BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) – The Blount County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after two dogs were stolen from a Locust Fork home, shot and killed, then left on the side of a rural county road for dead. Sheriff Mark Moon said this was not a hunting accident.
“I thought they were just out running around because they’ve been out late before and then come back later like 9 o’clock at night,” O’Keefe said. “But something just felt off and I was questioning it.”
Max was O’Keefe’s best friend, a rescue dog.
“You could give him any command and he would know exactly what it was,” Yarbrough said.
But Max was getting older, O’Keefe got Bo to help with his transition coming home after serving in South Korea for a year in the Army.Rare piebald deer spotted in Madison County
“I wanted to give him a companion as he was getting older, somebody he could be with when I’m at work and so he could teach his way so they would learn from him,” O’Keefe said.
After days of searching, they got tipped off where the dogs might be. Yarbrough said she found them both by a field off of Deaver Walker Rd., side-by-side, shot to death.
“Why was it just Blake’s dogs that were taken and killed?” She asked.
“I don’t know anybody that’s mad at me. I don’t know anybody I’ve made enemies with,” O’Keefe said.
Yarbrough said she is hopeful sharing their story will stop this from happening to anyone again.
“The person or persons who did it will hopefully see this and have some kind of heart to never ever do that again and to maybe even come forward, get help, something.”
O’Keefe gave Bo his name because it stands for his initials, B.O., and it is the name of his photography and videography company, Bo Productions.
This is not the first time O’Keefe has had a dog shot.
The family’s offering a $1,000 reward for anyone who can help police find out who is responsible for the crime.
A fire burned through the Gibson Flats area south of Great Falls, Mont., on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, destroying 11 homes, seven garages and 11 outbuildings, fire officials said. The fire was one of three wind-driven fires on Wednesday that forced evacuations in Montana. A fire near Denton led hundreds of residents to flee the central Montana town on Wednesday. Some buildings in the town were on fire. Another grass fire forced temporary evacuations near Browning, east of Glacier National Park.
Rion Sanders
A fire burned through the Gibson Flats area south of Great Falls, Mont., on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, destroying 11 homes, seven garages and 11 outbuildings, fire officials said. The fire was one of three wind-driven fires on Wednesday that forced evacuations in Montana. A fire near Denton led hundreds of residents…
Dec. 2—An online petition urging Washington State wildlife commissioners to reinstate the spring black bear hunt is gaining traction online, but it’s unlikely to affect any change.
“I wonder if it is too little too late,” said Marie Neumiller, the executive director of the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council. “I’m not sure that the commission will take up the spring bear topic again until next year.
“We tried to motivate our members to participate in the commission process, but unfortunately, we were unable to generate interest until after the vote took place.”- ADVERTISEMENT -https://s.yimg.com/rq/darla/4-6-0/html/r-sf-flx.html
As of Tuesday, more than 8,000 people had signed the Change.org petition asking the state to reinstate the hunting season, which was suspended on Nov. 19 by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission in a tied vote.
The petition — which is addressed to Gov. Jay Inslee and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — is unlikely to change anything. Gov. Inslee appoints the nine-person commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not manage or regulate state hunting seasons.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife commission voted 4-4 on the proposed 2022 spring bear hunt on Nov. 19. The nine-person commission is appointed by the governor to oversee WDFW. Since January, however, one of the commission’s three Eastern Washington seats has been vacant.
WDFW staff had recommended the commission approve the permit-only hunt, which has occurred in one form or another since 1999. Biologists said the hunt was a useful management tool and would not hurt the overall black bear population.
There was substantial public backlash against the hunt, however, which some call unethical as it targets bears in the spring, when they are weak and groggy after a winter of hibernation.
Although the petition is unlikely to change anything, it does highlight how few hunters participated in the various public meetings and comment sessions the commission held leading up to the vote, Neumiller said.
“Hopefully, this petition will show the commission that there is interest in the season,” she said. “Maybe if enough hunters speak up the commission will be more likely to follow the department’s science next time … if they feel that people are truly interested in the season.”
