The Woods

hunting bans imperil biodiversity — Furbearer Conservation

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Conservation Researchers: hunting bans imperil biodiversity — Furbearer Conservation

The term “trophy hunting” is one that has been badly abused for decades; causing turmoil and contention throughout the conservation community. All game hunting, to a degree, results in some form of a “reward” for participation; but like other concepts of life, participation does not always result in the administering of a “trophy”.

To put it bluntly, humans hunt and pursue wildlife for many reasons - food, hide/pelt, management, reduction of property damage, or, in many cases, all of the above - far surpassing the sophistical concept that one’s ultimate desire to take part in hunting actions is strictly rooted in the collection of a prize.

Today, the term “trophy hunting” is primarily used as dog-whistle verbiage designated to elicit an emotive response from a cross-section of society; rendering the term “trophy” to little more than a connotative misnomer with regard to the broader concepts of (and reasons behind) modern regulated hunting activities.

Do No Harm? — Furbearer Conservation

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Do No Harm? — Furbearer Conservation

Hiking, cross-country skiing, forest photography, wildlife watching - all activities that take place in the open realm of nature. These activities are engaging, promote health and well being, and can be, for many, down right medicinal. While I fully support and even encourage more people to partake in these kinds of activities, their recent spike in popularity has created a rickety, wobbly soapbox for some individuals to stand on with regard to who should have "control" of the woods. As usual, I'm here - with a handful of nails which used to hold said soapbox together.

A few weeks ago I discussed society's growing need to hoard and stockpile wildlife in an attempt to turn our wild places into a suburban petting zoo. The denouncing of regulated hunting and trapping activities by some is just the latest tactic attempting to further remove man from nature. One of the ideological principals anti-hunting groups have used to sell a narrative, that hunting is somehow no longer valid or needed, is the fact that hunting activities have generally seen a gradual participation decline in recent years. Anti-hunting groups point to a rise in "wildlife watching" and a decline in hunting activities as the smoking gun for why the latter should be dissolved and outright banned from the woods.

M-44 and Coyotes

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I’ve been reading about the latest controversy over the continued approval of M-14 sodium cyanide for coyote control in certain western states. Some observations I have:

  • Traditional foothold traps are best for catching and dispatching coyotes. With a foothold you can check to ensure you’ve reached the target species before dispatching the coyote with your firearm. After you’ve killed the coyote, you can recover the pelt in good condition for sale.
  • Running trap lines in very remote country can be challenging as you have to check have the traps every 24 hours or maybe 48 hours to see if you have gotten anything in the trap. The M-44 traps kill the animal and don’t need to be checked daily.
  • Supposedly, the M-44 sodium cyanide baits break down quickly and does not bio-accumulate but I would still be worried about secondary poisoning of eagles and other raptors. Nature picks up after dead carcasses as they’re just food to other species and you don’t want to kill non targeted species.
  • Don’t kid yourself, coyotes are an enormous problem on the modem ecosystem. Yes, they do help keep field mice and certain other species in check. But they also a ample breeders with limited predators. They kill deer, elk, and other game species – along with attacking calves and even cattle giving birth. Nature ain’t pretty, coyotes do whatever they have to survive.
  • While I don’t support killing animals without a purpose, I do think predators must be kept in check as humans are putting pressures on other parts of the ecosystem and need to keep balance. Regulated trapping can and does help to control wildlife population.
  • I think it’s reasonable to consider ways to get more people to hunt and trap coyotes in areas where they are a nuisance by subsidizing pelt sales, promoting the market for coyote fur, placing a bounty on coyotes and hosting coyote hunting contests.
  • Sometimes unpleasant things are necessary to protect our natural resources. Nature isn’t always pretty. But the coyote that can be harvested via hunting and trapping, the more we can avoid using potentially harmful poisons like M-44.

Spotlight News – DEC concerned about white pines decline

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Spotlight News – DEC concerned about white pines decline

NEW YORK — White pine trees are on the decline statewide, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Jessica Cancelliere, a research scientist in DEC’s Forest Health Diagnostic Lab in Delmar and Robert Cole, a Forester in Forest Health in DEC’s Albany office, released an article called “White Pine Decline” in July which discusses the phenomenon and what DEC is doing to remedy it. It had been written in May and June.

While Cancelliere was unavailable for comment, Cole said he also works in DEC’s Bureau of Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health and they acknowledged that the decline was happening throughout the state, not just in the Capital District.

Beyond New York, he said it is impacting white pine ranges across the northeast coast like in New England and even the Midwest region of Canada.