Wolf numbers continue to grow in Washington state, but still no hunting as in Idaho

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https://www.nwnewsnetwork.org/post/wolf-numbers-continue-grow-washington-state-still-no-hunting-idaho

By TOM BANSE• APR 23, 2021ShareTweetEmail

  • A gray wolf in the Teanaway pack in central Washington.WDFW

The number of wolves in Washington state rose strongly last year, according to an annual report from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife released Friday. The rate of increase was more than double what Oregon reported earlier in the week for its wolf population in 2020.

The gray wolf population in Washington state increased by 22% in the past year, raising the minimum number of wolves documented by state and tribal biologists to 178 in 29 packs — up from 145 wolves and 26 packs at the end of 2019. A combination of in-migration from neighboring states and Canada plus births within existing packs probably accounted for the increase, biologists told the state Fish and Wildlife Commission during a briefing Friday.

“Washington wolf recovery continues to make solid progress,” said WDFW Director Kelly Susewind. “For the first time the North Cascades wolf recovery area has met the local recovery objective — four successful breeding pairs — during 2020.”

The majority of the state’s wolves are still concentrated in northeastern Washington. Under state rules set a decade ago, the gray wolf is not considered recovered until the species also recolonizes the South Cascades and Olympic Peninsula region.

Biologists can’t predict when packs might fully disperse throughout their historic range statewide, said WDFW wolf specialist Ben Maletzke.

“As more packs establish in the North Cascades, it’ll be far easier for wolves to make that jump south and get into the South Cascades,” Maletzke said Friday. “I just don’t know the timeframe and how long it will take.”CREDIT WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

Given the uncertain timeline to full recovery, it is also unclear when policymakers in Olympia might accede to persistent requests from ranchers and sportsmen to be able to hunt wolves, as is the case in Idaho.

Forty-six of the wolves counted in the latest wolf census were reported by the Colville Confederated Tribes on their north-central Washington reservation. A few years ago, the tribe authorized wolf hunting by its members. Tribal hunters killed eight wolves in 2020, according to the WDFW annual report.

States took over full responsibility for gray wolf management at the beginning of this year when the outgoing Trump administration declared the species recovered from endangered status in the lower 48 states. Several lawsuits have challenged the federal delisting, but in the meantime states and tribes are calling the shots literally and figuratively.

During 2020, seven Washington packs were blamed for attacks on sheep or cattle. WDFW killed three wolves in the Wedge pack last year, the entire known pack, because of repeated livestock depredations by those animals.

Fur trapping, hunting and predator control bounties extirpated wolves from Washington state around the 1930s. Wolves returned on their own from Idaho and British Columbia beginning in 2008.

The Washington population update was released a day after Oregon unveiled its new tally of the wolf population in the state. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said it directly counted 173 wolves this past winter, an increase of almost 10% from the year before.

While the population of Oregon wolves increased, they occupied similar ranges to prior years. The number of Oregon counties with wolves stayed the same at 12 and the number of wolf packs also held steady at 22 in 2020.

The wolf population in neighboring Idaho is much higher — around 1,500 according to Idaho Department of Fish and Game estimates. The Republican-controlled Idaho Legislature this week laid the groundwork for an aggressive cull of Idaho’s wolves.

Legislation passed by the Idaho Senate on Wednesday and now moving speedily through the state House would increase funding for private contractors to cut the wolf population from about 1,500 to as few as 150. It also allows the use of night vision equipment to help kill wolves as well as hunting from snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles, among other changes.

Backers said there are too many wolves and they are attacking cattle and sheep, costing ranchers hundreds of thousands of dollars. They also said they are reducing elk and deer populations and taking away opportunities for hunters.

The proposed reduction in wolf numbers is so dramatic — as much as 90% — that it may invite federal intervention. It is already provoking an outcry from environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity and Idaho Conservation League.

On Friday, Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission member Fred Koontz called Idaho’s actions especially “troubling” given how much wolves wander back and forth across state lines.

“While we can celebrate what is going on in Washington, long term population persistence of wolves in Washington is totally linked to what is happening in British Columbia, Idaho, Montana and Oregon,” Koontz said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hundreds of mysterious fast radio bursts detected in space

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Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

https://us.cnn.com/2021/06/09/world/fast-radio-bursts-chime-scn/index.html

ByAshley Strickland, CNN

Updated 1:28 AM ET, Thu June 10, 2021

(CNN)Hundreds of mysterious fast radio bursts have been detected in space thanks to a Canadian telescope and an international group of researchers.The origins of these bright, millisecond-long flashes of light are unknown because the bursts, or FRBs, are unpredictable and vanish quickly. Scientists first observed them in 2007. In the decade following, they only observed about 140 bursts across the universe.”The thing about FRBs is that they are really hard to catch,” said Kiyoshi Masui, assistant professor of physics at MIT and member of the university’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “You have to have your radio telescope pointed at just the right place at just the right time and you can’t predict where or when that will be.”