For example, during one October public meeting, 50 people gave public testimony against the proposal while only two supported it. According to a staff presentation during Friday’s vote, WDFW received more than 5,000 comments on the proposed season. National advocacy groups like the Humane Society of the United States urged its members to oppose the hunt.
The commission has said it will reconsider the spring bear hunt next year.
Per state law, citizens can also petition the commission directly to repeal state administrative rules. Agencies “will give full consideration” and respond within 60 days.
One of the ocean’s most fearsome predators is muscling into new parts of the icy Arctic Ocean.
Orcas, also known as killer whales, are showing up in places they’ve never been spotted before. Scientists believe melting sea ice is to blame.
“[Killer whales] will normally avoid ice to avoid entrapment and suffocating,” said Brynn Kimber, a research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies, at a press conference Wednesday hosted by the Acoustical Society of America. “But with less ice, of course there’s less of a risk to them, so they’re able to venture further into the Arctic.”https://9fa9d70f3f5058315049842620c54de6.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlADVERTISEMENT
Kimber has been tracking the movements of killer whales through the Alaskan Arctic using underwater recorders, which pick up the sounds made by marine animals as they swim. Orcas have a very distinctive call, so they’re easy to recognize on the recordings.
Kimber presented her findings yesterday at the Acoustical Society of America’s annual conference in Seattle. The study draws on eight years of acoustic data, from 2012 to 2019, collected by recorders operated by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Laboratory.
The conclusions: Orcas are moving in as ice is moving out.
Data from the Bering Strait, which runs between Alaska and Russia, suggests that killer whales are moving into the area earlier in the year as time goes by. Killer whales are typically seasonal visitors in this area, migrating in during the summer when the sea ice melts away and moving back out when the water begins to freeze.
Recording stations farther north picked up even more surprising information.
A station in the northern Chukchi Sea recorded orcas in 2018 and 2019, in a place where they hadn’t previously been detected. The ice there would typically be too thick.
“We were seeing killer whales there where we really didn’t expect to see them,” Kimber said in an interview with E&E News.
It’s unclear why the killer whales are moving in. But Kimber suspects they’re probably following prey.
Killer whales often feed on gray whales, bowhead whales and various kinds of seals, all of which frequent the Arctic Ocean. These animals are adapted to the cold climate, and they’re able to easily navigate through the icy waters. Killer whales, on the other hand, find it difficult to swim through ice-covered sea—the tall dorsal fins on their backs make it difficult for them to crunch through the ice.https://9fa9d70f3f5058315049842620c54de6.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlADVERTISEMENT
As the sea ice disappears, killer whales may find it easier to follow their prey farther north into the Arctic Ocean.
Their presence in these northern waters is a possible cause for concern, Kimber pointed out—at the least, it’s worth keeping an eye on. Killer whales are skilled hunters, and they could have cascading consequences for the delicate Arctic food web.
There could also be consequences for nearby human communities, she added. Bowhead whales, for instance, are also a key source of subsistence for some Indigenous communities in places like Alaska and Siberia.
It’s not the first study to suggest that killer whales are migrating into the Arctic. Others have also found that orca sightings have increased over time, mainly in the Canadian Arctic.
And other studies have also warned of orcas’ potential impact on the Arctic ecosystem. One recent study, published last year in the journal Global Change Biology, found killer whales in the Canadian Arctic—a seasonal population of probably around 160 orcas or so—can consume more than a thousand narwhals each year.ADVERTISEMENT
Narwhals, like bowhead whales, are an important traditional food source for some communities in the Canadian Arctic.
Much more monitoring is needed to fully understand the consequences of the changing Arctic ecosystem. Research specifically focused on orcas and climate change is still relatively limited.
But “because killer whales are so good at hunting things … I think it is very important to keep an eye on,” Kimber said.
Why scientists want to clear the air about the role of seals and focus on ecosystemsJENN THORNHILL VERMASPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAILPUBLISHED AUGUST 29, 2021
Skipper Dwight Russell says there’s “no shortage of seals” in the North Atlantic Ocean, where he and his crew fish off the coast of Labrador. Interviewed in mid-July from his boat, the Miss Mackenzie, he said he and his crew had been surrounded by a herd of harp seals a few days back – an experience he says has become increasingly common.
