The Labor Day holiday interrupted last Monday’s  second installment of the Wildlife Bulletin, which is merely a highlight of the previous week’s news and blog posts I found interesting and pertinent to the topics of wildlife, habitats, and conservation.   And by all means feel free to add your recommendations via the comments section.

Judge faults removal of wolf from endangered list (Sept. 09)
Hunters can keep stalking gray wolves for now in the Northern Rockies, but the killing may be short-lived after a federal judge found problems with the recent removal of the animal from the endangered species list.

Judge Rules Wolf Hunts in Rockies Can Proceed (Sept. 10)
Four months after the government removed gray wolves from the endangered species list, a federal judge has ruled that the first hunts for them in the contiguous United States in decades can proceed.

From Deep Pacific, Ugly and Tasty, With a Catch (Sept. 9)
The answer to the eternal mystery of what makes up a Filet-O-Fish sandwich turns out to involve an ugly creature from the sunless depths of the Pacific, whose bounty, it seems, is not limitless.

Opting Out of Migration: As Climate Warms, Arctic-Nesting Geese Elect to Winter in Alaska Instead of Mexico (Sept. 9)
The winter distribution of Pacific brant, a small, dark sea goose, has shifted northward from low-temperate areas such as Mexico to sub-Arctic areas as Alaska’s climate has warmed over the last four decades, according to a just-released article in Arctic.

Until recently, nearly the entire (90 percent) population of Pacific brant wintered in Mexico, but now as many as to 30 percent are opting to spend their winters in Alaska instead, according to the U.S. Geological Survey-led study. Although records are sparse, fewer than 3,000 brant were detected wintering in Alaska before 1977, a number that has jumped to as many as 40,000 birds now.

Dozens of New Species Found in Island Crater (Sept. 9)
Most people bring back the usual mementos from their overseas vacations: photographs, T-shirts, diarrhea. The BBC Natural History Unit, however, came home with something better. A crew of scientists, academics and filmmakers from the British broadcaster visited the South Pacific island of Papua New Guinea this past spring to film a nature documentary and in the process discovered more than 30 new species of animals.

Vultures: A Symbol of Death (Sept. 7)
I know I am two days late in posting for International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD09), but I didn’t want to not post altogether.  Maybe I’m a bit of a freak, but I love vultures.  I mean it…I really LOVE them!

One of the advantages to living in the South was that I saw them all the time.  Turkey vultures are one of the only birds I can identify in flight.  But it’s the black vultures that I really came to love the most.
Posted by Allie on Oh, For the Love of Science

The Burrowing Owl, A Species Of Special Concern In California (Sept. 6)
The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a species of special concern in California and several other states.  They are declining across much of California in response to loss of habitat to urban development, ground squirrel control efforts, and intensive agricultural practices.
Posted by Larry Jordan on The Birder’s Report

No Spray Zone: Are Pesticides Really Controlling Invasives? (Sept. 8th)
When faced with invasive, non-native weeds on the range, the first response for many conservationists is to load up a backpack sprayer full of pesticides.

Spraying chemicals toxic to wildlife and people — under the auspices of protecting wildlife and people — is often portrayed as a necessary evil if we want to stop the spread of invasive species.
Posted by Matt Miller on Cool Green Science

EPA limits pesticide use near salmon waters (Sept. 12)
The Environmental Protection Agency announced new measures to protect endangered and threatened Pacific salmon on Friday, limiting three pesticides commonly used on farms.

Tags: environmental news, headlines, news, Wildlife Bulletin, wildlife news

This entry was posted by Scott on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Wildlife Bulletin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.