    Most radio telescopes only see a patch of sky the size of the moon at…

    View original post 798 more words

    Carbon dioxide in the air at highest level since measurements began

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    https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/07/world/carbon-dioxide-highest-level-intl-hnk/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0yDuaZowhf7izaNvEMk-QZr7WNhRW_wavtaIS0t5bGzdWPM0dy-nsVL6o

    Story by Reuters

    Updated 11:09 PM ET, Mon June 7, 2021A 2019 photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory in Hawaii.A 2019 photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory in Hawaii.

    Despite a massive reduction in commuting and in many commercial activities during the early months of the pandemic, the amount of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere in May reached its highest level in modern history, a global indicator released on Monday showed.Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, said the findings, based on the amount of carbon dioxide in the air at NOAA’s weather station on Mauna Loa in Hawaii, was the highest since measurements began 63 years ago.The measurement, called the Keeling Curve after Charles David Keeling, the scientist who began tracking carbon dioxide there in 1958, is a global benchmark for atmospheric carbon levels.

    Instruments perched on NOAA’s mountaintop observatory recorded carbon dioxide at about 419 parts per million last month, more than the 417 parts per million in May 2020.https://38f6c37f5d927c0f4478d524a8751034.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

    The amount of carbon in the air now is as much as it was about 4 million years ago, a time when sea level was 78 feet (24 meters) higher than it is today and the average temperature was 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than it was before the Industrial Revolution, said a report on the emissions.

    There is more CO2 in the atmosphere today than any point since the evolution of humansCarbon dioxide is a key driver of climate change, and the findings show that reducing the use of fossil fuels, deforestation and other practices that lead to carbon emissions must be a top priority to avoid catastrophic consequences, said Pieter Tans, a scientist with NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory.Enter your email to sign up for the Wonder Theory newsletter.“close dialog”

    Want to stay updated on the latest space and science news?We’ve got you.Sign Me UpBy subscribing you agree to ourprivacy policy.“We are adding roughly 40 billion metric tons of CO2 pollution to the atmosphere per year,” Tans wrote in the report. “That is a mountain of carbon that we dig up out of the Earth, burn, and release into the atmosphere as CO2 — year after year.”

    Despite the pandemic lockdown, scientists were not able to see a drop in the overall amount of carbon in the atmosphere partly because of wildfires, which also release carbon, as well as the natural behavior of carbon in the atmosphere, the report said.The carbon dioxide levels measured were not affected by the eruption of Hawaiian volcanoes, Tans said, adding the station is situated far enough from active volcanoes that measurements are not distorted, and occasional plumes of carbon dioxide are removed from the data.

    The scientists urged the global community to transition to solar and wind energy instead of fossil fuels, warning that the world has been unable to slow, let alone reverse, annual carbon dioxide levels thus far.”The solution is right before our eyes,” said Tans. “If we take real action soon, we might still be able to avoid catastrophic climate change.”

    Two new species of cat-size flying squirrel discovered in the Himalaya

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    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/two-new-species-of-cat-size-flying-squirrels-discovered-in-the-himalaya

    The rodents, which live at elevations of more than 15,000 feet, have fluffy tails that act as rudders while they sail between rocky cliffs.BYCARRIE ARNOLDPUBLISHED JUNE 7, 2021• 5 MIN READ

    It’s not easy making a living among the wind-scoured rock faces of the Himalaya, home to the world’s tallest mountains. Beyond large boulders and caves, only a few scraggly trees provide protection from predators and shrieking gusts.

    Among the hardy inhabitants is the woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus), which, at five pounds and three feet long, is one of the world’s largest squirrels. It’s also one of the least known mammals on Earth: First named 130 years ago, the house cat-size rodent was believed extinct until its “rediscovery” in the 1990s.  

    Kristofer Helgen, chief scientist and director of the Australian Museum Research Institute, has been drawn to animals that exist mostly as scientific question marks.

    Intrigued by some recent squirrel sightings in the Himalaya, Helgen—a National Geographic Explorer—and his colleagues decided to dig deeper into this mysterious species by examining museum specimens and collecting data from sightings of the species, such as from camera traps. (Read about India’s giant purple squirrels.)

    Their results revealed an unexpected twist. The woolly flying squirrel is actually two distinct species that live thousands of miles apart on the roof of the world: the Tibetan woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus tibetensis) and the Yunnan woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus nivamons).https://www.youtube.com/embed/mSv-geBpmAc

    WATCH A VIDEO OF A YUNNAN WOOLLY FLYING SQUIRRELThis animal was captured on a camera trap in the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve near the border of China and Myanmar (Burma).

