SustainableWildlifeBlog

Sustainable Habitat

2008-04-11T22:29:00Z

Sustainable habitat for California wild animals has been declining for many years, with overgrowth of millions of acres of our forests, shading out food for our animals.

In recent years, some progress has been made with better management, more use of prescribed fires, better logging practices and tree and brush thinning – all of which has resulted in better food supply for our wildlife. This has also produced the added benefit of reducing wildfire danger and cost of suppression. It also helps with supplying our country with lumber and employment.

However, many years of mismanagement of our resources still needs to be corrected. Much of the reason for this poor stewardship has been because many people and organizations that have good intentions have not listened to the professional managers of our forests and wildlife. In fact, they have put emotions ahead of reality and common sense.

The populations of our small and large wild animals and birds of prey have fallen disastrously since 1990. Porcupines have declined from plentiful to near extinction in some areas. Other small animals and wildlife, including grey squirrels, beavers, raccoons, rabbits, quail, wild turkeys, grey foxes, wild pigs, red tail hawks and eagles are also affected and have been decimated by our three large predators: bears, coyotes, and the now fully protected mountain lion. In fact, the mountain lion is the main culprit because its primary food source is the mule deer and blacktail deer, which have been reduced since 1990 from approximately two million deer to less than 425,000 deer. The state’s mountain lion population, estimated in 1990 at about 2,400 lions, is estimated at over 7,000 today.
Research has proven that an adult lion consumes an average of one deer (or the equivalent in smaller game) per week, while the female with cubs, will consume two fawns per day.

The math in this is not difficult to grasp, and shows we are rapidly approaching a disaster scenario for small and large animals. Such a reduction of small prey wipes out the food supply for mountain lions resulting in their eventual starvation and cannibalism. This, in turn, further reduces lion populations – the very animal current law was enacted to protect.

In 1990, we had a good population of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in southern California and lions were kept in balance by hunting. By 1995, with no control of the mountain lion, the sheep population was down to near extinction, with only approximately 150 sheep remaining. To address this concern, the conservation professionals appealed to the Legislature to take steps towards amending Proposition 117 – the initiative which gave mountain lions special protected status – in order to keep sheep from extinction, and a bill was passed with only one dissenting vote in each house. Now with sustainable management, both sheep and lions are doing well.

Predator populations in most western states are controlled by hunting, with the result being sustainability of all species and a balance between wildlife and habitat, done at no cost to taxpayers or additional expense to fish and game agencies. With proper management this strategy works very well.

On our website there are research papers to provide the public with a better understanding of forest and habitat management for our wildlife.

In seriousness of California’s mismanagement of wildlife is not recognized by the general population, as urban populations who drive state policy have very little contact with wildlife. Unfortunately, rather than letting science dictate wildlife management, decisions by emotion tend to rule the day in our state.

The main purpose of Citizens for Sustainable California Wildlife is to provide public information on what is happening to the state’s wildlife and habitat. Any monies left over will be donated for habitat studies and improvement.

Citizens for Sustainable California Wildlife is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation.

Bob Taylor
President

Web: www.sustainablewildlife.org
liontaylor@succeed.net
Blog: http:\\sustainablewildlife.com
Phone (530) 743-0400 - Cell (530) 300-7214

For contributions, mail to:
CSCW (Citizens for Sustainable California Wildlife)
7660 Redhill Way
Browns Valley, CA 95918

Research documents on CSCW website:

*Managing California Wildlife and Timber
By more than a dozen Government and Private entities

*The Mountain Lion
By: Vernon C. Bleich and Becky M. Pierce

*Near Extinction of Porcupines by Mountain Lions and Consequences of Ecosystem Change in the Great Basin Desert
By: Richard A. Sweitzer, Stephen H. Jenkins, and Joel Berger

*The Effect of Predation on Deer in the Central Sierra Nevada
By: Donald L. Neal

*Records of North American Big Game
By: Vernon C. Bleich and Becky M. Pierce

The Terrible Lesson of the Kaibab
By: James B. Trefethen

Thoughts from CSCW President Bob Taylor

2008-04-11T21:08:00Z

Thoughts From CSCW President, Bob Taylor:

Wildlife sustainable management principles are very similar to management principles for agricultural crops, forests and livestock management. Nutrition, habitat protection, and protection from disease and predators must be scientifically managed for a healthy, sustainable balance.

Just as crops need to be harvested when mature or ripe, trees need to be logged so new growth can prosper to provide food and shelter for our wildlife. These practices are a must to prevent disease and fire danger, and to insure a healthy environment for the sustainability of our state’s wildlife.

In California, much of our population lives in cities; as far away from the basic principles involved in the management of our wildlife and forests as they are from growing and producing our food supply. Just as with food production, in habitat management we need to let professional management prevail. For example, weeds, nutrition, disease and invasive species must be controlled and managed. We do have excellent professionals in our forest industry and the California Department of Fish and Game. They must be allowed to use scientific principles—not well meaning but uninformed and emotional public reaction—to manage these wildlife resources.

Many of our wildlife species are in grave danger of extinction due to the lack of management of our three main predators. The mountain lion, coyote, and black bear have dramatically reduced their own primary food supply. California’s deer population has decreased from 2,000,000 deer in 1990 to approximately 425,000 currently. With the reduction of the deer herd, these predators have resorted to other smaller wildlife, livestock and family pets, and are rapidly turning this situation into a major wildlife crisis.

To remedy this critical situation, current laws must be modified to control the population of these predators. Proposition 117, which completely bans the hunting of mountain lions except for attacks on livestock and danger to humans, leaves our vast wilderness completely unmanaged.

A court case is now pending in Lassen County to modify the state’s ban on traps and poisons for coyotes. In Proposition 4, according to our professional trappers, the humane tools used to manage the coyote population, have been banned. Black bear numbers are up from a population of about 10,000 to more than 30,000, causing bears to look for food in populated areas, where they do much damage and then have to be killed. As with other professionally managed wildlife populations, the black bear numbers need to be brought into balance with their natural food supply through a controlled hunting season.

The time is long past due to urgently spread the word to all interested in the survival of our wildlife and forests. Make sure everyone you know is informed through our website and blog. We urge you to become a member of CSCW and contribute financially, to get the message out to individuals and lawmakers to amend the legislation so our wildlife can survive. Your financial help is appreciated and definitely needed.

Bob Taylor

INTRODUCTION

2008-04-06T20:42:00Z

Citizens for Sustainable California Wildlife is a new organization whose main purpose is raising public awareness by providing information regarding what is really happening to our state’s wildlife and its habitat. All donations raised will be used to promote and educate the public. We also need to redirect our efforts through policy makers, the importance of the sustainable wildlife concept. All extra funds raised will be donated to various habitat studies along with on going habitat improvements.
Any publicity by sympathetic publications or organizations will be most appreciated. We would also like to link from other concerned websites to ours and vice versa. Together we may be able to change the way people react to wildlife. If we don’t strive to sustain wildlife it will be gone.

Respectfully,

Bob Taylor, Chairman
Citizens for Sustainable California Wildlife
7660 Redhill Way
Browns Valley, CA 95918
Email: liontaylor@succeed.net
Ph. 530-743-0400
Website: www.sustainablewildlife.org
Blog: www.blog.sustainablewildlife.org