Backcasts archive: Through March 21, 2008
By Brett PaulyBlog calendar: March 20 | March 19 | March 18 | March 17
How lame: Ranger accused of killing the animals he's supposed to protect
Park rangers are the very epitome of conservationists, right?
They were so revered by me and my brothers while growing up that we even sang a ditty dedicated to these brave and respected souls as we were gearing up to hike the John Muir Trail.
Dial the way-back machine to the summer of 1972, Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park and the excited group of three adults and five kids as it readied for a two-week trek to Mount Whitney. Now turn up the volume as the young bloods sing:
The forest ranger,
He is no stranger.
He'll be our friend
To the very end.
The number was simple and pure, not at all unlike a park ranger himself.
So imagine our dismay upon learning from the Associated Press that a park ranger in the Congo has been arrested for the unforgivable shooting of 10 members of a critically endangered mountain gorilla family in Virunga National Park.
Honore Mashagiro is the chief suspect in the massacre last summer of the great apes from the Rugendo family, the AP reports from Kinshasa, Congo.
Imagine that, a protector of these primates accused of masterminding their slaughter.
Not much could be worse in our animal kingdom. And apparently it all stemmed from a money-making scam in which Mashagiro used his power to assist in the destruction of the gorilla's rainforest surroundings, according to WildlifeDirect, a conservation group.
You see, loggers make charcoal from the park's trees … and lots of cash, the AP reports.
"This threatened the gorilla habitat, so when the rangers tried to protect the forest, (Mashagiro) allegedly orchestrated the gorilla massacres to discourage them," WildlifeDirect said.
How lame, in every conceivable way – from habitat destruction in a national park to what some animal lovers are calling murder.
And to think some experts were blaming the gorilla slayings on hunters, who were carelessly lumped into the poaching category by big media such as Newsweek.
We'll keep you posted on the outcome in the Congo and whether there's much honor in Honore.
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Savvy cartoonists Glenn and Gary McCoy get us sportsmen
I have my routines for bus-reading material each a.m. I'll scan the headlines on the Sports page and dive in accordingly. Hey, I have my priorities … you know.
But after I've gotten an eyeful of box scores and other agate, I clamor for the funny pages, where I quickly find my four faves – "Baby Blues"(spot on for parents of little kids), "Lio" (perfectly weird enough for my taste) and a couple of single-image comics, a la Gary Larson's "The Far Side." These are "Chuckle Bros." and "The Flying McCoys."
Single-panel strips have to be the most difficult to create. One has to convey a potent message in but one illustration and a few words.
Do yourself a favor and get thee to a newsstand today, then flip to "The Flying McCoys." Brothers Glenn and Gary McCoy have delivered a comic so perfectly right on even Larson himself would smile.
Picture this: A lady answers her front door to discover a pair of FBI-looking dudes in suits, ties and shades flashing a badge. She is holding a black rabbit by the ears and states, "I didn't even know P.E.T.A. had a Chocolate Easter Bunny Division."
I was sharing the strip with strangers on the 8:02 into downtown Seattle, it was that hilarious.
As soon as I am done typing this I'm making copies and posting one at my cube. I wait for strips like this, sometimes for months or even years, to cut out, dupe and spread laughs in any little way I can.
What's even better is that cartoonists believe there are enough folks out there who would find great levity in poking fun at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Hey, the flying McCoys get us, they really get us, and that's all right. Keep soaring guys.
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Sweet! Feds OK lethal removal of Columbia River's salmon-eating sea lions
The proof, of course, will be in the pelts, but the feds finally have approved taking lethal measures against the Columbia River's sea lions that are considered the worst offenders when in comes to dining on protected salmon and steelhead.
Hey, little else has worked – not exclusion gates (bars at the entrance to the fish ladders), not rubber bullets or beanbag rounds, not big firecrackers, not even underwater acoustics.
Indeed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, fish and wildlife agencies from Oregon and Washington and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission do what they can to harass the sea lions in various hazing efforts, but nothing seems to deter with any real efficiency or permanence the pesky marine mammals that prowl the base of Bonneville Dam for tasty salmonids.
