Category Archives: Ecosystems at Risk

Review – “The World’s Rarest Birds”

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment

The World's Rarest BirdsThere are books that are a struggle to get through, books that are forgotten the moment the last page is read.  There are the rare books that you may read cover-to-cover multiple times.  There’s another class of books that to me truly fit under the category of “coffee table book”, books that you will occasionally pick up and casually browse through.

“The World’s Rarest Birds” by Erik Hirschfeld, Andy Swash, and Robert Still, squarely fits in the last category.  The World’s Rarest Birds is a follow on project to the “Rare Birds Yearbooks“, publications that highlighted the 190 most threatened birds in the world, those considered to be “critically endangered”.  The World’s Rarest Birds is an effort to expand on the idea of the Rare Birds Yearbooks. The book is based on the periodic assessments by BirdLife International and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), assessments that provide summaries of the world’s bird species and their conservation status.  This book highlights critically endangered and endangered species from the May 2012 assessment, as well as a number of species whose status is poorly known, for a total of just over 600 species.

The book’s format is very straightforward, with introductory segments that talk about the concept of the book and the specific threats faced by bird species.  The majority of the book, however, is devoted to “regional directories”, sections devoted to summaries of endangered bird species from each of the continents and Oceania. Each species has a paragraph that describes the species, its range, and conservation threats.  Distribution maps are included for each species, and most of the species have corresponding photographs.

And what photographs they are! As a bird photographer, I can certainly appreciate a good bird photograph, and understand the tremendous effort that must go into capturing high-quality photos of the world’s rarest bird species.  The book is a true delight to page through, with the small photos accompanying most of the species accounts interspersed with large, gorgeous, full- or partial-page photographs.

This isn’t a book that you’ll sit down with and read cover-to-cover.  While the regional presentation does attempt to help maintain a semblance of a “story” to the book, it does indeed fit the category of “coffee table book”, one that you’ll keep in a handy spot and reference from time to time, a book you can page through and enjoy with a cup of coffee or while you watch TV.  The World’s Rarest Birds is book you’ll be glad to own, particularly if you have an interest in bird conservation and enjoy high-quality nature photography.

Posted in Birds, Ecosystems at Risk, Review

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Pile O’ Dead Birds – Just another South Dakota Day…

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Terry| 3 Comments

I used to be a hunter, back as a kid and through high school.  I wasn’t an avid hunter or anything, but did go out occasionally with friends.  However,  in my current place in life, I can’t imagine ever going out hunting again.  I can’t really say I see the thrill in going out and blasting away, but at least I can somewhat see hunting as one means of putting food on the table.  I REALLY don’t understand anyone’s desire to go out and kill, just for the sake of killing (ala prairie dog, coyote, or mountain lion hunting in South Dakota).  However, I at least have been telling myself for years that I’m not against hunting in general.

It’s getting harder…and harder…and harder…to keep telling myself that I’m not against hunting in general.  Not when it seems every other time I go to bird and take photos that I run into yet another example of South Dakota “hunters” gone bad.  I was recently up birding in the Lake Thompson area of South Dakota.  Lake Thompson used to be a big wetland area with scattered shallow water, but since heavy rains in the 1980s and 1990s, it’s now the largest natural lake in South Dakota.  Ice is just going out on the big lakes, including Lake Thompson.  The lake was a mix of open water, rotten ice, and piles of slushy ice crystals being blown into masses by a strong northwest wind.  Along the ice edge were gulls, several thousand snow geese, as well as thousands of ducks scattered around the lake.

In other words, a nice day of birding!  That is…until I drove along “Oldham road”, a road bed slicing through the lake with water on both sides.  As I started to drive along the grade, I saw a few thousand Snow Geese well south of the road, but near the road was a pair of Snow Geese.  One was obviously wounded, with a wing dragging behind it as it and its partner struggled to walk away on the ice as my car approached.  I drive another hundred yards, and I see a dead goose on the rocks by the road.  A tough winter and a tough migration, I’m thinking.  However, as  I drive a bit further and approach the one bridge on Oldham road, I see a mass of white.  I stop, and on the rocks by the bridge, I see a pile of about two dozen dead snow geese.

