Tom:

>This is particularly significant in that the array of management philosophies
>and schemes run the gamut from 'kill all the vermin you can' to
>much more conservative regulations such as Washington with its
>very restrictive permit lottery system. The explanations for
>this increase are just as diverse, which might lead some into
>thinking that the real reasons (if they exist) are rather
>complex.

This is fascinating. I can think of a ton of reasons that might lie
behind the phenomena, though of course I don't claim any particular
insight into it! And no data, hell, I program computers and band
hawks...

Anyway, even in areas where "kill all the vermin you can" is the
status quos, there are other factors at work. Ranching has become
increasingly automated and centralized and industrialized, meaning
a lot fewer cowboys are herdin' cows nowadays. Many ranch hands are
relatively unskilled in traditional skills which would include
horsemanship and skill with firearms. Combine these factors, and
the effectiveness of the "kill 'em all" ethic might well have dropped.

Last year (spring '95), three full-time hands were running Roaring
Springs in the Catlow Valley of SE Oregon (about 1/2 the size of the
Malheur NWR). This compares to about 20, 10-15 years earlier.

It is also true that to a certain degree, modern attitudes towards
predators has invaded the rural, as well as urban, west. Don't get
too excited, the change is perhaps on the scale of 100% "exterminate
them" changing to 1/4 or so who love having nearby but will still shoot
them if they maraude their livestock. Changes such as this, though, do
impact morality rates.

So, yeah, Tom, sorting this out in such areas will be tough.

How does the rate of population growth compare, though? Cougar
in Oregon were nearly extripated when the vermin vs. game change
came through, and it seems difficult to disbelieve that the
correlation was caused by the change in status...has the growth
in states which didn't shift status matched this, or are we
speaking of states (Montana, perhaps?) where cougar populations
were never decimated to the extent they were here?


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, at http://www.xxxpdx.com/~dhogaza