Filed under: Uncategorized
Well, we attended Banff National Park’s annual Parks Management Plan Review on Oct. 29th, and were more horrified than 2 nights later when the ghouls were patrolling the streets. The park superintendents were presenting to a panel of about 20 representatives made up of stakeholders, First Nations representatives, mountain guides, and environmental groups (only 2!). The public were also invited to attend, however there were only about 20 addition bodies. All attendees were presented with very vague ideas and candy-coated incentives with lingo such as “virtual visitors”. However, the plan did nothing to CHALLENGE, or even address the biological concerns for the ecosystems suffering within these national parks. Rather, the focus was on visitor enjoyment. Will visitors “enjoy” seeing the LAST grizzly in the park 10 years from now, because the real concerns of the park were never addressed?
Another topic on the management plan program was “Managing Development to Enhance the Park Environment” Does the park need to develop wildlife these days at the rate it is being lost to unnatural causes? Indeed, filled potholes and the smell of asphalt were touted as “successes” within the park. Along with the grand installation of new outhouses! Jim Pissot representing Defenders of Wildlife was quick to point out that Parks’ only showed 2 topics on their report card that may have earned a B minus. The wolves, bears, and elk would have likely given Parks and Banff superintendent Van Tighem a failing grade.
Filed under: Uncategorized
It’s a sad day for wolves in Idaho and Montana. Since May 4, 2009 wolves in those states were taken off the endangered species list. This however is more or less a bittersweet occasion. Of course we all love to see the wolf numbers grow here at Northern Lights, that means the numbers are growing, but with that comes the hunters. Idaho and Montana have declared it open season for these wolves. Starting tomorrow, September 1st 2009, the Idaho department of fish and game has called for the intentional killing of 220 wolves in the state. The wolf population in Idaho is an estimated 1000 individuals. This means the state wants to removes at least 20% of that population with the aid of hunters. Over 6000 rifles, bows, and poison pellets have been registered to take place in the massacre. Montana, although calling for a substantially smaller number of deaths at about 75 wolves, is following suit. The newly formed hunting season will end on December 31st 2009, just in time for mating season. With any luck the hunters will not wipe out all of the alpha wolves shattering any chance of repopulation. It just does not make sense to us here at the wolf center. In 1995 wolves were reintroduced to Idaho. Those wolves were brought from Canada in an effort to stabilize the ecosystem there. To us it sounds like the department of fish and game are undoing all the hard work that has been accomplished over the last decade. What is to come of the natural environment of Idaho and Montana? We can only hope that the public will to their senses and put an end to the killing of such an important part of the ecosystem.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Northern Lights Wildlife has been waiting patiently for Parks Canada to warm up to the idea of creating buffer zones around our national parks for an entire year. Although the project is still in the discussion process, Parks Canada has finally agreed to a face-to-face meeting with the founders of the Canadian Wolf Coalition. Tonight, the loyal members of the Coalition will meet at the Senior Center to properly talk about the necessary steps that should be taken. Our greatest concern is whether Parks Canada truly wants to protect the wildlife within the national parks or if they just want what’s best for tourist dollars. Do they really want to maintain the integrity and biodiversity or do they want to pump more tourists through the parks faster? These are our concerns and the topics of discussion that are almost guaranteed to come up in the conversations. At 7:00 PM the open discussions will begin at the Senior Center located next to the College of the Rockies campus. Be sure to wear your wolf shirts in support of the cause. Watch for updates on our blog tomorrow about the results of the meeting.
I know this comes a little late in the season… but it’s a topic that keeps coming up, and we have some strong opinions about this. The topic is whether to restrict access by snow machines into sensitive ecological areas – and a lot of it has to do with caribou and wolves.
A comment was made on a news story back in March (Revelstoke Times Review) how caribou “appreciate” the tracks put down by machines, so they don’t have to work as hard to walk through deep snow. Well, these snowmobile “highways” also allow predators to follow the caribou into their winter habitat.
Thus, the caribou are losing one major tool they have always used to avoid predators – climbing into inaccessible terrain.