    The former lives at the intersection of India, Bhutan, and Tibet, whereas the latter dwells thousands of miles to the east, in the Yunnan Province of southwestern China, according to the study published recently in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

    “This discovery is so exciting,” says John Koprowski, a squirrel expert at the University of Wyoming who was not involved with the research. “That there were two relatively large animals that had gone unreported shows how little we know about the natural world.”

    ‘No zoologist dared to describe it’

    The woolly squirrel’s rocky habitat, at elevations of nearly 16,000 feet, is remote and uninhabited, part of the reason why few Western scientists have even seen the animal in the wild. The creature’s nocturnal nature and grayish brown fur, which blends into the rocks, makes it even harder to spot. When zoologist Oldfield Thomas identified it in 1888, he noted that “no zoologist has dared to describe it.”

    Then zoologist Peter Zahler “rediscovered” the animal in a remote corner of Pakistan in 1994, allowing scientists to learn more about the secretive species—that it exists solely on pine needles and juniper leaves, and that its tall teeth are ridged to grind down waxy leaves and extract their paltry nutrition.(Read about some flying squirrels that secretly glow pink.)

    “Flying squirrels” is also a bit of a misnomer: The animals glide between rocks and cliffs using skin stretched between their front and hind legs.about:blank

    3:28

    QUIRKY SQUIRREL BEHAVIORS EXPLAINED

    Their long, fluffy tails, often as long as the body itself, act as a rudder and can function as an umbrella in a sudden downpour. The rodents’ large body size also conserves heat in the frigid mountains, as does their dense, plush fur.

    Squirrel secrets revealed

    The more Helgen and colleague Stephen Jackson learned about the squirrel, the more they believed the Himalaya would behome to more giant woolly flying squirrels than once thought. (Read about a new flying squirrel discovered in the United States.)

    When the pair visited eight museums worldwide to examine 24 woolly squirrel specimens—the newest of which was nearly 50 years old—Helgen and Jackson discovered the shapes of the squirrels’ skulls showed major differences, and that the animal soon to be named E. tibetensis had a black tip on its tail, which was lacking in the other pelts. DNA analysis confirmed the species is actually two.

    “These species have been waiting in a museum drawer for a hundred years to reveal their secrets,” says Melissa Roberts Hawkins, curator of mammals and a squirrel expert with the Smithsonian Institution.

    Hawkins says that looking at body structure and genetics are essential in studying flying squirrels because “two squirrels can look very different and be the same species, and two other squirrels can look identical but be separated by several million years of evolution.”

    Since the information was gleaned from a limited number of museum specimens, Helgen says both woolly squirrel species’ population size and threats are unknown.

    “This is only the beginning,” Helgen says. “Now that they’ve been named, scientists can learn more about how they live.”SHARETWEETEMAIL

    Two new species of cat-size flying squirrel discovered in the Himalaya

    The rodents, which live at elevations of more than 15,000 feet, have fluffy tails that act as rudders while they sail between rocky cliffs.BYCARRIE ARNOLDPUBLISHED JUNE 7, 2021• 5 MIN READ

    It’s not easy making a living among the wind-scoured rock faces of the Himalaya, home to the world’s tallest mountains. Beyond large boulders and caves, only a few scraggly trees provide protection from predators and shrieking gusts.

    Among the hardy inhabitants is the woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus), which, at five pounds and three feet long, is one of the world’s largest squirrels. It’s also one of the least known mammals on Earth: First named 130 years ago, the house cat-size rodent was believed extinct until its “rediscovery” in the 1990s.  

    Kristofer Helgen, chief scientist and director of the Australian Museum Research Institute, has been drawn to animals that exist mostly as scientific question marks.

    Intrigued by some recent squirrel sightings in the Himalaya, Helgen—a National Geographic Explorer—and his colleagues decided to dig deeper into this mysterious species by examining museum specimens and collecting data from sightings of the species, such as from camera traps. (Read about India’s giant purple squirrels.)

    Their results revealed an unexpected twist. The woolly flying squirrel is actually two distinct species that live thousands of miles apart on the roof of the world: the Tibetan woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus tibetensis) and the Yunnan woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus nivamons).https://www.youtube.com/embed/mSv-geBpmAc

    WATCH A VIDEO OF A YUNNAN WOOLLY FLYING SQUIRRELThis animal was captured on a camera trap in the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve near the border of China and Myanmar (Burma).