The birds were on the rocks, well above the water line, and it was quite obvious the wind or waves hadn’t deposited their bodies there.  I didn’t closely examine the bodies, but when I got out and looked, there was quite a bit of blood on some of the birds.  They had obviously died rather recently, and had died of trauma.  Unfortunately, I’m positive it was a “South Dakota” type of trauma..some redneck or group of rednecks with shotguns, who saw the masses of geese on the lake and started blasting away.

The carnage didn’t end there.  Further down were a few more dead snow geese.  As I headed west from the lake on Oldham road, I approached a large lake, again with water on both sides of the road.  As I started to cross the lake, a single snow goose struggled mightly to move to the water.  It had been sitting on the side of the road, and could obviously barely move.  It wasn’t hard to see why…it’s right lower part of it’s body was covered with blood.  On the retreating ice on the lake, another sad pair of Snow Geese stood…one with a drooped wing, another victim.  As a wildlife lover, it’s hard for me not to anthropomorphize animals at times. Snow Geese mate for life, so with one of the pair shot and injured, the other bird stays behind with it.  It was pretty obvious that mating pair wasn’t going to ever raise young again.

I’m losing count of how many times I’ve run across this kind of thing in South Dakota in recent years.  I’ve come over a hill, only to find two rednecks in a pickup, too lazy to even get out, guns pointing out of the window, and blasting away at American Coots in the wetland by the road.  I’ve gone to a favorite birding spot, having a quiet day interrupted when two young girls pull into the parking area to drop off their two younger brothers, both of whom immediately start to blast away at ANY bird or living creature they come across.  I’ve come across an idiot who wing-shot a goose, but didn’t know how to finish it off, so was chasing it around a field, kicking it and beating it with his fists.

Sadly, I could go on…and on…and on.  There are unfortunately MANY South Dakota “sportsmen” who behave in such a manner, using wildlife for target practice or abuse.

I have some friends who hunt, and I know they are indeed sportsmen who follow the law to the letter.  I know the good that groups like Ducks Unlimited do for habitat.  However, when it seems that I run into examples of South Dakota rednecks about every other time I go out, it’s VERY hard for me to continue to say I’m not against hunting.  Even for groups like Ducks Unlimited, it becomes VERY hard for my cynical side not to come out, for me to view them as simply focused on ensuring a steady supply of targets to blast away at.

It only takes a few idiots to spoil the “fun” for everybody else.  It only takes a few idiots to forever taint the views folks like myself may have about hunting.  However, the more I go out and about, the more my cynical side becomes convinced that there are one HELL of a lot more than just a FEW South Dakota rednecks who think this is acceptable behavior.

 

Posted in Ecosystems at Risk, Environmental Awareness

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Climate Change and Hummingbird Migration – With Great Photo!

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment
Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding at a honeysuckle plant. In Brandon, South Dakota. On June 9th, 2008. At someone's front porch. With a guy grilling hamburgers nearby. Just a hunch...

Jason Courter from Taylor University, along with his co-authors, published research that examined the migration of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, finding the birds are moving north earlier than they did historically.  The birds are arriving back in North America 12 to 18 days earlier than they did prior to 1970.  Overshadowing the research itself is of course the incredible, fantastic photo that has accompanied the story that’s been carried by the popular press.  The photo is of a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird hovering in front of an orange honeysuckle bloom.  I happen to have very, very personal knowledge that the photo was taken from the front porch of a private home in Brandon, South Dakota, in between the grilling of hamburgers  (just a hunch).

It is cool to have a photo in a science story like this, a story that’s been picked up by AP and has shown up in a number of news outlets, including overseas in The Guardian and elsewhere.  But of course it’s the science itself that is the cool story here.  The research isn’t the first to show that migration dates have changed in the last century, presumably in response to climate change.  It is yet another very strong piece of evidence that indicates our climate is changing, and that natural ecosystems are evolving to adapt.

Nice story, and the research article is definitely worth reading if you can get a copy.  It is published in The Auk, the journal of the American Ornithologists Union.

