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350,000 deer must be culled in UK each year

By Nick Britten, Daily Telegraph, UK

The deer population in Britain has risen sharply in recent years and is now between 1.5 and 2 million.

The boom in numbers has lead to an increasing number of motorists being injured in collisions with the animals on the road.

They are also causing damage to the countryside.

Now conserviationists say a cull is the only viable option.

Ashdown Forest, in East Sussex, which has several thousand Fallow Deer, about two dozen Roe Deer, large numbers of Muntjac and a small herd of Sika, has the highest number of deer-vehicle collisions in Britain.

In 2000 rangers attended 100 collisions involving deer compared to 266 in 2008, despite having fewer staff in 2008. The actual number of collisions is believed to be around 500 a year.

Dr Hew Prendergast, Clerk to the Conservators of Ashdown Forest, said: “The damage the deer are doing in the countryside and the numbers of casualties there are on the roads mean that something must be done.

No-one wants to blast deer to kingdom come for the hell of it but its better to have them killed humanely and sensitively than to let them die in agony on the side of a road.”

He added: “The logistics of fencing off all the roads are impossible really to consider so a reduction of the population as a whole needs to be done.”

Peter Watson, executive director of the Deer Initiative, said to keep the deer population static, 25 per cent needed to be culled every year.

With the deer population in Britain rising to up to two million, that requires around 350,000 deer to be culled.

Mr Watson said: “The impact of DVCs is far too high in relation to the number of deer. Deers have value but in some areas there are too many accidents and the balance is wrong.”

Culling is not seen as the only answer but is hugely effective.

A culling programme in Herefordshire in 2005 reduced the number of DVC on the A49 from 50 to zero the following year.

Mr Watson added: “Sometimes it’s the only way. There is no doubt that if you significantly reduce the deer population you can influence road traffic accidents.”

DVC hotspots include Ashdown Forest, The New Forest, Thetford Forest in Norfolk and Cannock Chase, Staffs.

Trevor Banham, Chief Wildlife Ranger for the Forestry Commission East of England, said at Thetford Forest, which has a deer population of around 14,000, they cull 25 per cent every year to keep numbers down.

Forced to deal around 200 DVCs, he said there was no need for an extra cull.

He added: “We do have accidents but deer are wild animals. You can’t fence them in.”

Deer by numbers:

100 – types of deer worldwide

310 – the number of degrees a deer can see thanks to eyes on the side of its head

40 – miles per hour, the average speed a deer can run

200 – the number of days a deer is pregnant for

20 – years, the average life expectancy

2 – the average sized litter

‘Four-eyed’ fish uses mirrors to see through deep sea gloom

By Murray Wardrop, Daily Telegraph, UK

The brownsnout spookfish, which lives at a depth of more than 3,000ft, has been identified as the only vertebrate to have developed mirrors rather than lenses to focus images.

The mirrors give the fish the edge over its predators because they allow it to detect flashes of light made by creatures in the deep in more detail than eyes with lenses can.

While the spookfish appears to have four eyes, it technically has two, each of which is split into two connected parts.

Living at such depths, between Samoa and New Zealand, the spookfish needs one half to point upwards giving a view of the ocean and potential food above.

The other half, which looks like a bump on the side of the fish’s head, points downwards.

These “diverticular” eyes are fitted with tiny mirrored plates, which are arranged so that the light entering the eye is reflected to a focused point on the retina. This allows the fish to see what lurks below it.

Professor Hans-Joachim Wagner, from Tuebingen University in Germany, made the discovery after examining the first living specimen ever landed, which he caught off the Pacific island of Tonga.

His research team used flash photography to confirm the fish’s upward and downward gazes.

Professor Julian Partridge, of Bristol University, who later conducted tests, confirmed it was the only vertebrate to have developed mirrors to see.

Prof Partridge said: “In nearly 500 million years of vertebrate evolution, and many thousands of vertebrate species living and dead, this is the only one known to have solved the fundamental optical problem faced by all eyes – how to make an image – using a mirror.

“Very little light penetrates beneath about 1000m of water and like many other deep-sea fish the spookfish is adapted to make the most of what little light there is.

“At these depths it is flashes of bioluminescent light from other animals that the spookfish are largely looking for. The diverticular eyes image these flashes, warning the spookfish of other animals that are active, and otherwise unseen, below its vulnerable belly.”

Prof Partridge made a computer simulation showing that the precise orientation of the plates within the mirror’s curved surface is perfect for focusing reflected light on to the fish’s retina.

He added: “The use of a single mirror has a distinct advantage over a lens in its potential to produce bright, high-contrast images.

