The Cougar Fund
  • Our Work
    • Education
      • The Cougar Fund has educational resources for a wide variety of ages and groups.

      • Wild Lives
      • Overview
      • Programs & Resources
      • Books & Videos
    • Science & Conservation
      • The Cougar Fund was founded to help ensure the conservation and protection of cougars.

      • Overview
      • The Cougar Fund & B-Wild Mexico
      • Protecting Females & Kittens
      • Conservation Research
      • Cougar Researcher Bios
    • Advocacy
      • Learn what is happening in your state and how you can help protect these incredible animals.

      • Overview
      • State by State
      • How to Help
      • Donate
  • About the Cougar
    • Overview
    • Family Life
    • Living with Cougars
    • Conflict Prevention & Coexistence
    • Cougar News
    • Historical Timeline
    • Books & Videos
  • About Us
    • Our Mission & History
    • Our Team
    • Programs
    • Policy Comments
    • Partners
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
    • Gift & Estate Planning
  • News + Media
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Wildlife for ALL

April 24, 2015/in News, Blog, Links

We often think that those entrusted with protecting wildlife forget that wildlife is for all people. History, tradition, political pressure, and funding, have made it a challenge to respond to the needs of a broad demographic. The non-hunting community is left unsure of their representation at a state level. Is this the fault of the agencies alone? Not entirely, there are several ways that we can work together on finding solutions to the seeming imbalance that permeates wildlife management.

  • We can look for agency practices that DO encourage diverse participation, and who strive to protect our wildlife without reverting to only ‘killing them to save them’. We must affirm those efforts and positively reinforce the actions that show a true understanding  of managing wildlife in ways that serve the wildlife above all else.
  • We must show up! You will never go to a game agency meeting that has no hunting users present. We are all constituents and we must be prepared to show up too!
  • We must realize that change comes slowly, and that lasting change often comes from the changing of perceptions and understanding. A change of culture, not just of regulation. This is best illustrated when Bills are introduced in many states that liberalize hunting practices or fail to protect species we know need to be protected. Strong advocacy can often help to defeat those Bills, but it symbolizes winning a hill that will need to be defended-legislative session after legislative session-for years and years to come. These protracted battles mask the underlying issue which is not the regulatory question of ‘can we’ but the ethical question of ‘should we’?
  • We must always identify who the actual ‘decision-maker’ is, and that means knowing where the ‘leverage’ comes from. The person in front of you may have no control at all over what is happening. Find out who does and direct your efforts to them. Do not be afraid to ask the hard questions, over and over again if necessary, until you get an answer that is not simply rhetoric.
  • One of the main reasons that agencies are reluctant to include the needs of non-hunters and  advocacy organizations is that we rarely vote according to our core environmental beliefs. This often results in state governments, especially in the Rocky Mountain West, being mostly comprised of those with similar ideologies to their state’s historic demographic of producers and hunters. For the strategic politician these special interest stakeholders can mean the difference between re-election and ‘retirement’! This is the source of many of the policies that we find challenging and this is where the ‘buck stops’. Political pressure is as unfair to the dedicated agency folk as it is to the advocates.
  • Producers and carnivores CAN co-exist but it is up to the producer to take the steps required to do so. More and more livestock growers are embracing non-lethal deterrents and conflict prevention. We must support and encourage them as they try to find the new balance that is found beyond the use of bullets. They are 21st Century pioneers indeed!
  • We must be able to identify the actual issues that we are addressing. It can be cathartic to express our dissatisfaction through anger and by personal attacks. This becomes a distraction from what we are actually advocating for-the quality of life for the animals. It really is OK to disagree, in fact it can be the first step to real communication, we just have to remember to do it in a respectful and non-judgmental way. Talk to people the way you would like your favorite friend or relative treated if they were in the same position. It may be hard to admit, but our motivation may sometimes be biased by ‘baggage’ from interactions with particular personnel in the past. This goes both ways-it ends up with each side putting more energy into attacking the smoke than in putting out the fire. The animals and landscape are not helped when we give or take personal ‘hits’.
  • In identifying issues, we must also acknowledge that the differences we experience are usually based in ‘values’. ‘Science’ is a standard that we have put value on. However interpretation of ‘science’ can be a source of disagreement among scientists themselves, so in and of itself, it is not an involuble measurement. Knowing that our beliefs, attitudes and values are the foundation of our differences can be a breakthrough in how we see each other.
  • We can try to engage the people whose values we feel most distant from. This can be hard but it helps to know that you are not giving up your beliefs just by listening to someone else’s view, and maybe they will then listen to yours. Empathy is not about betraying yourself, it is about allowing yourself to try and see how the other person is experiencing the situation at hand. Remember to approach every situation as an opportunity to learn and to celebrate the chance to do so!
  • We cannot bully people into being compassionate! What we would like to see more than anything is compassion towards non-human animals. Let’s try it on each other first! Our enduring message is to question whether killing something just for recreation is justified. Simply put, it is easier to empower people’s compassionate nature than to overpower them into reluctant submission.
  • Advocates and watchers are associated with being ’emotional’. If we think about sport hunting of large carnivores (cougars, wolves, bears) logically, we realize that there is no reason to do it. It is not a conflict prevention measure because it does not target ‘problem’ animals. It is for recreation, and why do we recreate? We recreate for enjoyment-it gives us pleasure. And what are ‘enjoyment’ and ‘pleasure’ if not emotions?
  • Always remember that change IS happening. If we examine societal attitudes towards carnivores even since the 1960’s, it really is better, BUT there is movement today to go back to the old way of regarding these creatures as redundant. Several states have had bills introduced in efforts to relegate cougars to ‘predator status’ which is basically no accountability whatsoever.
  • Surprisingly much of the pushback to this regression is from professional wildlife managers. Some of them really are stepping up to the plate to fight for protection for wild carnivores. Those that do, deserve our support. As do those brave public servants devoted to protecting our Public Lands-these lands must stay in the Public Sector. This is an insidious and very real threat and we must respond to it with unity and firm resolve.
  • Lastly, funding is ‘in the news’ these days. Agencies are facing budget shortfalls and it is time for the funding AND the representation to reflect all the different stakeholders. There cannot be one without the other…