Posted in Birding, Birds, Climate Change, Ecosystems at Risk, Environmental Awareness

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Nature Thrives – If we just give it half a chance

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment
Injured Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle near Brandon, South Dakota, with injured bill and missing left eye. Despite all the human activity in the area, despite the injury, I believe he is in one of two nesting pairs in the area. Nature thrives, if we give it just the tiniest opportunity, but given our short-sighted nature and greed, far too often even that tiny opportunity doesn't exist.

I live right next to the Big Sioux Recreation Area, a state park along the Big Sioux River.  I often take walks there, taking trails or going off-trail along the river, through the forest, and through an area of open grassland. This morning I was walking along the river and came across and adult and younger (not totally mature plumage) Bald Eagle, perched on a tree overlooking the river.  Over the next half hour the two would occasionally leave the perch, fly to a different one, or disappear upstream a bit before coming back a few minutes later.  I took a number of photos, and everything seemed fine.

However, when I got home, I noticed the adult bird was missing part of its bill, and it appeared its left eye was also gone.  I don’t think it was a fresh injury, from the appearance, but it was obvious the eagle had undergone some sort of trauma.  Given my cynical nature, and given the idiots around here who blast away at anything that moves, my first thought was a shotgun blast.  What’s amazing though is the bird appears to be doing quite well, despite the setback.

Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota.  OK, at 150,000 or so, it’s not huge by some standards, but there are a lot of folks that live in Sioux Falls and the surrounding area.  The Big Sioux River isn’t exactly the cleanest river in the world.  It’s a typical, slow, meandering, Great Plains river, very muddy and receiving one heck of a lot of agricultural runoff.  Despite the setting just a few miles from the biggest city in South Dakota…despite the cleanliness of the river…and despite this eagle’s injury, there are not one, but two active Bald Eagle nests, including one less than a mile from my house.  What I am always amazed at is how nature can thrive, if you provide it just the slightest bit of an opportunity.

What I find so depressing though is how often human beings are unable to provide even that slight opening for life to thrive.  The USGS center where I work is 15 miles outside of town, and I often used to take gravel roads to work.  It’s all agricultural land here, soybeans and corn, but there were a few tiny pockets of habitat where I would stop on my to and from work, looking for birds.  It’s amazing how often these tiny pockets of land would host a variety of birds.   Nearly all the wetlands on my drive have long since been drained and converted to cropland, but there was one small patch of damp land, not more than 2 or 3 acres, where I would often stop on the way home from work.  Despite being in a sea of cropland, despite being such a tiny bit of habitat, this damp bit of land with some sedges and a few cattails would often hold a lot of birds, including some real exciting birds from a birder’s perspective, such a Le Conte’s Sparrows that I often found there during the fall migration.

This summer, we had a severe drought, and farmers took advantage of the dry situation by plowing up dried up wetlands and installing drain tile to ensure they remained dry in the.  After this summer, I don’t bother taking gravel roads to work any more.  My little damp spot was plowed up and drain tile was installed.  Other little patches of habitat, including brushy fencerows and windbreaks, have also been torn out and plowed under in the last few years, as farmers are capitalizing on high commodity prices by plowing and planting every square inch of available land.

Just a small opportunity…that’s all life needs.  But given our short-sighted, greedy nature, we seem incapable of providing even that tiny opportunity.

Posted in Birding, Birds, Ecosystems at Risk, Environmental Awareness

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Review: “Rare Birds” by Elizabeth Gehrman

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment
Rare Birds - By Elizabeth Gehrman

Rare birds indeed, with an incredible story of both the Bermuda Petrel, as well as the man who devoted his life to saving the species, David Wingate.

I’m, in many ways I guess, what people think of when they think of a “scientist”.  Socially awkward?  Check.  More at home with my work than with people?  Check.  More at home in the field and out with nature than with people?  Check.  Kind of like Sheldon from “The Big Bang Theory”?  Well no, not that bad, but you get the idea.  I’ve also never been a “hero worshipper” of any kind.  I just don’t care that much about reputation.  I don’t care that much about the scientist himself.  It is the science I’m interested in.  Because of my nature, I was a little surprised at how I reacted to a book I just completed.

