tagged w/ Wilderness
-
Los Angeles Times...
.
PHOTO: Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in April. (Associated Press)
.
The new war on wolves
As soon as federal protection ended, the slaughter began.
.
By J. William Gibson
December 8, 2011
.
Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in April. And this fall, the killing began.
As of Wednesday, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported that 154 of its estimated 750 wolves had been "harvested" this year. Legal hunting and trapping — with both snares to strangle and leg traps to capture — will continue through the spring. And if hunting fails to reduce the wolf population sufficiently — to less than 150 wolves — the state says it will use airborne shooters to eliminate more.
In Montana, hunters will be allowed to kill up to 220 wolves this season (or about 40% of the state's roughly 550 wolves). To date, hunters have taken only about 100 wolves, prompting the state to extend the hunting season until the end of January. David Allen, president of the powerful Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, has said he thinks hunters can't do the job, and he is urging the state to follow Idaho's lead and "prepare for more aggressive wolf control methods, perhaps as early as summer 2012."
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead recently concluded an agreement with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to save 100 to 150 wolves in lands near Yellowstone National Park. But in the remaining 80% of the state, wolves can be killed year-round because they are considered vermin. Roughly 60% of Wyoming's 350 wolves will become targeted for elimination.
What is happening to wolves now, and what is planned for them, doesn't really qualify as hunting. It is an outright war.
In the mid-1990s, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 66 wolves in Yellowstone and central Idaho, most of the U.S. celebrated. The magnificent wolf, an icon of wilderness that humans had driven to extinction in the United States, would now reoccupy part of its old range. But in the region where the wolves were introduced, the move was much more controversial.
Part of the reason was the increase, particularly in Idaho and Montana, in paramilitary militia advocates, with their masculine ideal of man as warrior who should fight the hated federal government, by armed force if necessary. They were outraged by what they saw as federal interference in the region spurred by environmentalists, and their ideas found a willing reception among ranchers, who view wolves as a threat to their livestock — even though they ranch on federal land — and hunters, who don't want the wolves reducing the big game population.
The factions have reinforced one another, and today a cultural mythology has emerged that demonizes the federal government, the environmental movement and the wolves themselves. Many false claims have been embraced as truth, including that the Fish and Wildlife Service stole $60 million from federal excise taxes on guns and ammunition to pay for bringing wolves back; that the introduced wolves carry horrible tapeworms that can be easily transmitted to dogs, and ultimately to humans; that the Canadian wolves that were brought in are an entirely different species from the gray wolves that once lived in the Rockies, and that these wolves will kill elk, deer, livestock — even humans — for sport.
The false claims may have had particular resonance because they built on a long tradition in Western culture. During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church ruled that wolves belonged to the devil: Demons could take the shape of wolves, as could witches. Puritans brought similar ideas to America. Cotton Mather called New England before it was settled a "howling wilderness." Asked to investigate Salem's alleged witches, Mather concluded in his book, "On Witchcraft" (1692): "Evening wolves" (werewolves and witches) were but another of the devil's tests as New England passed from "wilderness" to the "promised land."
And that attitude has persisted. Gary Marbut, president of the influential Montana Shooting Sports Assn., wrote in 2003 that "one might reasonably view man's entire development and creation of civilization as a process of fortifying against wolves."
Politicians from both parties in Western states have been eager to help with the fortifications. In Idaho, Republican Rep. Mike Simpson and the state's governor, Butch Otter, made removal of wolves from the Endangered Species Act a political priority. In Montana, Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg has made delisting wolves central to his 2012 Senate campaign against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. In April, Tester in turn persuaded fellow Democrats in the Senate to approve his inserting a rider in a budget bill that delisted wolves.
In early November, Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, made his own political contribution. Thrilled at the testing of a drone aircraft manufactured in Montana, Baucus declared: "Our troops rely on this type of technology every day, and there is an enormous future potential in border security, agriculture and wildlife and predator management." A manufacturer's representative claimed his company's drone "can tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote." Pilotless drone aircraft used by the CIA and the Air Force to target and kill alleged terrorists now appear to be real options to track and kill "enemy" wolves.
How far we have fallen since the mid-1990s, when we celebrated the wolves' reintroduction. During the 2008 presidential election, candidate Barack Obama declared: "Federal policy toward animals should respect the dignity of animals and their rightful place as cohabitants of the environment. We should strive to protect animals and their habitats and prevent animal cruelty, exploitation and neglect."
The president now should make good on that promise.
.
.
