Notes from the Field

Rivers, Salmon, Bears and Healthy Forests

Posted: by Darrell Smith

“What if I told you that the trees are here, in part, because of the salmon? That the trees that shelter and feed the fish, that help build the fish, are themselves built by the fish?” ~ Carl Safina, essayist for Salmon in the Trees

Under the cover of darkness, black bears prowl the banks of the stream, wading out among moss-covered rocks below overhanging branches festooned with drooping lichen. The bears are waiting for the return of their favorite feast, spawning salmon. The salmon are returning guided by mysterious forces that have inexorably drawn them from their ocean home back to the streams where they were born and where they will spawn and die, completing the circle of life. But there is a bigger story that goes beyond the salmon, the river and the bears. It’s a story about the intricate connection between the towering conifer giants of the temperate west-coast rainforests, the hungry bears and the returning salmon.

While it might seem somewhat intuitive that the nutrients and nitrogen provided by salmon are beneficial to aquatic plants and plants growing on the stream banks, it has only been in the last decade that the critical role played by bears, both black bears and grizzlies, in dispersing nutrients from salmon throughout the riparian forest has been identified and recognized as an essential component in maintaining the health of riparian forests.

Beginning with early studies by Tom Reichman in 2000, and continued by Gende, Quinn and other prominent researchers, primarily in British Columbia and Alaska, the ultimate “fate” of salmon carcasses removed from the river by bears has been tracked. One such study examined the transport of the salmon into the forests in three watersheds in Southeastern Alaska over three seasons using tagged sockeye salmon and the ultimate location of the recovered tags to tell the story. The results were surprising: up to 50% of the fish caught and killed by bears, both brown bear and black bear, were transported away from the streams and into the surrounding temperate rainforest. Once the bears have successfully landed a protein-rich fish, they often disappear with the prize deep into the trees in order to avoid competition from other bears or scavengers. Once there, the remains of the fish are scattered through the forest,  along with bear scat.

And now the story really gets interesting. Following up on this initial research regarding nutrient transport into forests, a team of researchers headed up by James Helfield and Robert Naiman of the University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources devised a method to measure the actual amount of marine-derived nitrogen in trees through coring the trees and examining the stable nitrogen isotope ratios of annual growth rings.

Nitrogen availability has been identified as the limiting factor for terrestrial plant growth in riparian ecosystems. The study concluded that trees and shrubs near spawning streams grew three times faster than other control stands, and that salmon-borne, marine-derived nitrogen is the reason why. As riparian forests affect the quality of in-stream habitat through shading, sediment and nutrient filtration, and production of large woody debris (LWD), this fertilization process serves not only to enhance riparian production, but may also act as a positive feedback mechanism by which salmon- borne nutrients improve spawning and rearing habitat for subsequent salmon generations and maintain the long-term productivity of river corridors along the Pacific coast of North America.  And all of this marine-derived nitrogen from salmon is transported and made available to the trees by bears!  

Over millenia bears have been fulfilling this age-old critical role of salmon carcass dispersers, moving nutrients from the stream to the forest, so that riparian trees grow tall and strong, eventually contributing large woody debris to streams, improving spawning and rearing habitat for subsequent salmon generations and maintaining the long-term productivity of river corridors along the Pacific Coast of North America. Its time to give bears there due in the watersheds of the Pacific Northwest as the real kings of the forest.

The Iconic Grizzly Bear Returns

Posted: by Darrell Smith

by Dr. Jordan Schaul. First posted in Huffington Post. Reprinted here with permission from the author.

Posted: 12/04/2015 12:13 pm EST

Acclaimed photographer Tom Mangelsen and noted journalist Todd Wilkinson just released the book Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek, which is a memoir of sorts of one of the most famous grizzly bears in the Lower 48. Her name is 399 and she is a star among bears.

Bear 399 was first fitted with a tracking collar back in 2001, as a 5-year-old sow living in Grand Teton National Park. Studies of 399 and her cubs’ movements and interactions with people near Jackson Hole have recently enlightened researchers about the behavior of habituated bears, not to be confused with food conditioned bears.

Pioneering radio telemetry studies were conducted by the Craigheads in the late 1950’s, when they researched the behavior and ecology of the grizzly bears of Yellowstone. Although the technology is now more sophisticated with the advent of GPS collars, conceptually the telemetric study of bears and other carnivores as they move across the landscape remains fundamentally the same. The collar emits a signal, which enables researchers to remotely monitor the movements of wildlife and their use of habitat.