The book is “Rare Birds: The extraordinary tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the man who brought it back from extinction”, by Elizabeth Gehrman.  A book about a rare bird? I knew I’d love that part of it. As an avid birder, I knew a bit about the Bermuda Petrel, so was looking forward to reading a detailed account of the species.  Given my personality, what I didn’t know is how much I would enjoy the story of the man who was instrumental in saving the species.

The Bermuda Petrel (also known as a Cahow) was a bird that likely numbered in the millions when explorers first came across Bermuda in the early 1600s.  Due to hunting pressures and introduction of predators on their nesting islands, the species quickly declined, and for a few hundred years (!!!), the species was thought to be extinct.  Many scientists even had begun to doubt that the Bermuda Petrel had ever existed, as a unique species.  In the early 1900s, there were hints that the species had survived, and by the middle of the century, an incredibly small relict population of breeding birds were found on a few tiny islands of Bermuda.  The book is the story of one man, David Wingate, and the plight of the Cahow.

When a twist of fate brought Wingate face-to-face with the first confirmed, live Bermuda Petrel recorded in centuries, he made it his life’s mission to bring the bird back from the brink of extinction.  An exhaustive search of the tiny islands around Bermuda led to the discovery of a mere 7 surviving breeding pairs.  With very little in financial support, the book details Wingate’s tireless efforts to restore Cahow populations.

As expected, I greatly enjoyed the detailed story of restoration efforts.  The book provides a remarkable demonstration of the interconnected nature of ecosystems, and the chain of dependent plant and animal species that contributed to the demise, and to the ultimate restoration, of Cahow populations.  Who would have thought that the reintroduction of Yellow-crowned Night-herons would be necessary to control native land crabs, to control crab foraging on native sedges, to restore better ground habitat on “Nonsuch Island”, the focus of much of the restoration efforts?  The book is a fascinating look at not only the life history of the Cahow, but of the entire ecosystem on which the Cahow depends.

While my appreciation and enjoyment of the natural story of the Cahow was expected, what I didn’t expect was how much I enjoyed the personal story of Wingate himself.  As I said, I’m not a hero worshipper, I’m into the science more than I am into the scientist.  However, I found the presentation of Wingate in the book to be equally as fascinating as the story of the Cahow itself.  The book intersperses narrative accounts of Wingate’s history with quotations from Wingate himself, and quoatations from those around him during this lifelong journey to save the Cahow.  SPOILER ALERT…don’t read the rest of this paragraph if you want to save the story for when you read the book…but the point where I knew I was “falling” for not only the Cahow story, but the story of Wingate himself, was when his beloved wife “Anita” was tragically burned in an accident on the island, and died several days later.  Wingate was obviously every bit the “quirky” scientist, but the book portrays the wonderful relationship with the love of his life, Anita.  As a fellow “quirky scientist” who has always been a bit awkward around people but who (shockingly!!) has my own ‘love-of-my-life’, I more than sympathized with Wingate upon reading the story of Anita’s death.   Given the wonderful writing style of the book, I could almost FEEL Wingate’s pain.

In short, if you’re a naturalist, if you’re a lover of wildlife, if you’re a birder, you’ll love the book for the story of the Cahow.  Even if you don’t traditionally fit into one of these categories, you’ll love the book for not only the story of the Cahow, but for the story of one man’s perseverance and dedication, in the face of incredible personal, social, and political odds.

This book arrived at my house on a Monday, and less than 24 hours after hitting my doorstep, I had completed it.  I strongly recommend picking up a copy.  I can almost guarantee that you too will have a hard time putting it down.

Posted in Birding, Birds, Ecosystems at Risk, Environmental Awareness, Review

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Outdoor “Sportsmen”…you are on my $hit list

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment
White bass

White Bass, scourge of South Dakota fishermen who only want to catch walleye! At least that's what the "sportsmen" on the Missouri River were acting like this morning.

I’ve had a number of posts in the past about experiences I’ve had when I’m out taking photos, or fishing, or hiking, when I’ve run across some idiot “sportsman” who is doing something like blasting away at every living thing they see, taking over their limit, etc.  I’ve generally been pretty careful when I post about something like that, saying things like “I realize most hunters, fishermen, etc. are conscientious and respect and try to protect the resource”.

