Breaking News: Federal Court Restores Protections for Great Lakes Wolves, Ends Trophy Hunting and Commercial Trapping | Keep Michigan Wolves Protected
Lola
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Supporting a Great Organization
I don't want my blog to turn into a beg for donations, but I'm making an exception this holiday season. The Keweenaw Land Trust (KLT) is doing such great work to preserve the natural areas of the Copper Country, the area where I grew up. KLT manages Lightfoot Bay, the cabin I visit every summer and now they are looking to restore another block of land. I feel so strongly about their mission, that I want to share this email I received from them recently.
This is the final email focusing on the major details of KLT's Land Slam fundraising campaign. We've already covered the Paavola Wetlands Expansion and Point Abbaye Initiative, which leaves our Princess Point Water Trail Campsite project for last. It may be small, but there's a lot of potential at this location and we need your help to make it happen!
This is the final email focusing on the major details of KLT's Land Slam fundraising campaign. We've already covered the Paavola Wetlands Expansion and Point Abbaye Initiative, which leaves our Princess Point Water Trail Campsite project for last. It may be small, but there's a lot of potential at this location and we need your help to make it happen!
The Princess Point property lies on the Keweenaw Waterway directly across from the Sturgeon River Sloughs. What the 4-acre property lacks in easy road access (it's a 40 minute drive from Houghton), it makes up for in its prime location for water-based activities. In addition to the Sturgeon River Sloughs, paddlers can explore the Snake River, numerous islands along the Portage River, and nearby Portage Lake, all within a short distance of their launch point. The majority of the shoreline in the vicinity is undeveloped, making this area ecologically rich and excellent for bird watching and fishing. Paddlers can visit for the day via the Sloughs boat launch off of US-41.
While 4 acres may not sound like much land, it's how we plan to use it that really matters. Princess Point is perfectly situated along the Keweenaw Water Trail and will make for an excellent rustic campsite for overnight visitors. The Copper Island Kayak Challenge recently highlighted the need for more public places along the Keweenaw's shoreline for camping or just a rest. With high and dry public land hard to come by in this area (most is wetland wildlife areas managed by the Michigan DNR), the Princess Point water trail campsite will fill an important need. The property has an old cabin that we plan to repair and allow visitors to stay in, similar to our offerings at Lightfoot Bay. With so many destinations within striking distance by canoe or kayak, paddlers can spend the night in a tent or inside the cabin and head out to visit more special places the next day.
The land, once a cherished family retreat, is generously being donated to KLT by a the current generation of a dispersed family that has local ties to the region. We are excited to share their vision for a public recreation area with the rest of the community. However, to accept the property we need to pay back taxes still owed - just a tiny fraction of the total project costs - before it's a done deal! Please donate to the Land Slam fundraiser to help establish the Princess Point Water Trail Campsite! We appreciate anything you can give to help make the Land Slam a reality.
-Keweenaw Land Trust Team
To give to the Keweenaw Land Trust, click on the Please donate link above or send your checks to
Keweenaw Land Trust
801 N. Lincoln Drive. Ste. 306
Hancock, MI 49930
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Science Daily - December 3, 2014
Featured Research
from universities, journals, and other organizations
Lethal control of wolves backfires on livestock
Date:
December 3, 2014
Source:
Washington State University
Summary:
Researchers have found that it is counter-productive to kill wolves to keep them from preying on livestock. Shooting and trapping lead to more dead sheep and cattle the following year, not fewer. Wildlife biologists say that, for each wolf killed, the odds of more livestock depredations increase significantly.
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Washington State University wildlife biologist Rob Wielgus is studying lethal and non-lethal methods to keep wolves from preying on livestock.
Credit: Kay Morris
Washington State University researchers have found that it is counter-productive to kill wolves to keep them from preying on livestock. Shooting and trapping lead to more dead sheep and cattle the following year, not fewer.
Writing in the journal PLOS ONE, WSU wildlife biologist Rob Wielgus and data analyst Kaylie Peebles say that, for each wolf killed, the odds of more livestock depredations increase significantly.
