously weaken our ability to control pollution in the Sound.” The primary contaminant in sewage is nitrogen, which the Department of Ecology has chosen to control through the Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit, which requires cities and counties to reduce pollution from sewage discharges. The lawsuit seeks to prevent these pollution-reduction plans from even beginning.

Letter: Washington needs common sense back in wildlife management (op-ed). Aileen Good, Capital Press. May 28, 2024.

• A Sedro-Woolley resident asks for a return to “common sense” wildlife management, noting the failed attempt to relocate 325 mountain goats from the Olympia Peninsula to the North Cascades that killed all but about 4 goats, the spread of elk hook rot, and plans to reintroduce grizzly bears, which she claims is “without first-hand knowledge of how these predators can coexist with human populations.”

For Washington to Meet Clean Energy Goals, Governor Inslee Must Guide Projects to Optimal Locations. Conservation Northwest News Release. May 29, 2024.

• Governor Inslee has rejected the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council recommendation regarding the Horse Heaven Solar and Wind Development Project. Mitch Friedman, Executive Director of Conservation Northwest, expressed concern over Governor Inslee’s action, stating, “The Governor’s heavy-handed approach not only neglects wildlife but also jeopardizes our clean energy future by inviting backlash.”

Cougars & Bears

Grizzly bears flown in by helicopter – what could go wrong? The Sunday Times. June 20, 2024.

• A plan to reintroduce grizzly bears to the Washington wilderness aims to “right a historical wrong.” Locals worry that the reintroduction will cause conflict.

Grizzly bear spotted north of Chewelah after being relocated last year. Michael Wright, The Spokesman-Review. June 7, 2024.

• A grizzly bear that was relocated last fall after getting into trouble outside of Colville for getting into chicken feed and eating chickens is back on the west side of the Pend Oreille River.

Group of women to be honored with Carnegie Medal for saving friend from cougar attack. ABC 3340 News. June 26, 2024.

• The four Washington bikers who saved their friend during a cougar kitten attack last February received a Carnegie Medal for intervening. This article mischaracterizes the cougar as a “subadult,” as WDFW categorized it.

7 recent cougar sightings in Clark County, 3 livestock killed. John Ross Ferrara, KOIN. May 28, 2024.

• At least seven cougar-related incidents were reported in Clark County in May, including three cases of cougars killing livestock in the area. WDFW does not consider the sightings an issue and said that no Clark County residents to receive permits to kill cougars attempting to kill livestock. WDFW noted that rural Clark County provides excellent cougar habitat, and that as human population has increased, more people are living closer to wildlife and wildlife habitat.

Real-life cougar stalks Washington State University’s lambs in Pullman, home of the Cougars. Anna King, NW News Network. June 13, 2014.

• A cougar has killed as many as five lambs at WSU’s research facilities, likely a result of humans moving into former wildlife habitat and raising animals that attract predators.

Washington Cougar Hunting Season Threatened by Proposed Changes. HOWL For Wildlife. No date.

• This website posting encourages hunters to voice their opposition to the proposed changes to cougar hunting seasons and regulations by June 21.

Further Reading

Bears in Colville, Oh My! Chris Rader, Statesman Examiner. June 4, 2024.

Bear removed from JBLM. KIRO. June 22, 2024.

Did you hear about the bear in Tumwater? Here’s what happened.  Gabrielle Feliciano, The Olympian. June 21, 2024.

Grab your kids and pets: Bear sighted in Lakewood. Craig Sailor, The News Tribune. June 20, 2024.

Fish & Marine Animals

Federal leaders knew Northwest dams would hurt Native communities – and they approved. Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting. June 23, 2024.

• A new Biden administration report acknowledges the ongoing damage by dams on the Columbia River. This article asserts further that “the injuries to Native people were not just an unforeseen byproduct of federal dam building; they were taken into account …and federal leaders considered that damage a good thing.” Salmon once totaled more than 10 million in the Columbia River, but now hover around 1 million.

Commentary: Washington fisheries managed using a conservation-first approach. Ed Johnstone, NWIFC Chairman, The Chronicle. May 28, 2024.

• Johnstone writes that “for decades, treaty tribal fishing has been bearing the brunt of conservation efforts, while those who destroy and degrade habitat are not held to the same standard.” He continues that in watersheds where habitat has degraded to the point it can no longer support salmon spawning, treaty tribes have “been the leaders in operating hatchery programs to sustain those runs.” He strikes out at criticism of certain fishing practices: “In Washington, no one type of fishing gear is more sustainable than another.” He also defends hatchery programs but stresses the need for habitat protection and restoration.

