Fw: Coyotes,Wolves,Cougars..forever!

http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com/)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: #888; FONT-SIZE: 22px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none;">Coyotes,Wolves,Cougars..forever! Dave Mance is the Editor of my favorite magazine, NORTHERN WOODLANDS, a beautifully written and illustrated publication that expertly talks all things New England/New York State outdoors each and every quarter...............Dave's column below entitled SCHIZOPHRENIA, sums up so well the myriad of perspectives that all of us who seek rewilding encounter daily with other stakeholders who approach the landscape with views different than our own..........We must become skilled COLLABORATORS and unlike our Federal Senators and Congressmen(at war with each other, it seems), find enough common ground with the miners, hunters, farmers, ranchers, homeowners, businessmen and yes, even politicians so that progress and not stalemate is made on making our land vibrant and alive with all the creatures that were found here at the time of European colonization..........My New Years wish for 2012! Cougars in the Bitteroots targeted as a way to improve Elk hunting.....Montana is considering changing mountain lion hunting in the Bitterroot from a permit-only season to a hybrid season that allows permit holders to hunt during the early part of the season and opens it up to anyone with a license in the later portion of the season until a set quota is met......The idea was supported by Rep. Pat Connell, R-Corvallis."I look at this as a win/win," Connell said. "It will maintain quality hunting for houndsmen in the early portion of the season, but there will also be opportunity for outfitters and non-houndsmen in the later part."Connell said a study started this year on elk herd dynamics in the Bitterroot show that mountain lions are impacting elk calf numbers. .........Of course Mr Connell's comments are the typical ones that are always filtered through the perspective of the hunting community.........Lower the competition for Elk so every human has an easy day in the field.........This antiquated and non-scientific approach to game management will only change if we have all stakeholders on Game Commission boards and not just hunters and cattlemen Our friend Mark Bekoff summing rewilding up as we enter this Christmas and holiday season: " Many, perhaps most, human animals, are isolated and fragmented internally concerning their relationships with nonhuman animals, so much that we're alienated from them. We don't connect with other animals, including other humans, because we can't or don't empathize with them. The same goes for our lack of connection with various landscapes. We don't understand they're alive, vibrant, dynamic, magical, and magnificent. Alienation often results in different forms of domination and destruction, but domination is not what it means "to be human." Power does not mean license to do whatever we want to do because we can...Rewilding projects often involve building wildlife bridges and underpasses so that animals can freely move about. These corridors, as they're called, can also be more personalized. I see rewilding our heart as a dynamic process that will not only foster the development of corridors of coexistence and compassion for wild animals but also facilitate the formation of corridors in our bodies that connect our heart and brain. In turn, these connections, or reconnections, will result in feelings that will facilitate heartfelt actions to make the lives of animals better.....In the future will we be able to look back with pride? ... Clearly it is possible to look at all we have created and see only what we have destroyed. But that, in my view, would be our mistake. We most certainly can create a better Anthropocene. We have really only just begun, and our knowledge and power have never been greater. We will need to work together with each other and the planet in novel ways. The first step will be in our own minds. The Holocene is gone. In the Anthropocene we are the creators, engineers and permanent global stewards of a sustainable human nature." Dave Mance is the Editor of my favorite magazine, NORTHERN WOODLANDS, a beautifully written and illustrated publication that expertly talks all things New England/New York State outdoors each and every quarter...............Dave's column below entitled SCHIZOPHRENIA, sums up so well the myriad of perspectives that all of us who seek rewilding encounter daily with other stakeholders who approach the landscape with views different than our own..........We must become skilled COLLABORATORS and unlike our Federal Senators and Congressmen(at war with each other, it seems), find enough common ground with the miners, hunters, farmers, ranchers, homeowners, businessmen and yes, even politicians so that progress and not stalemate is made on making our land vibrant and alive with all the creatures that were found here at the time of European colonization..........My New Years wish for 2012! Posted: 19 Dec 2011 10:42 PM PST Schizophrenia by Dave Mance III | Most people, myself included, make sense of the world by looking at what's right in front of their face. We know our own lives, after all. And we know our little slice of the world. I can tell you, with absolute authority, about the forest health on my little woodlot in southern Vermont. I can tell you where the Christmas tree pine grows in dense carpets; where the bobcats go when the deep snow comes. I can take you stand by stand and tell you where the maple is regenerating nicely, or where hay-scented fern has made the understory a discouraging carpet of green. (Well, yellow