The trend continues until 25 percent of the wolves in an area are killed. Ranchers and wildlife managers then see a "standing wave of livestock depredations," said Wielgus.
Moreover, he and Peebles write, that rate of wolf mortality "is unsustainable and cannot be carried out indefinitely if federal relisting of wolves is to be avoided."
The gray wolf was federally listed as endangered in 1974. During much of its recovery in the northern Rocky Mountains, government predator control efforts have been used to keep wolves from attacking sheep and livestock. With wolves delisted in 2012, sport hunting has also been used. But until now, the effectiveness of lethal control has been what Wielgus and Peebles call a "widely accepted, but untested, hypothesis."
Their study is the largest of its kind, analyzing 25 years of lethal control data from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Interagency Annual Wolf Reports in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. They found that killing one wolf increases the odds of depredations 4 percent for sheep and 5 to 6 percent for cattle the following year. If 20 wolves are killed, livestock deaths double.
Work reported in PLOS ONE last year by Peebles, Wielgus and other WSU colleagues found that lethal controls of cougars also backfire, disrupting their populations so much that younger, less disciplined cougars attack more livestock.
Still, Wielgus did not expect to see the same result with wolves.
"I had no idea what the results were going to be, positive or negative," he said. "I said, 'Let's take a look at it and see what happened.' I was surprised that there was a big effect."
Wielgus said the wolf killings likely disrupt the social cohesion of the pack. While an intact breeding pair will keep young offspring from mating, disruption can set sexually mature wolves free to breed, leading to an increase in breeding pairs. As they have pups, they become bound to one place and can't hunt deer and elk as freely. Occasionally, they turn to livestock.
Under Washington state's wolf management plan, wolves will be a protected species until there are 15 breeding pairs for three years. Depredations and lethal controls, legal and otherwise, are one of the biggest hurdles to that happening.
Wolves from the Huckleberry Pack killed more than 30 sheep in Stevens County, Wash., this summer, prompting state wildlife officials to authorize killing up to four wolves. An aerial gunner ended up killing the pack's alpha female. A second alpha female, from the Teanaway pack near Ellensburg, Wash., was illegally shot and killed in October.
That left three breeding pairs in the state.
As it is, said Wielgus, a small percentage of livestock deaths are from wolves. According to the management plan, they account for between .1 percent and .6 percent of all livestock deaths--a minor threat compared to other predators, disease, accidents and the dangers of calving.
In an ongoing study of non-lethal wolf control, Wielgus's Large Carnivore Lab this summer monitored 300 radio-tagged sheep and cattle in Eastern Washington wolf country. None were killed by wolves.
Still, there will be some depredations, he said. He encourages more non-lethal interventions like guard dogs, "range riders" on horseback, flags, spotlights and "risk maps" that discourage grazing animals in hard-to-protect, wolf-rich areas.
"The only way you're going to completely eliminate livestock depredations is to get rid of all the wolves," Wielgus said, "and society has told us that that's not going to happen."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Washington State University. The original article was written by Eric Sorensen. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
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Thursday, December 4, 2014
Wolf Poaching In the U.P. - Michigan Department of Natural Resources
If you have information regarding these poaching events, please contact the DNR.
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 4, 2014Contact: Debbie Munson Badini, 906-226-1352 or
Lt. Skip Hagy, 906-293-5131 ext. 4100
DNR seeks tips in two wolf poaching cases in Mackinac and Schoolcraft
counties; reward offered
Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are seeking information on two separate wolf poaching cases that recently occurred in in Mackinac and Schoolcraft counties in the Upper Peninsula.The first case occurred near the Mackinac-Luce county line close to M-117 southwest of Newberry. The wolf was found near County Road 468 in Lakefield Township Nov. 26 and died of a gunshot wound as determined through a forensic examination. The wolf had been killed at another location and transported to where it was dumped.The second poaching occurred in Schoolcraft County near Gulliver in Doyle Township. In this case, a wolf, which was part of a wildlife study, was killed and the tracking collar was removed and disposed of. Evidence of this poaching was also located Nov. 26.A reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the subject or subjects involved. Anyone with any possible information on these cases is asked to call the Report All Poaching Hotline at 800-292-7800, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or to contact their local DNR office or conservation officer. Information may be left anonymously. Callers may remain anonymous and still be eligible to receive a reward.The maximum penalty for poaching a wolf is 90 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,000, or both, plus reimbursement of $1,500 to the state for the animal. Poaching convictions also usually include a suspension of hunting privileges for a period of four years.Wolves are a protected species in Michigan and cannot legally be killed except in the defense of life. For more information on wolves in Michigan, go to www.michigan.gov/wolves.