Canada commits to new protections for Southern Resident killer whales. Robyn Bell, Capital Daily. June 3, 2024.

• Canada established new protections for Southern Resident killer whales that, in certain marine areas, impose mandatory vessel speed-restricted zones and interim sanctuary zones, establish a new voluntary vessel speed reduction zone, extend a measure that prevents vessels from coming within 400 meters of killer whales, ban vessels from impeding the path of killer whales, close salmon fisheries in killer whale foraging areas, and will reduce contaminants that negatively affect killer whales or their prey.
• New Canadian marine regulations that took effect June 1 are too little too late, according to a senior scientist from the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Most concerning is the threat from increased tanker traffic from the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which began commercial operations on May 1.

Warning sign of an accelerating decline in critically endangered killer whales (Orcinus orca). Rob Williams, et al., Communications, Earth & Environment. April 2, 2024.

• This study analyzes the sensitive of killer whales to variability in age structure, survival rates, and prey. It concludes that preventing extinction is still possible, but will require greater sacrifices on regional ocean use, urban development, and land use practices.

FDA warning on paralytic shellfish poisoning in PNW: Here’s what to know. Claire Rush, Fox13. June 11, 2024.

• Consumers should avoid eating shellfish from Oregon and Washington as they may be contaminated with PSP. A very large algal bloom has resulted in unprecedented levels of PSP toxins along Oregon’s coast.

Columbia River spring Chinook season extended (fishing rule change notice). Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. May 29, 2024.

• WDFW has extended the Chinook season downstream of Bonneville Dam because of “sufficient allocation of upriver spring Chinook ESA impacts to allow for an extension.”

Retention of hatchery Chinook salmon and steelhead reopens on the Lewis River. The Reflector. May 28, 2024.

• WDFW made a fishing rule change this season to allow the retention of hatchery Chinook salmon and steelhead on the Lewis River in Clark and Cowlitz counties.

Ocean salmon fishing at Neah Bay, La Push, and Ilwaco opens June 22; and Westport-Ocean Shores opens June 30. Mark Yuasa, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. June 6, 2024.

• The Pacific Fishery Management Council approved a recreational Chinook catch quota of 41,000 fish, up from last year’s quota of 39,000.

Quinault Nation calls for removing Skookumchuck Dam in Thurston County. Mitchell Roland, The Seattle Times. June 15, 2024.

• The Quinault Indian Nation has filed a petition with WDFW calling for removal of the Skookumchuck Dam, which blocks an estimated 21 miles of spawning habitat for several species of salmon, including a run of endangered spring Chinook salmon.
• See also Earthjustice’s press release.

Further Reading

Salmon snagger sentenced to jail. Jeff Clemens, Chinook Observer. May 27, 2024.

Wolves

Letter opposes down-listing wolves (letter to the editor). Cindy Joy Neff, The Olympian. June 16, 2024.

• Letter urges Olympian readers to contact fish and wildlife commissioners and asks them to oppose down-listing wolves.

Other Washington Wildlife

Rare blue northern leopard frog found in Grant County. Thomas Metcalf, Nonstop Local Digital. June 12, 2024.

• This is the first time since 2019 that a blue northern leopard frog was spotted by WDFW and is one of only a few sightings in 15 years. Northern leopard frogs are endangered and declining.

Can a tiny shorebird stop the massive expansion of a container port? Lynda Mapes, The Seattle Times, June 5, 2024.

• Over the course of 10 days, almost every western sandpiper in the world is going to stop at the Fraser River delta. But British Columbia is planning to expand its container port at the mouth of the Fraser River where the shorebirds forage and orcas hunt for salmon. The Lummi Nation has sued to overturn the approval and require tribal consultation.

At an Oregon wildlife center, birds treated after mystery tar-like pollution. Oliva Palmer, The Daily Astorian, (via The Seattle Times). June 13, 2024.

• Researchers still have not identified the oily “goop” that washed up on Pacific Northwest beaches and covered animals, or where it came from. See also this article in Tillamook County Pioneer.

Living amog some of Earth’s most extraordinary seabirds. Scott Doggett, The Port Townsend Leader. June 12, 2014.

• Doggett writes that marbled murrelets in Washington are “in trouble” and that WDFW “grossly understates” the dangers they face, which include insufficient regulation of the timber industry and the U.S. Navy’s “deafening” Growler overflights and in-water explosives.

Oregon Zoo, partners release endangered pond turtles to the wild in the Columbia River Gorge. KTVZ. May 28, 2024.