    The former lives at the intersection of India, Bhutan, and Tibet, whereas the latter dwells thousands of miles to the east, in the Yunnan Province of southwestern China, according to the study published recently in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

    “This discovery is so exciting,” says John Koprowski, a squirrel expert at the University of Wyoming who was not involved with the research. “That there were two relatively large animals that had gone unreported shows how little we know about the natural world.”

    ‘No zoologist dared to describe it’

    The woolly squirrel’s rocky habitat, at elevations of nearly 16,000 feet, is remote and uninhabited, part of the reason why few Western scientists have even seen the animal in the wild. The creature’s nocturnal nature and grayish brown fur, which blends into the rocks, makes it even harder to spot. When zoologist Oldfield Thomas identified it in 1888, he noted that “no zoologist has dared to describe it.”

    Then zoologist Peter Zahler “rediscovered” the animal in a remote corner of Pakistan in 1994, allowing scientists to learn more about the secretive species—that it exists solely on pine needles and juniper leaves, and that its tall teeth are ridged to grind down waxy leaves and extract their paltry nutrition.(Read about some flying squirrels that secretly glow pink.)

    “Flying squirrels” is also a bit of a misnomer: The animals glide between rocks and cliffs using skin stretched between their front and hind legs.about:blank

    3:28

    QUIRKY SQUIRREL BEHAVIORS EXPLAINED

    Their long, fluffy tails, often as long as the body itself, act as a rudder and can function as an umbrella in a sudden downpour. The rodents’ large body size also conserves heat in the frigid mountains, as does their dense, plush fur.

    Squirrel secrets revealed

    The more Helgen and colleague Stephen Jackson learned about the squirrel, the more they believed the Himalaya would behome to more giant woolly flying squirrels than once thought. (Read about a new flying squirrel discovered in the United States.)

    When the pair visited eight museums worldwide to examine 24 woolly squirrel specimens—the newest of which was nearly 50 years old—Helgen and Jackson discovered the shapes of the squirrels’ skulls showed major differences, and that the animal soon to be named E. tibetensis had a black tip on its tail, which was lacking in the other pelts. DNA analysis confirmed the species is actually two.

    “These species have been waiting in a museum drawer for a hundred years to reveal their secrets,” says Melissa Roberts Hawkins, curator of mammals and a squirrel expert with the Smithsonian Institution.

    Hawkins says that looking at body structure and genetics are essential in studying flying squirrels because “two squirrels can look very different and be the same species, and two other squirrels can look identical but be separated by several million years of evolution.”

    Since the information was gleaned from a limited number of museum specimens, Helgen says both woolly squirrel species’ population size and threats are unknown.

    “This is only the beginning,” Helgen says. “Now that they’ve been named, scientists can learn more about how they live.”SHARETWEETEMAIL

    Japan proposes meat alternatives to reduce carbon emissions

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    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/08/business/economy-business/white-paper-meat-alternatives-co2/

    • Burgers using a meat alternative made with canola protein powder | BLOOMBERG
    • JIJI

    https://spkt.io/a/2002527

    The government on Tuesday proposed the use of meat alternatives as part of efforts to achieve a decarbonized society.

    In its 2021 white paper on the environment, “sound material-cycle society” — where waste and use of natural resources is reduced as much as possible — and biodiversity, the government stressed the need to reform lifestyles to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

    The white paper took up the issue of substitute meat products, such as those using soybeans and other plant-based ingredients, for the first time, noting that they cause less carbon dioxide emissions than meat during the manufacturing process.

    The move comes after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared last October that Japan will seek to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

    Food “may cause environmental impacts, such as through CO2 emissions during the production, processing and disposal stages, and development of forest areas for use as farmland,” the white paper said. The production of meat especially causes high levels of carbon dioxide emissions through the production and transport of feed, and the release of methane by livestock.

    The report cited an increase in the number of restaurants and convenience stores offering meat alternatives.

    “It is expected that alternative foods that look and feel like meat will be developed and become more familiar items,” it noted.

    The white paper also emphasized the need to reduce carbon emissions related to the production, consumption and disposal of clothes.

    It called on people to insulate their homes and use electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

    “Mega-drought” in West means threat of extreme fire season ahead

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    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mega-drought-california-extreme-fire-season/


