A twenty-year old activist blocked the access road to Yellowstone National Park’s Stephens Creek bison trap, preventing more of the last wild bison from being shipped to slaughter. As well, the Montana Supreme Court recently supported efforts to expand bison migratory habitat north of the park in the Gardiner Basin.
Wildlife
Bear Witness: First Nations Protect Grizzlies in British Columbia
Jay Mallonee on Roaming with the Wolf Pack
Politics, not sound wolf scientific research, has influenced the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s efforts toward removing gray wolves across the country from the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Jay Mallonee, researcher from Wolf & Wildlife Studies, has found that left alone, wolves regulate their own populations with highly sophisticated social interactions within the pack. Unfortunately, the hunting and ranching lobbies don’t support the theory we should learn to live with top predators as a necessity for ecosystem health.
Sharkwater: Sea Shepherd Battles Shark-fin Poachers in the Pacific
Rob Stewart’s beautifully shot documentary “Sharkwater,” set in the Galapagos and Isla del Coco of the Pacific Ocean, refutes those who vilify the shark as a killer of humans, insisting they do not wish to eat us. He also films Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson’s attack on the Costa Rican shark fin poachers, which has led to international charges for the famous defender of the sea.
Wolves Forsaken By Wildlife Agencies, Hunters and Ranchers
President Obama’s Department of the Interior announced the national delisting of all wolves except the Mexican wolf. Prominent conservationists argue this is wrong-headed because (1) the wolf isn’t really recovered, and (2) Existing state management is so bad that the “recovered” population will soon decline to nothing but a tiny token population.