Francisco Guzman

USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/06/01/baby-bison-euthanized-yellowstone-visitor-charged/70276789007/

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The Yellowstone National Park visitor who “intentionally disturbed” a baby bison, causing its herd to reject the calf, has pleaded guilty, officials said.  

The Hawaii resident pleaded guilty to one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice District of Wyoming said in a news release.  

According to the violation notice on May 20, 2023, the man approached the newborn bison – after the struggling calf had been separated from its mother when the herd crossed the Lamar River – and pushed the baby up from the river and onto the roadway, the news release said.

Park rangers tried to reunite the calf with the herd, but they were unsuccessful. Staff euthanized the calf because “it was abandoned by the herd” and “causing a hazardous situation by approaching cars and people along the roadway,” the release said.  

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There was nothing in the report that indicated the man acted maliciously, the release said. 

The Hawaii resident was charged a $500 fine, a $500 community service payment to Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund, a $30 special assessment and a $10 processing fee, the news release said. 

Stay away from animals, park said

Park officials said visitors are required to stay at least 25 yards away from all wildlife and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves. Approaching wild animals can affect their well-being and their survival, the park service said.  

Why doesn’t Yellowstone staff rescue wildlife? 

The park said its focus is to sustain “viable populations of native wildlife species, rather than protecting individual animals.”

The park adds the death of animals is a “necessary part of sustaining our populations of predators, scavengers, decomposers and, eventually, herbivores.”

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“Actions like feeding, husbandry and rehabilitation contradict the National Park Service mission by shielding animals from the forces of natural selection and creating a zoo-like atmosphere where animals require assistance or protection from people,” the park service said.

About 99% of Yellowstone is managed as wilderness, the park service said.

When does Yellowstone staff intervene with wildlife? 

The park service said it only intervenes in “natural biological or physical processes” under these circumstances:

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• When directed by Congress. 
• When human life and property are at stake.
• When necessary to protect other park resources, facilities, human health and safety.
• To restore a natural ecosystem that has been disrupted by humans.

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ST. PAUL, Minn.— Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz today signed into law a ban on commercial collection of wild turtles in the state. Each year, for-profit trappers have collected thousands of turtles from the state’s waterways, mostly to sell for food, traditional Asian medicines or pets.

“Tens of thousands of Minnesota’s turtles are now safe from trappers out to make a quick buck,” said Collette Adkins, a biologist and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The science shows that even a small number of turtle traffickers can quickly devastate turtle populations. This ban is a big victory for all of us who care about the health of our state’s wildlife and waterways.”

About two decades ago, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources placed a moratorium on issuing new licenses for commercial turtle trappers. Since then, the remaining licensees have continued to collect and sell tens of thousands of turtles using baited turtle traps. For example, in 2021,19 licensees removed approximately 10,000 painted turtles from the wild in Minnesota.

A Minnesota study found lower turtle population levels in lakes where commercial turtle trapping had previously occurred. Many studies have shown that wild turtles cannot withstand commercial exploitation without facing severe declines because, unlike deer and other traditional “game” animals, turtles take many years to mature and reproduce.

“It’s time to shellebrate,” said Christopher Smith, conservation committee chair for the Minnesota Herpetological Society. “Minnesota’s ban on the commercial harvest of wild-caught turtles has been a long time coming and has been a group effort spanning over two decades.”

As part of a campaign to protect freshwater turtles in the United States, advocacy by the Center and its partners has led to bans or important restrictions on commercial turtle trapping in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, New York, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas. Prior to enactment of this new legislation, Minnesota was one of just six states that still allowed unrestricted commercial collection of wild turtles.

The legislation enacted today goes into effect on January 1, 2024.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/minnesota-bans-commercial-trapping-of-wild-turtles-2023-05-24/

BY: DARRELL EHRLICK – MAY 11, 2023 5:36 PM

 A grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. (Photo by Frank van Manen / USGS / Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 / Unedited)

A citizens’ task force says that it plans on suing both the state and federal government for not protecting grizzly bears because of the state’s zeal to enact expanded trapping and hunting laws without regard to the bears.

The Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen task force has sent the 60-day notice of intent to sue the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as well as the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks because it says that as the state expanded trapping, snaring and hunting regulations, it failed to take safety precautions that would protect the fragile grizzly bear population, which is protected by the Endangered Species Act, but is being considered for delisting in two areas of Montana.

The 60-day notice is a requirement in order to bring a lawsuit in federal court, and puts the agencies on notice so that they may opt to correct or modify plans to avoid a lawsuit.

Neither the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, nor the Montana FWP responded to the Daily Montanan’s requests for comment.

“The (notice) claims the illegal unregulated taking of grizzly bears is occurring as a consequence of Montana’s Wolf and Furbearer Trapping regulations and that this taking may threaten … grizzly bear recovery,” the letter said.

The concern, which was voiced as Montana expanded greater hunting and trapping laws during the 2021 Legislature, is that traps set for other animals, such as wolves, may accidentally ensnare and kill “non-target” species like grizzly bear or Canada lynx. While such accidental killings are considered illegal under federal law, the “incidental takings” – the term for such a killing – must be addressed in plans, and reasonable rules to mitigate them must be enacted at either the federal or state levels.

“FWS and the State of Montana are in violation of the Endangered Species Act Section 9 by allowing unregulated illegal takings of grizzly bears in Montana as a result of wolf and furbearer trapping seasons administered by (Montana FWP),” the letter said. “No required incidental take statement has been prepared and no required incidental take permit has been issued.”

Because of that, the citizens group said that both have failed to implement a mitigation plan that would offset the hunting impact.

“Under Section 9, it does not matter how many total animals are taken or how many are injured, any unpermitted takings are illegal,” the letter states.

The letter doesn’t just point out the theoretical possibility that grizzlies will be accidentally killed or “taken,” but notes that the state’s own data shows that between 2012 and 2022 six bears were “non-target captures” of traps, including one grizzly caught in a leg-hold trap set for wolves.

The 11-page letter which outlines the group’s concerns also lists examples from other nearby states and Canadian provinces which have reported similar issues with grizzly bears and trapping.

The letter also outlined concerns with Montana’s specific trapping guidelines.

“In Montana, snares for most species are required to break loose with more than 350 pounds of dead pull strength, while for wolves, this requirement is 1,000 pounds,” the letter reads. “However, (a 2022 study) found that on average an adult grizzly bear has about 342 pound of dead pull weight, not enough to break free.”

The group also said other states and Canadian provinces have developed more sophisticated traps to target certain species, but prevent bears. For example, marten traps have elevated boxes that are too narrow for a grizzly foot.

“In Montana, there are no regulations or recommendations specific to preventing bycatch of grizzly bears,” the letter read.