In the wake of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcing its plan to review whether the gray wolf should be re-listed under the Endangered Species Act, Congresswoman Liz Cheney has said that Wyoming, not Washington, should be the ones to decide whether that should happen. Show  "Efforts from the radical environmentalist left to re-list the Gray Wolf demonstrate the importance of reforming the Endangered Species Act once and for all," Cheney stated. "In Wyoming and across the West, we know that the species has successfully been recovered and that states have demonstrated their proficiency to manage the species." Cheney continued, stating that, "Activists should not be able to take advantage of the ESA's loopholes. We must update this law to prevent this from happening and ensure that local stakeholders and states, as opposed to the federal government, are calling the shots when it comes to these decisions. I will continue to fight for needed reforms to the ESA to protect the people and interests of Wyoming." The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that on June 1, 2021, they received a petition (dated May 26, 2021) to list the gray wolf Northern Rocky Mountain Distinct Population Sefment or a new western DPS as a threatened or endangered species, under the Endangered Species Act. According to their website, "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has completed the initial review of two petitions filed to list gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the western U.S. as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service finds that the petitions present substantial, credible information indicating that a listing action may be warranted and will initiate a comprehensive status review of the gray wolf in the western U.S." The Service reports that the next steps in the process include "in depth status reviews and analyses using the best available science and information to arrive at a 12-month finding on whether listing is warranted." The Services notes that the actual listing of a species to the EDA is done through a separate rulemaking process and it includes public notice, and comment. "The public can play an important role by submitting relevant information to inform the in-depth status review through www.regulations.gov, Docket Number: FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0106, beginning September 17, 2021, upon publication in the Federal Register and will include details on how to submit comments." Governor Mark Gordon has also offered comments regarding the gray wolf/EDA situation, and said that he is confident the review by the EDA will find Wyoming's wolf management program has been "highly successful." “Wyoming has managed wolves according to our plan, and that plan has been sufficient to satisfy wolf population targets while allowing producers to take appropriate measures to protect livestock," Gordon said in a released statement. "Ours was a hard-fought and careful process that resulted in a unique plan that works. If it’s not broken we don’t need to fix it. Wyoming will stand by our plan, which is supported with unassailable data. We respect all state’s abilities to manage wildlife within their borders. This is just another example of a Federal action which attempts to usurp states’ authorities.” Top 25 Wild Mammals That Call Wyoming HomeWyoming is home to well over 100 mammal species.
The wildlife of the American West is represented by similar sub-regions the we study in this course but are referred to as ecosystems. These ecosystems are a community of living organisms interacting with specific non-living environments over time. These can be quite complex, overlapping and broken down into sub-categories. Each species or population has a complex relationship or econiche within that ecosystem. Native Americans were far more aware of these interrelationships and this is well defined in their languages and classification systems. In fact they had two terms for each creature, one sacred and one secular. The sacred term reflected the uniqueness of the creature endowed by the creator. These regional ecosystems were evolving for millions of years and then humans arrived on the scene. Native Americans impacted the environment from ~30,000 years ago to ~ 500 years ago. European American, African American and Asian-Pacific Islander people had a much greater impact on these ecosystems from about 500 years ago (A.D.1500) to the present. The most dramatic and devastating changes occurred beginning with the Homestead Act of 1862 (in Canada Dominions Land Act 1872) that gave 160 acres of federal land to a pioneer family to farm for 5 years. This reached a boom in the 1870s with heavy rains but went bust in the 1890s with draught and harsh winters. Homestead laws in the early 1900's gave settlers 640 acres of free federal land. Railroads were also given free land by the government and in turn they used railhead towns to sell land plots in towns to immigrants from Europe. Today, conservationists argue about what ecosystem time period should be restored in various preservation/conservation projects. Generally most use the ecosystems observed by Lewis and Clark between 1804-1806 as goal for restoration knowing full well that such would be virtually impossible. However, some of the subtle relationships are being discovered as some of these wildlife are put back together in various land conservancy projects. The Nature Conservancy is one of the most comprehensive of these movements in the various ecosystems in the American West. For the course we will look at four ecosystems that correspond to the cultural/historical sub-regions of the American West. Each of these have sub-categories and variations. Also, some life forms are adaptable to multiple ecosystems, like Mt. Lions, Grizzly Bear, Golden Eagle, Raven or Coyote.
The Great Plains Prairie ecosystem emerged between the Rocky Mountains and Mississippi River Basin. It traditional consisted of three subsystems called tall grass in the prairie and short grass in the drier high altitude plains with a transitional mixed grass area of central Nebraska, Kansas and Texas. These grasslands supported large herbivores like bison, pronghorn, and deer with a smaller community group of prairie dog, gophers, jack rabbit and kangaroo rats. Predators paralleled with grizzly bear, wolves, and mt. lion with black footed ferret, badger, golden eagle, burrowing owl, badger and rattlesnake. Along the rivers with cottonwood and willow many other animals hung out, sometimes going out on the grasslands. Many migratory birds (Sandhill Cranes) would come through the Plains to more southern winter locales.