Dec. 4, 2014Contact: Debbie Munson Badini, 906-226-1352 or
Lt. Skip Hagy, 906-293-5131 ext. 4100
DNR seeks tips in two wolf poaching cases in Mackinac and Schoolcraft
counties; reward offered
Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are seeking information on two separate wolf poaching cases that recently occurred in in Mackinac and Schoolcraft counties in the Upper Peninsula.The first case occurred near the Mackinac-Luce county line close to M-117 southwest of Newberry. The wolf was found near County Road 468 in Lakefield Township Nov. 26 and died of a gunshot wound as determined through a forensic examination. The wolf had been killed at another location and transported to where it was dumped.The second poaching occurred in Schoolcraft County near Gulliver in Doyle Township. In this case, a wolf, which was part of a wildlife study, was killed and the tracking collar was removed and disposed of. Evidence of this poaching was also located Nov. 26.A reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the subject or subjects involved. Anyone with any possible information on these cases is asked to call the Report All Poaching Hotline at 800-292-7800, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or to contact their local DNR office or conservation officer. Information may be left anonymously. Callers may remain anonymous and still be eligible to receive a reward.The maximum penalty for poaching a wolf is 90 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,000, or both, plus reimbursement of $1,500 to the state for the animal. Poaching convictions also usually include a suspension of hunting privileges for a period of four years.Wolves are a protected species in Michigan and cannot legally be killed except in the defense of life. For more information on wolves in Michigan, go to www.michigan.gov/wolves.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.
Oak Wilt - Michigan Department of Natural Resources - December 4, 2014
Showcasing the DNR
Michigan DNR and U.S. Forest Service partner to protect oak trees from killer fungus
Like American elm in the 1950s and ash trees in more recent history, Michigan’s red oak trees are facing potentially significant die-offs due to an exotic and largely invisible killer: oak wilt.
A deadly fungus that can kill previously healthy trees within a matter of weeks, oak wilt is spread by sap-feeding beetles – also known as “picnic beetles” – that introduce the disease to freshly wounded trees. The fungus then quickly moves through the underground root systems that connect entire stands of oak trees, rapidly increasing the impact of one infected tree.
“Oak wilt kills by interfering with the vessels that transport water throughout the tree,” said Roger Mech, forest health specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Resources Division. “The fungus plugs up those vessels and is fatal; if a red oak tree is exposed to oak wilt spores, they are going to kill the tree.
“It just floors me how quickly it happens. It’s dramatic.”
Trees with oak wilt commonly begin dying from the top down, since the top is farthest from the roots and is the first part of the tree to suffer from lack of water. Red oaks shedding their leaves in June or July instead of during the late fall can be a sign of an oak wilt infection.
Although experts do not predict the loss of red oaks in Michigan will be on the same scale as ash trees lost to the emerald ash borer, the impact will still be significant in terms of losing forested areas that provide recreation, critical wildlife habitat and valuable timber.
“In our state parks and recreation areas in particular, it has become a huge issue,” said Heidi Frei, stewardship coordinator for the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division. “P.J. Hoffmaster State Park is one example where more than 140 mature red oaks have been lost, resulting in a near clear-cut of the campground area.”
Many state parks, recreation areas, state forest campgrounds and other areas of state-managed land have been impacted by oak wilt, with the disease now widespread across much of the Lower Peninsula and parts of the southern Upper Peninsula.
