When Congress Plays God, Wolves Lose

The Endangered Species list has always been monitored and managed by an apolitical scientific group. This changed for the first time in history in April 2011 when the United States Congress removed the wolf from the Endangered Species list. The proposal to declare the wolf as not at risk was included in a section of the infamous budget-balancing act, which has made more than a few people scratch their heads: what do endangered species have to do with sound financial planning? The deed was done by Senators from Idaho and Montana where commercial hunting is popular. Coincidentally, the Montana Senator is up for re-election.

The wolf is an apex predator, which means that it has no predators of its own. In short, nothing hunts wolves, although, thanks to politicking, humans are now allowed to. Apex predators are an important part of the natural cycle of life in the wild. Prey species, those animals that have natural predators, are keep from over-populating. In turn, they are kept from devastating ecologies by their vast numbers. A good example is the rabbit in Australia. In 1859, a man released 12 rabbits into the wild. Rabbits are not native to Australia and the environment was not prepared to handle this invasive species. In 1950, there were 600 million rabbits in Australia. Apex predators keep this from happening.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was made into law to protect species from extinction because of “…economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation.” Yet that is exactly what wolves have fallen prey to. The decision to remove them from the Endangered Species list (or rather, to allow commercial hunting of them) was not made by scientists, wildlife experts, or conservationists, it was made by politicians, who were very conveniently benefited by the decision. Furthermore, it was not openly proposed and discussed, but rather hidden away in a bill so important that those involved would have no choice but to pass it. This is clearly a case of political maneuvering. Everyone has seen the movie where, to save the sinking ship, the captain must seal off the leaking rooms, dooming the men inside. To do a greater good, a wrong must be done as well. The only reason it was done in this situation is that Senator Jon Tester and Representative Mike Simpson forced it to be so. If they had legitimate evidence of the species’ safety from nature and wildlife experts, they could have presented the unprecedented idea to Congress (remember that Congress has never, in 235 years, taken authority to remove an animal from protected capacity) in its own bill, instead of squirreling it away in the Congressional Budget Act which had to be passed immediately to avoid a government shutdown.

When politics are allowed to influence the treatment of ecosystems, the natural world is in serious danger. The good of species and life forms is no longer dictated by conservation measures, but by the agenda of individuals. We may as well add the planet to the Endangered Species List, although it would probably just be removed by some Senator looking for votes.

Nature’s Noel

As I sit looking out my window this Christmas Eve, my thoughts travel many miles to a valley in Montana where a family of wolves settle in against the harsh Montana Winter. My thoughts also travel to Alaska where a wolf pack follows the faint scent of a meal that had long past.

So often at this time of year we reflect on the love of family and friends and all that is good. Yet we pause not for even a moment to reflect on the incredible beauty of nature and how little we’ve done to protect it.

In Alaska more than 1000 wolves have been killed by aerial hunting. Ran to exhaustion before they are shot from the air, the wolves have little chance to escape the bullet. Protection has been lifted on the wolves of Yellowstone as well. Hundreds have already been shot for no reason other than being a wolf.

Idaho has extended their wolf hunt into the Spring denning period when wolves are particularly vulnerable. Killing just a single pregnant female can have a huge impact on the population.

Polar bears are drowning due to lack of sea ice yet no one really seams to care about the changing climate. Why can we spend untold billions of dollars to fight a war that in the end changes nothing, yet we refuse to spend anything on our planet that is dieing.

We’re poisoning our water, we’re polluting our air. We’re overfishing our oceans, we’re destroying our rain forests. Is it even possible for us to stop?

As I watch the snow fall silently upon the frozen ground outside my window, I worry about our planets future. I hope that you and your family have a joyous holiday. I hope one day our planet and all it’s inhabitants, human, plant and animal can do the same.

Below is my Christmas gift to you. It’s the most precious gift I can give.
I hope you enjoy it.

[flv:http://www.silverphoenixllc.com/phoenixblog/movies/Noel.flv 592 331]

Bighorn Sheep

 

Bighorn sheep Yellowstone National Park

Bighorn sheep Yellowstone National Park

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) once numbered in the millions in western United States and were an important food source for humans. The “Sheepeaters”, related to the Shoshoni tribe, lived year-round in Yellowstone until 1880. Their principal food was bighorn sheep and they made their bows from sheep horns. By 1900, during an “epoch of relentless destruction by the skin hunters” (Seton 1913), bighorn numbers were reduced to a few hundred in the United States. In 1897 Seton spent several months roaming the upper ranges of Yellowstone Park and did not see any, although about 100-150 were estimated to be present. He reported that by 1912, despite a disease (scab) contracted from domestic sheep, bighorns in the park had increased to more than 200 and travelers could find them with fair certainty by devoting a few days to searching around Mt. Everts, Mt. Washburn or other well-known ranges. In winter, small bands of sheep could then be seen every day between Mammoth and Gardiner …”4 great rams with about 40 other sheep…so tame that one could get pictures within ten feet…”

Bighorn sheep are named for the large, curved horns borne by the males, or rams. Females, or ewes, also have horns, but they are short with only a slight curvature. Sheep range in color from light brown to grayish or dark, chocolate brown, with a white rump and lining on the back of all four legs. Rocky Mountain bighorn females weigh up to 200 pounds, and males occasionally exceed 300 pounds. During the mating season or “rut”, occurring in November and December, the rams butt heads in apparent sparring for females. Rams’ horns can weigh more than 40 pounds, and frequently show broken or “broomed” tips from repeated clashes. Lambs, usually only one per mother, are born in May and June. They graze on grasses and browse shrubby plants, particularly in fall and winter, and seek minerals at natural salt licks. Bighorns are well adapted to climbing steep terrain where they seek cover from predators such as coyotes, eagles, and mountain lions. They are susceptible to disease such as lungworm, and sometimes fall off cliffs.

