Biodiversity - Pitchstone Waters (Page 4)

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Biodiversity

A collection of 102 posts

Climate Change Mitigation As A Co-benefit of Regenerative Ranching: Insights From Australia And The United States

Climate Change Mitigation is a Side Effect of Regenerative Ranching: Insights From Australia And The United States

“Whatever the causes of climate change, human damage to our environment cannot be denied. As the authors of this paper explain, more and more people are rejecting industrial agriculture in favor of regenerative (restorative) ag practices. NOTE: this paper was recently published to RoyalSocietyPublishing.org on August 14, 2020. It

Save a Sage Grouse, Drop a Fence Line

“As discussed in the article below, barbed wire fences are dangerous to grouse. Apparently grouse don’t see the wires, so they fly in to them. Many are killed. As the authors explain, there are many ways to reduce this risk, and help other species in the process. NOTE: this

ranching_alongside_predators

Ranching Alongside Predators in an Idaho Forest

“Using domestic animals to restore overgrown forest near Yellowstone Park in Idaho.” Cattle, Goats, Bears and Cougar from Christopher Gill on Vimeo.

Hunting Is Conservation: A Paradox Explained

Hunting Is Conservation: A Paradox Explained

Quoting the authors of the article below, ” Non-hunters are often surprised to learn that it was hunters who spearheaded the conservation efforts that rescued our nation’s wildlife from the cusp of extinction. The truth is: hunting and conservation have had a symbiotic relationship since the close of the 19th

Allan Savory on Permaculture and Holistic Management

Allan Savory on Permaculture and Holistic Management

Here is a very interesting interview with the ecologist Allan Savory who, in the opinion of many, knows more about rangelands than anyone alive. He is best known for his discovery that global desertification can best be addressed and reversed by using livestock to mimic the grazing patterns of the

Beavers Rule the Roost at Crater Lake

Beavers Rule the Roost at Crater Lake

Whether we are talking about bears, bison or beavers, the best safety rule with wild animals is this: “Do not invade their space.” It is amazing how often the rule is violated. NOTE: this article was originally published to jhnewsandguide.com on July 15, 2020. It was written by Doreen

wolf_male_idaho_

25 Years After Returning to Yellowstone, Wolves Have Helped Stabilize The Ecosystem

As discussed in the article below, “by reducing elk numbers and thinning out weak and sick animals, wolves are helping create more resilient elk herds.” This is true, but another likely reason for falling elk numbers is brucellosis, an infection known as “contagious abortion” that affects ruminant animals including cervids

Scientists Disagree On Bison Impacts To Yellowstone’s Northern Range

"Invasion Biology"

Scientists Disagree on Bison Impacts to Yellowstone’s Northern Range

“According to Yellowstone’s senior bison biologist who is quoted below, Yellowstone is the only place in North America with a complete set of predators and herbivores – both of which shape their habitat in ways conventional “managers” neither understand nor like. NOTE: this article was originally published to NationalParksTraveler.org

Take ‘Charisma’ Into Account When Managing Invasive Species, Scientists Say

"Invasion Biology"

Take ‘Charisma’ Into Account When Managing Invasive Species, Scientists Say

As Groucho Marx asked all those years ago, “Who are you going to believe: Me, or your lying eyes?” According to the doubtful premise underlying invasive species biology, any new creature entering a system is, by definition, harmful to it. This paper, written by invasion “biologists” warns against being “fooled”

A Natural Classroom, Run by Wolves

"Invasion Biology"

A Natural Classroom, Run by Wolves

Wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone has been a scientific and tourism bonanza. NOTE: this article was originally published to NYTimes.com on March 27, 2020. It was written by Jim Robbins. Mr. Robbins, a longtime contributor to The Times, is based in Helena, Mont. Twenty-five years ago this month, 14 wolves

Pablo Escobar’s Hippos Fill a Hole Left Since Ice Age Extinctions

"Invasion Biology"

Pablo Escobar’s Hippos Fill a Hole Left Since Ice Age Extinctions

According to the article below—and the study on which it is based—humans have caused the extinction of many large animals over the past 100,000 years. This has changed ecosystems greatly, generally for the worse. Introductions of so-called exotics have somewhat compensated for extinction losses. As incongruous as

Coronavirus Outbreak Shows The Risk in Ignoring Human Activity’s Impact on Nature

Coronavirus Outbreak Shows The Risk in Ignoring Human Activity’s Impact on Nature

Paraphrasing the authors of the article below, “The role of healthy, intact ecosystems is being overlooked, together with the essential link between human, domestic animal and wildlife health. Biodiversity — the richness of life on Earth — is essential to maintaining a planet that supports all of us.” In other words we