Unfortunately, once oak wilt is present it is nearly impossible to entirely eradicate, but opportunities have been identified to help slow the spread of the disease.
“All signs point to the movement of firewood as a major culprit in the rapid spread of oak wilt,” Frei said, noting that when oak wilt is detected in a park or recreation area, it is typically first found in or near the campgrounds, where trees with vehicle- or camper-inflicted damage are especially vulnerable to infection from contaminated firewood.
“Cooperation from the public in using locally sourced firewood rather than transporting it will be critical in helping to protect valuable urban landscapes and rural forests from the devastating impacts of oak wilt disease and other forest diseases and pests, like the emerald ash borer,” Frei said.
Landowners are also advised to not prune oak trees between April 15 and July 15, when the beetles that spread the fungus take advantage of trees with fresh wounds to feed on sap. Planting trees that are resistant to oak wilt is also recommended.
Trees in the in the red oak group – those that have pointy-lobed leaves, such as northern red oak, black oak and pin oak– are most susceptible to the disease, Mech said. White oaks – those with rounded lobes – are much less susceptible, though they occasionally are also infected.
“We tell folks that if they’re looking to reduce the risk of losing entire stands of trees to oak wilt, increasing diversity in their landscaping and forested land is ideal,” Mech said. “If they want to plant oak trees, white oak is the best option.”
In addition to these preemptive means of preventing or slowing the spread of oak wilt, the DNR’s Forest Resources and Parks and Recreation divisions have partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to develop and implement a method of treating stands of oak trees that are already infected.
The new cooperative effort between the DNR and USFS focuses specifically on stopping the spread of oak wilt through underground root systems by
identifying stands of infected trees and then using specialized equipment to create narrow trenches between the trees, separating the root systems.
“We use a vibratory plow – equipment typically used for laying cable – and cut roots to a depth of 5 feet,” Mech said. “The DNR’s Forest Fire Experiment Station in Roscommon designed and built special blades to reach a sufficient depth to literally slice the roots, establishing a barrier between the infected and uninfected trees.”
Considering the highly contagious nature of oak wilt and the fact that root systems of large oak trees can spread 60 feet or more, all red oaks found within the trenched area must be removed for the treatment to be effective.
The removed trees are cut and chipped, burned, or sawed into lumber to help prevent any potential overland spread of oak wilt spores.
In 2014, the plow treatments were completed on state forest land in Alpena, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Missaukee, Otsego and Roscommon counties, and national forest land in Iosco, Manistee and Wexford counties. Additional work will continue in 2015.
Although the trenching method works well in forested areas, Mech said there are challenges to using it in urban or residential areas.
“In some cases, the plow can’t be used due to buried utilities, septic and sewer lines, small lot sizes and other limitations,” Mech said. “This method is effective where we can use it, but it isn’t a fail-safe. Response treatments have their limitations.”
“Long-term success in combating the spread of this devastating forest disease will depend heavily on the public’s support for taking the necessary proactive measures. The two approaches go hand-in-hand.”
To learn more about preventing the spread of oak wilt disease in Michigan, visitwww.michigan.gov/foresthealth.
Like American elm in the 1950s and ash trees in more recent history, Michigan’s red oak trees are facing potentially significant die-offs due to an exotic and largely invisible killer: oak wilt.
A deadly fungus that can kill previously healthy trees within a matter of weeks, oak wilt is spread by sap-feeding beetles – also known as “picnic beetles” – that introduce the disease to freshly wounded trees. The fungus then quickly moves through the underground root systems that connect entire stands of oak trees, rapidly increasing the impact of one infected tree.
“Oak wilt kills by interfering with the vessels that transport water throughout the tree,” said Roger Mech, forest health specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Resources Division. “The fungus plugs up those vessels and is fatal; if a red oak tree is exposed to oak wilt spores, they are going to kill the tree.
“It just floors me how quickly it happens. It’s dramatic.”