Snowmobiling clubs and outfitters should be commended on their efforts to raise awareness of sensitive areas. We, as citizens, should encourage them to continue educating their members and clients to avoid these areas during certain times of the year. It seems that for the most part, snowmobiling organizations and conservation organizations are able to meet in the middle when it comes to the endangered mountain caribou (www.mountaincaribou.org).
It’s only a handful of whiners, as usual, who make a lot of noise and make the others look bad… The squeaky wheel gets the grease, I guess.
The Environmental extremists supposedly skew data and studies to suit their agenda… is an argument used by people who don’t want their movement in the backcountry restricted in any way. So does that mean that the extremists on the other side do not skew any data ever, then? “Maybe” the caribou are avoiding areas with snowmobiles. So let’s just continue to “maybe” harass them and we will see whether it’s true or not…
Handfuls of snowmobilers, and others enjoying the great outdoors, have had close encounters with caribou out there. It is a rare and special event to come that close to such a shy animal, and those of you who have turned off your engines, enjoyed the moment, and left quietly should be proud. Surely not everyone is so respectful. We all know the yahoos in our neighbourhood.
The big issue is not whether we chase them around (although that is a concern, and so is the noise)… the big issue is the easy access we give predators when we pack down the snow. The caribou no longer have anywhere to hide.
How is it possible, that in a province with this much open wilderness, that we cannot all agree to explore other beautiful and remote areas, and stay away from identified sensitive areas?
When tourists pour $8 million per year into the local economy to explore our backcountry, you can bet they don’t have their heart set on disturbing wildlife in sensitive areas. We are surrounded by majestic wilderness and it’s not all sensitive. They would still give us $8 million to go somewhere nice. Don’t try to tell me that we’re limited in towns like Golden and Revelstoke. We should be ashamed of ourselves.
Why should we be allowed to recreate in every corner of the wilderness all the time? Why wouldn’t we do everything in our power to help endangered species?
Here are some links you all might find interesting:
Snowmobiling and national park boundaries
http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/revelstoketimesreview/lifestyles/40193438.html
NCES says B.C. mountain caribou recovery plan implementation falls short
http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/revelstoketimesreview/news/40192703.html
Calls for snowmobile closures sparks debate
http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/revelstoketimesreview/news/40577768.html
Black male wolf killed on TCH, Banff National Park
http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/thegoldenstar/news/40133343.html
More on wolves in Kootenay National Park
http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/invermerevalleyecho/news/37464409.html
Filed under: Conservation, Wolf Conservation, Wolves of the Rockies | Tags: Canadian Wolf Coalition, wolf buffer zones, wolf conservation
Only 2 weeks left to help protect wolves in the Canadian Central Rocky Mountains! Our petition to form Buffer Zones around our National Parks is winding down, and we still need your help.
ADD YOUR VOICE. Spread the word. Visit www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Wolf-Buffer-zones
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! Fill out the survey. Visit www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1028200
Why?
- Canadian wolf hunting and trapping regulations are TOO LAX!
- Canadian hunting regulations show that our government only values the life of a wolf at $2.65 in royalties in B.C. when they are trapped, and as low as ONE DOLLAR in other provinces.
- Open hunting season ranges from 8 – 12 months, and YEAR-ROUND in some provinces below 1100m.
- Many provinces have no bag limits, and no specific tag or permit requirements to hunt wolves, unlike other fur-bearing or large game animals.
- Our National Parks are NOT large enough to sustain healthy wolf packs and ensure their future.
- As top predators, wolves maintain balance and ecological integrity. Wolves are like an umbrella: by protecting them, we can protect many species under them.
- The Central Rocky Mountain Corridor connects wildlife across North America, and we must maintain intact habitat in these areas.
- The rest of the world has LOST wolves due to loss of habitat and human exploitation. Let’s set an example!
If you have already signed the petition, the Canadian Wolf Coalition and wolves across Canada thank you. Aaaaaaooooooooooo! For more information about Buffer Zones for Wolves or the Canadian Wolf Coalition, visit www.northernlightswildlife.com or www.canadianwolfcoalition.com
SURVEY RESULTS SO FAR:
90% of all survey respondents have visited on of our National Parks.
75% of the respondents are from Canada.