The sight of all those seals bobbing in the water makes him worry about his fishing prospects – like many fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador, Skipper Russell believes an “out-of-control” harp seal population has depleted commercial fishing species, leaving little chance of recovery. At the summer shrimp fishery about 80 nautical miles off the eastern tip of Labrador, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) officials have reported shrimp stock in the “critical zone” for the fifth consecutive year.
DFO estimates the Northwest Atlantic harp seal population at 7.6 million – the highest on record (based on 2017 data), at more than triple the population of 50 years ago and still steadily increasing.
But Mr. Russell’s concerns are at odds with DFO science, which says the harp seal population is not a major factor in declining fish stocks. Instead, DFO officials offer a different explanation, one that’s harder for local fishermen to accept: that climate change is at the root of the problem. DFO officials held a technical briefing at the end of June to address what they described as “misinformation” about the impacts of seals on fish such as Atlantic cod and capelin in Newfoundland and Labrador waters. During the one-hour briefing, geared toward media, the officials presented the North Atlantic seal as less of a scoundrel and more of a scapegoat.
A female harp seal looks out near the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Que.INGO ARNDT/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
“People want to understand what is generating the changes in the [fish stock] abundances and why they cannot fish more,” says Dr. Mariano Koen-Alonso, one of the DFO research scientists who presented the June briefing. Certainly, he said, seals provide a convenient explanation for fishing troubles. But if you look more closely at the situation, it “becomes much more complex.”
According to DFO scientists, warmer ocean temperatures and earlier sea-ice melting are among the most worrisome ecosystem changes in the North Atlantic, and that warming trend means poor returns for a variety of fisheries, from capelin to cod to shrimp. As a result, the department is working to shift its “single-species management” model – from fishing and annual catch limits (the primary management tool of fisheries managers considering any fish species in isolation) to “ecosystem-based management,” which takes into account broader variables, such as interactions with other species, the effects of environmental changes, and/or pollution and other stressors on habitat and water quality.The seasonal maximum area of sea ice and the ice season duration on the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) shelfSince the early 1990s, the severity of sea ice season has gradually decreased, reaching the lowest points in 2011 and 2010. With the exception of a rebound to near-normal values in 2014–2016, sea ice conditions have been weak over recent years. Colder conditions Warmer conditions-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.50.00.51.01.52.02.51969197319771981198519891993199720012005200920132017Shaded areas fallwithin the expectedtemperature range19860.1n/aTHE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: FRÉDÉRIC CYR, PETER S. GALBRAITH, (2020) NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR CLIMATE INDEX. FEDERATED RESEARCH DATA REPOSITORY.DATASHARE×
Sea Ice
Colder conditions
Warmer conditions
1969-01-01
-1.04
1970-01-01
0.1
1971-01-01
0.94
1972-01-01
1.89
1973-01-01
1.66
1974-01-01
1.05
1975-01-01
0.62
1976-01-01
0.89
1977-01-01
0.21
1978-01-01
-0.36
1979-01-01
0.1
1980-01-01
-0.25
1981-01-01
-0.55
1982-01-01
0.18
1983-01-01
1.72
1984-01-01
2.26
1985-01-01
1.76
1986-01-01
0.15
1987-01-01
0.3
1988-01-01
0.63
1989-01-01
0.47
1990-01-01
1.48
1991-01-01
1.5
1992-01-01
1.35
1993-01-01
2.15
1994-01-01
1.31
1995-01-01
0.29
1996-01-01
0.06
1997-01-01
0.17
1998-01-01
-0.19
1999-01-01
-0.38
2000-01-01
0.43
2001-01-01
-0.29
2002-01-01
-0.14
2003-01-01
-0.07
2004-01-01
-1.44
2005-01-01
-0.33
2006-01-01
-1.14
2007-01-01
-0.4
2008-01-01
0.46
2009-01-01
0.31
2010-01-01
-1.59
2011-01-01
-1.94
2012-01-01
-0.21
2013-01-01
-0.79
2014-01-01
0.59
2015-01-01
0.36
2016-01-01
0.52
2017-01-01
0.11
2018-01-01
-0.05
2019-01-01
-0.15
2020-01-01
-0.55
THE SEASONAL MAXIMUM AREA OF SEA ICE AND THE ICE SEASON DURATION ON THE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR (NL) SHELF
DFO documentation shows that the department recognized the need to move in this direction in 1998. Twenty years later, in 2019, DFO formally struck a national working group on an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. But so far, their progress remains stalled.
