Comments on: The Long Reach of the Wolf http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/ se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:09:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Canids of the Allegheny National Forest (The Anthropik Network) http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-29680 Canids of the Allegheny National Forest (The Anthropik Network) Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:11:38 +0000 http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-29680 [...] Once upon a time, these were the wolves of the Allegheny Forest. The impact of the wolf here was of the same kind as that of the wolves of Yellowstone. Wolf predation kept deer population down to roughly 10 per square mile. Of course, the creation of the "Allegheny Brush Heap" out of what had once been the Allegheny Forest, along with the usual human fear and predation on wolf populations across the country, drove the wolves out. Today, wolves are considered extinct in the new Allegheny National Forest. [...] […] Once upon a time, these were the wolves of the Allegheny Forest. The impact of the wolf here was of the same kind as that of the wolves of Yellowstone. Wolf predation kept deer population down to roughly 10 per square mile. Of course, the creation of the “Allegheny Brush Heap” out of what had once been the Allegheny Forest, along with the usual human fear and predation on wolf populations across the country, drove the wolves out. Today, wolves are considered extinct in the new Allegheny National Forest. […]

]]> By: Overkill, Overchill and Human Nature » The Anthropik Network http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-3318 Overkill, Overchill and Human Nature » The Anthropik Network Thu, 01 Dec 2005 18:57:35 +0000 http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-3318 [...] Humans were not ecological saints, either. We did cause extinctions undeniably, such as the moras of New Zealand. So does any alpha predator in a new ecology. Alpha predators like humans play keystone roles in any ecology, and introducing such a predator into any new ecology will cause cascades of change, Some species will prosper; others will adapt; still others will go extinct. Moving into a new ecology during a significant climate change meant that the new variable was more than many species could handle. Animals already in decline could not handle the extra pressures, and went extinct. This is not a distinctly human behavior: we can see much the same in Yellowstone: Ripple points to some black-and-white photographs taken of the same spot in the Lamar Valley more than 50 years apart. "You can see that young aspen and willow were abundant in the early 1900s. By the 1930s the trees had stopped regenerating, and there are no young ones. [...] […] Humans were not ecological saints, either. We did cause extinctions undeniably, such as the moras of New Zealand. So does any alpha predator in a new ecology. Alpha predators like humans play keystone roles in any ecology, and introducing such a predator into any new ecology will cause cascades of change, Some species will prosper; others will adapt; still others will go extinct. Moving into a new ecology during a significant climate change meant that the new variable was more than many species could handle. Animals already in decline could not handle the extra pressures, and went extinct. This is not a distinctly human behavior: we can see much the same in Yellowstone: Ripple points to some black-and-white photographs taken of the same spot in the Lamar Valley more than 50 years apart. “You can see that young aspen and willow were abundant in the early 1900s. By the 1930s the trees had stopped regenerating, and there are no young ones. […]

]]> By: Chuck http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-2101 Chuck Fri, 21 Oct 2005 02:51:32 +0000 http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-2101 I find it profoundly... <em>beautiful...</em> that a reintroduction of alpha predators into an environment so viciously robbed of them returns ecosystem to its dynamic balance so rapidly. The lesson to be learned by all of humanity from this is, of course, "The Universe is smarter than you, so shut up and pay attention." - Chuck I find it profoundly… beautiful… that a reintroduction of alpha predators into an environment so viciously robbed of them returns ecosystem to its dynamic balance so rapidly.

The lesson to be learned by all of humanity from this is, of course, “The Universe is smarter than you, so shut up and pay attention.”

- Chuck

]]> By: Jason Godesky http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-2095 Jason Godesky Fri, 21 Oct 2005 01:53:53 +0000 http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-2095 Ayup. :) Ayup. :)

]]> By: david hodgson http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-2093 david hodgson Fri, 21 Oct 2005 01:01:48 +0000 http://anthropik.com/2005/10/the-long-reach-of-the-wolf/#comment-2093 Read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/155963488X/102-4448984-2752155?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance" rel="nofollow">Holistic Management</a> by Alan Savory. His primary thesis is that grazing animals actually help the land rather than damage it, as long as they are moving around. Reintroducing natural predators is one way to make sure they keep moving around. Much of the land that we have that is turning to desert is because we are resting it, we have removed not only the predators but also the grazing animals. Read Holistic Management by Alan Savory. His primary thesis is that grazing animals actually help the land rather than damage it, as long as they are moving around. Reintroducing natural predators is one way to make sure they keep moving around. Much of the land that we have that is turning to desert is because we are resting it, we have removed not only the predators but also the grazing animals.

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