“That must give the fish a great advantage in the deep sea, where the ability to spot even the dimmest and briefest of lights can mean the difference between eating and being eaten.”

Land Acquisition Benefits West Virginia Wildlife, 120 Acres Added to Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge

News from USFWS

The newly-acquired property sits adjacent to Monongahela National Forest, creating a significant ecological corridor on the eastern side of the refuge. Numerous song bird species, including the American woodcock, inhabit the property’s mixture of wetlands, mature hardwood forest and upland meadows. Flat Run, a high quality year-round water source and tributary of the Blackwater River, originates on the land and provides habitat for both brook and brown trout.

USFWS identified this property - one of the largest unprotected tracts of land within the refuge boundary - as a top acquisition priority because of its critical linkage to other protected lands as well as the high value nesting habitat for grassland-dependent and forest dwelling migratory songbirds. The tract also protects significant wetlands particularly important to the American woodcock and ensures enhanced water quality downstream where Flat Run meets the main stem of the Blackwater River.

“We applaud the collaborative efforts of the diverse partners involved in this addition to Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge,” said Reggie Hall, real estate associate for The Conservation Fund. “This transaction enhances one of the state’s greatest natural areas and ensures that future generations will have the opportunity to experience everything this gem has to offer.”

The Conservation Fund purchased the property from North Lake II, LLC, a Maryland-based housing developer, and held the land while it worked with the USFWS to obtain the funding necessary to take ownership. Sen. Robert C. Byrd and Rep. Alan B. Mollohan championed the project in Congress and secured federal appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund in last year’s Interior Appropriations bill.

“I believe it is a moral responsibility to work to preserve West Virginia’s diverse animal and plant life for our children and grandchildren,” said Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.  “And with millions of visitors traveling to West Virginia each year to experience our state’s natural beauty, I am proud to have been a part of this worthy effort to further protect West Virginia’s natural resources and keep our state wild and wonderful.”

“Canaan Valley is one of our country’s special places and one of West Virginia’s great assets,” said Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.Va.  “When The Conservation Fund approached me with this project two years ago, I was happy to support their request and I am pleased with this expansion of the refuge.”

“This property is one of the wild, wonderful areas that exemplifies West Virginia’s natural beauty,” said Dana Waldo, Appalachian Power president and COO.  “AEP and Appalachian Power are pleased to partner in this effort to protect it.”

This refuge addition demonstrates a partnership effort to invest in the state’s natural assets and maintain West Virginia as a world-class destination for nature-based tourism and recreation, a booming industry that contributes greatly to the local economy. The Conservation Fund - which helped establish Canaan Valley as the 500th national wildlife refuge and helped protect nearly 14,000 acres of the refuge’s 16,000 total acres - is working in partnership with The Nature Conservancy to conserve additional high value lands at the refuge. The Fund is also working with a team of local leaders interested in increasing the region’s importance as a gateway to the Central Appalachian Highlands.

“Forging partnerships from all corners - private, public and nonprofit - opens the door to so many more possibilities to enhance communities and protect quality of life,” said Henry Moomau, representative for North Lake II, LLC.  “We’re happy to work with The Conservation Fund and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on this conservation solution that benefits both wildlife and the people who call West Virginia home.”

# # #

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

About The Conservation Fund

The Conservation Fund is dedicated to advancing America?s land and water legacy. With our partners, we conserve land, train leaders and invest in conservation at home. Since 1985, we have helped protect more than 6 million acres, sustaining wild havens, working lands and vibrant communities. We’re a top-ranked conservation organization, effective and efficient. www.conservationfund.org

Silvery Minnows Return to Texas

Rio Grande Silvery Minnow

News from US Fish and Wildlife service.

One of America’s most critically endangered species, the Rio Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus), began to face a brighter future on December 17, 2008, with the release of more than 430,000 hatchery-raised fish into former habitat in the Big Bend region of west Texas.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to release additional fish there over the next four years to establish an experimental, self-sustaining wild population in the lower Rio Grande.

A bucket brigade of volunteers met a Service fish transportation truck near Rio Grande Village, one of four release sites in and near Big Bend National Park.  As hatchery biologists netted the fish from the truck’s tanks and carefully placed them into buckets, the volunteers passed them down the line to Ray Mathews of the Texas Water Development Board, who stood two-feet deep in the river.  He gently dipped the minnows into a net enclosure, where they spent a day acclimating to the river before their final release.  For the first time in about 50 years, silvery minnows inhabited the waters of the Big Bend region.

Jason Remshardt of the Service’s New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office coordinated the collection, transportation, and release of the minnows.  The stock for the release came from two sources:  the Service’s Dexter National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center in New Mexico, and the City of Albuquerque’s Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Rearing and Breeding Facility, which is funded by the Middle Rio Grande ESA Collaborative Program and the State of New Mexico.  These fish were not needed for the continuing silvery minnow augmentation effort in the middle Rio Grande of New Mexico.