In her 19 years, 399 has produced 15 cubs and her legacy will be continued by her surviving offspring. Bear 399 has garnered an immense amount of media attention around the world and has turned Jackson Hole into a mecca for bear viewing. Most importantly, bear 399 is a testament to bear conservation management programs adopted in the contiguous US.

Grizzlies, which are North America’s version of the brown bear have made an astonishing comeback from the mid-1970’s when they were federally listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Although they must endure emerging threats from the likes of climate change, humans continue to pose the biggest threat through more direct influences.

Rebounding grizzly populations in the Lower 48 translate into more than just the restoration of a wildlife icon. The presence of grizzlies speaks to the health of ecosystems. Grizzlies are both umbrella and keystone species. Conserving these majestic mammals serves to facilitate preservation efforts for a multitude of other species that also occur in habitats where grizzly bears exist.

As eminent ecologist David Suzuki said, “Scientists believe that grizzly bears are an essential part of healthy, fully functioning ecosystems in western North America. Known as a “keystone” species, grizzlies are “ecosystem engineers” that help to regulate prey species and disperse the seeds of many plant species, such as blueberry and buffaloberry. They also help to maintain plant and forest health, both by aerating the soil as they dig for roots, pine nuts and ground squirrels, and by moving thousands of kilograms of spawning salmon carcasses into the forest, where trees and other plants absorb their high levels of nitrogen.”

According to the IUCN Red List, the world’s most comprehensive database on the conservation status of imperiled species, the total population of brown bears on Earth exceeds 200,000 individuals. Indeed, there are healthy and rebounding populations of brown bears around the world, with strongholds persisting in Russia, Canada and Alaska. Some of these populations are in decline, as a consequence of human-induced stressors like poaching, and encroachment and development of habitat. In addition, climate change and rapid human population growth continue to place pressure on these robust carnivores, which rival the polar bear as the largest terrestrial carnivore on the planet.

The brown bear is regionally extinct in Mexico and in Northern and Central Europe and in parts of Africa and Asia where it once flourished as an opportunistic omnivore and apex predator. Many of these regions on the planet will never be restored with brown bears, as habitat is not available nor is it suitable for reintroduction efforts. But as I mentioned in a recent article, some European brown bear populations are also making a comeback. This strongly suggests that human-brown bear coexistence is possible even in human-dominated landscapes. While some populations remain critically endangered, albeit stable (neither decreasing or increasing in numbers), others are actually increasing in size.

Critically endangered populations of brown bears face a high risk of extinction by definition. They are exceedingly vulnerable merely because their numbers are so low that they are susceptible to stochastic events. Lower reproductive rates and higher mortality rates in these small populations dictate that these bears receive as much protection as possible by wildlife management agencies. This is one reason that although grizzly bear recovery efforts have been deemed successful in restoring the North American brown bear to parts of their historic range in the Lower 48, efforts to delist the grizzly remain controversial and continue to be challenged by some in the conservation community.

The regionally “endangered” populations in both the contiguous US and Western Europe total under 20,000 bears with under 2,000 in the Lower 48 . Increasing development continues to threaten the 45-50 grizzly bears that inhabit the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem and other recovery zones in the Western US.

The Vital Ground Foundation is working to safeguard this population and bears in other recovery zones. The Montana-based land trust has launched an initiative to secure unprotected private land in the region so that bears can move undisturbed from protected public lands via linkage zones. The nonprofit conservation entity secures these properties through fee title acquisitions and conservation easements.

Vital Ground’s Executive Director Ryan Lutey provides a status report on grizzly bears in the Lower 48 for this year.

“During 2015, unusually warm, dry weather throughout western Montana and North Idaho diminished the availability of natural foods for bears, which has resulted in a dramatic increase in conflicts between bears and humans. Bears are being forced to roam farther in search of a meal, which offers many more opportunities for wandering bears to be hit crossing a highway or relocated or removed as part of a wildlife management action to mitigate a conflict. For a population as tenuous as the one in and around the Cabinet-Yaak, every single grizzly mortality carries implications for long-term recovery. and that’s why preventing additional human intrusion into wildlife habitat is so important. Collaborative approaches like helping private landowners tap into tax incentives associated with conservation easements protects wildlife habitat from inappropriate subdivision and development and helps make these teetering grizzly populations more resilient to both acute seasonal events and to the extended effects of climate change.”