Protecting America’s Duck Factory

Protecting America’s Duck Factory

As described in the article below, the success of waterfowl conservation efforts proves it is possible to save bellwether species. This conservation success stands in stark contrast to the fate of other iconic species like quail, salmon, and monarch butterflies. While these species are not currently “bouncing back,” we can

stewardship_with_vision_episode_1_jeff_laszlo

Stewardship with Vision – Episode 1: Jeff Laszlo

As a result of the O’Dell Creek restoration, Granger Ranches has documented a 900% increase in waterfowl species and a 600% increase in species diversity. The ranch now hosts at least fifteen species of concern, including the American White Pelican, Clark’s Grebe, Great Blue Heron, White-Faced Ibis, Franklin’

How Feral Hogs Hurt The Environment

"Invasion Biology"

How Feral Hogs Hurt The Environment

Quoting from the article below, “But the scientific consensus today is that in North America, feral pigs are a growing threat to both ecosystems and the economy.” The author continues, “Interestingly, in their native range in Europe and Asia, pigs do not cause as much ecological damage. In fact, some

How to Let Grow

"Invasion Biology"

How to Let Grow

“How do we “rewild” areas where the native species are now extinct? In England, they use “exotic” species as substitutes. This common sense would collide with so-called “invasive species biology” in most of the US. NOTE: this article was originally published to WSJ.com on September 27, 2019. It was

coyote_death_valley_young

"Invasion Biology"

Book Review of "Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History"

Paraphrasing a reader: “A wonderful book on coyotes, which covers several broad themes: coyote resilience, coyote individualism, coyote biology (including a little evolution, the science of which is easily understood), coyotes and people (in the broad sense—native American tales, coyotes in the city and more). Much of the book

wild_horse_iceland_2

"Invasion Biology"

Can The Wild Horse Fire Brigade Really Work?

To be healthy, forests and grasslands need to be grazed. The grazing must come from more than one species. For millions of years in North America, horses and their ancestors have been part of the animal impact that wild plants need. NOTE: this article was initially published to HorseTalk.co.

bison_yellowstone

"Invasion Biology"

Book Review of American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains

American Serengeti is Dan Flores’ natural history of the American Great Plains throughout its 13,000-years of human presence. According to the author, the book is the “Big History” of two lost worlds, both of which were destroyed by humans. The first Lost World was a larger, more diverse collection

wild_horses_iceland

"Invasion Biology"

Wild Horses: Are They Being Managed to Extinction?

Because humans have eradicated most predators of wild horses, humans are the only means of wild horse population control. How many horses are too many? Probably a lot more than we have today. Here are two interesting wild horse facts, reported with extensive scientific citations in Dan Flores’ American Serengeti:

pronghorn_texas

"Invasion Biology"

Are Wolves the Pronghorn's Best Friend?

Wolf and coyote eradications have exploded coyote numbers across North America. This has increased coyote predation of pronghorn fawns. Coyotes are pronghorns’ most effective predators; wolves will not tolerate coyotes. 150-years of coyote ‘management’ using methods that have proven highly effective with wolves, actually increase coyote populations and range. Coyotes

wild_horse_united_states

Call for Horse Grazing Pilot Study To Explore Wildfire Mitigation

Wild horses and burros, properly managed in combination with other animals, can help prevent wildfire. NOTE: this article initially appeared on HorseTalk.co.nz on February 1, 2018. It was written by William E. (Bill) Simpson. If people began the evaluation of any project under the premise that it can’

"Invasion Biology"

The Secret Lives of Well-Digging Burros

“Far-West Texas burros are eradicated by state and federal parks & land managers based on the belief that they “compete” with other wildlife for water. In reality – as this Arizona study explains – “it appears that burros are significantly increasing water availability in the desert.” Be sure and watch the video.

wild_horse_australia

"Invasion Biology"

Are North America’s Wild Horses Native?

The fake science of invasive species biology classifies horses as “invasive” “exotics” that “compete” with “natives” to “harm” “ecological systems”. These terms are neither scientifically defined, nor consistently applied. As Dan Flores, author of American Serengeti observes, “Neither paleontology nor molecular genetics lends any support whatsoever to the idea that

elk_jasper_canada_ian_froome

"Invasion Biology"

Shy Elk and Bold Birds Become Partners in the Wilderness

Complex relationships between species such as birds and grazers are common, but often unrecognized by over-simplified wildlife management theories. As a result, wildlife managers routinely attack species whose interdependence we do not understand. For example, in Texas, tax policy rewards landowners who attempt to eradicate brown-headed cowbirds, a species that