Mule Deer Fanatic

Below is an article posted in the Washington Press where hunting and fishing organizations are referred to as swing groups, where there seems to be a race by sportsmen’s organizations to be politically correct, and where mule deer are expected to disappear from the Western US.

I’m afraid that Mule Deer have a lot more to worry about than global warming ( how many Mule Deer have disappeared because of lions and coyotes? ) Check out the article below, then click on this link to see how much you know about Global Warming.

Hunters, anglers worry about global warming, loss of wildlife
WASHINGTON (AP):
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Global warming could force elk and mule deer from much of the western United States. Wild trout could disappear in lower Appalachian streams. Two-thirds of America’s ducks may disappear.

A new U.S. assessment of the threat to fish and wildlife habitat has hunters and anglers calling for action.

Groups representing nine major hunting and fishing organizations planned to meet Thursday with the House committee chairman who hopes to write legislation to curtail greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

“These are the branches of the conservation movement from which I come,” Democratic Rep. John Dingell said in an interview with The Associated Press. Dingell said the groups’ concerns are very important in helping with a measure to address the problem.

Dingell is an avid sportsman whose office is adorned with hunting and fishing trophies. As the leader of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, he has promised action on climate change. He also has issued a series of reports examining legislation that would cap carbon dioxide _ a product of burning fossil fuels _ and other greenhouse gases. The Senate is considering similar legislation.

The alarm sounded by hunting and fishing organizations is significant.

They “are a critical swing constituency in so many states,” said Paul Bledsoe, a spokesman for the National Commission on Energy Policy. The bipartisan group argues for mandatory steps to reduce climate change pollution.

Alan Wentz of Ducks Unlimited Inc., one of the groups meeting with Dingell, noted that scientists are predicting that climate change “will significantly affect almost every aspect of our environment, including North America’s wetlands and waterfowl.”

The others are Trout Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, BAAS/ESPN Outdoors, Izaak Walton League of America, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Coastal Conservation Association, the American Sportsfishing Association, Pheasants Forever and the Wildlife Management Institute, a Washington-based advocacy group for hunters and sportsmen.

“Sportsmen are seeing the effects of climate change and know full well that foresight and proactive management will be necessary to help fish and wildlife adapt,” said George Cooper, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

A report compiled by the Wildlife Management Institute and based on work done by the groups provided a glimpse of their concerns. It says:

_Prairie pothole regions essential for waterfowl could lose 90 percent of their wetlands, causing a 69 percent decline in North America’s breeding ducks.

_About 42 percent of the trout and salmon habitat could be lost by the end of the century, with bull trout virtually disappearing in the high mountain West and wild trout from lower Appalachian streams.

_The number of Pronghorn antelope, elk and mule deer will dwindle as rising temperatures allow trees and shrubs to overwhelm the sagebrush ecosystem in the West.

_Populations of bobwhite quail will shrink in the Deep South as summertime drought and higher temperatures disrupt their breeding cycles. And drier conditions in fall and early spring will threaten quail in the Southwest.

_While an increase in water temperature and other change could benefit some salt water marine species, sea-level rise would destroy thousands of acres of coastal salt marshes and seagrass that are home to larval and juvenile game fish.

“We know now that climate change has the very real potential to affect fish and wildlife resources and activities that hunters and angers hold dear … and on a landscape level scale that is incomparable in modern times,” warned Matt Hogan, executive director of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Friday, April 11, 2008  Salt Lake City
Planes aid in success of reseeding program
Published: Thursday, April 10, 2008 12:08 a.m. MDT

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Last year, wildlife biologists used an old-fashioned but innovative approach to restoring habitat for mule deer and other wildlife at the Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area by teaming cattle with airplanes.
Two seasons of intensive grazing by cattle had removed much of the cheatgrass on the south-facing slopes of Blacksmith Fork Canyon. Conditions were ideal for reseeding the area with plants that are perfect for the wildlife.

The reseeding effort was part of a long-range Division of Wildlife Resources’ plan to restore critical big game winter habitats at Hardware Ranch, which is 15 miles east of Hyrum.

Park of the plan involved airplanes dropping nearly $30,000 worth of seed on the ground.

The seed mixture the planes dropped was a special blend of forbs and shrubs. The plants are designed to give wildlife the nutrition and energy they need to survive harsh winters. These plants are also designed to help wildlife transition from their winter diet to spring and summer diets.

Because of the terrain, using heavy equipment to resort hillsides was impossible.

Instead, livestock were put into the area to graze. This was followed up by reseeding the mountainside by airplane.

Utah’s 805 wildland fires have scorched more than 689,495 acres as of Aug. 6, according to the Boise, Idaho-based National Interagency Fire Center.

In an attempt to help Mother Nature rehabilitate the landscape wildlife depend on for food, shelter and protection, local, state and federal officials will plow charred soils and begin reseeding the area by hand and aircraft.

The Bureau of Land Management requested $30 million in seed to help rehabilitate federal property damaged by the Milford Flat fire. State officials will spend about $3 million on reseeding efforts, said Tyler Thompson, a statewide habitat conservation coordinator for DWR. “The challenge will be getting enough seed,” he said. “The next biggest hurdle is going to be the vast size of the burned area, and getting that seed on the ground.”

When crews begin seeding this fall, they will use a chemical called “Plateau” to target the highly flammable cheatgrass, an invasive species that fuels wildfires.

Habitat charred by big wildfires

* Milford Flat: More than 363,052 acres
* Salt Creek: 25,456 acres
* Neola North: More than 44,000 acres

By Nathan C. Gonzalez

DWR Planting Bitterbrush on Wildlife Winter Range
Apr 10, 2008 by Eric Ray

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Division is Asking for Help From Volunteers
(KCPW News) This winter’s heavy snowfall isn’t just causing problems for humans, it’s also making life difficult for some of the state’s wildlife. The Division of Wildlife Resources is trying to make living through future winters easier for animals by planting bitterbrush on winter range areas.
“Bitterbrush are an extremely important winter food for big game animals, especially deer, because deer have a harder time getting to the food supply when the snows are particularly deep like they were this year,” says Phil Douglass, Conservation Outreach Manager for the DWR’s Northern Region. “The accessibility that bitterbrush provides is really important.”

Douglass says about 40 volunteers helped plant 2,000 bitterbrush plants at the Millville Face Wildlife Management Area near Hyrum last weekend. There are still 8,000 more to go. While the DWR consistently works statewide to improve habitat for wildlife, Douglass says the plants are particularly important for the Cache deer herd.

“To give an example, the Blacksmith Fork Canyon has a carrying capacity of about 3,000 mule deer. In the past 10 years, that has declined to about 1,000. So we’re 30% of what we could be. A lot of that has been attributed to habitat degradation,” says Douglass.

Mature bitterbrush plants are being used for this project adds Douglass. That will give the plants a year to take root and therefore they’ll be less susceptible to ruin by animals. Another round of planting is set for Saturday at the Millville Face WMA.

Volunteer information:

According to Darren DeBloois, DWR Wildlife Biologist, volunteer planting will take place Saturday, April 12th at 8am. DeBloois recommends volunteers gather at the north end of the Millville Face WMA at the mouth of the canyon in Cache Valley.

For other volunteer dates, please call Jodie Andersen at (435) 791-8589.