Native to the Rio Grande system from northern New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico, the silvery minnow was once considered one of the river’s most abundant and widespread species.  But extensive habitat changes have reduced its range by almost 95 percent to a reach of the middle Rio Grande near Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The Rio Grande silvery minnow needs free-flowing streams in which to reproduce, and much of the river has been impounded by reservoirs.  Other sections of the river are subject to drying due to withdrawals for irrigation, pumping for municipal use, and periodic droughts.  Water pollution, stream channelization, and introductions of non-native fish species may also have played a part in the silvery minnow’s decline.

In 2001, the Service’s New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office and New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office began working in the middle Rio Grande region near Albuquerque to maintain the species’ last natural population.  At times when water withdrawals caused parts of this reach to dry, biologists led rescue efforts to move the fish to wetter parts.  Silvery minnow eggs that would otherwise drift downstream into Elephant Butte Reservoir and die were salvaged for captive propagation.  The Service has stocked more than one million hatchery-raised Rio Grande silvery minnows back into the river in New Mexico to augment the wild population.

The draft revised recovery plan for the Rio Grande silvery minnow calls for secure wild populations at three locations throughout the species’ range.  In 2003, the Service began looking for suitable habitat in which to establish a second population.  The next year, a team of biologists from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service rafted the Rio Grande in the Big Bend region of Texas to evaluate habitat and conduct fish surveys.

Scientists believe that water pollution and a prolonged drought in the 1950s caused the disappearance of silvery minnows from the lower Rio Grande, including Big Bend National Park, which lies within the Chihuahuan Desert.  Since that time, however, enough water to support a minnow population has remained in the river below the mouth of the Rio Conchos, a major tributary that originates in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico.  The quality of the Rio Grande water also has improved due to better sewage treatment, reduced mining activity, and changes in agricultural practices.

Rio Grande silvery minnows need low-velocity habitats with a sandy or silty bottom that are generally associated with a meandering river that includes side channels, oxbows, and backwaters.  In recent decades, however, dense stands of non-native salt cedar (Tamarix chinensis) and giant reed (Arundo donax) have grown up along the Rio Grande in the Big Bend, anchoring the banks and causing the channel to become narrower and deeper.  For a number of years, the National Park Service has been working to enhance the habitat by reducing invasive vegetation along sections of the river.  It is expensive and time-consuming work, but nature lent a hand in September 2008 with the largest flood in decades.  In places, it scoured much of the remaining invasive vegetation and rearranged the river channel, creating a more natural mosaic of cobbles, gravel shoals, and sand bars.  As a result, conditions improved for the return of the silvery minnow.

For Raymond Skiles, a wildlife biologist for Big Bend National Park, the reintroduction is an important step toward restoring the park’s ecosystem.  “It’s a flagship for the dozen or so other species that are no longer here.  It’s great to have one of them back.  This is one of a suite of species, and we hope there will be others that follow.”

The Rio Grande silvery minnow in the Big Bend is designated as an “experimental, non-essential population,” meaning that the loss of this population would not be essential to the species’ survival.  Such a designation allows more flexibility in management and helps to make species reintroductions more acceptable to the public.  The boundary of the experimental population is from Little Box Canyon downstream of Fort Quitman in Hudspeth County, Texas, through Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande National Wild and Scenic River, to the Amistad Dam in Val Verde County, Texas.  Although the experimental population boundary extends up the Pecos River to the mouth of Independence Creek, the minnows are not expected to move into the Pecos.

Aimee Roberson, a wildlife biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service, worked on Rio Grande silvery minnow conservation from the New Mexico office until taking a position in the Alpine, Texas, office several years ago to coordinate the Big Bend reintroduction.  After five years, many public meetings, and a great deal of paperwork, she said that the release day was “like Christmas.”  She quickly added, “But now the real work begins.”  That work will include additional minnow releases for the next four years, quarterly monitoring of the fish, and annual surveys to detect spawning.

At the Rio Grande Village release site, Joy Nicholopoulos, the Service’s Texas State Administrator for Ecological Services, emphasized that the silvery minnow reintroduction was made possible by support from a wide array of partners.  In addition to the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service, she acknowledged the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, City of Albuquerque, Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program, El Carmen Adam’s Ranch, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Water Development Board, Texas Farm Bureau, University of Texas-Pan American, World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Geological Survey, International Boundary and Water Commission (including its Mexican section, Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas), and other Mexican agencies, the Comisión Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas, Departmento de Restauración Ecologia, and Instituto Nacional Ecologia.