88% were strongly in favour of banning the hunting, trapping, or chasing of wolves for an additional 200 km around the National Parks in the Canadian Central Rockies, while 5% disagreed.
88% were strongly in favour of restricting the use of motorized recreational vehicles for an area of 200 km around the National Parks in the Canadian Central Rockies, while 7% disagreed.
84% were strongly in favour of creating a land management use plan/policy for 200 km around each National Park in the Canadian Central Rockies to restrict the development of commercial or industrial practices (including resource extraction), while 7% disagreed.
There were very mixed feelings about imposing limits on the number of people allowed to enter the National Parks in the Canadian Central Rockies throughout the year, with just over 50% in favour.
HOWLS AND BARKS FROM SOME OF YOU:
“Wolves need extra protection in these areas, and only Buffer Zones will accomplish this, unless the ENTIRE PARK is made larger.”
“We need to protect our wildlife. I think a buffer zone is a good step in the right direction.”
“200km?!?!?? If you’re that out to lunch why don’t you suggest a complete tunnel of all highways within the Parks to address roadkill of wolves. Come back to Earth, come up with something more balanced.”
“With the population exanding and the available natural untouched wilderness areas decreasing we are going to lose many species. Farmland is being subdivided and wilderness areas are being turned into communities for humans…look at Canmore and Cochrane…it absolutely sick. We have to stop this, nature, land, wildlife and humans are all connected.”
“I am undecided on imposing limits to the numers permitted into our Parks. On one hand, I agree that population and overuse is intruding and interfering with the natural habitat that is essential to many species. On the other, I believe that visitors to the parks are more likely to become great advocates to for our esocsystems wildlife… …Thanks for everything you are doing!!!”
“Wolves are endangered or lost in almost every other country on earth when they used to be the most widely distributed animal in the world. We should learn from other’s mistakes and protect them while we have the chance.”
“Having lived extensively in the United States AND Canada, and as a proud Canadian, I would be appalled to see our beautiful national parks go the way of the Americans where there is far too much permitted in terms of hunting, fishing, recreational vehicles, and overuse. We must ensure that our parks are kept pristine for our children and future generations. In order to do so, we must protect all species of wildlife within those boundaries. We MUST NOT bow to the pressure of big business who sees only dollar signs.”
THANKS to EVERYONE who has signed the petition and filled out the survey!
Howl With Me
Filed under: Conservation, Wolf Conservation, Wolves of the Rockies | Tags: canadian wolves, endangered species
A letter to the editor of the Golden Star a few weeks ago suggested that wolves need no protection. Well – it’s true they are not considered “endangered” in Canada. It took a while for the rebuttal to form in our collective brain… but here is what we think.
People either love wolves or hate them. They ignite our passion. They spark our imagination. Wolves are an icon of the wilderness – and maybe we can use that status to help endangered species in this country.
You can certainly argue that they don’t need protection… especially in Canada, where we have a “healthy” population, and one of the largest intact wolf populations in the world.
But we argue that they do need protection! We believe that if we keep wolf numbers healthy, they can help us keep everything healthy, including ourselves. Healthy ecosystems are essential to healthy human societies and economies. This is a guiding principal from the Protect Biodiversity website (www.protectbiodiversity.ca), and it should be everyone’s guiding principle for the way to live your life.
Here is the basis for our argument: Imagine the wolf as an umbrella. They are a large predator who sits at the very top of our food chain. When something happens at the top, there is a cascade effect that influences every level of the food chain, right down to the insects and plants… basically, everything under the umbrella.
Consider these things: Wolves live in packs. They hunt all year long in order to feed their big families. They often take the weak and sick, and leave behind the strong and healthy. They feed others, because there are often lots of leftovers from their feasts. They control the numbers of their prey, so huge population explosions don’t happen, and that means there is enough food energy to go around (that’s the “carrying capacity” of the land).
Badgers are “endangered” in British Columbia. Who cares about the badger? They’re a pest, right?
Blue herons are considered “vulnerable”. But they’re majestic, beautiful, and don’t dig holes in farmers’ fields. So… some people may take notice…
But many more people take notice when you say “wolf”. Both sides of the argument come to life. That’s the beauty of it!