this time of year.) But the further out we expand from our own experiences and our own little slice of earth, the more unclear things become. I don't know for sure about the forest health across town, let alone statewide or regionally. Or what animal populations are up and what's down where you live. This uncertainty makes our magazine(NORTHERN WOODLANDS) and our community of readers valuable, as we can talk to each other about these things, share anecdotes, broaden each other's perspectives. But at the same time, this uncertainty can make big picture public policy discussions about environmental/conservation issues seem baffling and very far away. I attended a public policy meeting recently in Vermont, where foresters were appalled by the deer damage they were seeing on their woodlots and hunters were appalled by the lack of deer they were seeing in the woods. One group wanted less deer, the other more, and they were letting government officials know it. That same afternoon, I had lunch with a dairy farmer, and when I told her I was worried about the declining number of dairy farms in Vermont, she responded by pointing out that where once Joe Farmer had five boys who went on to own five farms, today, one big farm supports six families, they make better money than they used to, and each family gets to take a vacation. Her feeling was that her dairy was doing just fine, thank you very much. That very same evening, I read an editorial in Northern Logger magazine where loggers in western New York were saying there's too much competition and overcapacity was flooding the market with logs and driving down prices, while mill owners were complaining that there's not enough loggers out there and they were being forced to pay too much for a limited supply of wood. So who knows, right? Everything is relative to everyone's individual reality, and often times, contradicting narratives can be equally true. The whole thing makes me empathize with the people – the politicians, the entrepreneurs, the men and women who sit on these think tanks – who are charged with steering public policy. It makes me wonder how they deal with being intellectually whiplashed everyday by opposing viewpoints that can be equally valid. Imagine being in charge of a state's deer herd and having to perpetually find a compromise that won't make anyone happy? Or being charged with coming up with solutions to buoy a forest products industry that doesn't look the same from one state to the next, or one town to the next, or one person to the next. There's no epiphany here, just an observation. Visit http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com

Cougars in the Bitteroots targeted as a way to improve Elk hunting.....Montana is considering changing mountain lion hunting in the Bitterroot from a permit-only season to a hybrid season that allows permit holders to hunt during the early part of the season and opens it up to anyone with a license in the later portion of the season until a set quota is met......The idea was supported by Rep. Pat Connell, R-Corvallis."I look at this as a win/win," Connell said. "It will maintain quality hunting for houndsmen in the early portion of the season, but there will also be opportunity for outfitters and non-houndsmen in the later part."Connell said a study started this year on elk herd dynamics in the Bitterroot show that mountain lions are impacting elk calf numbers. .........Of course Mr Connell's comments are the typical ones that are always filtered through the perspective of the hunting community.........Lower the competition for Elk so every human has an easy day in the field.........This antiquated and non-scientific approach to game management will only change if we have all stakeholders on Game Commission boards and not just hunters and cattlemen Posted: 19 Dec 2011 10:22 PM PST FWP to consider changes to Bitterroot hunting seasons The state's general big game hunting season ended last Sunday with a lot of empty freezers for Bitterroot area hunters. Hunting in the Bitterroot will be different in many ways if tentative seasons now being considered are approved. The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission agreed to consider proposed changes to elk, deer, mountain lion, black bear and mountain goat seasons in the Bitterroot at its regular meeting last week. Sportsmen will have a chance to offer their input at a pair of meetings coming up in January in Hamilton and Darby on the proposed seasons. "There is a lot on the table this year in the Bitterroot," said FWP regional wildlife manager Mike Thompson. "With all the noise going on in the public arena, it's hard to draw a bead on what the average sportsmen and landowners want."With it being so loud on both ends of the spectrum, this is a year that we need to hear from people to help us shape things," Thompson said. The proposed change likely to catch most sportsmen's eye is the proposal that would make all elk hunting in the East Fork of the Bitterroot by permit only.While there would be no limit to the number of permits issued by the state, hunters would have to give up their opportunity to put in for bull elk permits in places like the Missouri Breaks or the Elkhorn Mountains. "The need is definitely there to protect those bulls in the East Fork," said Tony Jones, president of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association. "Right now, there are still a good number of cows left. If there's something we can do for the next two years and fix the bull/cow ratio, then we should consider it." Another major change could happen with mountain lion hunting in the region. The state is considering changing mountain lion hunting in the Bitterroot