    BY JEFF BERARDELLI

    UPDATED ON: JUNE 9, 2021 / 7:16 AM / CBS NEWS

    https://www.cbsnews.com/embed/video/?v=008a1348ac072eab7c4aa92e6596867a#vVdtb9s2EP4rgr4MGEKLpN4NDEOzbli3LujSFfsQFQZFHm02epsoxQ6K%2FPcdJdlxsgHFhrYJDEvk8e743N1z54%2B%2BGIe2q8S9vx76ES78O6Og9dcffTNAbf31zUd%2FuO%2FAX%2Ft3rfIvfKPwMUu0pDzKCaQxI1EacSIUpERLodNSioRyjrJ1d7gG%2Fcqd2Byub5M4ffXz6w%2FXv9XXH9T2159S83tzlfR0%2FOn2L5S21bhFyT3YAfqGqL4dt7uBDDsg%2B7a3A9kD2Yk7IHAHPbEADZGlJQ3sLfkAWpMSetErqCqD2gYzVM7rl7MaT7ZjpTynCBpvbyqlTQ%2BeBWHbxjON9yeaxWMKbvEQPuixqo46%2Fpxd8haXvMJHpyZdg7cHzznlOac859RF4XtW3Fvvh8u33hU69433C3rnXZ57J0XTNkaK6o8vZmIwNeoUdeevWcJDRjM6%2FeEdx14Mpm38dcTY4%2BtrUUKFrtBkHTNUUM3vDQKBYa%2FFFqzLC%2BvCuRuGzq6LoAgwBC4CfIUPBu0NRq5kWxfBbiyLwBRBXwScclYENMFPVgQqVTTkiSY6Z5xEeSxIqaOYKMginXKZQ5kXwbAb67IRpiqCJKKHMKF4MhKlpEqmpdaaspBFqY64SDImIM1zNXtD9GjxOuRzJBI5uUHSkEaMksWZ1Yduixjt%2FhUM9gXBYDyjh5QjGnFellqGMqRJpGjJY53FocpilauQZTn72mg8XPhdD3cG9u%2F66gkstquMhJWoq%2B3KtEUgOoTijuPHkU0RfIocimBRXAT%2BiaHO9Hd9q1ZIT9POagnCDPzygqYQ%2Bl1ln%2BPPcppwlsVJmOTokLsWzTaTYC0cYqs6HLOjVf7Vzeq2r8WAZkXnQJwKtQgOpO5g%2B%2B76NUqMz8De7%2FdPfVlA%2FhwJMOFv7Ku6a50yf61FZbFpYAsxcmoarh4oL0UcuXTGzCZRzCTJylwTLFwq8yjJyyx%2F5PspSWWFBDPAXgxy58rKOJNyh13pZhJwlIlf3hO595hwoodm%2BMOZvxK1I1KkxKtzDZf388bNceeHJyowaaEztlUoglw49wNU4wjQwrZG7fPG2GEOWnu6sqiqF1LiymXVytsTTdp3Fvq3Y2llb0pQJ3HbtY1t%2B6PcDg4vXoIWY%2BViSy%2Fw359WLx9Xw%2Fwiii9iB9XQC3lrmq2DGGNqZdvD9IwJGVIa0yxBgKLl%2BkvkHWYJLn3rTOJLYzd22GwdSC6284roNsLd96oIXpxkpDN%2FJxk7rdjhme6HB9fEOpeO9r9R4PHUp8t%2BJVS5OdTO93o8vOnbDvrh%2FlfArPB5lIISWD8sVSyO8gjpMwxFmPgPmBY1DGLqVQjcANt794xru1bNlQSNmm6wpKAGMYw9KCJdKwQ35iwzD3qOgXNJ8DhR4CMSGD6cSuuwwyqXbVWBnOvzdKwInusugu%2BN3VTtdgtqY5rvqOPN8%2Fga%2B2MjysrlzjyRiR4xrODFiP73bpi68TlXoaBZTCSkOH9xkCTnEBGQLMqxoSiZcVceT44e68DVtHc2Kz3KTZMah5gpkJRQHpaoOwGSAwtJnGU8VmkZUZ74pyNvxvIlXsudQ4IjNCE081i2juiaRo9ixzGnwDBsxZGDcIzBycsRk1eDaKw37HqEy2u1B4ehhxq88ylN7ECoM53HEDUDIr1ZVl3WnyIxo0UTQROalAR4HGOPZTERmpWEQ8pzmYVaae3URiWnEWjCyyQnUaQQ1BRwxtVJmkZUUBoKB9aj%2BiOiCyt5ciearfNg4drTnGndOYUtTB69VmBvkTUnOn0Jdw4%2F39HZ9ijgimjjZnBHRPj9s3F8e%2BOPky638nZ2AmVHuwgtZ9GgoxuDM%2BMeSn%2Fh5ym6OqU4WmBgS443ZQxwcg%2B1C3bOWBaxLJ0J54xRJ%2B14Q4McEJ3Qf9uOvYSZv72FT8peNOpNJQbXtSZzCxtsnHObxztbwKgp0d9PzO1%2BZfhWGmhQ4fvnu6%2FUtI8tkqYhpljJGUYnjwAHJZETnbI80zwv4zg%2BIrM4vhh31wFRmbF25YVNW5vqbNsdQBFoXBBcS%2Fcfzubz56PMP7rr3ObPs5rgMYMINEaQJY2JSwIyp%2FHUQ2tQRrxp0TZGcIlaNWe3y4EvZNWpXrD5vyomxvuke5935Hh4%2BBs%3D

    By almost any measure the drought in the Western states this year is about as bad as we’ve ever seen — perhaps the worst in modern history. A severe lack of rainfall over the past two years, combined with a steadily heating climate, has turned California into a tinderbox, setting the stage for what will likely be a catastrophic fire season ahead.