• Eleven endangered northwestern pond turtles reared at the Oregon Zoo were returned to the Columbia River Gorge as part of a project to raise newly hatched turtles gathered from wild sites for up to a year to increase their chances for survival.

State-wide bee conservation strategy blooms in Washington. USDA Forest Service Announcement. June 7, 2024.

• To protect bumblebees, the U.S. Forest Service and several partners developed and adopted a new conservation strategy across Washington state to promote proactive conservation actions for rare or sensitive species. The strategy identifies geographic areas in the state with the highest potential to support rare and declining bumble bee species. Washington’s Bumble Bee Conservation Strategy is available online. The strategy is accompanied by aninteractive online map that allows users to view information in unique combinations and at varying scales, customized to their needs.

Driver ignores signs and runs over threatened species’ nest on beach, WA official say. Helena Wegner, The New Tribune. June 16, 2024.

• A driver ignored signs and drove through dunes at the Grayland Beach State Park in Pacific County, destroying the nest of a western snowy plover, a threatened species.

Further Reading

Bears in the bin? Coyotes in the car? What to know when you encounter Washington wildlife. Libby Denkmann & Alec Cowan, KUOW. June 4, 2024.

Hunters Are Flocking to Washington State to Bag Turkeys. Dave Bernstein, Newsradio560 KPQ. June 5, 2024.

National & International Fish & Wildlife News

General Wildlife Management

Wildlife Remain Ensnared in Backward Thinking That Defies Reason (op-ed). Dwight Rodtka, Yellowstonian. June 11, 2024.

• A veteran Canadian wildlife manager condemns snaring, saying the inhumane practice poses grave threats to grizzlies and pets.

Backward Thinking Targets Bears and Wolves. Op-Ed: Chris Servheen, Mountain Journal. March 7, 2021.

• An older but still pertinent op-ed by Chris Servheen, longtime head of grizzly recovery in the Lower 48, says Montana and Idaho are degenerating into anti-predator hysteria.

Will Two of The World’s Greatest Wildlife Conservation Success Stories Be Unwritten? Christopher Servheen and Douglas Smith, Yellowstonian. June 14, 2024.

• Two eminent scientists, formerly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, say carnivore management in Western states and Congress threatens recovery of wolves and grizzlies.

Council Releases New National Strategy. The Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports. May 30, 2024.

• The Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports has released an updated national strategy for recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) for modernizing the promotion of hunting and shooting sports.

Further Reading

Gianforte administration’s handling of natural resources threatens our state (op-ed) Jock Conygham, Daily Montanan. June 2, 2024.

Why no one knows exactly how much old-growth forest we have left. Nathan Gilles, Columbia Insight (via The Columbian). May 27, 2024.

Cougars and Bears

Fatal black bear attack on woman in 2023 first in California, officials say. Mallika Kallingal, CNN. June 7, 2024.

• An elderly woman was attacked and killed in her home in a small mountain town in California. The woman’s house was full of bear attractants, with cat food she had been leaving on the porch. Bears repeatedly tried to enter through broken windows, and the victim had hit one to fend it off. Although the bear was eventually trapped and killed, new details reveal “miscommunication and delay” between local law enforcement and state wildlife officials.
• See further coverage in Outdoor Life.

Further Reading

Ban hunting, trapping of mountain lions, bobcats. Mickey Pardo, The Journal. June 2, 2024.

Wolves

Culling wolves alters the survivors and that could be ‘bad news’ for caribou, study finds. Wallis Snowdon, CBC News. June 20, 2024.

• Researchers examined unintended consequences of lethal predator control tactics. The study illustrates the problems with the current approach of killing wolves to save caribou and how targeting a keystone species can have harmful, cascading impacts.

New research illuminates the ecological importance of gray wolves in the American West. Conservation Biology Institute. June 19, 2024.

• The research is reported here: A shifting ecological baseline after wolf extirpation. William J. Ripple, et al., BioScience. June 19, 2024. The authors describe how the reduction and loss of large terrestrial predators across landscapes has led to various direct and indirect effects across multiple tropic levels, affecting overall biodiversity and the quality of habitat for other wildlife.

No charges in killing of gray wolf. Experts stumped about how it got to southern Lower Peninsula. Ed White, Associated Press (via The Mining Journal). June 14, 2024.

• Wildlife experts do not know how a gray wolf arrived in southern Michigan for the first time in more than 100 years. A hunter killed the wolf in January, claiming he mistook if for a coyote.

