Shindig at Shenandoah Marsh

Spring grows ever closer, in the wetlands below my house, which I call Shenandoah Marsh. The marsh has been covered with ice, until last Sunday, when about half of it melted. By Monday the marsh was entirely ice free with open water. The Red-winged Blackbirds have increased in numbers, several fold, in just a week, and are creating quite a ruckus, chattering back and forth, making a high pitched sound, “oak-a-lee, oak-a-lee”, then a series of “chek” sounds, like a clucking sound in some ways.

Shenandoah Marsh is a small wetland, about an acre in overall size, but it is full of life. The primary vegetation is the cattail, a tall plant that has strap like leaves 3 to 6 feet long, with a long stem around 8 feet tall, topped by a dense mass of minute brown flowers. The cattail is a very common plant of the wetlands of the inter-mountain west of the United States. The roots and lower stem can be eaten and are full of starch, a veritable pantry of the outdoors. The cigar shaped flower head on top of the stalk (it looks like a cats tail), once dried, can be broken up and makes good insulation or bedding. Like goose down. Bed and breakfast. All you need is a lawn chair and a beer.

I walked down to the marsh on Monday and was a bit surprised to see that the water was open, with no ice, and the smell of rotting marsh, greeted me. A least of couple of dozen male birds were darting about and making lots of noise. The dead cattails from last year lay mostly crushed and broken, but a few stalks were still erect, with their brownish cigars, but there didn't appear to be any new growth. No life yet except for the birds. As I approached, a male Red-wing, flew to a shrub and roosted 5 feet over my head, scolding me with his raspy alarm call “zeer, zeer, zeer”, casting lightning bolt looks in my direction, letting me know I was an invader. Trespasser. Three smaller brownish birds darted quickly into the thicket of cattails, at my approach. They were probably the females that one of the males had gathered into his harem. The territorial males will gather up to 15 females, which he will rigorously defend, all for naught, because up to 50% of the young in his herd are fathered by other males.

I spotted a male mallard duck, perched on a mound of dead cattails and a female mallard soon appeared from a narrow water opening, a sheltered nook, and both swam out into the pond. The pair was looking for a nesting spot. The water was as smooth as glass and both ducks had identical twins, on the smooth liquid. The male looked grand in his green hood and the female a rather drab brown. Perfect camouflage for sitting on a clutch of eggs or protecting newly hatched ducklings.

The marsh is about 500 feet from my house and one of the things I enjoy in the spring, is opening a bedroom window and hearing the symphony, the song, of Red-wings, going about their rituals and rites or just singing for the pure joy of it.

Recent Legislation on Idaho Wolves

Recent legislation was introduced, in the Idaho State Legislature, to allow relatives of victims killed by wolves, to sue the Federal Government for damages. This proposed legislation would also make it a felony for folks to protect a killer wolf , punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $ 50,000 dollar fine. The sponsor of the legislation goes on to say that the Federal Government introduced the wolves into Idaho in the 1990's, knowing they were dangerous, and that the Feds should be held responsible.

There are several issues and concerns I have over this proposed legislation. Wolves have always been present in Idaho and there was a small population of wolves, before reintroduction in 1995. It's impossible or impractical to distinguish between introduced wolves and ones that were native.

The big issue seems to be that wolves are very dangerous animals. There have been wolf attacks in North America but they are very rare, but that really isn't the point. A wolf is a wild animal and like every other wild animal they can be dangerous. There is little to fear from wolves; they are dangerous but no more so than a bear, a falling tree, a rolling rock, a flash flood or a drunken motorist careening down a mountain road. You have to take precautions in the mountains in any regards. Statistics from the National Parks show that the vast majority of fatalities in parks are from vehicle accidents (boats, planes and cars) or folks falling off cliffs or drowning. Fatalities from wild animals, hardly make a blip in the statistics.