    This comes on the heels of the worst fire season in recorded history in the West, setting a new bar for what seemed possible. In 2020, more than 8 million acres burned, with California and Colorado experiencing their largest fires ever. 

    That’s why it’s startling to see the comparison between last year’s relatively modest drought and this year’s record-setting drought. Drought conditions this time last year are a blip on the radar compared to where we are right now. 

    compare.jpg
    CBS NEWS AND US DROUGHT MONITOR

    The orange in the above map represents severe drought, the red is extreme drought and the dark red is exceptional drought. A total of 72% of the West is blanketed in one of these three categories and more than one-quarter is in exceptional drought — the highest category. https://www.cbsnews.com/newsletters/widget/e879?v=008a1348ac072eab7c4aa92e6596867a&view=compact#tVNNb9swDP0rhs5VI8vfuXXogPUyFGh3WoZCH1Si1ZYNSU5WFP3voxKnDXocsJtN8j3yPVKvZJyiHV0g61cCatRA1gTapiNXZG%2FhgH9qHCahIgamMdhUjMGbECBmX0b9Qt6uSPRCPVu3TSQ2fHVC9qDJOvoZrojw0aoebua4G%2F0dhn8SznUhWFtRBU1OSw6KdhxKCiovO80KrVpOfn2CfhcDJPBvMCaT4IXX0Pf2oi6REw5VrkExynghkbsG2kFe0KpteaUbWTJek3fI%2FSxvRUyiOeM5ZTVlbZa365KtWflR9mhjn4o2ZICtoNqP83YXNySzLjtAiNkAwoUs7jyImI0mgz%2FRwwCZsR6yACKMLhM7EPqC82WCo70ugotPSxTzaux7UMnok1usFqxmtaTAq4qWXV5RYXJJOTS8U21htDGJtpSclWAol3VHy1KjqQ10FEzdNCUTjBUimfVBf3ZU9XZAEzK1E26bJkiSwKM02%2BukICSchr1V56k1hOc4Tlhrwy3sk3%2FpQMT2XODgEJ5shAHDeDXwzYJPveYjV4o8nIbAWoydQgsWG054knYPaK7EHHay6rhd0zANLS5WclSa58CpKExadpfnbZm3TdWdASd5J%2FY5gF%2FYhcOmVwQ120jW5fs%2BHsbZq%2BNGZMjS%2BFgkvXD6vhfRjH44DoDJo7Q07tOHCwHfjtPCvzymziEpDcqCQ8Jfn7N3%2BphvCsaaAo9O8hz31ZVApREdNU3etYZ3sqqqs1eLlKV5Egiit%2FOQHtzkR2P7i3QCYAm4tBbM6vREVZJtleh%2F%2BB7DuxinsN6sNqvD4XC9AK%2FxqW9W6WuzurxzijCLDjgr6HLYNJ0FPR32ZrWs%2Fj9SLwb8G8Xb218%3D

    Over the past 20 years, the coverage of exceptional drought has never surpassed 11%. Right now it is a staggering 27%.

    weather-gfx-new-1.jpg
    CBS NEWS AND US DROUGHT MONITOR

    The escalating drought has severely dried out vegetation weeks before fire season really kicks in. The energy, or fuel, available to feed fires, technically called the Energy Release Component, is at a record level for this time of year. 

    In the chart below for the Central Sierra mountains of California, the blue line represents the current energy available for fires, and the red line shows the previous highs. 

    energy-for-fires.png
    CBS NEWS AND SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

    Although it appears that our current level is a record for all time, not just for the date, that needs some context. The data plotted for the Central Sierras only spans the last 10 years, so incorporating more years would likely show that the current amount of available energy is indeed a record for the date, but not for the entire fire season.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fweatherprof&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1402032267774500866&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fmega-drought-california-extreme-fire-season%2F&sessionId=8ebf224d0d5e2de6ed5805a9b4c6aafecfcdfe85&siteScreenName=CBSNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px

    Fire season in the West traditionally ramps up in the summer and maximizes in the fall, but this season we have already seen numerous fires in the region. The Fire Weather Research Laboratory at San Jose State University says that vegetation moisture is so low that critical fuel moisture may be reached as early as this month.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fweatherprof&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1394504641409282048&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fmega-drought-california-extreme-fire-season%2F&sessionId=8ebf224d0d5e2de6ed5805a9b4c6aafecfcdfe85&siteScreenName=CBSNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px

    This year’s drought is being caused by two factors: low rainfall the past two years and, over the longer term, human-caused climate change.

