Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
Issue link: http://conservationnw.uberflip.com/i/122778
Predators and prey "Backcountry future," continued profit? Are wolves merely another commodity, one more thing that Americans want but are not willing to make sacrifices for?" Society is split on these questions. For those who want to see wolves (the same applies to grizzlies) survive in the long term, we need to remember what the best known wolf biologists have all observed: The long-term survival of the wolf in this country depends more on human social values than it does on biology. While reason, science, and a willingness to compromise will always be important, what is most needed is more people who have made a deep connection with nature and the wild. I think it is easier to create a world view than it is to change one. And so, one solution to ensuring the continued existence of large predators and large wild areas may be as simple as taking kids camping. Then take them again and again to make sure they're addicted. Then maybe someday they too can be awakened in the middle of the night by the howl of all that is wild. Sportsman & conservationist Dick Rivers has been both a big-game bowhunter and the president of the Spokane Audubon Society. He has spent the last forty years volunteering on a broad range of outdoor interests and wildlife conservation, from the Columbia River to the Canadian Rockies to Hells Canyon. Conservation Northwest and Washington State Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, together with other Northwest conservation and outdoor-sports groups, have teamed up to create the Dr. Dick Rivers SportsmanConservationist Award. To nominate a sportsman or sportswoman by the end of this year, contact Jeff Holmes at washingtonstatebha@yahoo.com or 509.868.3337. Devin Rokyta Moscow Pullman Daily News U of Idaho researcher on wolves & elk Reaching an appropriate balance Excerpted below is an article featuring ecologist Dr. Oz Garton, who predicted the trajectory of Yellowstone's wolf and elk populations. Originally published in March 2011, it is reprinted here with permission from the Moscow Pullman Daily News. Talk now seems to be centered around not having enough elk, but that was precisely the opposite of what was taking place in Yellowstone prior to wolf reintroduction in 1995. Without a natural predator in the park to keep its numbers in check, the northern Yellowstone elk herd was growing unabated and damaging vegetation in the park. And so began the talk in the 1980s of reintroducing wolves. The major question was what effect would wolves have on the elk herd. That's where University of Idaho professor Oz Garton came into the picture. As a doctoral student, the population ecologist had assisted in the development of a model of the interaction between moose, wolves, and vegetation on Isle Royale, an island in Lake Superior. He followed at the UI by developing a model to get unbiased estimates on deer and elk by using radio collars and correcting for groups missed in aerial surveys. With that expertise, Garton said he was asked to use his model to project the impact of wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone. His model forecasted the wolf population will settle at about 75 in Yellowstone, and to date, that number has been correct, he said, with numbers fluctuating to as high as 90 and crashing to as low as 50. Keeping the Northwest wild He also forecasted the elk population would stabilize at 20 percent below the pre-wolf numbers of 10,000-12,000 and at a level that wouldn't cause as much damage to vegetation after reintroduction if hunter harvests remained at the long-term average of 7 percent. However, a harsh winter or a mere 2 percent increase in the hunter harvest, and numbers would decline to a "dramatically lower level." "It was scary, a two percent difference in harvest rate…made the population of elk dramatically decline (in the model)," Garton said. Unfortunately for elk populations, the forecast was dead on. Garton said the average harvest rate in Montana since reintroduction has been 9 percent, 2 percent higher than the Continued next page A cow Rocky Mountain elk scans its surroundings at sunrise. © David Moskowitz Spring/Summer 2011 11