Well, to that, I say bull$hit.  Every time I go out, I swear to god there’s some bozo who personifies what being an outdoor sportsman is NOT about.  Today I went fishing on the Missouri River below Oahe Dam.  It’s one of my favorite spots, with crystal clear, cold water coming through the dam from Lake Oahe.  The words “crystal clear” and “water” are NEVER used in the same sentence in South Dakota, as most rivers and ponds around here have a visibility of about 2 inches.  This is certainly a welcome difference, and it is a wonderful place to fish.

Wonderful place to fish means…lots of fishermen, at least by the standards of sparsely populated South Dakota.   And of course, lots of fishermen, means a LOT of “sportsmen” who seem hell-bent on trashing the place or breaking the rules just to ensure THEY get their limit of fish to bring home.  This morning, I got there and walked down to the water, dodging beer cans, old bait containers, and discarded fishing line as I went.  One thing I ALWAYS do when I go fishing…I end up bringing back more than I went with, and I’m not talking fish.  I made a point of picking up some of the garbage in my vicinity, and started fishing.

It was wonderful!  In about 3 hours of fishing, I caught about 20 fish, BIG fish for their kind, fish that put up a hell of a fight.  The problem?  This is South Dakota!  There IS no “fish” that matters to about 85% of fishermen, other than walleye.  Have you ever caught a walleye?  They fight like a limp noodle, even the big ones.  But they’re tasty!  And filling the freezer, harvesting as many as you can (legally, or illegally in many cases) seems to be “the” mode of fishing around here.  Back to the “problem”…I didn’t catch a single walleye this morning, which actually shocked me.  19 of the 20 fish I caught were White Bass…BIG white bass, very fat and happy, averaging about 14 inches, with a few that were absolute monsters for the species.

In that fast current below the dam, a big white bass puts up a hell of a fight.  You certainly KNOW when it’s a white bass that hits, rather than a walleye.  I had a blast.  I didn’t keep any fish today, but I do keep White Bass to eat sometimes.  To me, they’re every bit as good as walleye, once you strip this one dark strip of meat out and keep the white meat.  But the other fishermen in the  area seemed to have a pretty low opinion of what they were catching.  There were 2 young guys next to me, looked to be about 20 years old.  They too were catching white bass…and BITCHING about it, because they weren’t walleye.  So, the one guy catches a white bass, unhooks it…and immediately throws it 10 yards back into the weeds.  He and his buddy had a GREAT laugh, talking about getting rid of the “damn white bass” to “make room” for the walleye.

You can imagine my opinion of these two dolts, but I hoped it was an isolated thing, and just scowled, but didn’t say anything.  Then the other guy catches a white bass….and does the same thing, throwing it back into the weeds.  THEN I said something!  Think I kind of surprised them by speaking up, but I first asked what put up more of a fight, a white bass, a walleye, or a dish towel (answer: walleye comes in 3rd).  Then I said you don’t have to like them, but it is illegal to be throwing them up on the bank.

The answer was about what I expected from a pair of 20-year old South Dakota “sportsmen”…the one guy said “whatever”, and the other just rolled his eyes and turned away.  They only fished for a few more minutes before leaving, and didn’t catch any more fish, but they certainly put a damper on the fun I was having catching white bass.

SO….I think I’m done saying “most” sportsmen ARE true sportsmen, who care about the environment and the resource they’re using.  I’m not convinced any more that it IS a majority, so “most” is too strong.  SOME fishermen and hunters are wonderful sportsmen, who do their best to preserve the environment.  But I’m becoming increasingly convinced that “most” fishermen and hunters only care about filling the freezer, environment-be-damned.

Whoever you two were this morning…you have won this week’s “Scum of the Week” award.

Posted in Ecosystems at Risk, Scum Of The Week

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Follow up – Gyrfalcon and the Falconers

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Terry| 5 Comments
Juvenile Gyrfalcon - Falco rusticolus

A photo of the beautiful bird from that day. As a first-winter, young bird...how was the behavior of the bird forever changed, after spending a year in captivity? When released, it had known captivity for longer than it ever knew life in the wild.