It’s one thing to collect ecological, oceanographic and climate data – an area in which DFO has shown great progress, says Dr. Pierre Pepin, the research scientist who chairs the working group – but it’s quite another to apply that data to fisheries decisions. It’s not yet routine practice to use climate variables in fisheries decisions, says Pepin, because scientists don’t yet know precisely how climate change affects marine species. As a result, even the working group’s best efforts will see DFO continuing to carry out single-species fisheries management, says Pepin. It’s a frustrating situation made even more frustrating by the continued negative attention paid to seals, says Dr. Koen-Alonso, who specializes in ecosystem-based management.
A group of harp seals in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.JAN VERMEER/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
“This is in many ways acting as a distraction from what should be the main conversation, which is how these ecosystems are going to play out as climate conditions change,” says Koen-Alonso of the ongoing preoccupation with seals. “If we want to really rebuild [fish] stocks, we need to understand those things first and use that to guide our management, and not necessarily use our time addressing questions that we know are not going to lead us to a useful, effective answer.”
When it comes to ecosystem changes, warming waters are the key environmental factor DFO cites as affecting Atlantic cod and capelin – both species are critically depleted, compared to historical levels of abundance. While seals are an important predator, they are not an overwhelming one, says Dr. Garry Stenson, a DFO research scientist specializing in marine mammals.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENTThe temperature of the ocean surface (as measured by satellite) on the NL shelfColder than average conditions prevailed in the early 1990s, with 1991 and 1992 being the coldest years. This period was followed by warmer-than-average conditions lasting until about 2014. In recent years, the period 2015–2019 (except for 2016) was colder than normal. The year 2020 was, however, back to above-normal. Colder conditions Warmer conditions-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.50.00.51.01.52.019821985198819911994199720002003200620092012201520181994n/a0.6THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: FRÉDÉRIC CYR, PETER S. GALBRAITH, (2020) NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR CLIMATE INDEX. FEDERATED RESEARCH DATA REPOSITORY.DATASHARE×
SST
Colder conditions
Warmer conditions
1982-01-01
-1.15
1983-01-01
-0.37
1984-01-01
-0.48
1985-01-01
-1.33
1986-01-01
-0.68
1987-01-01
-0.4
1988-01-01
0.03
1989-01-01
-0.71
1990-01-01
-1.1
1991-01-01
-1.94
1992-01-01
-1.96
1993-01-01
-0.72
1994-01-01
0.61
1995-01-01
-0.74
1996-01-01
-0.41
1997-01-01
-0.64
1998-01-01
0.93
1999-01-01
0.89
2000-01-01
0.97
2001-01-01
0.12
2002-01-01
-0.62
2003-01-01
0.6
2004-01-01
0.33
2005-01-01
0.68
2006-01-01
1.36
2007-01-01
-0.11
2008-01-01
0.88
2009-01-01
-0.3
2010-01-01
0.13
2011-01-01
0
2012-01-01
1.51
2013-01-01
0.29
2014-01-01
0.6
2015-01-01
-0.73
2016-01-01
-0.26
2017-01-01
-0.58
2018-01-01
-0.88
2019-01-01
-0.74
2020-01-01
0.73
THE TEMPERATURE OF THE OCEAN SURFACE (AS MEASURED BY SATELLITE) ON THE NL SHELF
“It would have been simple to answer a question without invoking anything about the environment, but you need to look at the environmental changes that are occurring in order to understand what’s happening to those fish stocks. That’s what’s driving things, not necessarily predation,” says Stenson, who also delivered the June briefing.