from a permit-only season to a hybrid season that allows permit holders to hunt during the early part of the season and opens it up to anyone with a license in the later portion of the season until a set quota is met. The idea was supported by Rep. Pat Connell, R-Corvallis."I look at this as a win/win," Connell said. "It will maintain quality hunting for houndsmen in the early portion of the season, but there will also be opportunity for outfitters and non-houndsmen in the later part."Connell said a study started this year on elk herd dynamics in the Bitterroot show that mountain lions are impacting elk calf numbers. "The idea is not to eliminate predators, but we are looking to try get their numbers more back in balance with our elk populations," he said. Another proposal calls for extending the black bear hunt to June 15 throughout the entire valley. Last year, that extended season was available only in a couple of hunting districts. The opportunity to hunt mountain goats in the Bitterroot will decrease dramatically under another proposal that combines a number of hunting districts and lowers quotas. "We do support that proposal," Jones said. "We need to find out why those numbers of goats is decreasing. I've been putting in for a permit for 25 years and now it's going to be even harder to get." The final proposal would provide mule deer hunters with some additional opportunity for a wilderness hunt.It's really something of a plus that we could add some hunter opportunity with very little impact," Jones said. The proposal calls for adding a two-week mule deer rifle hunting season inside the wilderness boundary between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15."We had it one time back in the mid-1990s, but it went away due a lack of hunter participation," Jones said. "With the situation we face now with less hunting opportunities, people might be more interested." The Hamilton meeting will be held Jan. 9 at the Bitterroot River Inn from 6:30 to 9 p.m. In Darby, the meeting will be at the high school on Jan. 17 at the same times. Following public comment, the commission will make a decision on which proposals to approve at its Feb. 16 meeting. Visit http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com

Our friend Mark Bekoff summing rewilding up as we enter this Christmas and holiday season: " Many, perhaps most, human animals, are isolated and fragmented internally concerning their relationships with nonhuman animals, so much that we're alienated from them. We don't connect with other animals, including other humans, because we can't or don't empathize with them. The same goes for our lack of connection with various landscapes. We don't understand they're alive, vibrant, dynamic, magical, and magnificent. Alienation often results in different forms of domination and destruction, but domination is not what it means "to be human." Power does not mean license to do whatever we want to do because we can...Rewilding projects often involve building wildlife bridges and underpasses so that animals can freely move about. These corridors, as they're called, can also be more personalized. I see rewilding our heart as a dynamic process that will not only foster the development of corridors of coexistence and compassion for wild animals but also facilitate the formation of corridors in our bodies that connect our heart and brain. In turn, these connections, or reconnections, will result in feelings that will facilitate heartfelt actions to make the lives of animals better.....In the future will we be able to look back with pride? ... Clearly it is possible to look at all we have created and see only what we have destroyed. But that, in my view, would be our mistake. We most certainly can create a better Anthropocene. We have really only just begun, and our knowledge and power have never been greater. We will need to work together with each other and the planet in novel ways. The first step will be in our own minds. The Holocene is gone. In the Anthropocene we are the creators, engineers and permanent global stewards of a sustainable human nature." Posted: 19 Dec 2011 10:14 PM PST Rewilding Our Hearts: Maintaining Hope and Faith in Trying Times by Marc Bekoff A recovered Jasper playing with his red ball We're running out of world and wildness Humans are a force in nature. "Tell me something I don't know", I hear you lament. We're all over the place, big-brained, big-footed, arrogant, invasive, menacing, and marauding mammals. No need to look for mythical Bigfoot: we're here! We leave huge footprints all over the place and have been rather unsuccessful at solving urgent problems. Robert Berry fears we're simply "running out of world" (2003. God's book of works. Continuum, London). Perhaps we've already "run out of world" including wildness. Some go as far to argue we've created a world that's so technologically and socially complex we can't control it. I'm always looking for ways to remain positive and hopeful in challenging times. And I know how difficult it can be when it seems that so many things are going wrong. Mass media constantly begins with horror stories about death and destruction and then at the end of a TV show, for example, we hear about the good people who are working to make the world a better place for all beings. They sometimes get a minute or two after almost 30 minutes of negativity. I've often suggested that TV and radio news shows should begin with a two positive stories, talk about other news, and then end with at least two positive messages. There's Always Jasper We can learn a lot about being positive from other animals and there's always Jasper, a recovered Asiatic moon bear, to think about for hope and