In North America alone, there are nearly 58,000 brown bears (AKA grizzly bears). Most of these iconic mammals live in mountainous regions of Alaska and Western Canada. The recovery of the grizzly bear in the Lower 48 is an important restoration effort beyond just the conservation of one well-known and beloved species. Securing the future of these bears may be our most significant contribution to the conservation of North America’s natural heritage.

Our Summer Internship with WWO

Posted: by Darrell Smith
photo 2-2

At the end of  their summer internships, WWO asked Elliot Harris, Matthew Chang and Nick Ward to write about their experiences.  WWO is very thankful to these three stalwarts for all the amazing things they accomplished on behalf of WWO and large carnivore awareness in Washington State!  Here it is in their own words:

I met Lorna and Darrell Smith in February of 2015 at an open house that was part of the public scoping phase of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear Environmental Impact Statement. After volunteering at Western Wildlife Outreach events in the spring of 2015, Lorna and Darrell gave me the opportunity to intern with Western Wildlife Outreach for the summer of 2015 and help with presentations and booths throughout Western Washington.

Two of my friends and I created a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation, and compiled information about grizzly bears in the contiguous 48 states, and Washington’s North Cascades and Selkirk Mountain Ecosystems specifically. We worked with State Parks, National Forest Visitor Centers, and Summer Camps, to orchestrate informational presentations and booths for groups of all ages. I not only learned a great deal about Washington State’s large carnivores (bears, cougars, and wolves) throughout the internship, but I also learned about some of the central issues that undercut progress on wildlife restoration efforts.

The most notable issue that I learned about was the vast amount of misinformation surrounding conservation projects such as grizzly bear restoration. There were two primary forms of misinformation that I learned to be most detrimental to restoration efforts.

Firstly and most obvious was the vast amount of misinformation about basic wildlife biology and behavior. This is particularly harmful in the case of carnivores because without an understanding of carnivore biology and behavior, people attribute adverse encounters with carnivores to the inherent biology of the carnivores rather than to human behavior that attracts carnivores into close proximity with humans, the most common form of human behavior being poor odor prevention practices. After working at booths this past summer, it quickly became clear that people love to tell stories about potentially dangerous encounters with bears (I am one of these people, as my family has had its share of bear encounters). It is no surprise that as these stories are told and retold, there is a certain amount of embellishment that tends to denounce the behavior of bears and glorify the survival of humans. In the case of many visitors to our booths, there was an ingrained sense of blame towards bears for such encounters, rather than attributing the encounters to human behavior. While it was often difficult to sway the opinions of audiences that firmly adhere to their beliefs, it also provided an opportunity to talk to people about bear safety and bear biology and behavior in an effort to prevent future adverse encounters. This form of basic misinformation proved to be particularly detrimental because it quickly became clear that people were forming their opinions about grizzly bear restoration based off of false information. Once basic facts were clarified, opponents of restoration often left the booth much more receptive to a restored grizzly bear population in Washington. Misinformation about wildlife biology and behavior must be countered by the distribution of accurate, scientific information so that people are able to make informed decisions about their support of conservation projects.

Secondly, there was a lack of understanding about the implications of grizzly bear restoration in Washington’s North Cascades. This was most clearly evidenced by the expectation that a restored grizzly bear population would somehow vastly change life in Washington. However, visitors to our booths often had no clear denotation of a “restored population.” This was a much easier hurtle to overcome because it was as simple as explaining that “a restored population will be a self-sustaining, genetically viable, and disaster-resilient population of 200-400 grizzly bears spread across the 10,000 square mile North Cascades Ecosystem.” For those still skeptical, we simply had to explain that “bear safety practices are the same for black bears and grizzly bears, and the state already has about 25,000 black bears living in habitats closer to humans than grizzly bears, so grizzly bear restoration will not change day-to-day life at all.” Once people realized that having a restored population has no negative consequences, they generally viewed the conservation effort much more favorably. This is, however, only one of many examples of how people did not understand the implications of grizzly bear restoration. It became imperative to offer clear explanations of the implications of grizzly bear restoration in order to allow people to make an informed decision about restoration.

Upon realizing how pervasive misinformation is in wildlife conservation efforts, the importance of Western Wildlife Outreach became much more clear. By “promoting an accurate understanding of large carnivore heritage through education and community outreach in Washington and Idaho,” Western Wildlife is providing the public with the information necessary to make an informed decision about grizzly bear restoration. More so, they are not only providing people with appropriate information, but are also inspiring people to change their behavior when living in proximity to carnivores. This allows humans and carnivores to coexist safely in a wholesome environment. The work of Western Wildlife Outreach is invaluable to the conservation of the Pacific Northwest’s unique ecosystems.

