A world without pikas, puffins, polar bears, and penguins

On a summer hike up to Perry Creek Falls I passed a huge talus area. It seemed that every rock on that slope had a small brown fur ball attached to it. They were pikas, relatives of rabbits. Their warning “peek” call sounded from all around me. What a fascinating critter that can live year-round at high elevations. When the snows come they cozy up in their pockets under the rocks and feed on the grass they dried in “hay piles” on the rocks during summer.

Unfortunately, pika populations are one of the first showing signs of trouble related to global warming. According to an October 2005 article in High Country News, pikas in Yosemite National Park are moving to higher elevations in an attempt to adapt to dramatically changing temperatures. In the Great Basin, biologists found six of 25 pika populations had died out between 1946 and the early 90s. Two more populations died off between 2003 and 2005. High-elevation species have nowhere to go but up and they are quickly running out of habitat. Species that depend on mountainous climates and the cold Arctic and Antarctic climates are disappearing and crying out for our attention.

Other examples of drastic changes- Polar bears are drowning and cannibalizing their own. Due to changing ocean temperatures and currents, tufted puffins and penguin breeding colonies are failing because their prey has disappeared. Emperor penguins in western Antarctica dropped from 300 to 9 breeding pairs. Migratory animals are missing their food supplies- insects hatch and plants bloom too early because spring is coming earlier across the northern hemisphere. Avian-malaria carrying mosquitoes are moving to higher elevations and killing bird species not adapted to malaria. The krill population has declined by as much as 80 percent since the 1970s over large areas of the Southern Ocean. Many marine mammals and birds feed solely on krill. All of these changes are happening at an accelerated rate. Species cannot adapt at the rate we are changing the climate.

I have previously talked about natural climate change and global warming. What I don’t see are people taking it seriously. This is not something that’s going to happen someday. The extinction of species, changing ocean temperatures and currents, melting permafrost and other dramatic changes are happening as you read this. Those most vulnerable are species that are migratory and seabirds and those that live in the Arctic, Antarctic, on islands, in wetlands, and mountains. Climate change also elevates the risks to species adapted to arid areas, species with poor dispersal ability, low population numbers or already threatened and endangered, restricted or patchy habitat, and limited climatic range.

There are many things we can do in our lives to help slow the process down. Recycle, reduce consumption, carpool, use CFC bulbs, buy energy efficient appliances, avoid excess packaging, plant lots of trees, turn electronic devices off when not in use, etc. Five bigger solutions according to the Union of Concerned Scientists are: 1) better cars and SUVs; ; 2) modernize America's electricity system; 3) increase energy efficiency; 4) protect threatened forests; 5) support American ingenuity. I would add reduce or eliminate eating cows and dairy products (see U.N. article Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars) and don’t take krill supplements.

We have a chance to change things even though time has run out for many species presently. We have a new political climate beginning in January 2007. Most of global warming is caused by industry and transportation. Corporations are responsible for what’s happening however, we as consumers and voters have the power to let them know that changes need to be made now- not 10 years from now. Our grandchildren, fellow humans, and critters deserve nothing less. I want future generations to enjoy the beauty of a pika in the talus along a mountain trail, polar bears frolicking in the Arctic, tufted puffins fishing in Puget Sound, and the antics of glorious penguins.

For more information watch the DVDs Who killed the electric car? and The Inconvenient Truth, also see the following websites, www.pluginamerica.org, www.climatecrisis.net, http://cns.utexas.edu/communications/file/annrev_ccimpacts.pdf, www.panda.org/climate/birds, and http://www.hcn.org/, http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/common-sense-on-climate-change-solution-1-make-better-cars-and-suvs.html http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20772&Cr=global&Cr1=environment.

It’s been an amazing yellow Pacific Northwest autumn! Before the late October and early November winds came and relieved the trees of their leaves, every forested area big and small lit up the day. It was one of the best shows of yellow I’ve seen in a while.

October was very warm and dry for around here. However, the last few days dropped quickly to the high 20’s- also unusual for here. Of course, early November brought horrendous rains and the associated flooding. Usually when this happens it’s due to rain-on-snow events (torrential downpours on top of deep snow), but there was little snow in the mountains. Instead 10-12 inches of rain in the mountains showed us who’s in control of our lives! Even here on Camano Island things got dicey due to a levee holding the South Fork of the Skagit River back from flooding Stanwood and the highway that leads to home. The power of water is incredibly humbling. Here’s something that makes up somewhere around 70% of our body and we absolutely need to survive that can take 500 year old trees down a river like they’re toothpicks, erode away a river bank in minutes, and take a house down floating to the ocean.