About 2 1/2 years ago, I was birding on the Fort Pierre National Grasslands in South Dakota, having a wonderful data shooting photos of the huge numbers of raptors that are found there in the winter.   Towards the end of the day, I came across a gorgeous young Gyrfalcon, always a wonderful find, and stopped to take photos. Soon, a pickup came screaming over the hill and pulled up right beside me.  It turns out they were 2 falconers who were trying to capture that bird, and had set up a live pigeon under a net nearby to try to entice it (and tangle it).  They told (DEFINITELY not nicely at first) that I needed to leave, so they could capture the bird.  To make a long story short, I told them I had EVERY right to stay there and photograph this wild bird, so I stayed and took more photos, then left, not knowing what ever happened to that bird.  Here’s a photo of the bird, and more of the story from that day.

Well, yesterday I got an email, presumably from the 2 falconers.  They said the story had a “happy ending”.  Turns out the falcon WAS indeed captured, and was used by the falconers for a year. According to the falconers, it was a “happy ending” because after a year, the falcon was released back into the wild.

“Happy ending”?  Not so much for me.  First of all, as I stated back then…Gyrfalcons are VERY rare birds in the lower 48 states.  Only a handful make the winter trek down from the Arctic and make it all the way to the lower 48.  The central part of South Dakota is one of the best places to go in winter to see them.  I once had a very, very remarkable day were I saw 5 in one day, but despite all the trips I take to the area in winter, on MOST days you don’t see them at all (despite seeing 100+ other raptors), and I go entire WINTERS without ever seeing them.  And this in the proverbial “hotspot” for them in the lower 48.   I don’t think you should be allowed to capture them, PERIOD, given their rarity in the lower 48.

As for the “happy ending”…is it really?  That bird was captured and kept by falconers for a year.  There’s no doubt that this bird was a first-winter bird when captured, a very young and inexperienced animal.  Then it’s captured, and spends a year in captivity, as falconers teach it, well, whatever the hell falconers teach it.  Given its young age when captured, after being held for a year, that bird had thus spent more time in captivity than it ever had in the wild.

And then it’s released back into the wild.  Is that a “happy ending”?  How will that bird behave, compared to a bird that was always wild?  It went an entire year in captivity.  It had come down from the Arctic that winter it was captured, but had never made the return trip.  After being in captivity and missing a winter cycle, would it even try to migrate back north?  It had never had the chance to do so, before being captured.  What about other behavior?  How might that have changed after a year in captivity?  When released, just how different might that bird act, than a gyrfalcon that had been in the wild its entire life?  Especially since it was captured so young?

When I posted this 2 1/2 years ago, one falconer responded that they’re “better hunters” after being used by a falconer…as if a human falconer is a better “trainer” of a falcon than is nature and thousands of years of evolution.  Other falconers were more direct, stating the birds are a “resource” to be used…a phrase I really hate, given that for people like this, ALL of nature is there for one purpose, and one purpose only…for the exploitation and use by human beings, no matter the consequences.

I have no doubt the vast majority of falconers love and respect their birds, just as they love their hobby.  I’m really not against falconry in general.  But…Gyrfalcons have a special place in my heart, given their rarity, their tie to South Dakota, and the memories I have of my very first winter when I started birding, where seeing my first wild Gyrfalcon was an experience I’ll never forget.  They’re such a rare, rare sight in the United States, outside of Alaska.  No matter how well a falconer treats his birds, you’ll never convince me that the behavior of that bird isn’t forever changed, once it’s released back into the wild.

Posted in Birds, Ecosystems at Risk, Environmental Awareness

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Mining’s Legacy – You SURE we want to frack?

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
Picher, Oklahoma

Mining waste from 20th century lead mining towers over the town of Picher Oklahoma. Or should I say, the FORMER town of Picher, one of an EVER growing list of ghost towns in the U.S., brought about by the short-term greed of humanity.

I had a meeting in Alaska a couple of weeks ago.  I flew from Sioux Falls, to Minneapolis, to Anchorage.  For work, I study land-use and land-cover change, and try to predict what will happen in the future.  So when I fly, I always (try to) get a window seat, and ponder the landscape below.  And, inevitably…it’s depressing. 