It’s not that fishermen need convincing about climate change. Mr. Russell says he’s concerned about weakening sea ice and changing ocean temperature too, particularly what he calls “a warming trend” in the North Atlantic ocean. “The climate is warming up,” he says. “The world’s warming up and the Arctic and Subarctic are warming up at a higher pace than other areas. And I think that’s pretty well reflected [in] what people around Labrador and the coast of Labrador and the fishery see too – it’s quite a warming trend for this year in particular. You just notice certain things, like the lack of icebergs.”The temperature at the ocean floor, as measured in spring and fall on the NL shelfThere was a persistent cold phase from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, followed by a warmer phase that peaked in 2011. Shaded areas are considered ‘normal,’ meaning they are within an expected range/show expected fluctuation. Colder conditions Warmer conditions-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.50.00.51.01.52.019801983198619891992199519982001200420072010201320162019-0.2__undefined__THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: FRÉDÉRIC CYR, PETER S. GALBRAITH, (2020) NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR CLIMATE INDEX. FEDERATED RESEARCH DATA REPOSITORY.DATASHARE×
Bottom T
Colder conditions
Warmer conditions
1980-01-01
-0.2
1981-01-01
0.66
1982-01-01
-0.49
1983-01-01
-0.27
1984-01-01
-1.19
1985-01-01
-1.55
1986-01-01
-0.79
1987-01-01
-0.93
1988-01-01
-0.27
1989-01-01
-0.72
1990-01-01
-1.81
1991-01-01
-1.68
1992-01-01
-1.66
1993-01-01
-1.76
1994-01-01
-1.49
1995-01-01
-0.73
1996-01-01
-0.1
1997-01-01
-0.53
1998-01-01
0.3
1999-01-01
1.02
2000-01-01
0.52
2001-01-01
-0.27
2002-01-01
-0.1
2003-01-01
-0.83
2004-01-01
0.77
2005-01-01
0.68
2006-01-01
0.14
2007-01-01
0.02
2008-01-01
-0.07
2009-01-01
0.21
2010-01-01
1.04
2011-01-01
1.82
2012-01-01
0.69
2013-01-01
0.51
2014-01-01
-0.33
2015-01-01
-0.08
2016-01-01
0.36
2017-01-01
-0.49
2018-01-01
0.63
2019-01-01
0.38
2020-01-01
0.63
THE TEMPERATURE AT THE OCEAN FLOOR, AS MEASURED IN SPRING AND FALL ON THE NL SHELF
More than 100 years of climate data shows the North Atlantic is unquestionably trending warm, especially if you look at bottom temperature (temperature collected at the bottom of the ocean in spring and fall) and sea ice condition trends. The Newfoundland and Labrador Climate Index, which DFO made publicly available in May for the first time, describes the environmental conditions on the NL shelf (the continental shelf extending from Labrador to the east coast of Newfoundland, including the Grand Banks) and in the Northwest Atlantic as a whole. The data shows prevalent sea ice degradation since the early 1990s. The annual number of icebergs is also dramatically increasing – from an annual average of 495 over the last 121 years, to an annual average of 771 over the last thirty years. Meanwhile, the latest assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, also cued attention to ocean warming and sea ice degradation trends, projected to continue in the Arctic region.
Polars bears in Churchill, Canada. One of the town’s polar bear tour companies is now using electric vehicles Photograph: Leyland Cecco
Leyland Cecco in Churchill, ManitobaFri 3 Dec 2021 05.30 EST
When tourists reach the north Canadian community of Churchill they have long been greeted by two sounds: the howling of sub-Arctic winds and the rattle of diesel engines.
Over the years, hundreds of thousands of visitors have come to the “polar bear capital of the world”, in the hopes of spotting the predators. They journey on “tundra buggies” – hulking, spacecraft-like vehicles that rumble over the stark landscape.
Now, one of the town’s tour companies has unveiled the region’s first-ever electric buggy – a vehicle that can move almost silently into areas where the polar bears congregate. The buggy has an estimated range of three days worth of tours and can operate in frigid temperatures.https://interactive.guim.co.uk/maps/embed/dec/2021-12-02T20:51:25.html
Frontiers North Adventures, which provided transport to the Guardian and other media outlets to view the vehicle in Churchill, plans to convert the remainder of its fleet over to electric motors, reducing more than 3,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 25 years – the equivalent of 353,635 liters of diesel fuel.
