Endangered Species - Who Should Decide

Wild Turkeys on a recent winter day at Quabbin Park

Ok this blog has nothing to do with Turkeys but I did enjoy watching them:

One of my facebook friends had posted the link to this story: Proposed bill aims to get frog off endangered species list and it got me thinking.  Decades of progress in recognizing the value of the diversity of life resulted in passage of important legislatative measures such as state and federal endangered species acts. The fact that a N.Y. legislator has proposed a bill to remove a species from the State's list and exempt it from any regulations is abhorrent in itself. To make matters worse it is not because of a reasonable argument that it is or is not endangered but born rather from frustration and political expedience over how to clean up a lake. 

This story is not really about the Northern Cricket Frog Acris crepitans but rather that we as a society have let our desire for parts of the wild world overcome our understanding of the processes that created it. I've never been to Glenmere Lake in Western New York State. It sounds like so many other great places in the northeast. Once a clear cool lake with great fishing, the perfect place for building that lakeside cottage or home. Nutrients from now failing septic systems and fertilized lawns have also created the perfect environment for the introduced invasive exotic Eurasian milfoil. Life at the lake has changed. Milfoil has overtaken the lake and in spite of all the good effort to change the direction of the infestation nothing has happened. Part of the issue is that the state conservation authorities are accused of not being clear of what is needed for the Lake's population of the listed Northern Cricket Frogs and moving the target at the expense of the developers and townspeople. The issues involved are complex and the failures must be shared with people on both sides. The answer may not be close at hand but gutting the Endangered Species act is likely the wrong avenue to pursue.

So how did we get to this place? Caught between a lake free of exotic weeds and the survival of a rare frog. Most would agree that cleaning up the nutrient loading of the lake would be a good place to start and if we didn't introduce exotic invasive plants into the landscape the issue may never of come up in the first place. Conflicts dividing good people who should be on the same side of the issue of a clean diverse environment are finding themselves on opposite sides of the bargaining table. I have seen many cases of abusive use of our wetlands and endangered species legislation over the years by those who use it as a club to stop or delay development they don't like and regulators that take extreme protective positions without the benefit of good research often restricting landowners use of their land. These actions have weakened the resolve of many in the general public (and their elected representatives) to support our Natural Heritage Programs and the species they represent.

There are great battles raging around the region between groups with differing perspectives in the future management of our natural resources. What role should the needs, desires and economic vitality of our human population be included in this decision process? If we don't find ways to come together to resolve these issues the decisions will be made for us and we may not be happy with the outcome.


dave@dhsmall.net
http://www.pbase.com/dhsmall

Coyotes at the Kitchen Door - Living with Wildlife in Suburbia

 
Anyone who has happened by my home office may have noticed the profusion of natural history books with many books on Insects, Herps and Birds filling the shelves. I readily admit of all the taxa I have explored over the years Mammals aren't well represented in the collection. That is beginning to change.

This time last year I was reading Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz in preparation for our winter vacation to the Cockscomb Jaguar preserve in Central Belize. Shelley and I were joined on that trip by a pair of biologists Kiana Koenen, DCR Biologist at Quabbin, and her husband Stephen DeStefano, project leader for the US Geological Survey Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Research Professor at UMass in Amherst. My appreciation for mammals has increased, learning from my good friends. We didn't see any jaguars in Belize (except at the zoo) but did find some fresh tracks in the early morning mud along a remote trail as we climbed in a successful search for Scarlet Macaws.

Shortly before Christmas Steve announced the book he had been working on was published and I was presented with a copy wrapped in true holiday regalia... I decided to place it under our tree and open it on Christmas morning. You never know how a gift like this will turn out. Will it be great, full of interesting useful information and stories? or be something you'll need to avoid in polite conversation with friends. Fortunately it is the former... I really have enjoyed reading the book and highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in natural history.

The ability of the coyote to survive in the presence of humans is a great story in itself but Steve weaves tales of his vast personal experience around the hemisphere from encounters with Polar Bears in the Arctic to Andean Condors in Peru. The real message of the book though is the change in our ever more populated world. We have been spreading the footprint of human development around the world into new areas and densities while simultaneously seeking to build our houses deeper into the forest and canyons seeking comfort in the vanishing wild world, happy until a predator eats our cat...

A coyote dissapears into the forest at Quabbin Park

 Reading the book I again became aware of Coyotes. I used to see them often when Quabbin Deer were more numerous and fallen deer would be seen on the reservoir ice being consumed by Coyotes, Eagles, Ravens and Crows. I have heard them calling to each other in the night while I was in search of Owls in remote parts of the region, always a thrill felt by the chill in your spine on a frosty winter night.  I see them only occasionally these days but the animal above was hanging around our office in Quabbin Park this week. Not really afraid of people but wary non the less. Coincidently as I was finishing the book Channel 5 News had a lead story about a coyote attacking a pet dog on Cape Cod. I just have to wonder what we as a population expect. We provide lots of food and habitat for an animal that has adapted to our excesses, forbid hunting and trapping, than let the pet dog (off leash) run in the remnant suburban forests and wonder why the Coyote is appreciative of the free meal...

A Robin feeds on a Crabapple in New Salem

Many of us are guilty of manipulating our environment to attract desirable wildlife. Bird feeders and wildlife plantings are likely responsible for the ability of birds such as Tufted Titmouse, Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Carolina Wrens, and our former harbinger of Spring the Robin to winter here in Central Mass. We are now becoming more aware that these seemingly harmless pursuits may have less desirable effects as Black Bears and Coyotes along with skunks, raccoons and oppossums take advantage of our free lunch program...

So as you enjoy the winter please pick up Steve's book throw a log on the fire and enjoy... Who know's what will be stalking the mice under your bird feeder...
dave@dhsmall.net
http://www.pbase.com/dhsmall