What I REALLY find laughable are those climate-change skeptics who seem to use their religious belief as a reason why climate change can’t be real.   A line of thinking for these folks seems to be that man is INCAPABLE of affecting the earth at that scale, that only “god” can do so.  All I have to say to these people…have you ever flown?  Have you ever LOOKED at the landscape below as you fly over?  On my trip, I flew over what some would think is some of the most “wild” landscapes in North America, in Alaska and western Canada.  But this “wild” landscape is anything but.  Clear-cutting of forest means that the once unbroken forests of the West are now a maze of cuts and logging roads.  Flying from Minneapolis over the northern part of the U.S., and you see the vast expanses of grassland that are now solid farm fields.  Fly over a major metropolitan area, and you see endless miles of homes, industry, and roads.

But yet some climate change deniers say humans are incapable of altering the earth’s ecosystem at that scale?  We’ve already forever changed a majority of the earth’s land surface.  That alone would cause climate change, even without the burning of fossil fuels. 

One sight you see ever more frequently when you fly are the effects of mining and energy extraction.  When you’re driving in the West, you see it, but the scale isn’t as readily apparent as it is when you’re flying over.  IN areas with natural gas extraction, when you drive, you may see an individual, small patch of land with a well. When you fly over, you see hundreds upon hundreds of wells, interconnected by a maze of pipes, electrical wires, and roads. 

There’s VERY little that has a more devastating, long-term effect on the landscape than mining.  The New York Times today had a story this week about the area around Picher Oklahoma, and Treece, Kansas, an area where suitability for human habitation has FOREVER been changed.   For the sake of a few decades of short-term financial gain, the lead mining waste in the region has forever altered the landscape, where just TOUCHING the water gives you chemical burns, where every breath of air draws in a dose of lead, where sinkholes from the mining activity may open up and swallow you at any time.

Fracking proponents say the practice is “safe”…despite the practice being VERY new, despite there being VERY little analysis of long-term effects.  Just in the last decade, when technological advances have made fracking economically feasible, people living near fracking activity have ALREADY been impacted by water that is no longer drinkable, and by ruined landscapes.  Once your underground water source has been contaminated by something like this, there’s no going back.  That water source is unlikely to be suitable for human use for many, many centuries to come.

People and their greed.  People and their complete and utter selfishness.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a poacher of wildlife at the small scale or an oil company at the larger scale…ALL people care about are themselves, and their short-term financial well-being. 

The people of Picher, Oklahoma and Treece, Kansas may have a word or two on the effects of such short-term greed.  Two once-thriving urban areas…now ghost towns.

Posted in Ecosystems at Risk, Environmental Awareness

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Your Government’s Role in Killing Wildlife

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
USDA Wildlife Services

"Wildlife Services" sounds pretty innocuous. The truth is pretty ugly however.

I have a friend at work who largely shares my political and social views, with one exception.  He’s much less cynical than I am.  When push comes to shove, I tend to believe that people will choose the path of least resistance or the path that gives them the biggest personal gain, no matter the negative consequences.  My friend is quite a bit rosier regarding the human race.   Every time I start to move in that direction, every time I start to feel my cynicism wearing off a bit, I read a story like this one, forwarded by another friend at work.

The story is about the Wildlife Services program at the U.S. Department of agriculture.  If you’re an animal lover, be prepared to be disgusted.  I’m already disgusted with how people treat wildlife.  After all I live in South Dakota, where the State Bird is an introduced species whose ONLY purpose for people here is as something you can shoot at.  But it’s one thing for red-necked South Dakotans to be out popping off wildlife.  It’s another for the Federal Government to be doing it, especially when so much collateral damage is being done, as shown in this article.

I’m amazed at the political clout a few large land owners in the West have regarding wildlife issues.  In South Dakota, the prairie dog has seemingly been labeled as public enemy #1…largely due to the efforts of a VERY few ranchers who claim prairie dogs cause immense damage to grazing lands.  A VERY few private citizens have somehow twisted the system to their advantage, so much so that prairie dogs are being poisoned on a lot of PUBLIC land in the state, if an adjacent land owner requests “control” of the species.   “Public” land in general is managed in South Dakota for seemingly one purpose…for the COMPLETE exploitation of whatever “resources” may be found on that land.  Parks?  National Grasslands?  Conservation and wildlife are DEFINITELY a secondary consideration in South Dakota.   Grazing trumps wildlife in every case.  In state and other parks, it’s the use of the area for camping, hunting, cross-country skiing, or any other human activity that is far and away more important than the actual habitat or wildlife in that park.