A quote by Woodrow Wilson recently came to our attention. It was part of an address to the Senate regarding the 1st World War. The arena of wildlife management is similar to the arena of war in its propensity to end up as highly defined ‘sides’. Perhaps the theme of this quote could be well utilized to administer the Public Trust Doctrine that governs our nation’s wild-lands and wildlife.

‘There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized common peace.’ 

There has been a monopoly for too long, it is time for community and not rivalry to take center stage in the protection of our most wonderful natural world….

https://cougarfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CougarFundBlack.png 0 0 Penny https://cougarfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CougarFundBlack.png Penny2015-04-24 16:51:032015-04-24 16:51:03Wildlife for ALL

Stay Connected

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

An important new study adds to the body of evidence being amassed by researchers that supports the important ecological contributions of cougars as a keystone species. A direct quote in the article from Panthera's Puma Program Director Mark Elbroch as follows, "To those who care for the well-being of wildlife and the wild habitats sustaining all living beings, these findings yet again demonstrate the value and need to conserve the Americas' pumas." ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Study suggests pumas utilize sly strategy of fertilizing plants that recruit prey to hunting grounds

phys.org

A new Panthera study published today in Landscape Ecology has found that pumas might utilize a sly hunting strategy known as 'garden to hunt,' by which puma kills fertilize or deposit nutrients in soi...
4 days ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 10
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Remember all the things you did before they went into the den?BEAR SPRAY, MAKE NOISE, RECREATE IN GROUPS, FOOD STORAGE PRECAUTIONS, and be aware that energy out is very expensive for a bear after not eating for a few months so if there is a trail or winter track, that is probably the route the bear will choose...
Lets protect them by minding our own behaviour!