Building all the houses with all their pollutants in the floodplains is disturbing. The effect this has upon our streams and the Puget Sound is not helping salmon or any other living being. If people want to live in these areas then their homes should be built on stilts and no pollutants are allowed. It wouldn’t work. I get angry at the government regulations still allowing this to happen and have little sympathy for folks living in these areas. I don’t wish physical harm to them and do feel bad when people and animals die in flooding. However, what were they thinking building here and now they’ve lost everything?

Back to the beauty of autumn. Today I went up to the Skagit Flats, outside of Conway looking for the snow geese and found them. Last year 80,000 wintered in the area. You never see that many all together but 10,000 isn’t uncommon- especially after the bird murderers are gone. I found a pretty good-sized flock in the distance. I pulled off the road so I could listen to them call as they flew overhead. It is the sound of winter around here. Spring has its particular bird songs and winter has its particular bird calls heralding the season! I also saw a few swans and several bald eagles.

The Skagit Flats has a high density of wintering raptors. It’s one of my favorite areas in winter. You don’t have to walk to see them since it gets mighty cold and damp (okay, it’s not West Yellowstone cold J). You just need to know where to go, and watch closely. A good day is what we call a ”5 falcon day”- prairie (rare but not uncommon), peregrine (fairly common), gyrfalcon (rare), Merlin (somewhat common), and kestrel (common). I have only had a few days like that. They were quite gratifying and miraculous.

Plus there are winters when the snowy owls come down. That’s when you look at every white plastic bucket in the field because eventually one of them is an owl. I know- it’s happened to me. Then there’s the common buteos- red-tailed and rough-legged (down from the arctic). Both bald (very common) and golden eagles (rare) can be found. Sharp-shinned and Copper’s hawks are common and goshawks are seen infrequently. And we can’t forget the ever-present northern harriers and short-eared owls. What a treat to watch them both in the dimming light floating over fields looking for their vole meal. Like any wildlife watching it’s about being gifted with sightings and being in the right place at the right time. I bless every time I see these wonderful creatures.

The Journey
Friday was a red tail hawk day of cool air and sunny skies. Good for soaring high above the earth. Shards of sunlight electrified the autumn yellow of big leaf maples. The varying shades of red of vine maple leaves punctuated the yellows along the highway. Large puffy white and gray clouds play hide and seek with the afternoon sun as I drive the hour to my destination- Deception Falls trail.

The Destination
Once I arrive I find the parking lot closed. Not to be defeated, I find a wide spot along the highway and pull off.

The trail is damp- fading greens and deep browns dominate the dark and cool forest. Why did I come here? I came deliberately. Thoreau's quote comes to mind- I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

I have come to find the part of my spirit that dwells in the wild and to leave behind the distress I have become.

This remnant ancient forest is quiet save for the water falls. Thundering through the granite troughs of rocks, the Tye River rushes on its never-ending journey to blend with the Skykomish River. Eons of rushing has carved its path. The water is wild, clear, and cold.

I have found a giant elder western red cedar to sit under. The bark of the cedar is thick with moist green mosses. Tiny droplets hang at the end of the moss threads in anticipation of dropping to the ground and nourishing the forest floor. How long has it stood sentinel in these woods? How did it escape the cut of the saw? Has it heard the call of the wolf or felt the claws of a grizzly? Did a spotted owl hunt from its branches or a fisher climb its trunk.

Calmness comes with every breath. I am close enough to hear the highway however the embrace of the forest takes over. Giant yellowing prickly leaves of devil's club tower over me and the remnant spotty green leaves of red huckleberry camouflage me from the trail. The air is of autumn freshness- cool, damp, and clean. The air is getting cold informing me that it is time to go.

As I reached my truck to leave a raven circled low over my head three times and landed in a tree across the highway. A couple of gronks and a soft call (that I answered) and it was on its way up the highway. Goodbye maybe?

Tan movement among tall brown grasses along the freeway edge. Head down, she hunts for dinner. Bright red and yellow vine maple leaves are her backdrop. I honk- she looks. A scraggly skinny coyote brightening my day. Unfortunately, the next thought is- Will her crumpled and mangled body lie at the edges of the asphalt? Fortunately, that has not occurred, so far. When I drove through tonight no coyote body was evident. I noticed a ravine carrying a fork of the Quilceda Creek running through here. She is safe if she stays in there.