    ‘It was sad having to leave’: Climate crisis splits Alaskan town in half

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    Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

    Lisa Charles’s family on a fishing trip.
    Lisa Charles’s family on a fishing trip.Photograph: Lisa Charles

    All of Newtok’s 400 residents will have to move to higher ground but funding shortages and Covid means some are being left behindJuliaIlhardtTue 8 Jun 2021 11.12 EDT

    Two years ago, Lisa Charles and her family moved from their lifelong home in the town of Newtok,Alaska, to Mertarvik, a 30-minute trip by boat or snow machine depending on the season.

    Lisa is a member of one of the US’s first communities of climate transplants, though she is also Yup’ik, a mother of seven, a nonprofit employee, and a political volunteer. Melting permafrost has rapidly accelerated the erosion of the land under Newtok, bringing houses precariously close to the water’s edge.

    All of the town’s nearly 400 residents will eventually have to make the move to Mertarvik, but a lack of funding and the global pandemic have left the village…

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    Scientists discover new exoplanet with an atmosphere ripe for study

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    Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

    https://phys.org/news/2021-06-scientists-exoplanet-atmosphere-ripe.html

    JUNE 9, 2021

    byUniversity of New Mexico

    Scientists discover new exoplanet with an atmosphere ripe for study
    An artist’s impression shows an exoplanet orbiting the Sun-like star. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

    An international group of collaborators, including scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and The University of New Mexico, have discovered a new, temperate sub-Neptune sized exoplanet with a 24-day orbital period orbiting a nearby M dwarf star. The recent discovery offers exciting research opportunities thanks to the planet’s substantial atmosphere, small star, and how fast the system is moving away from the Earth.

    The research, titled TOI-1231 b: A Temperate, Neptune-Sized Planet Transiting the Nearby M3 Dwarf NLTT 24399, will be published in a future issue ofThe Astronomical Journal.The exoplanet, TOI-1231 b, was detected using photometric data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and followed up with observations using the Planet Finder Spectrograph (PFS) on the Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile…

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    Idaho’s Wolves Still Need Your Help!

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    Project CoyoteNow that the heinous legislation SB 1211 allowing the slaughter of 90 percent of Idaho’s 1,500 wolves has become law effective July 1, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is seeking public comment on regulations to align with SB 1211 and allow wolves to be killed with traps, snares, dogs, and in dens along with pups.What we are witnessing is a return to an old form of brutal wolf hatred and it is clear that Idaho is on a warpath to eradicate wolves by any means. We must speak out against this hatred. Even if you don’t live in Idaho, you can still speak up. This action will take less than a minute and the deadline is June 13, so please take action NOW! Tell Idaho Fish and Game You Stand with Wolves!1. Go to this ID Fish and Game page and scroll to the bottom.a. Indicate whether you are a residentb. Select NO for the second question.c. Complete the contact information (all fields are required).2. Email the Director of Idaho Fish and Game, Ed Schriever, and the Commission, using the talking points below and copying the following emails:rules@idfg.idaho.gov, ed.schriever@idfg.idaho.gov, MagicValley.Commissioner@idfg.idaho.gov, tim.murphy@idfg.idaho.gov, brad.corkill@idfg.idaho.gov, clearwater.commissioner@idfg.idaho.gov, lane.clezie@idfg.idaho.gov, derick.attebury@idfg.idaho.gov, salmon.commissioner@idfg.idaho.gov3.
    Sign our Petition and share this action alert and infographic with friends and family and on social media!Talking points to craft your message (and please personalize):If you are from or currently live in Idaho, state your town. If you don’t have connections to Idaho, explain why you will not spend your tourism dollars in a state like Idaho that wantonly slaughters wildlife.These currently proposed regulations, including night hunting with spotlights and thermal imaging and no motorized vehicle restrictions and no weapons restrictions on private land, violate fair chase and any sense of ethical hunting principles.Using dogs to hunt wolves is unsporting, state-sanctioned dogfighting and endangers domestic dogs. Hunting wolves over bait increases the chances of conflict, disease transmission and also violates fair chase.The expanded use of trapping and snaring endangers other imperiled species, including Canada lynx and grizzly bears.The state’s elk numbers are at all-time highs and in no danger from wolves. The elk population has been experiencing what ID Fish and Game calls the “second golden era of elk hunting” for the last six years or more and, as of last March 2020, was estimated to be at least 120,000.Wolves cause less than 1% of cattle deaths and any depredation can be effectively managed with non-lethal methods.Killing wolves at this rate will only support decisions to relist them with Endangered Species Act protections.Wolves alive and thriving bring value to Idaho in many forms, including ecosystem services and tourism dollars.The majority of Idahoans and Americans support wolf recovery at levels where wolves can fulfill their ecological functions. Almost no one supports wasting tax dollars to recover wolves, just to exterminate them again.

