Endangered & Protected Species

 

‘Unprecedented Killing’: The Deadliest Season For Yellowstone’s Wolves. According to The Washington Post, “In less than six months, hunters have shot and trapped 25 of Yellowstone’s wolves — a record for one season — the majority killed in this part of Montana just over the park border. The hunting has eliminated about one-third of the park’s wolves, the most serious threat yet to a population that has been observed by tourists and studied by scientists more intensively than any in the world. Since 1995, when staff released wolves into Yellowstone — where they had been wiped out decades before — this celebrated experiment in wildlife recovery has become a defining feature of America’s first national park, now celebrating its 150th anniversary. Each step of their comeback has been documented in books, movies and daily reports from the field by a passionate band of wildlife watchers. Bean, who helps lead the nonprofit group Wolves of the Rockies, is one of those enthralled with wolves and their stories. And she has watched in horror as the body count has mounted. ‘This is a definite war,’ she said.” [The Washington Post, 3/3/22 (=)]

 

Environmental Groups Sue Over Rising Manatee Deaths In Florida. According to ABC, “Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming the agency has failed to help preserve Florida manatee habitats as the species faces rising deaths. Nearly 1,100 manatees died in 2021, which is roughly 20% of the east coast population of manatees, according to a lawsuit filed by Save the Manatee Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife. ‘We’ve now had almost 300 [die] in 2022,’ aquatic biologist Patrick Rose told ABC News. Rose is the executive director of Save the Manatee Club, the non-profit organization started by singer Jimmy Buffet in 1981 that is dedicated to protecting manatees and preserving their natural habitat. The group tells ABC News that popular waterways for manatees, like the Indian River Lagoon on Florida’s east coast, have suffered years of pollution from sources like failed septic tanks, improperly treated sewage and fertilizer that deposits nutrients into the water. ‘That excess nutrient causes algal blooms that were so severe that it shaded out the seagrass that manatees and other species depend on. The seagrass died,’ Rose said.” [ABC, 3/3/22 (=)]

 

Invasive Species

 

Climate Change Will Be A Boon For Invasive Species, And The Midwest Could Be A Hot Spot, Researchers Say. According to WTTW-TV, “Researchers have begun raising the alarm about a consequence of climate change that’s largely flown under the radar: the spread of invasive species. As problematic as invasive plants, pests and pathogens already are, climate change will only magnify the havoc they wreak on habitat, wildlife and even humans. Warmer temperatures, milder winters, shifting starts to seasons and extreme weather events will work to invasives’ advantage in certain parts of the U.S., with the Northeast and Upper Midwest tipped as future invasive hot spots, said Carrie Brown-Lima, director of the New York Invasive Species Research Institute at Cornell University. Brown-Lima was among the speakers presenting on climate change and invasive species Tuesday as part of a slate of programs hosted by the North American Invasive Species Management Association during Invasive Species Awareness Week, which runs through Friday. Because invasives are great at adapting, they’ll respond more quickly to changing conditions, said Brown-Lima. If spring comes early, count on invasives, like garlic mustard, to adjust their timing before native plants catch on to the shift. And if things get too hot in southern regions of the country, invasives will just migrate north in search of a suitable home, she said.” [WTTW-TV, 3/3/22 (+)]

 

 

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