__Elliot Harris, Intern, WWO 2015

Working with Western Wildlife Outreach this summer has been an eye-opening experience. As an organismal biology and ecology major, I’ve always been interested in wildlife ecology and learning about how ecosystems are most effectively managed not by humans, but by the creatures that inhabit them. This summer, we focused on the ecological role of large carnivores in the North Cascades Ecosystem. By educating ourselves about these animals, we were able to discuss the current effort to restore the grizzly bear population to the North Cascades Ecosystem with the general public. Our outreach was done both by visiting summer camps and answering questions at Western Wildlife Outreach booths. At Tall Timber Ranch alone, we were able to present to about 150 people during two separate sessions (one for high school students, one for junior high students). We were also able to spend time answering individual questions and addressing personal concerns about the current status of bears, wolves, and cougars while working at Western Wildlife Outreach booths. The booths helped attract people with hands-on displays such as skulls, teeth, claws, pelts, and even full grizzly and black bear mounts.  We answered a variety of questions, and addressed a lot of the myths and misinformation surrounding grizzlies in the North Cascades.

It’s been a pleasure to have worked with Lorna and Darrell Smith this summer. Their obvious passion and dedication to all the large carnivores in the North Cascades Ecosystem is what drives projects and improves the natural areas they love. They also were able to give us some experience and insight as to the life of a wildlife biologist; an invaluable experience for me as that’s a career path I’m considering taking in the future. I’ve learned a lot this summer, and not just about grizzlies but also about how the relationships from USDFW and WDFW exist between non-governmental organizations such as Western Wildlife Outreach.

__Matthew Chang, WWO Intern, 2015

I have found a great deal of pleasure in delivering presentations and spreading the word about the status of grizzly bears and the pressing ecological issues surrounding them. The negative effects to the North Cascades ecosystem (NCE) that will result from the absence of these keystone predators will effect younger generations. Our focus this summer was to involve these younger audiences in the restoration process of grizzly bears in the NCE, so that they may not have to experience the future degradation of this ecosystem. I look forward to seeing the environmental improvement that results from our outreach.

Working with and getting to know Lorna and Darryl Smith on a personal level has been a real pleasure of this internship. I have learned a lot about bears and other large carnivores over these summer months through them. My knowledge of bears prior to this internship was enough to realize how fascinating and impressive these animals are. Now, I truly understand not only how intelligent bears are, but how essential these giant creatures are in their ecosystems. Although my career aspirations as a fine woodworker are somewhat irrelevant when considering this internship, my moral framework and personal interests as an outdoorsman fully support this essential restoration movement as well as Western Wildlife Outreach.

__Nicholas Ward, WWO Intern, 2015

The Insanity of Not Respecting Nature

Posted: by Darrell Smith

by Mike Cavaroc, Free Roaming Photography. Reprinted with permission, September 15, 2015

2015 has so far seen a number of increased bison attacks on people in Yellowstone National Park, but despite what many visitors think, rarely, if ever, is it the animal’s fault.

Most people are surprised to hear that bison are responsible for the most injuries in the park. The cause is almost always the same. Someone who thinks of them as big, dumb and slow animals walks up to one to take a picture with it, ignoring the warning signs the animal is showing, and the bison is forced to its last resort: tossing the person up in the air and breaking several bones in the flight, at the very least. After all, they can sprint over 30mph and are anything but docile.

There have also been multiple bear fatalities in recent years just in Yellowstone. Two completely separate incidents were the result of someone hiking into dense bear areas defiantly leaving bear spray behind, claiming they’ve lived here long enough to know how to behave around a bear. Of course if you know what you’re doing around a bear, you don’t need bear spray, but spray isn’t for people that don’t know what they’re doing around a bear. Bear spray is intended for those rare close encounters that you don’t see coming, what’s ultimately suspected of claiming the lives of those two people.

You would think the increased wildlife-human interactions would lead to more education and understanding about our natural world, but sadly, dangerous narcissism (in more than one way) remains high in wild areas. Just recently, a section of the Colorado Trail was closed because too many people were taking selfies with bears. That’s literally telling the world, the animal included, that you have absolutely no respect for the animal or the environment you’re in. Trying to get as close as you can to a wild animal to make sure it’s visible within the picture is for one reason only: to show your friends that you saw something they didn’t. In that moment, you’re completely detached from the magic of the encounter and reverting to completely unnatural behavior in a vain and futile attempt to 1-up your connections online, and everyone they’re connected to hoping they’ll see as well, thereby putting you in the spotlight. The entire point of the encounter is lost entirely. This is not why wild animals are out there. They’re there to keep ecosystems healthy so that we can hopefully continue to have fresh food and water for decades to come.