    Standing up for marine animals is the perfect way to celebrate World Oceans Day

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    https://blog.humanesociety.org/2021/06/world-oceans-day-stand-up-for-marine-wildlife-sharks-whales.html?credit=blog_em_060821_id12315&utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=humanenation

    By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson

    June 8, 2021 0 Comments

    Standing up for marine animals is the perfect way to celebrate World Oceans Day

    A quarter of all shark and related species are currently at risk of extinction. Alamy

    Fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales remain on our planet; fins from 73 million sharks are traded every year; warming waters render habitats increasingly unlivable for animals once at home there. Clearly, the status quo for the animals of our oceans urgently needs to change.

    On World Oceans Day, we highlight some of the most urgent threats to marine life right now and what the Humane Society family of organizations is doing to address them.

    Promising progress for sharks

    Not only are sharks fascinating creatures, but they are also important indicators of the health of our oceans. Sadly, a quarter of all shark and related species are currently threatened with extinction, and current rates of fishing mortality are unsustainable for these slow-reproducing animals. In particular, every year, tens of millions of sharks worldwide are killed for their fins, most often for shark fin soup. The practice known as shark finning involves hacking the fins off sharks while they are still alive and then throwing them back into the sea; unable to move, they die of shock, blood loss or predation. Thankfully, shark finning is prohibited in U.S. waters, but our domestic trade in shark fins continues to fuel finning in other countries with no similar restrictions.

    There is hope. The Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, introduced as S. 1106 by Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., would remove the U.S. from the global shark fin trade. This legislation is currently moving through the U.S. Senate as part of a larger legislative package. We urge the Senate to move quickly and the House to take up the legislation which it previously passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote.

    If enacted, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act would be a gamechanger for shark protection in the U.S., prohibiting the commercial trade of shark fins and products containing shark fins throughout the country. Already, 17 states and three U.S. territories have banned or limited the trade in shark fins. A federal law banning the shark fin trade would make the U.S. truly stand out as a leader in shark protection.

    Helping marine mammals in U.S. waters and around the world

    Each year in the U.S., thousands of sick and injured marine mammals receive care thanks to support from the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program. From its inception in 2000 through 2017, the Prescott Grant Program provided 739 grants to regional networks that collectively responded to an average of 5,167 sick and injured marine mammals each year. The Marine Mammal Research and Response Act (S. 1289, led by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and H.R. 2848, led by Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash.) would reauthorize the funding program. The Senate recently passed its bill unanimously through the Senate Commerce Committee.

    There are also legislative efforts to address the adverse impacts of climate change on marine mammals including the Marine Mammal Climate Change Protection Act, introduced last week by Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif. and the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act, championed by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., which is expected to be reintroduced this week.

    Protecting the oceans requires international collaboration, which is why Humane Society International focuses on protecting marine wildlife globally, working to raise the profile of the world’s most threatened species and populations of whales, dolphins and porpoises and to ensure their future as healthy populations in clean seas. Also, the U.S. is a leading member nation of the International Whaling Commission, whose work in recent years has become increasingly crucial to conserving the world’s whales, dolphins and porpoises. We expect the U.S. to continue its strong support of the IWC and to lend its leadership to helping address the threats to these animals, including incidental capture in fishing nets, pollution, climate change and commercial whaling.

    The fight to save the last North Atlantic right whales

    Just a few hundred North Atlantic right whales are left. These beautiful creatures are dying out because they become entangled in the heavy lines used in lobster and crab trap fisheries or get struck in vessel collisions.

    We were disappointed by the long-awaited National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s biological opinion regarding the need to reduce deaths of North Atlantic right whales. Both the timeline for action and the conservation framework fall far short of what’s needed to reduce their annual death toll. We are urging decisive action immediately for this dwindling species.

    How you can help

    All year round, advocates throughout the Humane Society family of organizations fight to protect marine animals and strengthen the health of our ocean ecosystems. Everyone can join in this movement: Take action for marine animals by urging your Representative to pass the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, and help raise awareness about the threats to our oceans by spreading the word among your friends and family.

    We share our planet and our ocean ecosystems with amazing creatures. It’s up to all of us ensure that these animals and their habitats prosper for generations to come.

    Sara Amundson is president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.