Selkirk Caribou Herd officially declared extinct

[Bob33]

This herd has been struggling for quite awhile. They just weren’t long for the world. I don’t see how you could pit this as wolves vs caribou. Predation was the final straw but with consitantly low numbers in the herd it was just a matter of time before something got them. I don’t think that they have numbered over 50 in this century.

Historically, within the lower 48 states, woodland caribou were once distributed from central Washington State to Glacier National Park in Montana and south to Salmon River. Additionally caribou were found within the Great Lake States and New England States such as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It is not know how many caribou were found within what are now the lower 48 states, but it is likely the numbers were in the thousands.

Today, woodland caribou are found in only one location south of Canada, which are the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. This small population, which historically numbered in the hundreds of caribou, has been reduced to less than 15 animals. The habitat for this small population is contiguous with adjacent British Columbia and the animals move freely across the international border.

http://scawild.org/south-selkirk-mountain-caribou/

Don't forget the rest of the article.

"The main threats to mountain caribou are habitat loss, predation, habitat fragmentation and degradation. Logging has removed many critical old growth and mature forests that caribou depend on and replaced them with younger early successional forests. These early successional forests attract moose, deer and elk, as well as their predators such as mountain lions, which may incidentally prey on the caribou. Before their habitat was fragmented, caribou largely avoided predation through their unique seasonal movements and by distributing themselves throughout extensive old-growth forests."

And "Within the United States, woodland caribou were listed as an endangered species in 1984,"  Well before wolf recovery or re-introduction. Whatever you want to call it.

Yes they were designated as endangered in 1984.

Yet in spite of that wolves were introduced and allowed unfettered expansion into their last remaining habitat. Wolves were a major contributing factor putting the nail in their coffin as complete extirpation from the United States occurred.

Orwell was right: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

[andrew_in_idaho]

Idaho just thinned out the wolves in the Lolo to protect the elk herd there also. The article says the area had a herd of 10000 several years ago and now it's down to 1900 so they shot some wolves to help them out. In Washington we do the opposite...

https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/idaho-wolves-killed-to-help-struggling-elk-herd#gs.2rttut

They’ve done the same in the Frank Church. The problem in the Lolo unfortunately isn’t wolves, it’s just plain reduced carrying capacity, the habitat cannot handle the number of elk it once did due to the lack of forest management.


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[LDennis24]

https://amp.freep.com/amp/3262515002

Another great story

[ribka]

You can thank Mitch Friedman who now runs conservation NW,who used to spike trees , and shut down logging in the west.

Notice all the huge forest fires the past two decades because logging was shut down by eco terrorists?

You know who to thank for that

Idaho just thinned out the wolves in the Lolo to protect the elk herd there also. The article says the area had a herd of 10000 several years ago and now it's down to 1900 so they shot some wolves to help them out. In Washington we do the opposite...

https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/idaho-wolves-killed-to-help-struggling-elk-herd#gs.2rttut

They’ve done the same in the Frank Church. The problem in the Lolo unfortunately isn’t wolves, it’s just plain reduced carrying capacity, the habitat cannot handle the number of elk it once did due to the lack of forest management.


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[ribka]

I see a lot of complaining, but does anyone do anything about it???

You mean like shoot wolves to save the almost extinct caribou and then have Conservation NW offer a $10,000 reward for your prosecution

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.king5.com/amp/article%3fsection=tech&subsection=science&topic=environment&headline=two-wolves-shot-dead-in-eastern-washington&contentId=281-498285305

Zero dollars from CNW for the caribou though

[woodswalker]

Funny, no lawsuits.  It's almost like it's not really about the animals and science with some groups.

Its NOT..its about fund raising.  Pure and simple.

[woodswalker]

This whole thing just pisses me off. Just goes to show its not about the animals. These crazy libs have a larger agenda with the Wolves.

Just like gun control, it's not about guns, it's about control

[WAcoyotehunter]

This herd has been struggling for quite awhile. They just weren’t long for the world. I don’t see how you could pit this as wolves vs caribou. Predation was the final straw but with consitantly low numbers in the herd it was just a matter of time before something got them. I don’t think that they have numbered over 50 in this century.

