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--047d7b339cb1ad39b304d8bd1fd7 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi Folks; This is worth re-posting from BirdChat. It is a bit long, but worth the read. More chilling news from the Harper Government. "Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2013 From: "Barry K. MacKay" <mimus@SYMPATICO.CA> Subject: Ridding ourselves of Ross's Geese Here in southern Ontario birders tend to report their Ross's Goose sightings. But if the federal government has its way, that will stop. Canada wants to kill off as many as 9 out of every 10 Ross's Geese. At best I hold wildlife managers in low esteem but this is a new level of absurdity even for them. In 1999 the federal governments of both the U.S. and Canada amended regulations to let them kill huge numbers of migratory waterfowl species deemed "overabundant" as defined by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). The U.S. was able to include the Ross's Goose, but we successfully challenged Canada, and here the courts ruled that "overabundance", as defined under NAWMP, had not been demonstrated by the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) for Ross's Goose. It still hasn't, but no matter; the idea is now to PREVENT those pesky Ross's Geese from becoming overabundant. And while we don't know how many there are (they have an annoying habit of looking like Snow Geese when being counted from the air) the estimate is up to a million, and growing. The objective is to reduce the number to 100,000. That's up to a 90 percent reduction in a native bird species, in the name of, get this, "conservation". NAWMP's goal is "Abundant and resilient waterfowl populations to support hunting and other uses without imperiling habitat." The kicker is in those last three words, although I think the first part fuels motive. Waterfowl hunting is in decline, and therefore so is licensing revenue that pays wildlife managers salaries and keeps them employed. But the "imperiling" comes, as it does from Snow Geese, from the fact that these birds "grub", meaning they dig with blunt beaks for the roots and rhizomes of arctic plants, creating mudflats. They've been doing this since the glaciers freed the land, and long ere that in other regions - tens of thousands of years - but now it's wrong. I confess that when NAWMP first set population goals I assumed that they were for minimum populations, not that they didn't want populations to increase beyond the goals they set; that there had to be the number they decided on, not less, but not more, either. Their argument is the increase is of concern by "imperiling habitat". And so they decided how many of each population of Snow Goose there should be, and "managed" to achieve that goal. For example, for the "greater" Snow Goose, which nests in the eastern arctic and winters along the Atlantic coast, the goal was 500,000 birds. Oops. Didn't work. They figure there are about 923,800. For the mid-continent population of "lesser" Snows the goal was 1,500.000. Oops.the real number is estimated to be 2,628,400. For the western central flyaway the goal was 110,000, but the estimate is for 170,300. For the Wrangle Island Snows they are only about 20,000 birds over their objective, but for the Snows nesting in the western Arctic the goal was 200,00, instead of the current 608,000. In business that would all be considered a spectacular failure and abandoned, but for government the plan is to take something that doesn't work and apply it to the Ross's Goose. Kill nine for every ten. The concern might well be valid if three conditions existed: One: wildlife populations are static Two: current and projected numbers are unprecedented Three: the arctic is unchanging. None is true, a fact that is, well, ignored. Of particular value to the pro-cull argument is the idea that these birds are out of control. This is easily proved by ignoring all evidence to the contrary. When I pointed this out regarding Snow Geese years ago I was told that yeah, okay, there were records of huge numbers of Snow Geese in the late nineteenth and even early twentieth century, but they were anecdotal, thus don't count. Of course they were anecdotal; the means to make more objective counts using aircraft flying in grids and analyzing photographs didn't exist. That should not negate them, but in the small minds of wildlife managers, it doesn't count. I believe their panic derives from remembering arctic habitat as they first saw it as students, when the "white geese" were at their lowest numbers. The fact is the arctic was largely unknown up to and even after 1938, when the nest of the Ross's Goose was finally discovered (it's amazing to realize that I shook the hand of the man who discovered the nest of the subarctic-breeding Harris's Sparrow, in Churchill!). About all that Arthur Cleveland Bent could say about the population of Ross's Goose in his "Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl", published 1923, was that it was "quite common". He added, "many are shot for market". Exactly. The enormity of the killing of birds in the 19th and early 20th century has largely been forgotten, as has the paucity of ornithological documentation of much of the