Trees with oak wilt commonly begin dying from the top down, since the top is farthest from the roots and is the first part of the tree to suffer from lack of water. Red oaks shedding their leaves in June or July instead of during the late fall can be a sign of an oak wilt infection.
Although experts do not predict the loss of red oaks in Michigan will be on the same scale as ash trees lost to the emerald ash borer, the impact will still be significant in terms of losing forested areas that provide recreation, critical wildlife habitat and valuable timber.
“In our state parks and recreation areas in particular, it has become a huge issue,” said Heidi Frei, stewardship coordinator for the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division. “P.J. Hoffmaster State Park is one example where more than 140 mature red oaks have been lost, resulting in a near clear-cut of the campground area.”
Many state parks, recreation areas, state forest campgrounds and other areas of state-managed land have been impacted by oak wilt, with the disease now widespread across much of the Lower Peninsula and parts of the southern Upper Peninsula.
Unfortunately, once oak wilt is present it is nearly impossible to entirely eradicate, but opportunities have been identified to help slow the spread of the disease.“All signs point to the movement of firewood as a major culprit in the rapid spread of oak wilt,” Frei said, noting that when oak wilt is detected in a park or recreation area, it is typically first found in or near the campgrounds, where trees with vehicle- or camper-inflicted damage are especially vulnerable to infection from contaminated firewood.
“Cooperation from the public in using locally sourced firewood rather than transporting it will be critical in helping to protect valuable urban landscapes and rural forests from the devastating impacts of oak wilt disease and other forest diseases and pests, like the emerald ash borer,” Frei said.
Landowners are also advised to not prune oak trees between April 15 and July 15, when the beetles that spread the fungus take advantage of trees with fresh wounds to feed on sap. Planting trees that are resistant to oak wilt is also recommended.
Trees in the in the red oak group – those that have pointy-lobed leaves, such as northern red oak, black oak and pin oak– are most susceptible to the disease, Mech said. White oaks – those with rounded lobes – are much less susceptible, though they occasionally are also infected.
“We tell folks that if they’re looking to reduce the risk of losing entire stands of trees to oak wilt, increasing diversity in their landscaping and forested land is ideal,” Mech said. “If they want to plant oak trees, white oak is the best option.”
In addition to these preemptive means of preventing or slowing the spread of oak wilt, the DNR’s Forest Resources and Parks and Recreation divisions have partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to develop and implement a method of treating stands of oak trees that are already infected.
The new cooperative effort between the DNR and USFS focuses specifically on stopping the spread of oak wilt through underground root systems by
identifying stands of infected trees and then using specialized equipment to create narrow trenches between the trees, separating the root systems.“We use a vibratory plow – equipment typically used for laying cable – and cut roots to a depth of 5 feet,” Mech said. “The DNR’s Forest Fire Experiment Station in Roscommon designed and built special blades to reach a sufficient depth to literally slice the roots, establishing a barrier between the infected and uninfected trees.”
Considering the highly contagious nature of oak wilt and the fact that root systems of large oak trees can spread 60 feet or more, all red oaks found within the trenched area must be removed for the treatment to be effective.
The removed trees are cut and chipped, burned, or sawed into lumber to help prevent any potential overland spread of oak wilt spores.
In 2014, the plow treatments were completed on state forest land in Alpena, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Missaukee, Otsego and Roscommon counties, and national forest land in Iosco, Manistee and Wexford counties. Additional work will continue in 2015.
Although the trenching method works well in forested areas, Mech said there are challenges to using it in urban or residential areas.
“In some cases, the plow can’t be used due to buried utilities, septic and sewer lines, small lot sizes and other limitations,” Mech said. “This method is effective where we can use it, but it isn’t a fail-safe. Response treatments have their limitations.”
“Long-term success in combating the spread of this devastating forest disease will depend heavily on the public’s support for taking the necessary proactive measures. The two approaches go hand-in-hand.”
To learn more about preventing the spread of oak wilt disease in Michigan, visitwww.michigan.gov/foresthealth.
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