THE ARGUMENT has recently been made that hunters never use the words conservation and ecology, suggesting outdoorsmen and women don't really care about Mother Earth.
I wonder if the fellow who said this actually spends much time in the woods or on the waters, at least what's left of open land in our state. Talk to farmers and you'll soon know how sacred they hold the ground. The very people this person seeks to chastise have forever spearheaded the need for wildlife conservation and sound ecological practices.
Theodore Roosevelt, a hunter, established many national parks during his tenure. Fishermen and hunters wish to ensure all species are around to enjoy for all generations. Farmers seek to ensure the land they hold sacred remains tilled, sown and harvested for all time.
Take a look around and you'll see that for the past 30 plus years our Garden State (NJ) has been growing residential developments best. Loss of suitable hunting land and construction practices combined with an inordinate number of either non- or anti-hunters have produced a dramatic increase of whitetail deer. This beautiful native species was nearly wiped out in New Jersey by the end of the 19th century.
The majority of the human population viewed deer as pests, destroying crops and gardens. Only through the foresight and dedication of a small percentage of sportsmen was the species brought back from the brink. Out of this was born the NJ Fish and Game Council to protect wildlife and create a balance between ecology and economy.
DUE TO A REVERSAL of demographics, the pendulum now swings opposite. Deer are once again viewed as a nuisance by those who've had their vehicles damaged, insurance companies paying for repairs and by law enforcement officials who deal with the aftermath of such collisions.
Geese, now yearlong residents, are overtaking parks and ballfields and deer are stripping expensive landscaping. The few farmers left have had their primary source of income devastated by these wonderful creatures, which I love and enjoy watching, along with many others.
Fifty years ago, deer only existed in small pockets of hardwoods in Marlton, Medford and Mount Laurel, NJ. There weren't sufficient areas of cover to support them on the working farmland of the time. Farm families went to the Pinelands to hunt deer.
However, as construction grew and farming decreased, the perfect mix of food, cover, water and suitable habitat allowed whitetail populations to explode. This phenomenon was occurring statewide as the Division of Fish and Wildlife scrambled to stem the tide.
Our human population also exploded and changed from stewards of the rural land to a citified public who viewed farmers and outdoors folk as uneducated, backward, backwoods fools who knew nothing. In Princeton Township, Mercer County, NJ, the new population decided to put an end to hunting. Those who wish to do the same should instead do some unbiased research to see the devastating results of Princeton's decision. Chances are none of you will, as it's far too easy to follow blind guides than educate yourselves to truth.
In the meantime, show enough common-sense and leave the stewardship of land, fish and wildlife to the dedicated, realistic and educated men and women of our state who should make up the New Jersey Fish and Game Council--farmers, fishermen and hunters.--Courier-Post
FOR THE PAST several months, I've been reading opinions regarding proposed changes to the New Jersey Fish and Game Council. These pro and con letters, mostly against hunting, are in reference to allowing nonhunters, fishermen and farmers to sit on the Fish and Game Council.
Please tell me what sense this makes? If you required surgery, would you consult your banker for a second opinion? Given the high costs of insurance and medical care you may need to, but I would rather seek advice from a medical specialist.
The argument has recently been made that hunters never use the words conservation and ecology, suggesting outdoorsmen and women don't really care about Mother Earth. I wonder if the fellow who said this actually spends much time in the woods or on the waters, at least what's left of open land in our state. Talk to farmers and you'll soon know how sacred they hold the ground. The very people this person seeks to chastise have forever spearheaded the need for wildlife conservation and sound ecological practices.
Theodore Roosevelt, a hunter, established many national parks during his tenure. Fishermen and hunters wish to ensure all species are around to enjoy for all generations. Farmers seek to ensure the land they hold sacred remains tilled, sown and harvested for all time.
Take a look around and you'll see that for the past 30 plus years our Garden State has been growing residential developments best. Loss of suitable hunting land and construction practices combined with an inordinate number of either non- or anti-hunters have produced a dramatic increase of whitetail deer. This beautiful native species was nearly wiped out in New Jersey by the end of the 19th century.