I’m so tired of all the dead wildlife along our roads. And how many die when there’s no place to come back to? When their forest, grassland, wetland, or beaches are gone? As part of my job I do environmental reviews and permitting of roads projects (ironic?). Today we checked out a project from a couple of years ago next to an urbanized lake. It was a small wetland and open grassy area with non-native shrubs and native shrubs along the lake. To our disgust and surprise several huge houses had been built on this 1 or 2-acre piece of land. And they was no buffer between the houses and the lake. All the vegetation was gone- replaced with lawn, ornamental vegetation, and house. Another area we were looking at that is going to have a sidewalk constructed has a couple of small woodlands left. One of them was signed- soon to become a 10-lot subdivision. Does anyone think about what happens to the resident birds that depend upon the food and shelter of this lot? And what happens when the migratory birds come back to nest again? Do people realize they die? We’ve already chased out any semblance of true wildlife. Now the birds disappear one by one.

I remember a year or so ago when they cut down the forest I played in as a child, across from my parents house. My mom told me that birds were flying around in circles and calling. She’d never seen anything like it. It wasn’t a pristine old growth forest but it was 14 acres of forest, small wetlands, and grassy areas- a haven for birds and critters.

Who’s buying this behavior? Who’s buying these houses and supporting this behavior? The apathy and greed overwhelm my senses. I see very few standing up and no one really shouting- stop killing our wildlife, polluting our air and waters, destroying our soil. Environmental regulations have so many loopholes that rural areas will soon be clustered with common species and very few lees adaptive species will be left.

If you don’t support this behavior then do something!

Since my last entry the listserve I copied the criticism of Steve Irwin from lit up with discussions. The vast majority were in favor of Steve's behavior however, even some of those folks said he might have gone a bit too far now and then. There has also been many tributes to him. His great big heart was in the right place and he did do great things. Although, I still believe he went over the line grabbing critters just to show the camera. Even researchers regularly harass and harm wildlife- supposedly for the benefit of the population. How did Adolph and Olaus Murie study all those critters without radio collars, etc? I still think everyone who deals with animals of all species should handle them with great respect and for a darn good reason!

Life has been hectic. I am now applying to be on the Washington State Wolf Working Group. Seems the state is putting together a management plan for the day the federal government delists our wolves. Since no one knows how many live in the state, I would hope that delisting won't occur for quite some time. The committee will be made up of all facets of the public. It will be a challenging and exciting opportunity. Someone needs to speak for the wolves. My ego is fairly small so I tend to not get caught up in the grandiose beliefs of some of the larger enviro orgs.

When I worked on protecting the old growth forest and spotted owls I had my run-ins with those who lost sight of what we were doing. They were no longer speaking for the trees or the owls but themselves. It was sad to watch. Unfortunately, all that work and it appears spotted owls are slowly dieing off as are the marbled murrelets. Some of us predicted that we were too late. How many other critters will die because we are too late?

If we take a chance that we have time to implement changes for our actions such as global warming, will we already be too late? I believe we are already there. I hate to sound negative but the reality is we just don't know. We leave it to later generations to suffer through and deal with. Of course, this doesn't mean we can't start changing things now. No matter what it's important to do the right thing. As one of my favorite quotes says "Live simply so others may simply live."

Welcome to my blog!

The following essay came to me via a listserve. I found Dr. Jonkel's opinion harsh, however there is a lot of truth to it. I beleive that both Treadwell and Irwin had their heart in the right place. Unfortunatley their egos lead them to their ultimate destiny. How do we harass wildlife of all sizes and species? These guys did it publicly but what about that bird you spooked trying to get a better look? I am a writer and a photographer as well as a naturalist. I have crossed the line a few times and feel badly when I do. I was also an active environmental and animal rights activist. I believe and teach people that harming other living things for fun and profit is wrong and unethical. What about radio-collaring every last wild wolf or other critter just trying to survive? How about swimming with the dolphins- whether they want to or not? I have passed up many potentially great photos because I did not want to disturb the critter (I use that excuse for the crummy photos too : ).) What right do we have to constantly harass our fellow nations, as Henry Beston refers to them? Isn't it enough that we destroy their homes everyday? That we kill them for their heads and hides or torture them to prove some chemical won't hurt us? Gandhi once said that you can tell the moralness of a society by how it treats its animals. Where do we stand? where do you stand?