continent, especially the far north. Bent also points out that Ross's were a lot "tamer" and less cautious than Snows, so would have been preferentially selected by market gunners. Ethical hunters really don't want to kill the numbers of Snows expected of them, since they can't eat that many birds and many have told me they won't kill what they don't need to eat. Our governments have done all they can to demonize these birds in the interest of "conservation" while, ironically, global climate change and loss of permafrost; the subsequent opening of the Northwest Passage and shipping of oil; the discovery of gold and diamonds and subsequent mining and the human population growth are real problems of our creation. Canada's response? According to The Toronto Star, January 2, 2013, one bill, C-38, "included more than $160 M in cuts to environmental spending, significantly impairing our ability to measure or mitigate our impact on Canada's wilderness and wildlife." We are the first country to withdraw from the Kyoto Accord and our greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. So what do we propose doing? Let's blame the Ross's Goose for "imperiling" the arctic, and kill 9 out of every ten. Barry Kent MacKay Bird Artist, Illustrator Studio: (905)-472-9731 http://www.barrykentmackay.ca mimus@sympatico.ca Markham, Ontario, Canada" -- Blake Maybank <bmaybank@gmail.com> White's Lake, Nova Scotia My Blog: *CSI: Life* <http://blakemaybank.com> <maybank@ns.sympatico.ca> --047d7b339cb1ad39b304d8bd1fd7 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <font size=3D"4"><font face=3D"tahoma,sans-serif">Hi Folks;<br><br><font si= ze=3D"4">Thi<font size=3D"4">s is worth re-posting from BirdChat.=A0 It is = a bit long,<font size=3D"4"> but worth the read.=A0 </font>More <font size= =3D"4">chilling news from the Harper Government.<br> <br><font size=3D"4">"Date:=A0=A0=A0 Sun, 24 Mar 2013<br>From:=A0=A0= =A0 "Barry K. MacKay" <<a href=3D"mailto:mimus@SYMPATICO.CA">m= imus@SYMPATICO.CA</a>><br>Subject: Ridding ourselves of Ross's Geese= <br><br>Here in southern Ontario birders tend to report their Ross's Go= ose sightings.=A0=A0 But if the federal government has its way, that will s= top. Canada wants to kill off as many as 9 out of every 10 Ross's Geese= .=A0=A0 At best I hold wildlife managers in low esteem but this is a new le= vel of absurdity even for them.=A0=A0 In 1999 the federal governments of bo= th the U.S. and Canada amended regulations to let them kill huge numbers of= migratory waterfowl species deemed "overabundant" as defined by = the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP).=A0=A0 The U.S. was ab= le to include the Ross's Goose, but we successfully challenged Canada, = and here the courts ruled that "overabundance", as defined under = NAWMP, had not been demonstrated by the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) for= Ross's Goose.<br> <br>It still hasn't, but no matter; the idea is now to PREVENT those pe= sky Ross's Geese from becoming overabundant.=A0 And while we don't = know how many there are (they have an annoying habit of looking like Snow G= eese when being counted from the air) the estimate is up to a million, and = growing.=A0 The objective is to reduce the number to 100,000.=A0=A0 That= 9;s up to a 90 percent reduction in a native bird species, in the name of, = get this, "conservation".=A0=A0=A0 NAWMP's goal is "Abun= dant and resilient waterfowl populations to support hunting and other uses = without imperiling habitat." The kicker is in those last three words, = although I think the first part fuels motive.=A0=A0 Waterfowl hunting is in= decline, and therefore so is licensing revenue that pays wildlife managers= salaries and keeps them employed.=A0=A0 But the "imperiling" com= es, as it does from Snow Geese, from the fact that these birds "grub&q= uot;, meaning they dig with blunt beaks for the roots and rhizomes of arcti= c plants, creating mudflats.=A0=A0 They've been doing this since the gl= aciers freed the land, and long ere that in other regions - tens of thousan= ds of years - but now it's wrong.<br> <br>I confess that when NAWMP first set population goals I assumed that the= y were for minimum populations, not that they didn't want populations t= o increase beyond the goals they set; that there had to be the number they = decided on, not less, but not more, either.=A0 Their argument is the increa= se is of concern by "imperiling habitat".=A0 And so they decided = how many of each population of Snow Goose there should be, and "manage= d" to achieve that goal.=A0 For example, for the "greater" S= now Goose, which nests in the eastern arctic and winters along the Atlantic= coast, the goal was 500,000 birds. Oops.=A0 Didn't work.=A0 They figur= e there are about 923,800.=A0 For the mid-continent population of "les= ser" Snows the goal was 1,500.000.=A0 Oops.the real number is estimate= d to be 2,628,400.=A0 For the western central flyaway the goal was 110,000,= but the estimate is for 170,300.=A0 For the Wrangle Island Snows they are = only about 20,000 birds over their objective, but for the Snows nesting in = the western Arctic the goal was 200,00, instead of the current 608,000.