The majority of the human population viewed deer as pests, destroying crops and gardens. Only through the foresight and dedication of a small percentage of sportsmen was the species brought back from the brink. Out of this was born the Fish and Game Council to protect wildlife and create a balance between ecology and economy.
Due to a reversal of demographics, the pendulum now swings opposite. Deer are once again viewed as a nuisance by those who've had their vehicles damaged, insurance companies paying for repairs and by law enforcement officials who deal with the aftermath of such collisions.
Geese, now yearlong residents, are overtaking parks and ballfields and deer are stripping expensive landscaping. The few farmers left have had their primary source of income devastated by these wonderful creatures, which I love and enjoy watching, along with many others.
Fifty years ago, deer only existed in small pockets of hardwoods in Marlton, Medford and Mount Laurel. There weren't sufficient areas of cover to support them on the working farmland of the time. Farm families went to the Pinelands to hunt deer.
However, as construction grew and farming decreased, the perfect mix of food, cover, water and suitable habitat allowed whitetail populations to explode. This phenomenon was occurring statewide as the Division of Fish and Wildlife scrambled to stem the tide.
Our human population also exploded and changed from stewards of the rural land to a citified public who viewed farmers and outdoors folk as uneducated, backward, backwoods fools who knew nothing. In Princeton Township, Mercer County, the new population decided to put an end to hunting. Those who wish to do the same should instead do some unbiased research to see the devastating results of Princeton's decision. Chances are none of you will, as it's far too easy to follow blind guides than educate yourselves to truth.
In the meantime, show enough common-sense and leave the stewardship of land, fish and wildlife to the dedicated, realistic and educated men and women of our state who should make up the New Jersey Fish and Game Council -- farmers, fishermen and hunters.
DEAR DOC: I was disappointed in your answer to J.C. from Miami in response to the question about how to treat his dog for arthritis. You did not mention acupuncture as a treatment he might try.
I had a dog that developed arthritis in his knees when he got older. My vet put him on Rimadyl for the pain. I did not like what the vet told me or what I read about this medication on the Internet, so I started taking my dog to a holistic vet for acupuncture. It worked beautifully. I was able to get my dog almost entirely off the Rimadyl.
For the last few years of his life, I was taking my dog for an acupuncture treatment every three months. Occasionally, between treatments, he would look as if he just didn’t feel well. At these times, I would give him Rimadyl for a day or two and he would then be fine until his next acupuncture treatment. Please tell your readers that acupuncture is a valid treatment for pets in pain. — N.S., Fairfax Station, VA
DOC SAYS: I am a strong advocate of acupuncture for a variety of conditions in cats, dogs, humans and other animals. The analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of repeated treatments are, as you confirm, bordering on the miraculous. Acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy, coupled with massage and various herbal and nutraceutical supplements can help many patients suffering from chronic arthritis.
"THANK YOU for coming up with the National Master Naturalist course. I like that fact that you have the workbook. It helps me plan what I should do next on my own property. I really enjoyed the DVDs. I used the Insect DVD in my Master Gardener entomology class last fall. (I was asked to teach it last year and the DVD fit right in. I also present a segment on backyard habitats that the coordinator has added to the course.) Thanks again for having this course available--it's a great resource and I recommend it whenever I can.
Jan Beglinger Certified WindStar National Master Naturalist Certified WindStar Wildlife Habitat Naturalist Elba, NY
The 11th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up this Friday through Monday, February 15-18. There seems to be a lot of “buzz” about it this year, both in the media and among groups that are planning special events around the count. We're hoping to top last year’s record-breaking event where participants submitted more than 81,000 checklists!