September 25, 2006

"People of the Croc Hunter Ilk are Worse Than the Most Bloodthirsty Slob
Hunter"
Save a Grizzly, Visit a Library
By Dr. CHARLES JONKEL

The mass media, wildlife film industry, wildlife filmmakers, Hollywood
celebrities and wildlife agencies need a good dressing down. The
proliferation of "el cheapo," entertainment-oriented wildlife films causes
drastic impacts on wildlife species worldwide. As humans become ever more
oriented to human creations, totally urban lifestyles, glitz and glitter,
personalities, high-speed everything, oddball "moments," self-centered
blogs, instant wealth at anything's expense, frivolous religion and
politics, and endless/meaningless drivel and marketing, wild animals suffer.

So the Croc Hunter was done in by a stingray and Timothy Treadwell by a
brown bear. In both cases they earned their own demise, fooling with nature,
doing goofy things with large and formidable animals better left alone.

Steve Irwin's stupid behaviors with animals ­ teasing them, getting too
close, goading them into attacks ­ not only teaches bad value and
interactions relative to wildlife, but will be copied by thousands of other
airheads for decades to come and has set ever lower standards for the
media-an industry which constantly exploits wildlife with quick-and-dirty
films, film clips, and wildlife "news" focused on the trivial.

For 29 years I have rallied against such wildlife pornography. I created the
International Wildlife Film Festival to set high standards and to promote
the production of high-quality wildlife films. Even before IWFF, I
recognized that bears (in particular) were vulnerable to excessive and
dramatized reporting and human interest. I started early on (the early
1960s) to teach not exploiting bear "charisma" for profit and gain, or to
enhance one's ego. I have always used bears as a medium to teach and
communicate about science and nature, but in ways not detrimental to the
bears.

Likewise, for decades I have been trying to encourage wildlife agencies,
wildlife researchers, managers, law enforcement people, and university-level
wildlife departments to deal with extensive wildlife exploitation within the
mass media, the wildlife film industry, and wildlife film marketing.
Professionals, well aware of the terrible impacts on wildlife by market
hunters early in the 1960s, have steadfastly remained in denial about
wildlife in the wildlife film marketplace. Even today, almost no wildlife
management, research, or law enforcement is practiced on, focused on, or
taught about the enormous, deleterious effects of bad wildlife filmmaking,
distribution, marketing or screening.

I often note that hunters, fishermen and trappers are constantly controlled,
regulated, held to high sportsman standards and pursued for violations. The
typical hunter has a wad of papers about 200 pages long in his or her pocket
in order to "stay legal," to guide on bag limits, seasons, hunting times,
sex and age, closed or open areas, care of the meat, caliber of the rifle or
type of shot used, etc. In the meantime, those same agencies encourage and
aid countless filmmakers, camera crews, photographers, editors, writers, and
whatever to go out and do whatever they want, when they want and where they
want. Staff biologists are not encouraged to monitor, evaluate and speak out
on, or control, wildlife productions. The content is basically considered
entertainment for in the evening, not a wildlife professional's
responsibility. Treadwell, for example, was allowed to do many things
illegal for others to do.

Worse, perhaps, the needed standards, ethical evaluations, impacts on
wildlife and actions needed are not included in wildlife textbooks or
classrooms. The whole matter is studiously ignored, as not important in the
profession of wildlife biology, despite the 29 years that IWFF and the Great
Bear Foundation have called for action. "Poachers with a camera" still
mostly write their own rules. People like Irwin and Treadwell still do what
they damn well please with animals-countless actions that a hunter would be
fined and jailed for. Star-struck is for kids, not wildlife professionals.
Filmmaking should not be an allowable way to exploit wildlife for money and
fame. The National Geographic Society and the Discovery Channel and all of
their defenders should hang their heads in shame for promoting stupid TV
actions over sound wildlife biology.

So why does this problem go on forever? People steal the charisma of the
animals to boost their own ego and status, which translates into money. It
is always the money. So far as I care, wildlife will be considerably better
off without Treadwell and Irwin. Where are the other voices of the people
who should object? Why should the balance always be stacked for the
sensational, the glitz?

Charles Jonkel is president of the Missoula-based Great Bear Foundation