J. William Gibson is a sociology professor at Cal State Long Beach and the author of "A Reenchanted World." http://www.jameswilliamgibson.com
.Los Angeles Times...
.
PHOTO: Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from... more
-
-
This is the dramatic moment a boat full of tourists narrowly escaped an extremely cold dip
as they toured round glacier-filled waters.Panicked tourists watched as a huge chunk of ice
broke off a glacier and crashed into the water just yards from their boat at the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, Alaska.
link:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2024106/Moment-collapsing-glacier-nearly-swept-away-tourist-boat.htmlThis is the dramatic moment a boat full of tourists narrowly escaped an extremely cold... more
-
-
We're taking a daily look at some of the most popular stories from the Current community, and we've rounded up some highlights to share. Check them out and add your two cents:
GOP Can’t Handle The Truth: Taxes Are Lower Now Under Obama Than They Were Under ReaganSubmitted by Schnookums
The Republican Party is fond of saying the government's problem isn't revenue -- it's spending. But the fact is, taxes now are lower than they were under Reagan.
For a family of four, the “average income tax rate under Reagan in 1983 was 11.06 percent. Under Clinton in 1992, it was 9.18 percent. And under Obama in 2010, it was 4.68 percent.” During Reagan’s time, income tax revenue ranged from 7.8 to 9.4 percent of GDP. Last year, it was 6.2 percent and is not projected to climb back to 9 percent until 2016. In fact, in 2009, Americans paid their lowest taxes in 60 years.
Obama gives up wilderness protection planSubmitted by JanforGore
The Obama administration is backing down from a plan to make millions of acres of undeveloped land in the west eligible for federal wilderness protection. The administration faced objections from Congress and Republican governors in Alaska, Utah and Wyoming filed suit to block the plan.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a memo Wednesday that his agency will not designate any of those public lands as "wild lands." Instead Salazar said officials will work with members of Congress to develop recommendations for managing millions of acres of undeveloped land in the West. A copy of the memo was obtained by The Associated Press.
Photos from Stolen MacBook Lead to ArrestSubmitted by itgrunts
If you're stealing a laptop, you might want to check that you're not grabbing one with a built-in camera. Photos from a stolen MacBook, taken via anti-theft software that used the computer's camera, led to the arrest of the thief.
Now this is awesome! A stolen macbook was recovered and the thief arrested after the anti-theft software loaded on it started sending emails with the images of the thief. Joshua Kaufman’s new Oakland apartment was broken into and his mac was missing along with a bag, an electronic book reader and a bottle of gin.
Join the discussion -- or head over to the News group for more popular stories from the community.We're taking a daily look at some of the most popular stories from the... more
-
-
"Bad as was being shot by some of our own troops in the battle of the Wilderness, - that was an honest mistake, one of the accidents of war, - being shot at, since the war, by many officers, was worse." - James Longstreet"Bad as was being shot by some of our own troops in the battle of the Wilderness,... more
-
-
"There are no ready-made answers on how this epochal effort should unfold. No comforting alternative dogma waits in the wings. Old ways of thinking seem immutable because new paradigms are not yet equipped with clear formulations or solutions. But what emerges from this period of introspection does not depend so much on dazzling original ideas. Realigning our worldly projects with civilizational purpose depends entirely on those whose honesty will not be compromised by ideology or held captive by prejudices and pet assumptions. Indeed, perhaps the most precious skill in this context will be the ability to live with ambiguity and ambivalence while cultivating self-awareness. This need not involve recourse to morally demanding philosophers like Gandhi. The sixth century B.C. Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, left behind the dictum that success depends on knowing yourself before you know your enemy. Recovery to business-as-usual is the enemy. Our current wilderness—economic and social—is a space where we can come to know ourselves better.""There are no ready-made answers on how this epochal effort should unfold. No... more
-
-
Arthur, an expert hunter, takes one of the volunteers out into the field in order to track a group of deer. Stalking the Stag is a delicate process. If the hunters get ahead of themselves, they risk startling the animals and losing a clean shot.
Ever wonder where your food comes from? In each episode of "Kill It, Cook It, Eat It," a diverse group of participants is challenged to procure their main course the old-fashioned way: by hunting and killing their chosen prey, butchering it in the slaughterhouse, helping to prepare it in the kitchen, and ultimately sampling it at the dinner table. Some may enjoy the process while others recoil, but for each diner it's an intense journey that just may change their perspectives -- and appetites -- forever.
Watch the premiere of "Kill It, Cook It, Eat It" on Tuesday, January 11 at 10/9c on Current TV.
Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning television and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, engages viewers with smart, provocative and timely programming -stories that no one else is telling in ways that no one else is telling them. Current's programming shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers. The channel's audience is comprised of affluent, curious, social and connected adults who crave the kind of entertaining, enlightening, witty and informative programming found on Current's TV and online properties. Current is now available via cable and satellite TV in 75 million households worldwide - 60 million households in the US - through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107); Time Warner ; DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon and AT&T. In the UK and Ireland, Current is available on BSkyB (Channel 183) and Virgin Media (Channel 155), and in Italy, Current is available on Sky Italia (Channel 130). Viewers can also find Current online at www.current.com.Arthur, an expert hunter, takes one of the volunteers out into the field in order to... more
-
-
Storm Proof matches from REI that are virtually impossible to snuff out. If the factory that makes these things ever catches fire, we're screwed. This must be Chuck Norris in match form!Storm Proof matches from REI that are virtually impossible to snuff out. If the... more
-
-
This is a video of my garden containing music I created. There were a few wonderful days in the summer of 2010 so I decided to make good use of them by filming one or two things that were very familiar and precious to me and this is one of them.This is a video of my garden containing music I created. There were a few wonderful... more
-
-
The constant taking off and landing of over a half-million birds directly over our heads as we sat in the zodiac was a memorable experience. The calling noises of the gulls and the "purring" of the seabirds was loud and constant - a kind of buzz like the vuvuzelas during the recent World Cup in South Africa.The constant taking off and landing of over a half-million birds directly over our... more
-
-
Welcome to the final installment of the Sacred Journal-2005. If you liked this book please subscribe the second AT book will begin to be published as it is written and experienced LIVE in just 3 days!Welcome to the final installment of the Sacred Journal-2005. If you liked this book... more
-
-
Just one more publishing to go, and the whole Sacred Journal-2005 will be available for free on this column. If you have not read the sacred Journal yet, catch up by subscribing and reading each post.Just one more publishing to go, and the whole Sacred Journal-2005 will be available... more
-
-
Just one more publishing to do and I will have published the entire Sacred Journal-2005, Hiking the Appalachian Trail GA section. Don't miss these last two sections!Just one more publishing to do and I will have published the entire Sacred... more
-
-
As we wrap up the Sacred Journal-2005 with this and the last 2 articles, another book is about to be written, stay tuned and subscribe!As we wrap up the Sacred Journal-2005 with this and the last 2 articles, another book... more
-
-
Back at it again, part 28/Day 28. Only 15 more days till the author is back on the AT writing his next book. Read on and stay current on news and events on the Appalachian Trail.Back at it again, part 28/Day 28. Only 15 more days till the author is back on the AT... more
-
-
Read along as we head back to the Appalachian Trail after a short break in the interesting trail town of Helen Georgia.Read along as we head back to the Appalachian Trail after a short break in the... more
-
-
The sacred Journal part 26, we are narrowing down to the last parts of the book, preparing for the next book to be written while on the trail starting this August!The sacred Journal part 26, we are narrowing down to the last parts of the book,... more
-
-
The weather man said 14 degrees with 40 MPH winds, guess he wasn't forecasting for the
mountains..The weather man said 14 degrees with 40 MPH winds, guess he wasn't forecasting... more
-
-
As we come ever so near the end of the GA Appalachian Trail section, the memories build and the journey doesn't stop.As we come ever so near the end of the GA Appalachian Trail section, the memories... more
-
-
The sacred journal 2005 has almost been posted in its entirety on the National Appalachian Trail Hiking Examiner column. If you have not rang in on this free e-book, now is a great time to get on board!The sacred journal 2005 has almost been posted in its entirety on the National... more
-
-
It's Fashion Week in New York, and YP interviewed South African high fashion model turned artist Conor Mccreedy at his Gramercy Park studio in NYC for the latest pop!talk art video.
When he's not working the runway or gracing high fashion magazines with his strong androgynous look, Conor lives up to his "hip young artist on the brink of international success" label by effortlessly meshing with other beautiful people from the fashion, film, high society and art worlds.
In this exclusive interview, Conor discusses his evolution from high fashion model to fine artist, what inspires him in both the concrete jungle and the wilderness of Africa, and how he creates artwork that include collectors such as Nelson Mandela, the National Arts Club and Hotel on Rivington.
Subscribe to pop!talk today to catch PART II of our exclusive interview with the uber-talented Conor Mccreedy!
OH YEAH!It's Fashion Week in New York, and YP interviewed South African high fashion... more
-