In the 1980's and 1990's in the United States, domestic dogs were responsible for an average of 17 fatalities per year and by the 2000's this number jumped to 26. You are probably safer hiking in the mountains, than taking a walk in your neighborhood. However it's not fair to compare numbers of wolf attacks, to numbers to domestic dog attacks, because there is a huge difference in the numbers of these animals. There have been documented cases of deer killing and injuring people, but does that make deer, a dangerous and vicious animal? The point is you have to keep things in perspective.

Does the Federal Government have to provide for our full protection when we are recreating in a National Forest or Park? If I lose my hunting rifle or a porcupine eats my boots, while I am camping on Federal Lands, am I due compensation? Do you want a ranger behind every tree to protect us from the multitude of dangers in the woods? I surely hope not. In the mountains and wild lands, we can escape civilization (at least for a short time) and don't have to worry about people looking over our shoulders, and we can get away from the everyday commotions. Part of the mystique of camping and hiking and exploring, is knowing we are in wild country, that there are dangers, but we can take care of ourselves.

Mid Winter

There are a few signs of spring but winter lingers on in the Northern Rocky Mountains. A few Red Winged Blackbirds have occupied the cat tail marsh below my house, all winter, and about the first week of February a couple of dozen more birds arrived. The marsh is still frozen as of Feb. 13th, 2009. Females are a striped rufous color and the males are black with red coverts (upper wing area). The males will gather up to 15 different female birds, which will nest in his territory, and will spend a quarter of his time, during daylight hours, keeping other Red Wing males away from his kingdom, and will even attack larger mammals such as dogs and people (not to worry they won't hurt you). The trouble with this ambitious bird is, that his efforts at defending his harem, are mostly ineffective, as up to half the baby birds are sired by other Red Winged males. It must be exhaustive work defending all that territory, so its no wonder other males are able to “sneak in”.

The Gary Wolves are in mating season now, going through their intricate rituals, of searching for new mates or protecting existing alliances. The pups will be born in early spring. A wolf pack averages 4 to 7 individuals. The range of a wolf pack range varies, depending upon many factors, but a large pack needs over 100 square miles. Wolves are very territorial, with some overlap of their ranges, but generally they seek to avoid each other, but at times there is strife between packs. A pack may use the same territory for generations, if food sources are adequate.

The wolf population of Yellowstone National Park, declined in 2008, to an estimated 124 wolves, down 27 percent from the previous year, this mainly due to impacts of disease in wolf pups. The population of Idaho wolves was estimated at a minimum of 732 wolves in about 83 packs (2007 figures). In Montana the estimated minimum number of wolves (Dec. 31st, 2007 figures) is 422, in 73 packs.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department, listed 94 wolves were killed (by Wildlife Services) for livestock depredations in 2008, which is more than double the number controlled in 2007, which was 43. The number of livestock killed by wolves in 2008, increased by about 20%. The number of wolves killed for depredations on cattle and sheep, has seen dramatic increases from previous years. I haven't seen any explanation of why so many wolves were killed in 2008, compared to previous years, but apparently there has been a huge change in policy on “rules of engagement”. The above figures are not final as of this date, and may change. I sent an email, to the Director of the Idaho Fish and Game Department on Jan. 31st, 2009, concerning this matter.

Boise River Excursion

This evening I was went out for a drive to look for wildlife, along the foothills of the Boise River Front. Many of the south facing slopes and flats along the Boise River are prime wintering grounds for elk and deer. The reason for this is, the deep snows in the higher mountains drive the big game animals to lower elevations, where they are better able to find the grasses and shrubs they feed on. My course took me east of Boise, Idaho up to Luck Peak and then on past Arrowrock Dam. The foothills are mostly open prairie, with deep narrow canyons and very steep slopes. There are few trees in the foothills, except in the creek bottoms and pine and fir trees are generally found on north facing slope. As you move north in the foothills the forest cover increases dramatically.