Historically, within the lower 48 states, woodland caribou were once distributed from central Washington State to Glacier National Park in Montana and south to Salmon River. Additionally caribou were found within the Great Lake States and New England States such as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It is not know how many caribou were found within what are now the lower 48 states, but it is likely the numbers were in the thousands.

Today, woodland caribou are found in only one location south of Canada, which are the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. This small population, which historically numbered in the hundreds of caribou, has been reduced to less than 15 animals. The habitat for this small population is contiguous with adjacent British Columbia and the animals move freely across the international border.

http://scawild.org/south-selkirk-mountain-caribou/

Don't forget the rest of the article.

"The main threats to mountain caribou are habitat loss, predation, habitat fragmentation and degradation. Logging has removed many critical old growth and mature forests that caribou depend on and replaced them with younger early successional forests. These early successional forests attract moose, deer and elk, as well as their predators such as mountain lions, which may incidentally prey on the caribou. Before their habitat was fragmented, caribou largely avoided predation through their unique seasonal movements and by distributing themselves throughout extensive old-growth forests."

And "Within the United States, woodland caribou were listed as an endangered species in 1984,"  Well before wolf recovery or re-introduction. Whatever you want to call it.

The caribou project has been incredibly frustrating.  Agencies and NGO's did virtually nothing to save the herd, despite warning signs as far back as 2009.  States, Feds, and NGO's literally watched the herd dwindle and spent more time meeting and discussing it than anyone did on "real" on the ground solutions.  By the time the wolf cull went into effect it was too late. 
Further, social tolerance of endangered species has decreased so much that people now cheer against species recovery.  We even see that on this forum, a place that should be a bastion of conservation minded folks.  Instead, people have tended towards the fringes and real conservation outcomes are suffering.  Hopefully we can get back towards the middle. 
If I was to do a "lesson's learned" discussion on this project, it would start with 1) avoiding regulatory capture  2) increasing social tolerance to conservation efforts and 3) finding compromise between the fringe groups

It's a matter of values.  In this case logging, other species (wolves, lions, moose and elk) and winter recreation were more important than caribou.  We could have saved them in 2009, but it would have taken a shift in social values and some funding.  Caribou were just a victim of circumstances.

[Wunderlich33]

 

[wolfbait]

This herd has been struggling for quite awhile. They just weren’t long for the world. I don’t see how you could pit this as wolves vs caribou. Predation was the final straw but with consitantly low numbers in the herd it was just a matter of time before something got them. I don’t think that they have numbered over 50 in this century.

Historically, within the lower 48 states, woodland caribou were once distributed from central Washington State to Glacier National Park in Montana and south to Salmon River. Additionally caribou were found within the Great Lake States and New England States such as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It is not know how many caribou were found within what are now the lower 48 states, but it is likely the numbers were in the thousands.

Today, woodland caribou are found in only one location south of Canada, which are the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. This small population, which historically numbered in the hundreds of caribou, has been reduced to less than 15 animals. The habitat for this small population is contiguous with adjacent British Columbia and the animals move freely across the international border.

http://scawild.org/south-selkirk-mountain-caribou/

Don't forget the rest of the article.

"The main threats to mountain caribou are habitat loss, predation, habitat fragmentation and degradation. Logging has removed many critical old growth and mature forests that caribou depend on and replaced them with younger early successional forests. These early successional forests attract moose, deer and elk, as well as their predators such as mountain lions, which may incidentally prey on the caribou. Before their habitat was fragmented, caribou largely avoided predation through their unique seasonal movements and by distributing themselves throughout extensive old-growth forests."

And "Within the United States, woodland caribou were listed as an endangered species in 1984,"  Well before wolf recovery or re-introduction. Whatever you want to call it.

The caribou project has been incredibly frustrating.  Agencies and NGO's did virtually nothing to save the herd, despite warning signs as far back as 2009.  States, Feds, and NGO's literally watched the herd dwindle and spent more time meeting and discussing it than anyone did on "real" on the ground solutions.  By the time the wolf cull went into effect it was too late. 
Further, social tolerance of endangered species has decreased so much that people now cheer against species recovery.  We even see that on this forum, a place that should be a bastion of conservation minded folks.  Instead, people have tended towards the fringes and real conservation outcomes are suffering.  Hopefully we can get back towards the middle. 
If I was to do a "lesson's learned" discussion on this project, it would start with 1) avoiding regulatory capture  2) increasing social tolerance to conservation efforts and 3) finding compromise between the fringe groups

It's a matter of values.  In this case logging, other species (wolves, lions, moose and elk) and winter recreation were more important than caribou.  We could have saved them in 2009, but it would have taken a shift in social values and some funding.  Caribou were just a victim of circumstances.