This story about the Wildlife Services part of USDA is simply an example of the same mindset, but at a Federal level.  Endangered species?  Completely harmless species?  People’s PETS, for god’s sake?   It’s a pretty disgusting picture of what Wildlife Services does, all supposedly for the sake of “protecting” people from that nasty harmful wildlife.

$$$$$ trumps wildlife…it’s a message that sadly continues to gain traction in the U.S.    And again…my cynacism and complete lack of faith in humanity is restored.

And despite my status as a Federal employee and as someone who has strongly DEFENDED government in the past…with recent experiences I’ve personally had, and with many of the recent news stories, I’m having a hard time maintaining that support of government.

Posted in Ecosystems at Risk, Environmental Awareness, Politics

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Obama Proposes (BAD!) Changes in Endangered Species Policy

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle in South Dakota, where you now see them quite often. Under Obama's new "interpretation" of the Endangered Species Act, the Bald Eagle may have never been listed as Endangered in the lower 48 states, given that populations in Alaska were always strong.

I have to laugh whenever I see fear-mongers like Newt Gingrich or Rush Limbaugh refer to Obama as the “most liberal president in the history of the United States”.  Since taking office, Obama has been about as much the “most  liberal” president as, oh, Mitt Romney is really “severely” conservative.  They’re both actually relatively moderate, and I don’t think that overall that’s a bad thing at all.  Given the extreme political polarization in the United States, we NEED more moderate leadership.   With that said, there are some things that Obama has done on the environmental front that have been really disappointing.  Add another issue to that list.

The Obama administration is proposing signficant changes to policies that dictate when species are considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.  In effect, it would make it much more difficult for a species to be listed for protection.  They are attempting to redefine what is meant by a species being threatened in a “significant” portion of its range.  Under the proposed changes, a species could be threatened with extirpation from a given portion of its range, but not be considered for protection under the ESA because it has a population stronghold in some other location.  Unless a local or regional extirpation threat is noted to potentially threaten the entire species as a whole, it will no likely no longer be considered for protection.  In addition, the new interpretation provides NO mechanism for protection or restoration of habitat in an area where the species was once found.

This reinterpretation of the ESA could have PROFOUND effects on the listing of species.  The story cited above notes one example, the Bald Eagle.  Bald Eagle populations were always very high in Alaska and parts of Canada, it was in the lower 48 states where populations plummeted in the 20th century.  Under the new Obama ESA interpretation?  Chances are the Bald Eagle would have NEVER been placed on the ESA, as local extirpation in the mainland USA wouldn’t have threatened extinction for the species overall, given that so many eagles were present in Alaska.

The rule change opens up the likelihood that species’ home ranges could continually be nibbled away at…as long as there’s SOME population, SOMEWHERE in the world where numbers remain stable.  Losing some species in the entire eastern U.S. due to habitat loss?  Under the new interpretation…IRRELEVANT!  As long as there’s some population in the western U.S. or elsewhere where the species isn’t under threat of extinction!! 

In effect, developers, oil and gas companies, mining companies, and others who fight against environmental protections offered under the ESA would now have the opportunity to continually nibble away at habitats…one chunk at a time…without threat of legal protection, as long as a developer or oil company could demonstrate that a species under review has a viable population somewhere ELSE.  It’s the same completely misguided policy that has allowed for wetland destruction for urban development, as long as the developer “restores” a wetland somewhere else…even though studies show that “new”, created wetlands aren’t nearly as ecologically functional as natural wetlands. 

Historical range of a species?  No longer important under the new Obama interpretation!! Once a species is wiped out from an area, there’s no longer any concern about protecting or restoring habitat in that area, no matter how much of a stronghold it may have once been for a species.

This is a truly disgusting move.  I really wish we had the ability to look behind the curtain and see all the back-room negotiating that goes on in politics.  What did Obama get in return from industry for proposing this change?

Posted in Ecosystems at Risk, Environmental Awareness

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