Wildlife Conservation

Below are information, opinions and ideas regarding wildlife conservation and management of big game, upland game and other wildlife populations.


Don’t Spray Dandelions, Eat Them – A Recipe You Will Actually Like

Too many homeowners today freak out and unleash chemical warfare at the first sign of a weed or bug in their lawn or garden. Why do we do that? Because that is all we know.

North American Development and Wildlife Conservation Timeline

We constantly hear that many species are threatened with extinction. Extinction is a fact of life for every species as much as death is for every individual. More species (99%) have gone extinct in the past than exist on our planet today and most of those extinctions were due to

The Real Problem with Nature-Deficit Disorder

Several years ago, I heard of the term Nature-Deficit Disorder and was learning what it was all about. I found a story, from Last Child in the Woods – Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv about an organization

Will You Choose Grass or Fish?

Before I moved to the arid American West more than 20 years ago, I was told water was short and the west could not sustain the population growth and the water intensive, lawn watering life style. After I got here, I was surprised to see irrigation water running down the streets as people

Open Letter Protesting Department of Interior Rule Allowing Wind Farms to Kill Eagles

Below is a letter I sent under my name to President Obama at the White House, the Department of Interior (DOI), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, both of my U.S. Senators and to my Congressman.  The DOI has issued a ruling that allows wind farms to kill eagles without penalty

State Fish & Wildlife Mission Statements Purpose for Existing

Every organization should have a purpose, a reason for being, a mission. That mission should be expressed in their Mission Statement.  State Game Agencies were originally created to protect “valuable” species that were disappearing due to overharvesting. They were also created to destroy

Louisiana Black Bear Recovery Plan

The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) (LBB) is a Federally Threatened subspecies under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) found in three states; Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, with additional evidence that they were also in Arkansas. Louisiana is the primary state responsible

Black Bear Populations Increasing in Connecticut, Missouri and Ohio

Twenty years have passed since Gary Brown wrote the Great Bear Almanac (1993). Populations have increased in 3 states that had very low bear numbers

Black Bear Population Estimates

Black bears can generally be found almost anywhere that has extensive forests, so while searching for a current distribution map, I was surprised to see there are many states that have forest, but apparently do not have bears.

Some of Us Cannot Live Without Wild Places

I include myself among those that Aldo Leopold referred when he wrote “There are some that can live without wild things and some that cannot”. Obviously, he was including wild places because