Nancy Gloman, the Service’s Assistant Regional Director for Ecological Services, took note of the young people who attended the minnow release and helped with the bucket brigade.  “This is why we do what we do, so that people can return in years to come, see the minnows and other wildlife, and know that we made a difference for conservation.”

Information Sought in Suspicious Wolf Death in Arizona

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agents recovered the body of a dead adult female Mexican gray wolf on January 19, 2009, on State Highway 260, between Horseshoe Cienega Lake and A-1 Lake on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, near Pinetop, Ariz. This wolf apparently died from a gunshot wound, and its body appeared to have been dumped alongside the highway. Its death is currently being investigated.

The area where F836 of the Moonshine Pack was discovered saw heavy use over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, as a large number of people traveled Highway 260 between Pinetop and Springerville. If anyone saw a vehicle that was stopped, or was being driven slowly, between Horseshoe Cienega Lake and A-1 Lake, or has any information that could be helpful in finding the person(s) responsible for the death of this wolf, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service /Office of Law Enforcement at (928) 339-4232 or the White Mountain Apache Tribe dispatch at 928-338-1023 or their Wildlife & Outdoor Recreation Division at (928) 338-4385 ext. 231.

The Service and its partners are offering a monetary reward for information leading to the apprehension of individual(s) responsible for the death of this wolf. Persons reporting information may be kept anonymous.

The Moonshine Pack was released into the wild in November, 2008 in the area between Alpine and Hannagan Meadow, Ariz. The pack split shortly afterwards, and F836 traveled over a large area from north of Luna, N.M., to a few miles west of Springerville, Ariz. F836 was last located alive on January 17, near the South Fork of the Little Colorado River west of Springerville.

“Every wolf we have helped put back on the landscape deserves a chance to survive in the wild,” said Benjamin N. Tuggle, PhD, Regional Director for the Service’s Southwest Region. “All of our available law enforcement resources will be used to conduct a comprehensive investigation in collaboration with our partners. These investigations are extensive and recently lead to the U.S. attorney’s office agreeing to prosecute an individual who killed a wolf in New Mexico. We feel confident that our investigations will identify the responsible parties and they will be brought to justice.”

The Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project is a cooperative effort administered by six co-lead agencies: Arizona Game and Fish Department, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, White Mountain Apache Tribe, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, USDA Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These agencies function as an Adaptive Management Oversight Committee. This management approach provides opportunities for participation by local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals from all segments of the public.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Service Removes Western Great Lakes, Portion of Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf Populations from Endangered Species List

Wolves in Wyoming to Remain Protected by Endangered Species Act

Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett announced today the removal of the western Great Lakes population and portions of the northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act. The success of gray wolf recovery efforts in these areas has contributed to expanding populations of wolves that no longer require the protection of the Act. However, gray wolves found within the borders of Wyoming will continue to be protected by the Act due to a lack of adequate regulatory mechanisms ensuring their protection under state law. Read more

Ultralight-led Whooping Cranes Arrive at Florida Wintering Grounds

Breaking news from US Fish and Wildlife Service 

Whooping Cranes inflight to Florida

Fourteen endangered whooping cranes and their surrogate parents, four ultralight aircraft, have arrived at their wintering grounds in Florida after a trek of more than 1,200 miles through seven states. Read more

Hunting Tours -Black Bear Hunting In Russia

Hunting Tours -Black Bear Hunting In Russia by Alex L.

Big game hunting is all about the trophy animal when a big game hunter is out looking for the record breaking trophy. The size, the length, the weight is all part of who bagged the biggest trophy. Big game hunting is all over the world, Africa for the large big game hunting, United States for the white tail deer, elk, bear, and other big game hunting. New Zealand for big game hunting birds and other animals, Asia and Russia for the black bear hunting. Hunting tours are set up in different countries to help the big game trophy hunter. Read more

Fishing in Lake Michigan

Fishing in Lake Michigan by Steve Masters

Fishing in Lake Michigan

Seasons of Fun

Early Fishing Season

• Fishing the upper bay offers many different types of fishing. Early in the season, (starting May 15th) walleyes can be caught around the mouths of the rivers emptying into Little Bay de Noc. These rivers are the Whitefish River, the Tacoosh River, the Escanaba River, and the Days River. The waters off the Ford River also present excellent fishing excitement early in the season. Read more

Ice-fishing contests draw good turnouts

Michigan City — Thirty ice anglers bundled up to brave frigid temperatures on Saturday morning during the Annual Michigan City Chapter of the Izaak Walton League ice fishing contest. Chapter Treasurer Tracy Pilipiak of Michigan City said that, overall, they were pleased with the turnout. Read more

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