I spotted numerous deer, around 160, especially on the lower slopes and on the flats near the Boise river. The deer seemed to be everywhere and I gave up counting them, because I was mainly looking for elk. The deer were mostly in small herds of 6 to 10 animals. They appeared to be wintering well and looked healthy. They all had their heads down and were busy browsing on shrubs.

The elk were mostly grazing high on the mountain slopes near the tops of the ridges, on south facing slopes, and I saw 31 of them in two different herds, 3 in one herd and 28 in the other. The elk seemed to be staying on the steeper slopes and they appeared very healthy.

The herding instinct is a survival technique used by grazing animals. When they graze or browse, they are vulnerable to attack by predators but in a herd they collectively can keep watch for each other. If a predator attacks they are also safer in a herd, as it increases their chance of survival. Predators tend to select one animal to attack, and they try to drive this animal away from the rest of the herd. Of course a sick or injured animal is quickly singled out by the predator because that animal cannot keep up with the herd. Predators cull the herds, leaving the strongest animals to reproduce, which in effect makes the herds genetically stronger and better able to survive the deep snows of winter.

I also may have spotted a Golden Eagle, flying high above the ridge tops.

Gray Wolf Status, Jan. 2009

The official legal status of the Gray Wolf, in the northern Rockies, has seen a real whirlwind of activity the last few weeks. In early January of 2009, in a last minute declaration, the Bush Administration removed federal protection for wolves in Idaho, Montana, and the easterly parts of Washington and Oregon and northern Utah. Wolves in Wyoming would remain protected under the endangered species act. Within a few weeks of that, the administration of President Obama, reversed the Bush ruling.

Within a few days of that an article appeared on the back pages on the Idaho Statesman, concerning a plan by the Idaho Fish and Game Department to kill wolves in north Idaho, in the upper Clearwater River Basin. The Department will be asking the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for permission to kill wolves in northern Idaho to protect deer and elk herds. This article was very brief and didn't give much for details. The upper Clearwater River basin is a vast, remote, rugged and beautiful country, with several large rivers including the Lochsa River, Selway River and the North Fork of the Clearwater, to mention a few of the major drainages.

Elk and deer populations in Idaho have been stable and have not declined. This isn't a surprise in any regards, and biological studies of wolves have shown repeatedly shown, that wolves will not decimate big game herds. The reason that big game herds do not decline with wolf predation, is actually quite simple and its called compensating morality factors (CMF). Wolves basically kill animals that are sick or injured, that would have died naturally anyway, so the net effect at the end of every year is, elk and deer populations do not change.

Now comes the sticky part, because wolves can and do kill healthy deer and elk. The thing to remember is wolves naturally, have a very high mortality rate of about 10%. An adult Gray Gray wolf averages 70 to 120 pounds. A wolf that decides to take on a healthy 500 pound cow elk (adult elk average 500 to 1,000 pounds) is asking for huge trouble. All it takes is one swift kick from the elk, breaking the wolf's leg and the wolf is doomed. A wolf survives by being mobile and being able to run fast and traverse dense brush and steep mountains and if they can no longer run, they likely will die from that sort of injury. The big game populations of Idaho have not been reduced by wolves nor will they ever be reduced. Wolves may reduce the number of elk in a given area, say in a given canyon or drainage, but this is a temporary effect.

Wolves have always existed in Idaho and their numbers have naturally increased because of the abundance of big game animals. Wolf populations were augmented in 1995 by the introduction of several pairs of Gray Wolves from Canada, which appears to have been the catalyst for increasing wolf numbers. The Idaho wolf population, at the end of 2007, is estimated at a maximum 732 individuals and 83 packs, according to figures released by the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game.

The benefits of having a robust population of wolves are many and rarely discussed and debated. Wolves benefit the rangelands by helping to disperse elk herds and keep them from overgrazing their habitat. Wolves also kill the weak and injured elk and deer, in effect strengthening the herds by leaving the strongest animals. Wolves help to control diseases in big game animals by culling the herds. Elk herds in wolf country in Idaho are generally much healthy and stronger because of this, and better able to survive long winters and disease.