It’s a chance to do some bird-counting, even though the nesting season is still some weeks away. Just watch for 15 minutes or more during one or more days of the count, and enter the highest number of each species seen at any one time on the GBBC site: www.birdcount.org. NestWatchers in northern states may see greater numbers of winter finches during this irruption year. We’re always wondering what new states and provinces will report the rapidly-expanding Eurasian Collared-Dove or what birds may be lingering farther north than their typical ranges.
We hope you’ll reach out to your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers by forwarding this email to them or personally inviting them to “Count for Fun, Count for the Future!” in the 2008 Great Backyard Bird Count.
Tina Phillips Project Leader The Birdhouse Network & NestWatch Cornell Lab of Ornithology Ithaca, NY
IF YOU ENJOY feeding and watching backyard birds, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a great way to spend a weekend. Sponsored by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, the 11th annual event, Feb. 14-17, is a continent-wide research project.
It's a great way to dabble in citizen science.
Begun in 1998, the GBBC enlists birders of all skill levels in this effort to keep common birds common. Even if you can identify only cardinals and Blue Jays, you can make a valuable contribution. Last year these "citizen scientists" turned in a record 81,203 checklists reporting a total of 613 species consisting of 11,082,387 individual birds.
"The GBBC is a great way to engage friends, family and children in observing nature in their own backyard, where they will discover that the outdoors is full of color, behavior, flight, sounds, and mystery," says Janis Dickinson, director of citizen science at the Cornell lab.
What began as an exercise in backyard birdwatching 11 years ago has morphed into true science.
"There has never been a more detailed snapshot of continental bird-distribution profile in history," says John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Imagine scientists 250 years from now being able to compare these data with their own."
The GBBC can help answer basic questions such as: How does winter's snow and cold temperatures influence bird populations? Where are the winter finches and other irruptive species? Is global climate change affecting winter bird populations?
To participate in the GBBC, log on to the GBBC Web site and follow the instructions. To ensure birds are not counted more than once, counters simply tally the highest number of each bird species seen at one time and keep track of the time spent counting. The time invested can be as little as 15 minutes. To simplify the process, you can click on your state for a checklist of the most frequently reported birds in your area. There is no fee required.
Results are updated hourly in the form of animated maps and colorful graphs for all to view. This near-instant feedback allows participants to see almost immediately how their observations fit into the continental perspective. Results from previous years' GBBCs are also available online.
Because the GBBC reports its results in real time, scientists can quickly detect interesting relationships between weather and bird movements. For example, in some winters robins have been reported farther north than usual. Turns out snow cover was the key. Where snow cover was scant, robins occurred farther north than expected. Perhaps heavy snow makes food difficult to find and drives robins south.
The GBBC also helps track the movements of Northern Finches. Evening Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins, for example, move southward in great numbers some winters. Lab director Fitzpatrick attributes this to a lack of food on what are typically the birds' northernmost year-round ranges.
Participants can invest as little or as much time as they choose. Tonya Daft of Mannington, WV, for example, will be counting for the first time this year, but she has recruited 23 helpers from the youth-oriented Buffalo Creek Dream Makers Conservation Club. She is also encouraging participation by students at the Barrickville Elementary and Middle School.
"I think it's important that kids get involved with conservation projects at an early age," she says.
Janet Bronder of Pittsburgh would no doubt agree. She started feeding birds when her children, now 24 and 17, were young. In November, she opened a backyard bird store, the Songbird Sanctuary in Blawnox, PA and she's already recruiting customers to participate in this year's GBBC.
"It's a great way for an entire family to spend the weekend," she said.
Elizabeth Alakszay of West Chester, PA has been counting for the GBBC since its second year.
"I do it because it's a great way to express my concern for the environment and wild bird populations," she explains. "I'll spend about 16 hours over the entire weekend and visit a variety of habitats beyond my backyard."
Pat Leonard, a spokesperson for the Cornell lab, measures GBBC success in a variety of ways.
"We are seeing an increase in the number of local events based on the GBBC, particularly by youth and school groups," Leonard said. "And last year, we received more than 4,000 photographs from participants, many of surprising quality. So this year, we're asking counters to videotape their best birds and post them on YouTube."
