OT: why does Idaho want to kill its wolf population?

[Kirk007]

Just listened to Zoom presentation of Forestry expert (PhD Yale School of Forestry) re forest management in Maine: "overbowsing by deer is an epidemic doing more damage to our forests than climate change will."

Bring back the wolf and cougar!

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Kirk007

Just listened to Zoom presentation of Forestry expert (PhD Yale School of Forestry) re forest management in Maine: "overbowsing by deer is an epidemic doing more damage to our forests than climate change will."

Bring back the wolf and cougar!

Yeah, well, we more or less declared war on bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, etc., so what the hell do you expect?

Collectively, humans are idiots. The proof is in the history.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by reuben

Yeah, well, we more or less declared war on bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, etc., so what the hell do you expect?

Collectively, humans are idiots. The proof is in the history.

Fear is a powerful motivator, particularly when people have a firearm: shoot first and ask questions later.

[XXtwindad]

https://www.outsideonline.com/242381...hat_you_missed

On a related note: the founder of Patagonia weighs in on how ranching and dairy interests are affecting Point Reyes National Park.

It’s really becoming abundantly clear that one of the best things you can do for the environment is eat less beef. It’s really hard for me to get there, though. Sweets and booze are no problem. But carne asada is hard to pass up.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

[
It’s really becoming abundantly clear that one of the best things you can do for the environment is eat less beef. It’s really hard for me to get there, though. Sweets and booze are no problem. But carne asada is hard to pass up.

In general, smaller animals eat less, grow faster, and have a smaller environmental footprint.

That said, I love me a steak. I'm not much of a burger guy.
If you're going to eat beef:
1. Limit or cut back your consumption
2. Buy cuts that you won't waste
3. Buy meat from sustainable growers.

It's really that simple.

[Dead Man]

give me ribeye or give me death

theres cattle milling and then theres cattle ranching - buy responsibly and theres NOTHING wrong with eating all the red meat you want (personal health aside)

[Dead Man]

and if anyone in the PNW wants a source o local, sustainably raised, grass fed beef, i know a guy based in longview washington. good prices on bulk cuts of great meat

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Dead Man

if anyone in the PNW wants a source o local, sustainably raised, grass fed beef, i know a guy based in longview washington. good prices on bulk cuts of great meat

FWIW, this is where I get my beef. 100% of their lives are lived on the prairie. No corn, no "finishing", no feed lot.

https://wildideabuffalo.com/

Dan didn't start out trying to raise buffalo or sell meat. He started out trying to regenerate the prairie. Well, a small part of the prairie. Rather unexpectedly, buffalo, with their sharp hooves, turned out to be great for the local/natural/indigenous grasses, not to mention the fowl that make their nests in the ground (not a whole lot of trees in that area).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9wfyLPDIF8

[ti_or_die]

I remember following this thread back in the spring…and it is related despite being Idaho and Utah.

It is a neat story that I will share with my students tomorrow.
“Pando (Latin for "I spread") is actually 47,000 genetically identical stems that arise from an interconnected root network. This single genetic individual weighs around 6 million tonnes. By mass, it is the largest single organism on Earth.” Think about that…6 million tonnes of living entity. 🤯

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/world...scn/index.html

[fiamme red]

Excellent op-ed in the Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/17/o...llowstone.html

A slaughter of wolves is underway in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming that has no precedent in the past 100 years.

Hunters in Idaho can shoot or trap as many as they like year-round on private land. They can lure wolves within gun range by putting out bait, run them down to exhaustion using A.T.V.s and snowmobiles and stalk them after dark using night vision technology…

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

Excellent op-ed in the Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/17/o...llowstone.html

Really makes a compelling argument. One thing that caught my eye: why are two senators from largely urban Northeast states leading the charge on an issue largely pertaining to sparsely populated Western states?

“A group of 21 U.S. senators led by Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, and Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, recently wrote to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urging an emergency relisting of the wolf on the federal threatened and endangered species list. Mr. Booker said that the policies “in states like Idaho and Montana, if continued unabated, will result in the deaths of hundreds of gray wolves and pose a significant risk to the species’ survival.”

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by reuben

No, bear spray is far more effective. If you think that you can hit a target that's coming at you at 30mph and bouncing up and down, you're wrong. Point the spray at the ground in front of you, and your odds of survival increase dramatically. That's for brown bears.

Black bears are much easier to deal with, but again, bear spray is much more effective.

Explain to me how bear spray works into a headwind

G'head. I'll listen

M

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Really makes a compelling argument. One thing that caught my eye: why are two senators from largely urban Northeast states leading the charge on an issue largely pertaining to sparsely populated Western states?

“A group of 21 U.S. senators led by Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, and Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, recently wrote to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urging an emergency relisting of the wolf on the federal threatened and endangered species list. Mr. Booker said that the policies “in states like Idaho and Montana, if continued unabated, will result in the deaths of hundreds of gray wolves and pose a significant risk to the species’ survival.”

Yep, this is an ongoing issue out west. Is this a democracy, should the western states be represented by the politicians elected by folks back east that know nothing of the lifestyle out here? Basic state rights debate that's been going on for ever. Maybe the Idaho and Montana Senators should "write a letter" interfering in the gambling at Atlantic City? Is there a difference?

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by Gummee

Explain to me how bear spray works into a headwind

G'head. I'll listen

M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3yNci9bsGU

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by Gummee

Explain to me how bear spray works into a headwind

G'head. I'll listen

M

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ay_Performance