=A0= =A0 In business that would all be considered a spectacular failure and aban= doned, but for government the plan is to take something that doesn't wo= rk and apply it to the Ross's Goose.=A0 Kill nine for every ten.<br> <br>The concern might well be valid if three conditions existed:<br><br>One= :=A0=A0 wildlife populations are static<br><br>Two:=A0 current and projecte= d numbers are unprecedented<br><br>Three:=A0 the arctic is unchanging.<br><= br> None is true, a fact that is, well, ignored.=A0 Of particular value to the = pro-cull argument is the idea that these birds are out of control.=A0 This = is easily proved by ignoring all evidence to the contrary.=A0 When I pointe= d this out regarding Snow Geese years ago I was told that yeah, okay, there= were records of huge numbers of Snow Geese in the late nineteenth and even= early twentieth century, but they were anecdotal, thus don't count.=A0= Of course they were anecdotal; the means to make more objective counts usi= ng aircraft flying in grids and analyzing photographs didn't exist.=A0 = That should not negate them, but in the small minds of wildlife managers, i= t doesn't count.<br> <br><br>I believe their panic derives from remembering arctic habitat as th= ey first saw it as students, when the "white geese" were at their= lowest numbers.<br><br>The fact is the arctic was largely unknown up to an= d even after 1938, when the nest of the Ross's Goose was finally discov= ered (it's amazing to realize that I shook the hand of the man who disc= overed the nest of the subarctic-breeding Harris's Sparrow, in Churchil= l!).=A0 About all that Arthur Cleveland Bent could say about the population= of Ross's Goose in his "Life Histories of North American Wild Fow= l", published 1923, was that it was "quite common".=A0 He ad= ded, "many are shot for market".<br> <br>Exactly.<br><br>The enormity of the killing of birds in the 19th and ea= rly 20th century has largely been forgotten, as has the paucity of ornithol= ogical documentation of much of the continent, especially the far north.=A0= Bent also points out that Ross's were a lot "tamer" and less= cautious than Snows, so would have been preferentially selected by market = gunners.<br> <br>Ethical hunters really don't want to kill the numbers of Snows expe= cted of them, since they can't eat that many birds and many have told m= e they won't kill what they don't need to eat.=A0=A0 Our government= s have done all they can to demonize these birds in the interest of "c= onservation" while, ironically, global climate change and loss of perm= afrost; the subsequent opening of the Northwest Passage and shipping of oil= ; the discovery of gold and diamonds and subsequent mining and the human po= pulation growth are real problems of our creation.<br> <br>Canada's response? According to The Toronto Star, January 2, 2013, = one bill, C-38, "included more than $160 M in cuts to environmental sp= ending, significantly impairing our ability to measure or mitigate our impa= ct on Canada's wilderness and wildlife."=A0=A0 We are the first co= untry to withdraw from the Kyoto Accord and our greenhouse gas emissions ar= e increasing.=A0=A0 So what do we propose doing?=A0 Let's blame the Ros= s's Goose for "imperiling" the arctic, and kill 9 out of ever= y ten.<br> <br>Barry Kent MacKay<br>Bird Artist, Illustrator<br>Studio: (905)-472-9731= <br><br><a href=3D"http://www.barrykentmackay.ca">http://www.barrykentmacka= y.ca</a><br>mimus@sympatico.ca<br= > Markham, Ontario, Canada"</font><br clear=3D"all"> </font></font></font></font></font><br>-- <br><font size=3D"4"><a href=3D"m= ailto:bmaybank@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">Blake Maybank</a><br> White's Lake, Nova Scotia<br> </font><font size=3D"4"><br>My Blog:=A0 <a href=3D"http://blakemaybank.com"= target=3D"_blank"><b>CSI: Life</b></a><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;wi= dth:16px;min-height:16px"></span><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16= px;min-height:16px"></span><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16px;min= -height:16px"></span><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16px;min-heigh= t:16px"></span><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16px;min-height:16px= "></span><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16px;min-height:16px"></sp= an><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16px;min-height:16px"></span><sp= an style=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16px;min-height:16px"></span><span sty= le=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16px;min-height:16px"></span><span style=3D"= padding-right:16px;width:16px;min-height:16px"></span><span style=3D"paddin= g-right:16px;width:16px;min-height:16px"></span><span style=3D"padding-righ= t:16px;width:16px;min-height:16px"></span><span style=3D"padding-right:16px= ;width:16px;min-height:16px"></span><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;width= :16px;min-height:16px"></span><span style=3D"padding-right:16px;width:16px;= min-height:16px"></span><br> </font><br><br> <a href=3D"mailto:maybank@ns.sympatico.ca" target=3D"_blank"> </a><br> <br> <br><div></div><div></div><div></div> --047d7b339cb1ad39b304d8bd1fd7--
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