http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/633326/Extreme-Huntress-competition-winner-killed-grizzly-bears
“A WOMAN who has proudly slaughtered animals such as grizzly bears and
moose has been crowned this year’s ‘‘Extreme Huntress” in controversial show
Linda Sue Beck. It is at her desk that Ammon Bundy, leader of the group of armed anti-government religious fanatics occupying Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, has set up shop. As a federal biologist, like my father was for decades, she works to steward the resources that are held in common trust for all Americans. My stomach turned as the report came through the radio today — approaching a week into the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge — and I heard the descriptions of the Bundys picking through her belongings and ridiculing her work.
“She’s not here working for the people,” Ammon’s brother Ryan is quoted as saying. “She’s not benefiting America. She’s part of what’s destroying America.”
The occupiers of the refuge poke fun at Beck, her research on fish, and the normal trappings of a research station, including a dried bird in a storage area. They…
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Extermination of large predators such as wolves and bears has a cascading effect on delicate ecological balance
More than 100 attend Naturalist Nights at Carbondale’s Third Street Center
Area ranchers came out in numbers to adamantly oppose the idea of wolf reintroduction in Colorado during a standing-room-only presentation on the subject Wednesday evening in Carbondale.
Citing concerns to their finances, safety and livelihood, many in the crowd balked at the message provided by ecologist Delia Malone during a Naturalist Nights presentation entitled, “Should Gray Wolves be Restored to Colorado?” at the Third Street Center.
Malone, wildlife team chairperson at the Sierra Club, Rocky Mountain Chapter, spoke to a crowd of more than 100 about the history of wolves in Colorado, the successful reintroduction of the species to Yellowstone National Park, and methods ranchers could employ to keep their livestock off the menu should the apex predators be returned to the state.
“I don’t think there’s anyone on the planet that’s quite as smart as thousands of years of evolution in deciding who and what is important and who and what is not important,” Malone said. “Wolves are an important part of the ecosystem. They evolved with prey species, and prey species evolved with wolves, and when we remove an important part of the ecosystem, that has been there for tens of thousands of years, we can expect, and have seen and witnessed, dramatic and negative ecological impacts.”
Quotes from University of Wisconsin scientist, author, and conservationist Aldo Leopold were intertwined into the narrative. While with the U.S. Forest Service, Leopold was sent to New Mexico to hunt and kill mountain lions, bears and wolves, but found that ecosystems were healthier with these keystone predators playing their roles.
Perfect storm leads to conflict
Malone noted that wolves are crucial to a healthy biodiversity in Colorado’s wildlands, adding that the ecosystem was first altered by market hunting during the Gold Rush in the late 1850s that all but eliminated elk from the state.
They were later reintroduced in the 1920s, but this initial lack of game drove Colorado’s wolves to pursue another meal: livestock.
“At that same time ranchers also brought in cattle, and that set up a perfect storm,” Malone said. “These are predators that have lived for tens of thousands of years dependent on prey species. … But in the blink of an eye, their prey was gone, and all of the sudden to replace them were sheep. So what did they do? They turned to cattle and sheep.”…
An annual contest in Canada that encourages hunters to kill as many coyotes as they can in one day will be going ahead on Saturday, despite threats against the organizer.
The DKD Coyote Tournament will be holding its fifth annual competition just outside of Edmonton — the event’s Facebook page says the location of the check-in will be announced the day of.
Teams of two are encouraged to hunt down as many coyotes as possible. Awards are handed out not only for the number caught, but for side categories such as “smallest coyote” and “mangiest coyote.”
The rules specify that coyotes must be hunted: “NO road kills, Poisoned, Trapped, or Snared entries accepted.”
“When we glorify killing at that level… it leaves a bad taste in most people’s mouths.”
“The standoff in Harney County Oregon highlights one of the great ironies of the rural West. More than any other people, western rural residents are more heavily dependent on government (read taxpayer) largesse than any other part of America. Yet the average rural resident sees himself/herself as a “rugged and independent” individual and by the way, “hard working” to boot. They may indeed work hard—but no harder than anyone else in this country, but more than other residents, their work and lifestyles are dependent on government and subsidies.
“From the pioneer days onward, the federal government has subsidized western rural lifestyles. The earliest federal military expeditions exploring potential trade route, military roads, and railroad routes as well as the military outposts that protected the “independent” western frontier communities from the Native people to the US Army expeditions which helped to subdue the “savages” and sequester them on reservations—all done with…
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It’s the gas leak that just won’t end. One whose impacts have now become so wide-ranging that it has prompted California governor Brown to issue a declaration of emergency. But, even with vast state resources now in place to help deal with this disaster, the impacts are likely to be long-lasting and far-reaching. Serious impacts both to public health and to California’s contribution to global atmospheric, oceanic, and glacial warming.
A Dangerous Industry With Long-Lasting Impacts
(The Environmental Defense Fund issued this aerial infrared footage of a massive gas leak at Porter Ranch, California. In total, more than 180 million pounds of the gas has already leaked from the disaster site — increasing California’s methane emissions by 25 percent, sickening hundreds of local residents, and forcing the evacuation of more than 2,000 homes. Video Source: The Environmental Defense Fund.)
Poking holes in the Earth or blasting it apart…
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“All these systems are designed to crush us. It is time to resist.” ~ Chris Hedges
I have Lyme disease. My border collie had Lyme disease. Wisconsin is a hotbed of Lyme disease as seen on the map here. It is the fastest-growing vector-borne disease in the country.
The more I experience and research this infection, the more complex and frightening it is revealed to be.
I had a wake-up call on “The People’s Pharmacy” on Wisconsin Public Radio a few months ago. The topic was medical mistakes. The doctor interviewed mentioned that he had a heart transplant due to Lyme disease not being properly diagnosed in a timely fashion. A few weeks later, in the segment for suggestions for shows, several people called in to suggest a show connecting the artificially high deer herd, Lyme disease and car/deer accidents in Wisconsin.
Thirty-five percent of ticks collected in Wisconsin tested…
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On Tuesday, Bundy said some folks brought them soup and a sympathetic rancher stocked a freezer full of meat for the group holing up at the refuge. And the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) delivered vegan jerky to the militants on Wednesday.
The snacks came along with signs that read, “The End of Animal-Based Ag Is Nigh: GET OUT NOW!”
The occupiers gladly accepted the vegan fare, which is made of soy, seitan and shiitake mushrooms and packs a bigger protein punch than beef. At least one self-described hardcore carnivore occupying the refuge promptly announced his love for the meatless treats, a PETA spokesperson said.
“He tried the hickory smoked primal strip,” said PETA spokesperson Lindsay Rajt. “He said it tasted like salmon and he loved it.”
Exposing the Big Game 