In addition to results, the GBBC Web site includes a variety of other useful birding information including vocabulary, photos, vocalizations and birdwatching and bird-feeding tips. It's a valuable resource for all birders, especially students.
GBBC backers say the event presents an opportunity for individuals, families, schools and community groups to contribute to a better understanding of wild birds.
For more information about the GBBC or the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, contact the lab at 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, www.birdcount.org, or call 800-843-2473.
WE LOOKED out our kitchen window one recent afternoon and counted 32 elk on our neighbor’s property here in town. Never before have we seen a single elk there, much less 32 of them. No doubt all of us in Craig would agree that there are more animals here than we’ve ever seen before.
Most of us don’t know why this is happening and what this influx means. We’ve heard that the animals are losing their fear of people and have become more aggressive.
One friend and her daughter took a walk last week, and a deer squared off and went after them. Thankfully, a truck came by at just the right moment and scared the animal away.
We love living in an area where we are blessed with abundant wildlife. But, we are also becoming concerned about safety. Are our children safe playing outside when there are elk in our neighbor’s yard? Is our dog safe running on the Sandrocks? Are children safe walking to and from school with deer on both sides of the street?
We need information from the Division of Wildlife about this influx of wildlife, especially as it relates to safety. We think it’s important to our entire community.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The electronic world is replacing the natural world for leisure time in rich nations, according to this report condensed from Scientific American. This is the second article on this important subject. Tell us what you think by clicking on "Comment" at the end of the article)
By David Biello AMERICANS have been visiting national parks and other natural reserves less and less since 1987, new research confirms. Outdoor pursuits, ranging from camping to hunting, have entered a persistent and growing decline.
"Folks are going out into nature much less and decreasingly every year," says conservation ecologist Patricia Zaradic of the Environmental Leadership Program and co-author of the report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. "It would take 80 million more visits this year to get the per capita number back up to the level it was in 1987."
The conservationists believe that the electronic world has supplanted the natural world as the leading diversion. Their statistical analysis shows that the increase in video games, movie rentals and other electronic entertainment most closely matches the decrease in camping and park visits, as opposed to income, vacation time, park overcrowding, foreign travel or other potential causes.
But Richard Louv, chairman of the Santa Fe, NM.–based Children and Nature Network and author of Last Child in the Woods, ascribes the change more to increasing school and work pressure on children and parents as well as the rising cost of park visits. Plus, he says, there's the fear factor. "You didn't have the concept of stranger danger [in the past]," Louv says. "If you are raising a generation under protective house arrest, will they have a joyful experience in nature?"
Without such an experience, Louv and Zaradic agree that the value of nature might be lost on such children and adults. "If we aren't out in nature, we aren't aware of our human footprint in nature. Then it takes natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina to recognize global warming," Zaradic says. "You don't see the subtle signs, you have to wait for something to hit us over the head."
Zaradic and her co-author plan to tackle the fear issue next. "If fear is a factor, what kinds of fear?" Pergams asks. "Fear of the unknown, fear of animals, fear of getting lost, fear of crime, fear of disease, all kinds of different fears that might come into play and to what extent they might play into the decline." In addition, they hope to compare the results of children's exposure to "virtual" nature online or on television with the real thing.
The solution may be as simple as getting kids into the woods or other natural areas in the company of parents, grandparents or other relatives. "This isn't a bitter pill," Louv says. "In order to give kids some semblance of unorganized activity in nature, we're probably going to have to organize a lot of it. It's a paradox we'll have to deal with with a sense of humor."
Biologist Edward O. Wilson argues that humans are hardwired for biophilia, or a love of wild plants and animals, and that putting them back in touch with the environment could resurrect that feeling. "We undervalue the playing in the mud kind of experience," Zaradic says. "Which, it turns out, provides a lot of education."