Remember all the things you did before they went into the den?BEAR SPRAY, MAKE NOISE, RECREATE IN GROUPS, FOOD STORAGE PRECAUTIONS, and be aware that energy out is very expensive for a bear after not eating for a few months so if there is a trail or winter track, that is probably the route the bear will choose...
Let's protect them by minding our own behaviour!(News Release) On Tuesday, March 7, a Yellowstone National Park wildlife biologist on a radio telemetry flight observed the first grizzly bear of 2023 to emerge from hibernation. The adult bear, estimated at 300-350 pounds, was seen near the remains of a bison carcass in Pelican Valley, in the central-eastern part of the park.

The first bear sighting of 2022 also occurred on March 7.

Male grizzlies come out of hibernation in early March. Females with cubs emerge in April and early May. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter. Sometimes, bears will react aggressively to encounters with people when feeding on carcasses.

“Spring visitors skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking in Yellowstone National Park are reminded to carry bear spray and be especially alert for bears near carcasses and areas with early spring green-up. These are the first foods sought out by grizzlies after emerging from hibernations,” said Kerry Gunther, the park's bear management biologist.

All of Yellowstone National Park is bear country: from the deepest backcountry to the boardwalks around Old Faithful. The park restricts certain visitor activities in locations where there is a high density of bears, along with elk and bison carcasses. Restrictions will begin in some bear management areas on March 10.

Learn more about how to protect yourself and the bears that people come here to enjoy: go.nps.gov/23006
... See MoreSee Less

3 weeks ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 112
  • Shares: 8
  • Comments: 4

Comment on Facebook

I'm in the Southern Sangre de Cristo mountains. It's been a mild winter, very little snow, so I'm betting the Black Bears will be popping out soon.

I would love to see a bear. (From a safe distance for both of us, of course).

Better yet, don't stop being responsible in the wilderness under a false sense of security provided by pop-media ideas that they're in comas underground. Bears experience wakefulness during their supposed hibernation, and especially during periods of warmer weather they will come out for snacks.

Please protect our bear’s from Stupid people!!!!

Play

PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!
UTAH WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EMERGENCY
A couple of days ago we a shared delightful national article about cutting edge studies of cougars in Utah. Today those cougars need your help. HB469 will remove management of mountain lions from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and allow them to be HUNTED and TRAPPED year round without limit or regulation. HB469 passed without notice or opportunity for public comment. Wildlife is held in trust for ALL the public, not a few special interest groups. Elected officials also represent more than a few stakeholders and need to seek advice from seasoned researchers and scientists before making decisions about wildlife. Please POLITELY ask Governor Cox at 801-538-1000 to not sign HB469, currently on his desk. or email cs.utah.gov/s/submit
The video below was shared by Denise and the crew of @Utah Mountain Lion Conservation who are working tirelessly to study and protect lions and ensure their place as a keystone species in Utah.
... See MoreSee Less

4 weeks ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 14
  • Shares: 27
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Congratulations to Denise Peterson, dedicated to mountain lions, and to sharing the results of her hard work.
Thank you Denise!
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Trail Camera Catches Something Conservationists Have Been Dying To See

www.msn.com

Denise M. Peterson had been waiting months for this. Ever since Peterson, founder of the Utah Mountain Lion Conservation, noticed a female and male mountain lion roaming the area together, she'd been ...
1 month ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 16
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 2

Comment on Facebook

Thanks! I can't wait to get back up to check these cams to see how they're doing!

I saw this on The Dodo this morning. A mom with two kittens!

EXPLORE

Our Mission & History
Frequently Asked Questions

ABOUT THE COUGAR

Overview
Cougar News
Living with Cougars

CONNECT

Sign-Up for E-News
Contact Us
Volunteer
Employment

GIVE

Donate Now
Shop – Coming Soon

The Cougar Fund is 501(c)3 non-profit
EIN: 31-1796418
P.O. Box 122
Jackson, WY 83001

Signup for our Newsletter!

Photography & Video by Thomas D. Mangelsen and Wild Nature Media.
© 2022 The Cougar Fund. All rights reserved.

We should be very, very alarmed by the culture of power and money that is destroying...More good news from California
Scroll to top