Actually the USFWS, Fake environmental groups and WDFW etc. have abused the ESA by designating wolves endangered and then protecting them above all else. Remember the the USFWS started the propaganda lies in the 1960's, brain washed several generations.

 The Mountain Caribou should have had top priority protection, but it doesn't fit into their agenda of ending hunting,  plus protecting the mountain Caribou would put their prize fake endangered wolves in the crosshairs

Read back in the history of the ESA and you will see that the USFWS etc. have abused the heck out of it pretty much since it was adapted. The ESA has been a tool used by Agencies and NGO's to shut down huge tracts of land, stop mine, farming etc. all in the name of protecting a bogus critter that they "claim" is endangered, mean while back in reality there is the Mountain Caribou....

Remember the USFWS and Fake environmental groups illegaly brought wolves into the lower 48 that didn't belong here, they dumped them on top of native wolves, which was illegal, they broke the Lacy Act, the USFWS and Fake environmentalists lied from the beginning and they are still lying to you today.

[Special T]

I see a lot of complaining, but does anyone do anything about it???

You mean like shoot wolves to save the almost extinct caribou and then have Conservation NW offer a $10,000 reward for your prosecution

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.king5.com/amp/article%3fsection=tech&subsection=science&topic=environment&headline=two-wolves-shot-dead-in-eastern-washington&contentId=281-498285305

Zero dollars from CNW for the caribou though

That was a hollow offer. They know that folks in the NE were unlikely to snitch even if they  knew something.

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[idaho guy]

I think environmental groups latched onto the mountain caribou early as an endangered species they could use to shut down huge parts of north Idaho to any forest management or use. Similar to what they did with the spotted owl.I don’t really know but always felt we were way on the fringe of their range. The caribou quit working for their current narrative and fund raising which really focuses on protecting predators and reintroducing them wether they are native or not. Problem is predators were part of the problem and definitely couldn’t be culled in Washington effectively. Again the environmental groups don’t care about the wildlife just their agenda and the money they make off it. This is sad I always thought if we could have been really aggressive helping with recovery in Canada and also aggressively managing predators on our side the caribou had a good chance but never believed we would have a large resident population. It’s amazing all the propaganda I see for wolves and even recent pushes to end “trophy” hunting of lions in the us. I used to think groups that pushed this stuff were just misinformed and had very little experience in the woods. As I see the new agenda play out it’s obviously about ending hunting and money. Why don’t environmental groups get sued and held accountable? I really want to know and would be part of it I hate lawsuits and have never been involved in one but would if someone knows how to sue them for forest mismanagement to start, move on to mismanagement of predators introducing non native species and on and on

[ribka]

Caribou were a victim of dangerous radical left wing anti hunting , pro predator groups like howling for wolves , Sierra club and conservation NW if were going to be completely truthful here.

This herd has been struggling for quite awhile. They just weren’t long for the world. I don’t see how you could pit this as wolves vs caribou. Predation was the final straw but with consitantly low numbers in the herd it was just a matter of time before something got them. I don’t think that they have numbered over 50 in this century.

Historically, within the lower 48 states, woodland caribou were once distributed from central Washington State to Glacier National Park in Montana and south to Salmon River. Additionally caribou were found within the Great Lake States and New England States such as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It is not know how many caribou were found within what are now the lower 48 states, but it is likely the numbers were in the thousands.

Today, woodland caribou are found in only one location south of Canada, which are the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. This small population, which historically numbered in the hundreds of caribou, has been reduced to less than 15 animals. The habitat for this small population is contiguous with adjacent British Columbia and the animals move freely across the international border.

http://scawild.org/south-selkirk-mountain-caribou/

Don't forget the rest of the article.