We want to ignite your passion! So whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, we do need to talk about them. Our argument is that by protecting wolves, we can protect the others… we can, in fact, protect the whole ecosystem. Healthy humans on a healthy planet!
Wild salmon are endangered. Period. Nothing more needs to be said. (Interestingly, Alaska, who allows people to shoot wolves from planes, actually operates a sustainable wild salmon fishery that puts British Columbia and the rest of the Pacific coast to shame… go figure).
Nearly all salmon farms in Canada are around Vancouver Island. Five international companies — three based in Norway — control most existing farms. If we are going to farm salmon, why don’t we control the farms? But I digress.
Fish farms are a bad idea. Farmed salmon are an alien species, fed antibiotics, pesticides, synthetic pigments, and all sorts of other nasty chemicals… which we then eat. And we wonder why cancer rates in humans are going sky high.
Pesticides fed to the fish and toxic copper sulfate used to keep nets free of algae are building up in seafloor sediments. Antibiotics have created resistant strains of disease that infect wild and domesticated fish. Human-made contaminants, PCBs, and dioxins make their way into the ocean and are absorbed by marine life. The pollutants accumulate in fat that is distilled into the concentrated fish oil, which, in turn, is a prime ingredient of the salmon feed. Besides toxic chemicals, parasites are an issue. Sea lice are enjoying the party at the fish farms: clouds of lice swarm nearby wild salmon on their migration routes, and up to 75% of these nearby populations of wild salmon are covered with a fatal load of sea lice (which burrow into fish and feed on skin, mucous and blood).
Of all the concerns about fish farms, the biggest turns out to be a problem fish farms were supposed to help alleviate: the destruction of marine life through overfishing. Salmon are carnivores, and the farmed fish must be fed. It takes about 2.4 pounds of wild fish to produce 1 pound of farmed salmon. Hello? Some people say, if you want to help save salmon, eat more sardines! Sounds counter-intuitive, but we would use up far less sardines and that harvest would be more sustainable.
The farmed fish industry has grown so huge in the last couple of decades, that it recognizes it soon will be pushing the limits of the ocean. “There will come a time when our industry will (need) … more of the fish oil and fish meal than is available,” said Odd Grydeland, an executive at Heritage Salmon in British Columbia.
Well, the solution is easy: why not feed them corn? They could probably get some cheap, genetically modified “corn” from Monsanto (here is a link of interest http://www.percyschmeiser.com/). Feeding corn to fish may sound like a joke (it was meant as one)… but listen to this from an salmon farm industry spokesman:
“Our biggest challenge is to find substitute grains for fish meal and fish oil.”
Uh… that is as wrong as feeding ground up cows to cows. Yes – the beef you eat from the grocery store is not a happy herbivore prancing about the fields like they were meant to. But I digress.
Ecologically, fish farming is a disaster. About 1 million live Atlantic salmon, an alien species to the Pacific Northwest, have escaped through holes in nets and storm-wrecked farms. Biologists fear these invaders will out-compete Pacific salmon and trout for food and territory, hastening the demise of the native fish. An Atlantic salmon takeover could wreak havoc on our still healthy, diverse marine habitat.
But, I know most humans don’t really care about what happens to wildlife or ecosystems… only if it affects us. Well, try this on for size: European health studies have suggested that there is human health risk from synthetic pigment added to the feed to give farmed salmon their pink hue. That’s right, the farmed salmon would be an unappetizing pale grey without the pink chemicals. In the wild, salmon become pink from eating pink krill.
So, on a non-wolf related rant, I am suggesting we all boycott farmed salmon – it’s not good for you, nor is it good for our environment. And stop eating wild salmon until our government gets its act together and promotes a sustainable west coast fishery.
Casey Black
Filed under: Wolf Conservation | Tags: Canadian Wolf Coalition, wolf buffer zones, wolf conservation
During his pre-election campaign, Jim Abbott paid the Wolf Centre a visit. We had been writing politicians like Mr. Abbott for years to listen about wildlife conservation. Conservation of wildlife and the health of the environment is not a priority for our government. But look at the popular vote that political movement like the Green Party are garnering these days. As more young people actually get off their butts and vote, and some ignorant old folk die off, we will see change. When it comes down to it, economy, child care, and health care matter only if we have a healthy planet to live on. But we digress.