inspiration. After years of horrific suffering Jasper has become the spokes-bear for forgiveness, peace, trust, and hope. I can't thank Jasper enough for sharing his journey and his dreams. Jasper, like the dogs, cats, and many other nonhuman animals ("animals") who also need us, make us more humane and thus more human. The true spirit of humans, our inborn nature, is to help rather than to harm. Rewilding as a personal journey: Reconnecting with (M)other Nature For a book I'm writing called Rewilding Our Hearts I've been thinking of ways to keep that loving feeling in times when many people are suffering and can't seem to see the light. Because of what I do for a living I look to the animals for guidance. And I found just what I was looking for when I began to read about what are called rewilding projects. The word "rewilding" became an essential part of talk among conservationists in the late 1990s when two well-known conservation biologists, Michael Soulé and Reed Noss, wrote a now classic paper called "Rewilding and biodiversity: Complimentary goals for continental conservation" that appeared in the magazine Wild Earth (Fall 1998, 18-28. 15). In her book Rewilding the World conservationist Caroline Fraser noted that rewilding basically could be boiled down to three words: Cores, Corridors, and Carnivores. Dave Foreman, director of the Rewilding Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a true visionary, sees rewilding as a conservation strategy based on three premises: "(1) healthy ecosystems need large carnivores, (2) large carnivores need bug, wild roadless areas, and (3) most roadless areas are small and thus need to be linked." Conservation biologists and others who write about rewilding or work on rewilding projects see it as a large-scale process involving projects of different sizes that go beyond carnivores, such as the ambitious, courageous, and forward-looking Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, well known as the Y2Y project.  Of course, rewilding goes beyond carnivores, as it must. The core words associated with large-scale rewilding projects are connection and connectivity, the establishment of links among geographical areas so that animals can roam as freely as possible with few if any disruptions to their movements. For this to happen ecosystems must be connected so that their integrity and wholeness are maintained or reestablished. Regardless of scale, ranging from huge areas encompassing a wide variety of habitats that need to be reconnected or that need to be protected to personal interactions with animals and habitats, the need to rewild and reconnect and to build or maintain links centers on the fact that there has been extensive isolation and fragmentation "out there" in nature, between ourselves and (M)other nature, and within ourselves.  Many, perhaps most, human animals, are isolated and fragmented internally concerning their relationships with nonhuman animals, so much that we're alienated from them. We don't connect with other animals, including other humans, because we can't or don't empathize with them. The same goes for our lack of connection with various landscapes. We don't understand they're alive, vibrant, dynamic, magical, and magnificent. Alienation often results in different forms of domination and destruction, but domination is not what it means "to be human." Power does not mean license to do whatever we want to do because we can. Rewilding projects often involve building wildlife bridges and underpasses so that animals can freely move about. These corridors, as they're called, can also be more personalized. I see rewilding our heart as a dynamic process that will not only foster the development of corridors of coexistence and compassion for wild animals but also facilitate the formation of corridors in our bodies that connect our heart and brain. In turn, these connections, or reconnections, will result in feelings that will facilitate heartfelt actions to make the lives of animals better.  These are the sorts of processes that will help the new field of compassionate conservation further develop. When I think about what can be done to help others a warm feeling engulfs me and I'm sure it's part of that feeling of being rewilded. To want to help others in need is natural so that glow is to be expected. Reasons for hope and inspiration: There's no going back to the way things were Erle Ellis, who works in the Department of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, notes that while it's true that we've transformed Earth beyond recovery, rather than looking back in despair we should look ahead to what we can achieve. He writes, "There will be no returning to our comfortable cradle. The global patterns of the Holocene have receded and their return is no longer possible, sustainable, or even desirable. It is no longer Mother Nature who will care for us, but us who must care for her. This raises an important but often neglected question: can we create a good Anthropocene? In the future will we be able to look back with pride? ... Clearly it is possible to look at all we have created and see only what we have destroyed. But that, in my view, would be our mistake. We most certainly can create a better Anthropocene. We have really only just begun, and our knowledge and power have never been greater. We will need to work together with each other and the planet in novel ways. The first step will be in our own minds. The Holocene is gone. In the Anthropocene we are the creators, engineers and permanent global stewards of a sustainable human nature." Visit http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com

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