Re: No more Moose hunting for you, Whitey
gcreek:
" ...have witnessed what 40 years of mismanagement by those with degrees and creation of “management models” have done to the local moose, deer and caribou populations."
I can't disagree with the state of affairs. We are where we are because we've mismanaged our impact on the landscape. If we hadn't mismanaged things we wouldn't be talking about it now.
Here's one thing that always gets me stuck though - there are a few guys here who seem to dismiss wildlife bios as simply in it for the money, not knowing what they're talking about, and not being supportive of predator control.
And yet I've heard wildlife bios say things like "Oh, we know who's eating them" or "BTW, we've been making this predator reduction recommendation for over a decade now".
I've also heard bios say "Make sure you know what you're talking about when you pull the predator reduction lever, because if you're wrong you don't accomplish anything and you burn up a shit ton of social capital".
That doesn't sound to me like guys who are completely opposed to predator reduction, or like guys who don't know what's killing the animals that they study. It actually sounds reasonable.
I think that maybe you're blaming the wrong guys, or maybe doing it with too broad of a paintbrush (maybe politicians like listening to the bios who well them what they want to hear).
I think we don't have more predator control because the politicians understand that it will cost them in spades. I say that especially after reading the report where the bio said (and I paraphrase) "I've been telling you guys this for a decade and you still don't listen". It seems unfair to characterize him as a know nothing if the real problem is that his bosses are ignoring him.
If you know of bios employed by government who are making what you think are stupid decisions can you send me that info?
Rob Chipman
"The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders" - Ed Abbey
"Grown men do not need leaders" - also Ed Abbey