The company pitched it as part of a move to address the climate crisis, which experts have long said will have an outsized impact on polar bears.Advertisement
The company’s maiden voyage for its electric vehicle came as the area remained ice free for the first time in years – a scenario that may prove deadly for the bears.
A handful of kilometers from where the vehicles parked, the dark waters of Hudson Bay lashed at the shore – a rarity for late November and a warning sign for 800 or so polar bears in the region waiting to begin their hunt on sea ice for ringed seals.
In recent years, that wait has grown longer and longer.
While the timing of the ice formation varies from year to year, experts say the trend over recent decades is cause for concern.
Frontiers North Adventures plans to convert its fleet of buggies to electric motors, reducing more than 3,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 25 years. Photograph: Leyland Cecco
That is bad news for the bears, which don’t feed for the months leading up to ice formation. Instead, they laze around the bay, conserving their energy.
“We’re not getting the good years of sea ice formation that we used to have. We’re getting bad years and OK years,” said Andrew Derocher, a professor of biology at the University of Alberta. “When you do that over a long enough period of time, you can expect that your population is going to decline.”
It had been 156 days since most of the bears last ate. At 180 days, starvation begins to set in.
Ice is also breaking up earlier in the season, meaning bears are forced to return to land weeks earlier than normal and have a smaller window for hunting.Advertisement
Over the last decade, the bears have lost nearly a total of 12 days of ice on either end of the season.
Polar bears have lost 12 days of ice on either end of the season. Photograph: Leyland Cecco
“We’ve always been concerned about an early break-up with a really late freeze-up,” said Derocher. “And that would be the worst-case scenario for polar bears.”
Already, the bears are showing warning signs.
The weight of pregnant polar bears has declined over the years, as have new births. Bears typically lose one kilogram of weight each day they remain on the tundra instead of ice – further adding pressure on the population.
“Eventually, you’ll pretty much have like a zombie population of polar bears that just can’t sustain themselves and it’s a matter of time before they’re extirpated. When? That’s the million-dollar question,” Derocher said.
With warming in the north tied to mounting worries over carbon emissions, the longtime Churchill mayor, Michael Spence, has praised the company’s electric vehicle prototype, calling it a vision for “where tourism is going and where our climate is going”.
But the contrast between a futuristic vision of electric vehicles in northern communities and the stark reality of disappearing sea ice, highlights the challenges the region faces.AdvertisementSkip Adhttps://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.490.0_en.html#goog_1596364319https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.490.0_en.html#goog_49698048https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.490.0_en.html#goog_334339049javascript:false
Churchill once pinned its hopes on a world-class sea port, only to see that vision end in disappointment after the only rail track was washed out by floods. Some in the community of 1,000 hope that the changing climate will enable it to become a major grain port, but much of the town’s economy still relies on tourism . According to government figures, the industry brought in more than C$35m (US$27m) in 2017, mostly related to polar bear safaris.
Manitoba does as much as it can to protect the bears on the ground. Hunting is prohibited, tour vehicles have a narrow set of tracks they can follow to spot the mammals and human-bear interactions, including garbage dumps, have been minimized.
But the late freeze-up is a glimpse at the reality that local operators and scientists are forced to grapple with: the landscape will probably undergo significant changes in the coming years – and polar bear populations will suffer the most.
While other at-risk species can benefit from human intervention – for example fishers in Atlantic Canada are experimenting with rope-less gear to help endangered whales – saving the disappearing sea ice is a far more difficult task.
“There’s no easy fix. We can’t just put a park somewhere. And while it’s a nice idea and indicative of the kind of solutions we need, an electric tundra buggy isn’t going to save the world,” said Derocher. “The only levers that we have left that we can pull are the human behavior ones.”
With recovery efforts underway in flood-stricken parts of British Columbia, officials are getting an idea of the massive impact the extreme weather has had on the province’s livestock.