"The main threats to mountain caribou are habitat loss, predation, habitat fragmentation and degradation. Logging has removed many critical old growth and mature forests that caribou depend on and replaced them with younger early successional forests. These early successional forests attract moose, deer and elk, as well as their predators such as mountain lions, which may incidentally prey on the caribou. Before their habitat was fragmented, caribou largely avoided predation through their unique seasonal movements and by distributing themselves throughout extensive old-growth forests."

And "Within the United States, woodland caribou were listed as an endangered species in 1984,"  Well before wolf recovery or re-introduction. Whatever you want to call it.

The caribou project has been incredibly frustrating.  Agencies and NGO's did virtually nothing to save the herd, despite warning signs as far back as 2009.  States, Feds, and NGO's literally watched the herd dwindle and spent more time meeting and discussing it than anyone did on "real" on the ground solutions.  By the time the wolf cull went into effect it was too late. 
Further, social tolerance of endangered species has decreased so much that people now cheer against species recovery.  We even see that on this forum, a place that should be a bastion of conservation minded folks.  Instead, people have tended towards the fringes and real conservation outcomes are suffering.  Hopefully we can get back towards the middle. 
If I was to do a "lesson's learned" discussion on this project, it would start with 1) avoiding regulatory capture  2) increasing social tolerance to conservation efforts and 3) finding compromise between the fringe groups

It's a matter of values.  In this case logging, other species (wolves, lions, moose and elk) and winter recreation were more important than caribou.  We could have saved them in 2009, but it would have taken a shift in social values and some funding.  Caribou were just a victim of circumstances.

[Special T]

The ESA was weaponized to fight battles. Folks shouldn't be surprised that the cries for action are falling on deaf ears. Do i wish Caribou still existed in WA? You bet I do. I do believe that we will see more sportsmen fight those that have held the ESA cudgel than whatever species is held up next. It shouldn't be a surprise that the physics of Newtons 3d law  also applies to the psyche of individuals or groups of people.

[ribka]

This herd has been struggling for quite awhile. They just weren’t long for the world. I don’t see how you could pit this as wolves vs caribou. Predation was the final straw but with consitantly low numbers in the herd it was just a matter of time before something got them. I don’t think that they have numbered over 50 in this century.

Historically, within the lower 48 states, woodland caribou were once distributed from central Washington State to Glacier National Park in Montana and south to Salmon River. Additionally caribou were found within the Great Lake States and New England States such as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It is not know how many caribou were found within what are now the lower 48 states, but it is likely the numbers were in the thousands.

Today, woodland caribou are found in only one location south of Canada, which are the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. This small population, which historically numbered in the hundreds of caribou, has been reduced to less than 15 animals. The habitat for this small population is contiguous with adjacent British Columbia and the animals move freely across the international border.

http://scawild.org/south-selkirk-mountain-caribou/

Don't forget the rest of the article.

"The main threats to mountain caribou are habitat loss, predation, habitat fragmentation and degradation. Logging has removed many critical old growth and mature forests that caribou depend on and replaced them with younger early successional forests. These early successional forests attract moose, deer and elk, as well as their predators such as mountain lions, which may incidentally prey on the caribou. Before their habitat was fragmented, caribou largely avoided predation through their unique seasonal movements and by distributing themselves throughout extensive old-growth forests."

And "Within the United States, woodland caribou were listed as an endangered species in 1984,"  Well before wolf recovery or re-introduction. Whatever you want to call it.

The caribou project has been incredibly frustrating.  Agencies and NGO's did virtually nothing to save the herd, despite warning signs as far back as 2009.  States, Feds, and NGO's literally watched the herd dwindle and spent more time meeting and discussing it than anyone did on "real" on the ground solutions.  By the time the wolf cull went into effect it was too late. 
Further, social tolerance of endangered species has decreased so much that people now cheer against species recovery.  We even see that on this forum, a place that should be a bastion of conservation minded folks.  Instead, people have tended towards the fringes and real conservation outcomes are suffering.  Hopefully we can get back towards the middle. 
If I was to do a "lesson's learned" discussion on this project, it would start with 1) avoiding regulatory capture  2) increasing social tolerance to conservation efforts and 3) finding compromise between the fringe groups

It's a matter of values.  In this case logging, other species (wolves, lions, moose and elk) and winter recreation were more important than caribou.  We could have saved them in 2009, but it would have taken a shift in social values and some funding.  Caribou were just a victim of circumstances.