The Great Plains region of the American West went through tremendous changes in the 19th and 20th centuries. At the center of these changes was the near extinction of the American Bison which in turn affected not only the ecosystem but also the Plains Indian Cultures. The destruction of the American Bison was a military strategy to defeat the tough horseman of the Plains and produced an economic boost to the fur trade when the beaver pelt trade declined. The Homestead Acts encouraged further changes to the water tables, soil and ecosystems that resulted in catastrophic changes that resulted the 1930's Dust Bowl. Further booms and busts continued in the 20th and 21st centuries with agri business, fossil fuel booms, transportation shifts and population changes. Amidst these dramatic changes conservationists, ranchers and scholars have attempted to set aside land (public and private) to restore some of the original Plains/Prairie ecosystems. The American Bison is seen as a focal herbivore to this ecosystem. A metaphor of this view has been called the Buffalo Commons, since the American Bison is so central to this ecosystem's community. Some have derided the concept as impracticable. They see the Am. Bison as an inferior species that is destructive to ranching and the cattle industry. However, the American Bison Society, the National Bison Association and the Canadian Bison Association have shown many practical, economic and nutritional benefits to productive bison herds. Bison meat has 30% less cholesterol and is free of chemicals. This has produced improved cooperation of Native Americans, ranchers, public herd managers and conservation organizations. All of these changes have produced a shift from an attitude of mastery of nature to a cooperation with nature; i.e. a shift from hierarchical thinking to a holistic or systemic thinking. Native wildlife like wolves, ferrets, prairie dogs, rattlesnakes, bison, eagles, prairie chickens are valued and in some cases saved from extinction. Many of these creatures were considered 'varmints' In 2012 we made a trip to a public bison refuge called the National Bison Range Wildlife Refuge on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. Pronghorn, deer, bison, elk and golden eagle were in abundance. There were about 500 American Bison in this particular refuge. The great bison herds were once expanding out of the Plains into the Plateau and Eastern Woodlands with a subspecies evolving into a smaller browser. The American Bison may have numbered 30-40 million. They were reduced to 1,091 by 1889. It was hunting sportsman and ranchers that managed to save the species. Various preserves and private herds have returned their numbers to about 200,000. The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma holds about 2,500 head and Yellowstone National Park has about 3,500 head. On Catalina Island bison were not native, but introduced for a Zane Grey western movie. The herd grew to 600 and were causing problems. The conservancy on the island decided to keep the bison for tourists but have reduced the herd to 150-200. Some of the surplus animals were relocated to the Rosebud Indian (Lakota) Reservation in South Dakota. They got to go home! The Montane ecosystem as the name implies is associated with mountain elevations of 5,000 feet and above in the Rocky Mountains, Cascade Mountains and Sierra Mountains of the American West. Variation of species is dependent on north-facing slopes having more water that allows for denser forests and water loving trees like quaking aspen. lower slops tend to favor ponderosa pine with fir and lodgepole pine thriving at higher elevations. The trees support squirrels, tree martin, weasel, porcupine, beaver, owls, woodpeckers, jays and chipmunks. Grizzly bear, black bear, wolf, coyote and mt. lion are dependent on deer, mountain goat, bighorn sheep and elk. Am. bison were moving into these areas at the lower elevations through the mountain passes.
The Montane Ecosystem of the West fared a bit better than the Plains-Prairie Ecosystem. The initial impact was mining since these areas contained precious metals like gold and silver. Later copper, chromium, tungsten and lead were mined. Mining (shaft mining) initially was rather low impact until various forms of highly commercial strip mining came into the scene where entire hillsides would be dynamited or washed away. This kind of mining continues today. The forest industry did far more damage, especially clear cut that caused tremendous erosion. Certain areas, like the Bighorn Mountains were totally burned down in huge fires. Today, one of the great debates is fire management. When a fire starts 'naturally' do you let it burn only preventing loss of life and property. This was put to a test in the great fire in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 The U.S. Forest Service management and National Parks in conjunction with State Forest and Parks have preserved more of the Montane Ecosystems. The first was Yellowstone National Park (1872). At the end of the 19th century forest fires and logging had taken out 90 % of US forests. In the 1890s much of the Bighorn Mountains were burned. In 1910 3 million acres burned in Montana and Wyoming with considerable loss of life. In terms of wildlife the most controversial creatures are wolves and grizzly bears. Wolves have been successfully introduced but their behavior is so unpredictable. Their return has clearly strengthened the elk and bison herds. The Sonoran Desert Ecosystem occurs in various elevations from below sea level to about 5,000' in the California and the Southwest. There are four desert ecosystems with some overlap. They are the Basin Desert in Utah and Nevada, the Mohave in California and Chihuahua in Texas and Mexico. Many plants and animals have adapted to these differing ecosystems. The Sonoran Desert Ecosystem is usually broken down with altitude. The Lower Sonoran < 3000 is mostly mesquite, ocotillo and saquaro cactus. The Upper Sonoran >3000' consists of juniper scrub and pinyon pine. North facing vs South facing slopes, rainfall and alkalinity of the soil are other factors producing some variations. Generally, desert plants have huge root systems, small leaves (or none in the case of cactus) and rather light coloration all designed to deal with heat and lack of water.