In an update Thursday, Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said more than 640,000 animals are known to have died.
That total includes 628,000 poultry, 12,000 hogs and 420 dairy cows. Additionally, 110 beehives were destroyed.
There are still more than 800 farms under evacuation, so officials believe the death toll will likely change as residents and operators return.
Popham said solemnly that the weather is expected to be better over the next few days, which will be “critical for removal of carcasses.”
“The work by farmers and volunteers and companies to clean out barns and to remove those animals continues to be extremely heartbreaking. I request that folks remain empathetic and caring in their comments, as they continue to do this very difficult work,” she said.
Popham did not provide details on her motive for making such a statement, but it may have been a reference to comments posted on social media suggesting those who look after these animals didn’t care for their wellbeing anyway, as they’d raised them for consumption.
The minister said that the farmers she’s been in contact with are showing resilience, and she said they’re experiencing what she described as “a good problem to have.” They’re having to find several centres for the public to drop off feed and supplies.
“The generosity of people is exceptional,” she said.
Popham said she’s also working with the B.C. Agriculture Council to ensure farmers are supported, and she’s met with her federal counterpart, Marie-Claude Bibeau, to discuss a recovery package from Ottawa.
“We’re still in the process of quantifying losses, whether it be animal crops or plant crops, and we hope to firm up those numbers as the waters recede,” Popham said.
The waters reached depths of 2.4 metres in places, including on properties owned by blueberry producers, and some plants are still under water.
There are about 700 acres of blueberries planted in the Sumas Prairie, part of which is located in Abbotsford, and as with other crops, the full extent of the damage is not yet known.
A series of intense storms brought days of relentless rain over southern B.C., leading to mudslides and flooding across the area. The City of Abbotsford was among the areas hit hardest by the floods.
Further north, a mudslide claimed the lives of at least four people. Another person is still missing and presumed dead.RELATED IMAGES
Calf houses float in the flood waters in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Sara KarnesSpringfield News-LeaderView Comments0:000:59https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.490.0_en.html#goog_153711491
Numbers are a skosh down compared to the previous year for Missouri’s late youth portion of the 2021 deer hunting season, but it came in at second place.
Missouri Department of Conservation released preliminary data earlier this week that showed young hunters six to 15 years old harvested 3,477 deer between Nov. 26-28. Of the 3,477 deer harvested, 1,470 were antlered bucks, 383 were button bucks, and 1,624 were does.
Top counties for the late youth portion included Osage with 86 deer harvested, Franklin with 82 and Miller with 68.
Last year’s harvest total for the late youth portion was 3,967 with 1,467 being antlered bucks, 524 button bucks and 1,976 does, per MDC.
“After a breezy and cold Thanksgiving Day, we had some pleasant conditions for our young hunters to be in the woods during the three-day late youth portion,” said Jason Isabelle, MDC Cervid Program Supervisor. “This year’s harvest total was the second-highest on record and nearly 20-percent above the five-year average.”
Archery deer season runs through Jan. 15, 2022. The antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 4-12 followed by the alternative methods portion Dec. 25 through Jan. 4, 2022.
Sara Karnes is an Outdoors Reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter and Instagram @Sara_Karnes. Got a story to tell? Email her at skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.
A member of the committee responsible for establishing how wolves will be managed in Wisconsin has twice been cited for violations of state trapping laws, court records show.
Patrick Quaintance, a former warden with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is amemberof the Wolf Management Plan Committee (WMPC) — which is working to update the state’s plans for managing its wolf population for the first time since 2007.
Members of the committee are appointed through their membership of groups involved in wolf issues across the state, including hunting groups, thestate’s Native American tribesand conservation groups. Quaintance is on the committee as a member of pro-hunting group Wisconsin Wolf Facts.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has charged a Sebring man for shooting and killing a mother black bear and her cub while illegally trying to trap them without a permit.
“Our officers work tirelessly to protect Florida’s natural resources and this egregious violation serves as a reminder of why our work is so important,”saidCol. Roger Young, FWC Division of Law Enforcement.“The deliberate shooting of these two bears is…
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