Putting more nature back into humanity's urban environments might not hurt either. "Green urbanism is about efficiency, saving energy. That's important but ultimately it's kind of boring," Louv says. "Biophilic design is the idea that when we design nature into our cities really interesting things begin to happen." --Scientific American
IT WAS SO COLD that I had to use jumper cables to start my toaster.
I was doing a Christmas Bird Count on one of Minnesota’s coldest winter days. We think of Iowa as the tropics. There were three of us. I was in the company of two much younger men. They were both sharp, college students. We walked through a park area and stopped to look at a Wood Duck box. The entrance hole had been gnawed.
The young fellows looked at me and asked if there might be a Screech Owl in the box. I admitted that it was possible, but that the resident was more likely a squirrel. I based my answer on the gnawed entrance. The young fellows, with much more ambition than I possess, decided that one of them would climb onto the shoulders of the other and peer into the Wood Duck box. I backed away. I wanted to give them room to operate while avoiding any calamity that might ensue.
With a minimum of grumbling and groaning, one of the two climbed onto the back of the larger of the two young men. He slowly made his way to the shoulders of his support group of one. The combination stood for a bit, gathering stability. They looked as though they were some kind of halftime entertainment. They wobbled close to the tree and the top half leaned towards the box in question.
A frightened Gray Squirrel jumped from the Wood Duck box, bouncing off the top man’s head. The squirrel had found the fellow’s melon blocking his escape route. The top man made a sound that I had never heard before. He began to tip over. The bottom man made yet another new sound for my ears. He began to tip as well. Both men fell on their backs to a ground covered with a good layer of snow. The snow cushioned their fall, but they both grunted in response to the impact.
I wanted to yell, “Timber!” but I withheld my vocalization until I could be sure my partners in the bird counting game were unhurt.
The squirrel on the other hand, had no time to lie down on the job. It scurried up the same tree from which it had just leaped. It hit a branch of the evergreen that held a bough covered with a generous amount of snow. As it bounced further up the tree, the snow fell from the bough down onto the faces of my two fallen compadres.
Nine out of 10 doctors do not recommend snow on the face and down the neck on an extremely cold day. We walked quickly to the car. The windchill served to make the cold one of a "Frostbite Falls" quality. The incident would have made the perfect soap opera on The Weather Channel.
We warmed up in the car. It took a long time, The heater's work made my birding buddies as giddy as Donald Trump at a toupee sale.
I mumbled, “Timber” a little louder than I should have. I hope that one day the two men will forgive me.
Al Batt Columnist/Storyteller/Radio Personality Hartland, MN
(EDITOR'S NOTE: We just received this (Tuesday) and thought you would be interested. Please tell us how you feel about this subject by clicking on "Comment")
WE'VE KNOWN for some time that if people are to care about natural areas as adults, they need to experience them as children.
We also know that the best way to get people to behave in an environmentally responsible manner is to make sure they get to enjoy extended periods of time in natural areas, preferably in the company of a mentor.
These things just make sense, don't they?
That's why a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is so troubling. The title says it all: Evidence For A Fundamental and Pervasive Shift Away From Nature-based Recreation.
The authors, conservation scientists Oliver Pergams of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Patricia Zaradic of Bryn Mawr College, may be familiar to you. They wrote a widely discussed 2006 paper in which they pointed to a "steady and consistent" decline in per-capita visits to US national parks since 1988 and suggested that a fundamental shift was taking place in our society--a shift away from what E. O. Wilson termed "biophilia," an appreciation of nature, and toward "videophilia," a new focus on sedentary activities involving electronic media.
Four variables, three of them electronic, explained 97.5% of the decline in park visits, Pergams and Zaradic wrote: time spent on the Internet, time spent playing video games, time spent watching movies (both in theaters and at home), and oil prices. When gas prices go up, they wrote, people drive, and drive to national parks, less. And as time spent on electronic media increases, park visits decrease.