The Sonoran Desert Ecosystem initially had interest from European Americans that focused on mineral resources such as gold, silver and copper; later uranium. Early mining techniques were low impact with shaft mining. In some areas gemstones were found such as tourmaline, turquoise and opals. All over the Southwest you can find galley shafts run into a mountain to see what minerals might be had. Some areas of the Sonoran Desert were used for open range cattle ranching. These operations required extensive areas of land and as one might imagine a lack of law enforcement In New Mexico and Texas (west of the Pecos River) various cattle rustling incident caused all out wars, such as the Lincoln County Wars (1870s) involving the infamous Billy the Kid. Later in various areas of the Southwest experimentation with land reclamation was conducted in the Colorado River, California and the Gila/Salt River areas. This had a much greater impact on the land with mixed results. Some preservation/conservation is in our desert national parks such as Grand Canyon NP, Bryce NP, Arches NP and Guadalupe Mountains NP. One of the nicest that focuses on wildlife is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which is like open animal park. The Pacific Coast Rainforest Ecosystem is a temperate rainforest from S. Alaska, British Columbia, Washington/Oregon Coastal regions and Northern California. It is mainly dependent on the warm Japanese current coming in from the North Pacific. The sheer biomass of this temperate rainforest is 4X that of any tropical rainforest of the planet. This is mainly due to moisture and lack of fires. The rainfall varies from 70 inches to 260 inches per year. The huge trees in this ecosystem included Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock and Western Red Cedar in the to Coastal Redwoods in California. Along streams Big-leaf Maple and Alder were common. On the forest floor ferns, mosses and herbaceous plants is so thick with decomposing material that the floor 'moves'. Finally, the rivers were rich in fish, especially salmon the returned to there origins upstream to spawn and die thus providing food for wildlife and nutrients to the soil. The coastal waters is one of the richest in the world with huge kelp forests, fish and sea mammals. This also provided food for wildlife including shorebirds, Bald Eagle, ravens, and bear. In the north along the Alaskan coast the protein was so rich that Alaskan Brown Bear developed into on of the largest predators on earth only rivaled by the Polar Bear in size.
The Pacific Coast Rainforest was impacted most by forestry. In the Northwest Coast of Washington and Oregon with respective centers in Seattle and Portland only 10% of original growth is left. Re-growth has come from replanting in the 20th century. The rough part of Seattle's waterfront was referred to as 'skid row' which was where logs were slide down to the water for processing. Northern California's redwood forest suffered even greater destruction and only 4% original growth exists in Redwood National Park which was not established until 1968 and is poorly maintained. Finally, in the 1930s huge dams such as the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River drainages changed the ecosystem by depleting the salmon compounded by overfishing. Recently to try to restore the salmon returns some smaller dams have been removed. The dams also brought farming , vineyards, orchards to the Eastern slopes of the Cascades. In the Olympic National Park the coastal Hoh Rainforest is one of the nicest example of the Pacific Coast Ecosystem. The forest virtually feels alive when your walking through it. Can you shoot chipmunks in Washington state?No protected wildlife may be hunted. Included in the classification of protected wildlife are the western gray squirrel, the Douglas squirrel, chipmunks, the pika, and the hoary marmot.
What is the least hunted animal in the world?Pangolins: One of the world's least known and most hunted animals - Fauna & Flora International.
What animals are illegal to hunt in Washington?You may not hunt wildlife during any modern firearm deer or elk season, with any firearm . 24 caliber or larger or containing slugs or buckshot for big game, unless you have a valid license, permit and tag for one of the following: deer, elk, black bear, cougar, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, or moose.
Which species of deer may not be hunted in Washington?The Columbian white-tailed deer is a federally and state listed endangered species and cannot be hunted, so is not discussed in depth in this booklet. To learn more about the Columbian white-tailed deer, see https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/odocoileus-virginianus- leucurus.
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In washington, what do the grizzly bear, wolf, pronghorn antelope, and chipmunks have in common?
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