Clip of the Week

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Another of my favorite spots in Yellowstone is Grand Prismatic Spring. Grand Prismatic is the largest hot spring in Yellowstone. Only in New Zealand will you find two springs that are larger. The Hayden Expedition in 1871 named this spring because of its beautiful coloration. Early sketches of the springs seem so exaggerated that geologist A.C. Peale returned in 1878 to verify the colors.

The vivid colors in the spring are the result of pigmented bacteria in the microbial mats that grow around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The bacteria produce colors ranging from green to red; the amount of color in the microbial mats depends on the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids. In the summer, the mats tend to be orange and red, whereas in the winter the mats are usually dark green. The center of the pool is sterile due to extreme heat.

The deep blue color of the water in the center of the pool results from a light-absorbing overtone of the hydroxy stretch of water. Though this effect is responsible for making all large bodies of water blue, it is particularly intense in Grand Prismatic Spring because of the high purity and depth of the water in the middle of the spring.

The spring is approximately 250 by 300 feet (75 by 91 m) in size and is 160 feet (49 meters) deep. The spring discharges an estimated 560 gallons (2000 litres) of 160°F (71°C) water per minute.

You can view this clip here.

Clip of the Week

Artist Point Yellowstone National Park Part 2

A very different clip than last weeks close-up view of the Lower Falls from Artist Point.

This clip is a time-lapse of the entire canyon with the falls off in the distance.

Artist Point is one of the most spectacular scenic areas in the Canyon Area of the Park. The sheer walls drop 700 feet to the bottom of the canyon.

Upriver the powerful Lower Falls are still in view. Down river the canyon widens and deepens to maximum of 1540 feet.

The canyon walls are predominantly yellow, but colors of blue, red, orange, and brown are also present. The colors are ever changing and intensified especially when the sun shines after raining.

Click HERE to view the clip.

Clip of the Week

Lower Falls, Artist Point Yellowstone National Park


One of my all time favorite spots on Earth has to be Yellowstone National Park.
I’ve been coming to Yellowstone since the mid-eighties. While Old Faithful is certainly the most famous feature in the park, one of my favorite has to be the Lower Falls.

At 308 feet, almost twice the height of Niagra, The Lower Falls is truly breathtaking to behold.

This clip was shot early one June morning before most of the people had even had breakfast.

The sun rises early that time of year and the best light is over about the same time people are just starting to arrive in large numbers.

There was only three or four other people at Artist Point that morning. Everyone was scattered enough that it felt like I had a private audience with the falls.

It’s moments like this that you can almost imagine how it was in 1872 when painter Thomas Moran first painted this scene.
Moran’s painting was the first landscape painting by an American artist bought by the American government.

Moran’s painting along with photographs by William Henry Jackson, convinced the US government to set aside this land to become America’s first national park.

Click here to view the clip.

The Big Picture

On a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, I was stopped by a park ranger who was directing traffic around a slew of vehicles pulled over on the side of the road. From my car window I could see still photographers lined up alongside the road with their 600f4’s and 800f5.6’s all trained in the direction of a nearby rock formation. Driving closer I saw that they were trying to photograph coyote pups whose mother had created a den unusually close to the road.

Orange traffic cones were placed to corral the photographers into a more manageable area. Cones were on the other side of the road to keep them from getting any closer than they already were to the den.

As I watched the photographers jockey for position, tripod legs intertwined, elbow to elbow, each trying to get just that one step closer to the den, it got me thinking about my own work.

For years I was cut from the same cloth as those still photographers. It was always “Have to fill the frame. Need to get in closer.” When I had a 300mm lens, I wished for that 600mm so I could fill the frame that much more. It was always about getting in as tight as I could to get that animal right in your face.

I still flip through still photography magazines to keep up with what’s going on in the still world. While there have been huge advances in camera technology, the song is still the same. How to get closer, how to fill the frame. I see it a lot in film and video too. Everyone’s trying to get just a little bit closer than the next guy.

But I discovered by doing that I was only getting part of the picture. I realized that day at the coyote den that I had been changing my shooting style without really being conscious of it. I had discovered the big picture.

I’m not even sure when it started to happen but I was starting to back up, to open up the frame, to let a little more in.
It became more important to me to get the animal in its environment than to get a frame filling shot.
An animal and its environment are so intertwined, it made no sense to me to include one and not the other.

Whenever I see imagery of a farmer, they’re always shown next to a barn or tractor. Businessmen are always shown in front of a fancy building or behind a big executive desk. Why isn’t it the same for wildlife? Why do most people chose to ignore the habitat that wildlife call home?

Is it because most people never get a chance to see wildlife up close and personal?

Whatever the reason, I continue to see people driving wildlife away by trying to get just one step closer. As for me, I’m content to step back away from the crowds in order to see the big picture.

Clip of the Week

White Dome Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Whenever I travel to Yellowstone I can never resist stopping by White Dome geyser. It’s not a huge geyser by any means, only erupts twenty to thirty feet.

But oftentimes, I’m the only one there to watch as it puts forth its best effort.
It’s usually upstaged by its neighbor Great Fountain Geyser.

This clip was shot one cool morning around the end of May. As usual, people would stop for a few minutes and then continue on, hoping to catch a bigger geyser going off somewhere in the park.

So, I sat alone and kept White Dome company as it performed for its audience of one.

To watch White Dome in action, click on the link below.

white_dome_geyser