Michigan gray wolf population at highest in 12 years, new survey finds. Diamy Wang, Detroit Free Press. June 14, 2024.

• Michigan’s gray wolf population in the Upper Peninsula is estimated to be at least 762 wolves in 158 packs, the highest in 12 years. The population may have reached its natural limit, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

When should a cattle-killing wolf be put down? Colorado wildlife officials punt question to new advisory group. Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post. June 14, 2024.

• Colorado ranchers are urging state officials to define what constitutes chronic depredation after a wolf killed or injured seven cattle. The wolf may be part of a breeding pair that has pups.
• The Denver Gazette reports that the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission recently approved, on a 6-4 vote, a staff recommendation allowing several permits authorizing the killing of chronically depredating wolves, meaning wolves that have demonstrated repeated killing and harassment of livestock or working dogs.

Wyoming wolf torture at least spurred some action. Ted Williams, guest columnist, Bozeman Daily Chronicle. June 12, 2024.

• Wyoming resident Cody Roberts has accomplished something that wildlife advocates have failed at for decades. In a single day, he turned most of the public, including conservative politicians, against the popular sport of “wolf whacking” – i.e., chasing animals to exhaustion with snowmobiles then running them over until crippled or dead. Congressman Troy Nehls (R-TX), a strong conservative, former sheriff, hunter, and gun-rights enthusiast – announced he’s pushing national legislation to ban this practice on federal lands.

Wolf Whacking Must Go (op-ed). Franz Camenzind, Mountain Journal. May 14, 2024.

• On the heels the torture and killing of a wolf in Wyoming, Mountain Journal columnist Franz Camenzind says laws need to change.

First Wolf Den Discovered Since Reintroduction of the Species to Colorado. Matt Sparx, The K99. June 14, 2024.

• Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed the possibility of a wolf den believed to be on public land, the first since wolves were reintroduced to Colorado.

Further Reading

The Governor, the Wolf and the Warden: A Fresh Look at a Gianforte Hunt. Jonathan Weisman, The New York Times. June 3, 2024.

‘I’m constantly on edge’: Family fears wolves after 6 cattle deaths. Aaron Adelson, Colorado 9News. June 4, 2024.

Fish & Marine Mammals

Study shows precipitous drop in US, global migratory fish populations. Mark Richardson, Public News Service. May 29, 2024.

• World Wildlife Fund has found that over 80% of the world’s migratory freshwater fish populations have “have declined significantly” since the 1970s.

Pacific Indigenous leaders have a new plan to protect whales.  Treat them as people. Jared Formanek, CNN Climate. June 14, 2024.

• Māori conservationist Mere Takoko, an environmental activist from a small town in New Zealand, is spearheading a movement of Indigenous groups in the Pacific to protect whales, inking a groundbreaking treaty to make whales legal persons with inherent rights. The document is part of a multi-pronged effort to safeguard whales, which also includes quantifying their monetary value as carbon-depleting bioengineers, and deploying the latest technology to track boats that harm them.

Other Wildlife News

Despite Criticism, the Last of the Rattlesnake Roundups Hang On. Ted Williams, Yale Environment 360. June 4, 2024.

• Public outrage has caused many rattlesnake roundups – killing contests held in the name of public safety – to go out of business or convert to no-kill wildlife festivals, But in Texas and Oklahoma, these annual events continue, with thousands of snakes being slaughtered.

God’s dog or devil’s demon: Maybe just grit. Don Molde Commentary, Nevada Current. June 4, 2024.

• Molde writes that the war on coyotes continues to this day, doomed to failure and perhaps with effects that are contrary to the intended ones.

Special Guest Mike Costello from HOWL for Wildlife – California Hunting is Under Fire. CACCIA Outdoors Podcast. June 3, 2024.

• Notable quote: “I mean, we couldn’t even hunt predators if we had to use fair chase.”

Further Reading

Insecticides found to be primary driver of butterfly decline. MSU Today. June 20, 2024.

No longer considered predators, Oregon beavers get new protections from state. Alex Baumhardt, Washington State Standard. June 18, 2024.

A global study just revealed the world’s biggest known plastic polluters. Shannon Osaka. The Washington Post. April 24, 2024.

How wolves were driven to extinction in Britain – and why their return would help heal the landscape. Debbie Graham, Discover Wildlife. June 5, 2024.

On the Lighter Side

Aging one-eyed wolf has 10^th litter.  The Wildlife Society. June 10, 2024.

Adorable bear takes dip in pond, floats with her paws up at NY sanctuary. Natalie O’Neill, New York Post. June 20, 2024.