So today the National Marine Fisheries Service authorized the two states that the mighty Columbia bisects to kill up to 85 California sea lions, including 60 identified for "immediate removal," the Associated Press reports from Portland. (Steller sea lions, which are larger and tend to feed on sturgeon instead of salmon, according to the AP, are endangered and not subject to lethal removal under the decision. Bummer.)
It's been a long time coming. Backcasts first reported on the petition by Oregon, Washington and Idaho to remove or kill the most meddlesome sea lions back in February 2007. But the wait is understandable, considering the issue revolves around a federally protected mammal munching on threatened or endangered fish.
The Columbia River treaty tribes today gave thumbs up to the decision to eliminate the menacing mammals.
"The tribes are pleased to see an effective management tool added to solve this very complex problem" Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission executive director Olney Patt Jr. said in a release.
"Our desire is to maximize the benefits to endangered salmon while minimizing the impacts to the overall sea lion population."
Nicely stated, Olney.
And we'll take it a step further: It's about time.
When Backcasts reported on the situation last year, salmon predation by sea lions had just about doubled each year since 2002, according to Corps record, jumping from an estimated 0.4 percent of the total number of salmon passing through Bonneville from Jan. 1 to May 31 to 3.4 percent in 2005, the last year records were available. That's close to 3,000 salmon out of some 82,000 for the 2005 observation period.
The sea lions' take of spring chinook may be 4 percent, or more, of the those working their way upriver to spawn, according to the AP.
Today's decision should make a lot of people happy, from angry anglers to politicians in two states to salmon lovers around the Northwest.
And for those concerned about the fate of the sea lions, the job will of course be done as humanely as possible. The AP reports those that can be caught in traps must be held for 48 hours to see if an aquarium, zoo or similar facility will take them. Otherwise, they would be euthanized. Those that avoid trapping can be shot and killed at the dam.
Protected under the 1972 Marine Mammals Protection Act, sea lions apparently have only been legally targeted for lethal removal once before, according to the AP, when in the 1990s five animals were taken from Seattle's Ballard Locks to protect a steelhead run that still hasn't recovered from the sea lions' ravenous appetites.
The AP notes that the fate of two of the sea lions from the Seattle cull has never been divulged.
Hey, if the public is never made aware of just exactly how the Bonneville Dam are dispatched, we're OK with that, too. Good riddance.
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Aussie antis activate assault on call for cull of kangaroos
It may be the least populated continent in terms of people, but Australia is overrun by hopping marsupials revered to almost mythical status for their boxing abilities.
Now Australia's government is in a fight with antis over plans to cull from a former military base 400 kangaroos that otherwise will starve to death upon decimating the area's foliage, the New York Times reports from Sydney.
It seems an odd issue for the antis to hold on to, considering the state governments last year issued permits to cull some 3.7 million kangaroos, about 15 percent of the total population of the four species licensed for commercial exploitation, according to the Times. (Less than two-thirds of the quota is actually taken in any given year, the newspaper reports.)
But apparently these protestors have to draw the line somewhere.
It's the same, old arguments for both sides. The antis cry cruelty in the cull. The government claims the eradication will be done humanely (get this: sedation by darting, then euthanasia by lethal injection, according to the Defense Department; talk about going the extra mile) and without the cull the kangas will suffer very slow, very painful deaths by starvation.
No, starvation ain't pretty, folks, so who are the cruel ones here?
The 500 pouched hoppers in residence at 286-acre Belconnen Naval Transmitter Station are endangering themselves and other native species and rare plants, including endangered grassland, the Times reports. The cull of Eastern gray kangaroos will bring their numbers to a manageable level of at most one 'roo per 2½ acres.
Seems like the perfect solution to us.
And it's not like culled animals are just tossed; kangaroos are sold for meat and leather, according to the paper, and their skin is all the rage in sport shoes.
About the author: Brett Pauly spent nearly six years editing and publishing ESPNOutdoors.com before moving on to produce the ESPN.com Sports Travel site. He is a national award-winning writer and editor with 14 years of experience in the newspaper trade, including stints at the Los Angeles Daily News and Seattle Times. The Evergreen State is where he now makes his home. Click here to email him.