What’s missed by blatantly disrespecting nature is a chance to understand yourself better which leads to a more rewarding and fulfilling life. Despite our best efforts to deny it, humans are still animals, and humans need a healthy amount of nature. In fact, multiple studies are beginning to show that children need outdoor exposure to properly develop. This is because our mind and bodies still depend on the natural environment for rest and relaxation. Trying to briefly “escape” to nature only carries the burden of trying to escape, so a true immersion into nature isn’t fully possible. Then, when a wild animal is encountered, the competitiveness to outdo friends is still there, leading to unnatural and dangerous behavior in nature. In fact it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that taking a selfie with a bear, or any wild animal, is a form of insanity. The etymology of the word insanity points to two origins that sum up that behavior quite accurately: “unhealthfullness” and “extreme folly.” I don’t think anyone who actually understands what nature is would argue against that at all.

The narcissism of trying outdo other people is completely misplaced in nature. It’s dangerous not just because you’re putting your own life at risk, but should a bear attack you, no matter how idiotic you were behaving, rules dictate that park or forest officials have to kill the bear. To put another life at risk so you can potentially outdo people you know is unquestionably insanity. Of course they probably don’t know that, but to be so disconnected from nature as to have your main goal be to satisfy narcissism at the sight of such a majestic creature would also qualify. Besides the obvious danger of it here, there’s also the danger of getting completely absorbed in the lifeless circle of not getting to understand or truly experience nature, and therefore yourself. This ultimately leads to a bland and unsatisfying life where the absence of nature is artificially and inadequately compensated for through other means, though never achieving the same result.

People often (semi-)joke that there should be a test before admitting people into wild areas. The sad and ironic truth is that most people would fail that test horribly,but raw and wild nature is exactly what they need to be cured of not understanding the natural world, and therefore, themselves.

Be Coyote Wise

Posted: by Darrell Smith

Courtesy of WDFW “Crossings Paths” Newsletter, February 2015

It’s good to be wise about wildlife year round to avoid problems, but it’s especially important at this time of year to be “coyote wise”.

Coyotes, which are abundant throughout Washington’s rural and urban areas, are paring up and breeding now in late winter to produce pups in April and early May. And coyotes that were born eight or nine months ago are striking out on their own at this time. That means there’s lots of coyotes moving about and making noise, yipping and howling to communicate with each other.

Like most wildlife, coyotes usually avoid people and don’t cause trouble. But coyotes are extremely opportunistic and adaptable to our ways and will take advantage of easy access to food sources. As a canine species, they also view domestic dogs as competitors. These two factors can lead to problems with coyotes now and through summer as young are reared.

Finding food is critical for all wildlife. But mature animals that are reproducing, and young animals that are learning independence, are really driven to feed.

Coyotes are actually omnivores – they’ll eat everything from fruit to large animals. Hungry coyotes will try almost anything.

NEVER intentionally feed coyotes. And think about how you might be unintentionally providing access to food, like unsecured garbage, uncovered compost piles, spilled seed from backyard bird feeders, pet food left outdoors, or even small pets like cats or toy breed dogs left to roam, especially from dusk to dawn.

Don’t feed feral cats (domestic cats gone wild). Coyotes prey on these cats as well as any feed you leave out for the feral cats.

If a coyote finds an easy food source close to people, it can easily become habituated, or so accustomed to people that it becomes abnormally bold. Coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare. Only two such attacks have been documented in Washington – in 2006 a habituated coyote bit two young children in Bellevue and was later euthanized.

Finding mates and producing and rearing young can make adult coyotes more territorial and less tolerant of free-running domestic dogs. Learning how to make a living in the world, independent of a family unit, can make juvenile non-breeding coyotes more competitive with free-ranging dogs.

Avoid running dogs off-leash in areas where you have heard or seen coyotes, especially now through May. Coyotes might aggressively confront dogs running through their denning area, and some dogs are just as likely to curiously sniff out coyotes and end up in nasty encounters.

Coyotes carry parasites and canine diseases, like distemper and parvovirus, that are rarely a risk to humans but could be deadly for domestic dogs. Be sure to keep dogs current on vaccinations and consult your veterinarian if you know of or even suspect a coyote encounter.

More information on becoming “coyote wise” is available at https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/canis-latrans