Preservation of America's Wildlife

Tag: conservation

  • Reality vs. Tradition/Heritage

    Written by
    John Cox, M.A. C/M

    “Frankly, when I started to Ride Horses, and establish a reliance with them, the connection between them and I, to be comfortable for them, as well as myself, I found many traditional and heritage driven situations to be absurd. As a matter of fact, many were abusive, and these fear driven traditions, certainly inconsistent with my Horse’s reactions while in remote areas on the trail.” — John Cox, M.A. C/M Horseman

    “We are in a fight over “Ignorant Mind-Sets”, make no doubt, and “False-Narratives” brought about by heavily funded non-profits, special interest groups, and what we accepted as Tradition or Heritage.

    Yet, we “Block-Out” the Traditions of Nature, the Wolves and the Wild Horses for example, that have been around centuries before the “Human Invasion”! Upon which, “Humans” assimilated their beliefs into what is termed “Tradition or Heritage” today, while hypocritically overlooking the “True-Heritage, and how the planet was healthy enough to get us here, today, by Nature, not humans, and, not the human mind set at all. Which is truly destructive on this planet.

    Public debates over Gray Wolves and Wild Horses in North America often pit modern ecological science against deep-seated agrarian traditions and sensationalized media. Yes, tradition based upon “Myth” in the media. Drama and story-telling, not science nor facts, but enhancements to the story-telling, which become, over time, reality — or more dangerous to us all, an ironic “truth”. We now see the destruction when we attempt to assimilate these story-telling dramatic episodes within Nature versus Human, and attempts to manage our Lands and Wildlife within that perspective.

    Traditional viewpoints frequently cast both species as destructive threats to rural livelihoods; whereas, prevailing narratives sometimes romanticize them or misrepresent their direct ecological roles.

    The Conflict Over Wolves traditionally-accepted perspectives are Rooted in folklore and historical livestock protection, fantasies about being endangered by them and dramatized via story-telling, and raising the dramatic structure of the stories to extreme excitement.

    No doubt, this perspective frames wolves as relentless, bloodthirsty predators that decimate big game and domestic cattle (i.e. which are non-indigenous by the way, and should not be roaming our countryside).

    Science, i.e. credible science or “non-dramatic science”, shows Gray Wolves act as Apex regulators that help maintain healthy ecosystems. Depictions of random mass killings, of livestock, et al. (again non-indigenous domestic animals, cattle, should not be roaming our countryside), or imminent danger to humans, are largely exaggerated; although, localized livestock interactions, exaggerated to the extreme. The Wild Horses, and those same people that exaggerate the Wolves aggressiveness, establish drama through fiction, or, exaggerated lies, about the Wild Horses, as well.

    These false-narratives I discuss here, need to end, before we can actually attempt to resolve the issues we face today, within the destruction of our Natural Ecology and overall Environmental Complex.

    Conservation, for example, precisely means to approach Nature as a priority, and not a wreckless, ill-defined term that means making up lies about designated Wildlife, such as Over-Population lies, in order to enhance Trophy or Sport Hunts.

    Nothing wrong with being truthful. Before Humans invaded the planet, the Wildlife, in their version of our Planet, enhanced this Environment over millions of years. Humans here for a mere few thousand years, and we are destroying millions of years of Evolution — as many lie to themselves daily now. As if to say to themselves, their version of history is Tradition, and Heritage, as long as they do not look behind the Curtain of Reality — and the very observable destruction of our Natural Environment. . .” — John Cox, M.A. C/M

  • Forests Managed for Production – Wildlife & Terrestrial Secondary

    We Need Sustainability of Wildlife and Our Terrestrial Environments for Lands and Human Health – Priorities Need Changed

    John Cox, M.A. C/M

    Forestry Management Paradigms, despite the Wild Fires, remain favoring (yes – the Special Interest Lobby) logging and industry within our Forests. We often refer to it as Intensive Timber Management or Industrial Forestry; which, prioritizes high-yield wood production, timber stand uniformity, and rapid economic returns.

    This approach fundamentally shapes the forest ecosystem by favoring commercialized-returns by volume over biodiversity. Co-existence, between our Natural Environment and Human’s non-existence, or a very low priority, and Wildlife sustainability even lower.

    Clearly Observed Priorities Unfavorable to Co-Existence

    Aged & antiquated Cultural Heritage once again a fact; whereas, Industrial managers often clear-cut existing diverse forests and replant with a single, highly speculated profitable commercial species (e.g., Douglas-fir in the Pacific Northwest). This creates uniform, single-age stands. Yet, Old-Growth Timber Stands, at times nearby, keep sustainability possible, yet ignored, and often left out of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) when considering the Clear-Cut, and potential damages to surrounding areas – inclusive of the Old Growth Stands.

    The Short Rotation Cycles of a Reforested-Zone is normal management procedure, in operational aspects of trees that are harvested as soon as they reach commercial maturity. The problem quite obvious, yet ignored — The Clear-Cut done, logs hauled away to the mill, typically long before the biological age when trees would naturally hollow out, fall, and provide diverse habitats.

    Afterwards the Vegetation Habitats,profoundly, are sprayed with Herbicides are often heavily utilized to eliminate broadleaf “weeds” and understory brush that compete with the commercial trees for nutrients and sunlight, directly reducing food and cover for native species.

    For better Reforestation, commercially that is, the Standing dead trees (snags) and large downed logs are frequently removed or burned. In nature, these are essential homes and foraging grounds for birds, amphibians, and small mammals

    When management is stripped of wildlife consideration, the ecosystem shifts in several distinct ways compared to ecological forestry:

    Feature Industrial / Timber-Focused ManagementEcological / Wildlife-Focused Management
    Tree DiversityMonoculture (one or two species planted).Diverse mix of native hardwoods and conifers.
    Dead/Downed WoodCleared out to prevent fire and make logging easier.Preserved on purpose to provide critical habitat.
    StructureUniform, even-aged stands.Varied ages, canopy layers, and open spaces.
    UnderstorySuppressed with herbicides to favor crop trees.Allowed to grow to provide forage and cover.
    Primary GoalMaximize timber board-feet and financial ROI.Enhance ecosystem health and biodiversity.

    While intensive industrial logging is heavily regulated by state and federal forest practices acts to prevent topsoil erosion and massive waterway damage, its core aim remains resource extraction rather than wildlife support.

    Conclusively, the conflicts we do see, easily observed by the way, is the outstanding conflicts in arbitrary logging operations, that damage the surrounding areas, as well as the Logged-Off areas. Something quite a bit more than resolving the issues by Select-Cuts Management. Not only Wildlife ignored in the EIS, but the issue of Sustainable-Forests also in competition with the rush for Dollars and Profits.

    The ultimate results? We see Wildlife coming into areas near homes, or ranches, near suburbs, and supposedly violating some people’s images of where Wildlife has to live, and they have to live — All the While taking away, irresponsibly and unnecessarily, the very Homes where Wildlife live – daily.

    We then move on to Wildfires, and Record Breaking Years for Wildfires, and come up with decisions based upon Profits for Industry, rather than, to conclude, or even resolve the Wildfire problem.

    Do we have a problem with this Cultural Heritage Problem? Absolutely! We seem to invoke, whenever issues develop, and questions asked as to why we have to sacrifice so much, in Our Nation’s Lands and Wildlife. Are Profits for a few, in industry-only, and the hell with Wildlife or the remaining Terrestrial Environment, a fair-bargain for America and American’s? Many American’s will say NO!