These things make sense to me, too, but the paper proved to be controversial. Readers argued that factors specific to national parks, not videophilia, must have contributed to the decline (that is, historic admission fees, decaying infrastructure, fewer interpretive staff, etc.); or that other natural areas (BLM lands, for example, where you can ride around on snowmobiles and ATVs) had taken market share from national parks; or that the decline in national park visits was an exception to an upward trend in participation in outdoor activities.
Uh-uh, Pergams and Zaradic thought. They hypothesized that national park visits are a good proxy for how much people are visiting nature in general and that a little extra research would reveal not only similar longitudinal declines in visitation to other natural areas but also reduced participation in other nature-related activities.
The paper published today describes what the researchers learned when they tested their hypothesis.
It's not encouraging. Not only have visits to national parks declined, but so too have visits to Japanese national parks, US state parks, and US national forests and per-capita duck stamps and fishing licenses.
The last time the national forests saw per capita visitors as low as 2002, the researchers write, was almost 40 years earlier.
"The longest and most complete time series suggest that typical declines in per capita nature recreation began between 1981 and 1991, are proceeding at rates of -1.0% to -1.3% per year, and total to date -18% to -25%," write Pergams and Zaradic. "Rather than being an anomaly restricted to National Parks, our results suggest a fundamental and pervasive decline in nature recreation."
A decline like this, of course, has obvious -- and dire -- implications for conservation efforts. "We think it probable that any major decline in the value placed on natural areas and experiences will greatly reduce the value people place on biodiversity conservation," write the researchers. "Accordingly, it becomes less likely that attempts to raise public awareness of the current biodiversity crisis will succeed."
The results may be jarring to those of you who have been told over and over that birdwatching is the fastest growing outdoor activity, but they jibe with results published by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in August 2003 -- and largely ignored by everyone associated with the birding industry. USFWS, remember, reported that a comparison of results from its 1991, 1996 and 2001 estimates showed that birdwatching around the home had decreased, not increased, over that 10-year period:
"Is birding increasing? Despite recent popularization (high visibility within the media and popular culture and increased recognition of the sport within American homes) of birding, past FHWAR Survey results point to a more complicated story. A comparison of results from the 1991, 1996, and 2001 estimates show that bird-watching around the home has decreased rather than increased over that 10-year period (USFWS). In 1991, 51.3 million people reported observing birds around their homes. In 1996 that number dropped to 42.2 million and in 2001 to 40.3 million." -- US Fish & Wildlife Service, Report 2001-1: Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis, page 3
The 1996 total is 17.7% lower than the 1991 total, and the 2001 number is 21.4% lower than the 1991 number.
According to the most recent USFWS survey, the number of people who reported observing birds around the home did increase between 2001 and 2006. It rose 3.7% to 41.8 million (page 36). But 41.8 million isn't close to 51.3 million. It's 18.5% below the 1991 high point.
And I probably don't need to point out that 18.5% is within the range of typical declines in per capita nature recreation reported by Pergams and Zaradic, or that 1991 aligns roughly with the decade in which the declines began.
WindStar Wildlife Institute Thomas D. Patrick Founder & President
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Myersville, MD 21773
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WindStar Wildlife Institute is a national non-profit conservation organization established in 1986. WindStar is a leader in "connecting people to nature through education." In 1999 the Board of Directors decided to move the headquarters to an award-winning, passive solar and earth sheltered structure, Terra Vista, near Myersville, MD. And, a new, four-acre demonstration wildlife habitat, containing all the elements and key components, was created for members and others to visit and to get ideas for their own properties. Each year new habitat components are added. The Institute is known for its award-winning environmental education and certification programs, web site, American Wildlife Blog and outstanding use of nature photography.
THE ARGUMENT has recently been made that hunters never use the words conservation and ecology, suggesting outdoorsmen and women don't really care about Mother Earth. 
DUE TO A REVERSAL of demographics, the pendulum now swings opposite. Deer are once again viewed as a nuisance by those who've had their vehicles damaged, insurance companies paying for repairs and by law enforcement officials who deal with the aftermath of such collisions.