Well, wolves are not a “species at risk” according to Canada. Why protect wolves – and not some of the other species who actually have threatened or endangered status? We can blabber on about “keystone”, and “apex predator”, and the fact that wolves have a bad rap… but what it boils down to is that wolves really are like an “umbrella”. By protecting wolves, we are protecting untold numbers of species below them on the food chain. Try googling “willows and wolves”, and you’ll see a great example in Yellowstone National Park.
It’s admitted that several of our National Parks, specifically Yoho and Kootenay, are simply not large enough to protect wolves. On the Kootenay Park website, they say that “Areas with healthy wolf populations generally have intact wilderness. Conserving wolves means conserving wilderness.”
Now, we understand that Mr. Abbott has a wide variety of people in his constituency, and it is simply not possible to please everyone. To be clear about the proposed buffer zones: we are aware that there are ranches, farms, and towns within the 200km zone we are requesting, as well as trapping lines that have been in use for over a century. It has certainly got to be a win-win situation for everyone involved. But since hunting/shooting and traffic are leading causes of mortality for wolves in the Central Rockies, including the Parks, it certainly makes sense to control how and when people are allowed to kill wolves… just as it is important that the transportation routes through the Parks are getting more underpasses and overpasses built!
Now that he has been elected as our Member of Parliament once again, we are counting on his support. In the coming weeks, we’ll post some background on the history of buffer zones in the Central Rockies, and also on what the people of Ontario did to make their campaign a success.
Filed under: Wolf Conservation | Tags: canadian wolves, wolf coalition, wolf conservation, Wolves
Hello World! Welcome to the Northern Lights Wolf Centre weblog… or as we prefer to think of it: Casey’s Rant. Casey Black was the one who started this wolf centre about a decade ago, and he has a lot of “opinions”. It’s our job to distill his rants into compact little blogs that are fun to read, and minus the, ahem, expletives.
For those of you just stumbling upon this blog, we operate a small interpretive centre about wolves in Golden, British Columbia (www.northernlightswildlife.com). Our two main goals are to change people’s attitudes about wolves through education, and to change legislation through letter campaigns and petitions in order to protect a very important predator…
We thought we’d fill everyone in on a project of ours that has been years in the making, but is finally coming into full and exciting life: it’s the formation of a Canadian Wolf Coalition to put pressure on government to make legislative changes to protect our wolves. One of the first changes we wish to push through is the formation of buffer zones around the National Parks here in the Rockies. A buffer zone would be an area with restrictions on the hunting and trapping of wolves, ideally coupled with additional restrictions on motorized backcountry access in these areas.
Wolves are an endangered species worldwide, but not in Canada. The situation here is that wolves are still considered vermin, and have very little protection in many areas of our country. As a result, hunting is one of the leading causes of wolf mortality in Canada. Trapping, transportation routes, and habitat loss or fragmentation are also major reasons for the decline in wolf numbers.
The Big Bad Wolf has long been feared and hated, but there is no evidence that wolves actually hunt humans, and they are less likely to hunt livestock than most of us think. They are actually a vital part of a healthy ecosystem.
Why protect wolves? Well, wolves are at the top of the food chain, and when something happens to the balance at the top, it has a “domino effect” on the plants and animals below. We are seeing the beginning of this domino effect happening right now in the central Rocky Mountains.
It is known that even parks as large as Jasper or Banff are just not big enough to contain wolves, whose territories can be as large as 3000 square kilometres!
Seven National Parks in the central Rockies (Banff, Yoho, Jasper, Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke, Glacier, Waterton) are currently reviewing their Park Management Strategies, and accepting input from outside organizations. This provides an excellent opportunity to enlarge protected areas for wolves, whose territories extend beyond the boundaries of these parks.
Canada still has one of the healthiest wolf populations in the world. On a global basis, this provides us with a unique and vital conservation opportunity!
Do you want to help? For more information on the Canadian Wolf Coalition, visit www.canadianwolfcoalition.com, or www.northernlightswildlife.com/bufferzones.html
September 2008 – Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre
