Hi Ken,

Although I don't agree with you, and I am certainly passionately opposed
to the culling of predators on Vancouver Island to "save" the Vancouver
Island Marmot, I also would hate to see you "flamed" for your position.
There is no clear answer as to how we should deal with situations like this.
However, there are a few important details that should be kept in mind in
this particular scenario. First, the Vancouver Island Marmot is only one of
a whole group of rare/endangered/extirpated animals that inhabit(ed) the
higher elavations of Vancouver Island. It would appear that the topography
of Vancouver Island, coupled with a warming climate, has left very few
linkages between sub-alpine and alpine habitas. Thus, although it may only
be one kilometer from one mountaintop to the next as the Golden Eagle flies,
it might be a 12 hour walk through unsuitable habitat for an amourous marmot
looking to breed outside of its own family. The sad fact is that most of the
available habitat for Vancouver Island Marmots was unoccupied before there
was any significant habitat alterations by humans. And when humans did begin
mowing down the forests surrounding these alpine "islands", things got worse
in a hurry. The already tiny population of Vancouver Island Marmots crashed,
and remains too low to sustain itself today. What I'm trying to get at here,
is that these critters were likely doomed by chance already, and it is the
height of arrogance to think that we can stem their demise. We can probably
successfully breed thousands and thousands of Vancouver Island Marmots in
captivity, but where will we put them? The problem that caused their decline
in the first place cannot be solved, no matter how much funding is
available. But rather than admit this, and shed a tear for what really is a
beautiful little animal, the plan is to continue culling every predator that
exists in the central Vancouver Island area. Bruce Whittingdon touched on
this point already. The plan is not just to shoot Golden Eagles, it is also
to eradicate cougars and wolves. And this is not to be acheived by Ministry
of Water Land and Air Protection personell either. This is an all out carte
blanche ticket for private hunters to exterminate predators in general, by
guns, traps and poison. And the genesis for this plan has nothing to do with
endangered Vancouver Island Marmots. It has to do with satisfying the
hunting lobby in BC that has been screaming for a predator cull for years,
because black-tailed deer numbers have dropped, largely as a result of poor
forestry practices. But, back to the Golden Eagles. The British Columbia
Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection is now responsible for killing
probably one third of the entire breeding population of Golden Eagles on
Vancouver Island in the last three years to "protect" a creature that cannot
be saved. As a birder, this upsets me. As a professional wildlife consultant
and as a taxpayer, I find this unforgiveable.
all the best,
Guy L. Monty
Parksville, BC

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken Boettger" <solowildlander at hotmail.com>
To: <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 11:29 AM
Subject: Goldens in Canada


How sensitive were these marmots? Was this the last population?

I hate to say this, because I know I will not be well liked. But I love all
wild (native) animals and don't really have a preference of birds over
mammals. And some of you will not like my comments below. But I also agree
with the sentiments addressed here. There should have been some other means
attempted before killing the golden eagles. Here is one that might have
worked, deck out some fake marmots with some kind of device that shocks or
scares the hell out of the eagles. Run them around out there for awhile
before release of the real marmots and teach the ealges a lesson. Maybe
something as simple as a one of the electric remote model/toy 4x4's. When
you see the eagles, "start your engines". You might even get some of the
model 4x4 organizations to help. Keep that program going until the marmots
are established and reproducing well. Once they are going well, then remove
the models and let things drift back to normal predator and prey
relationship.

Another is to bring in some neutered marmots of another species. Put them
out in those fields. They will eventually die of old age. Place the real
marmots in cages with underground chambers so they can witness the other
marmots reacting to the eagles. And maybe even set up those cages so the
eagles can come down and scare the blazes out of those caged ones a few
times. Let them get a real feel for the idea.

But, and here is where I will likely get flamed, with that said, if all else
fails, and assuming the marmots are on the endangered species list in
Canada, I have to vote for the underdog.

Sorry, that was a terrible joke. :)

All of these alternatives assume people are willing to step in and fund the
effort. If not, then you really only have one or two alternatives. The ones
above become invalid because there are literally no funds to make it happen.
But they should have at least put such alternatives forward and asked the
people for help. I am assuming they did that? Yes, no?

In any event, I might make the same choice if the marmots were truly in
peril. As long as the eagle population is doing well, the eagles will come
back, the marmots will be lost forever. And so there would be an order of
precedence here.

I am not chastising anyone and maybe this is a poor example. I worked at the
Children's Hospital in Denver for many years. Consider the child on the
street with fatal wounds from a gang. Now the intial response to the scene
is to save that child (assuming the gang has moved on). Get him or her to
the hospital. The gang is the real problem but you now have a more pressing
short term situation on your hand. The police and others are going to
stablize the situation at the scene and get that kid to the hospital before
going after that gang. Police will generally not immediately attempt the
gang but will plan and come up with a stratigic plan (at a later date) that
puts conditions in their favor. But in the immediate interim, you put forth
every effort to stabilize the child and save his life. The marmots may be at
this critical point. The analogy is true with the social problem up in
Canada in regards to wildlife... and right here in America too.

All of this assumes the marmots are truly in peril. I do not know if that is
true, but if so, sometimes REALLY hard choices have to be made in emergency
situations. I think we all have been there when we have risked our lives to
save someone. In essence, and I hate to suggest anthropomorphism here, I
think the eagles would be willing to risk their lives too if all other else
failed.

Birds are people too... and some of us are soldiers.

I do not know enough about the situation in Canada to say if they were right
or wrong. All alternatives should have been attempted before resorting to
the removal of the eagles. In any event, I hope my comments might give some
suggestions, thought or understanding on how to address the situation up
there.

Ken
mailto:ken at wildlanders.com
Ellensburg, WA

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