Casting for Recovery Holiday Auction ends on the 31st

The Casting for Recovery Holiday Auction is now open. The auction will run from November 27, 2009 to December 31, 2009, with proceeds supporting Casting for Recovery's programs for women in recovery from breast cancer.


Auction items range from exotic vacation getaways to donated items guaranteed to delight and surprise. So, tell your friends, family, community. Let the bidding begin!

Attn VT Waterfowl Hunters- H.I.P. registration changes

VERMONT AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: December 22, 2009

Media Contacts: William Crenshaw, 802-879-5699; Scott Darling, 802-786-3862



Fish & Wildlife Improves Harvest Information Program Registration



WATERBURY, VT – If you hunt migratory game birds, you must register with the Federal Harvest Information Program each year. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is providing migratory game bird hunters with an improved registration process in effect for 2010. Vermont, like other states, will forward the required information to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help in managing migratory game birds.



The Harvest Information Program (H.I.P.) enables the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S.F.W.S.) and state fish and wildlife agencies to develop reliable estimates of the number of migratory game birds harvested throughout the country. These estimates are important in making sound decisions about setting hunting season dates, bag limits and population management for ducks, geese, coots, snipe, and woodcock. .



Vermont sends between 8,000 and 10,000 addresses of these hunters to the U.S.F.W.S. each year. The U.S.F.W.S. uses the list to randomly sample hunters for the required information.



The new H.I.P. registration process is easier and more accurate. Hunters who may go hunting for migratory game birds are required to either register on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website (vtfishandwildlife.com) or to call, toll free, 1-877-306-7091. After providing some basic information, you will receive your annual H.I.P. registration number, which you then need to record in the H.I.P. section of your hunting license.



Hunters who have a permanent or lifetime Vermont hunting license should print out the website response form showing the H.I.P. number and write it on the back of their hunting license. Permanent and lifetime who register by telephone between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday will receive a number over the phone for their license.



Hunters who have registered for H.I.P. and have lost their license or H.I.P. number can look up their number on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website.

Some TV Show Updates

From Randy Newburg's web site
Note - Randy is a founding board member of Orion-The Hunters' Institute

December 9th, 2009
Some TV Show Updates

It is that time of the year when the outdoor TV industry starts having all of their big events. The biggest being the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, coming the middle of January. At that event, Outdoor Channel holds a big event for all the industry people to come and see “who’s who” in the outdoor TV world.

Just got a letter from Outdoor Channel that is pretty surprising. Well, not that surprising, but considering who we are up against, has put a pretty big smile on my face. Here is how the deal works.

There are two types of awards - 1) Fan Favorites, and 2) Professional Panel Judging.

The fan favorites are pretty easy to explain. Get as many votes as possible, and the show with the most votes for that category wins the award.

The Professional Panel judging is more complicated. Here is how it works.

1. All 130 shows submit their best footage for any of the seven categories. We submitted for five categories.

2. Outdoor Channel does a preliminary screening of the shows and then sends the majority of them to a committee of the 30 “industry experts” for the Professional Panel grading/voting.

3. Scoring from that Professional Panel is tallied, and the top five shows are then considered as nominees in that specific category and the winners will be announced in January at the Outdoor Channel Awards show.

So, guess who has been nominated as a Top Five show in four of the five Professional Panel categories we submitted for? Yup, pretty easy guess, eh?

On Your Own Adventures has been selected among all of the Outdoor Channel shows for a top five nomination, and possible winner in these categories:

Best Overall Production (Montana Bear episode)

Best Big Game (New Mexico Archery Elk episode)

Best Turkey (Montana Turkey episode)

Best Educational/Instructional (Montana Whitetail episode)

For us to win any of the industry panel awards, or to win any of the fan favorite awards would be a big splash. This seldom happens with a new show. And for us to be doing that well, across all categories, is amazing. Those you who watch outdoor TV know the big names and supporting sponsors we are up against.

Rumor has it that we are doing amazingly well in the fan favorite voting, also. The fan favorite voting is still open, until the end of December. If you can garner any votes on our behalf, it would be greatly appreciated - Family, hunting friends, or anyone you think would like to support the concept of non-guided hunting. Here is the link:

Outdoor Channel Fan Favorite

Thanks for all your support. Your emails to Outdoor Channel and sponsors have been making a big impact, not just for us, but for the voice of average hunters in the world of Outdoor TV.

Deer Biologists Easier Targets than Deer

From the Wildlife Management Institute

Deer Biologists Easier Targets than Deer for Some Hunters in Wisconsin

Photo of deer by DoriIn a recent press release, a Wisconsin State Senator called for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to “replace the Department’s big game management team.” Upset that his annual deer drive didn’t produce desired results, the Senator lashed out at what he deemed the source of the reduced statewide harvest: “I’ve talked with a lot of hunters and business people and everyone has said that this was the worst deer hunting season they have ever had. The DNR has mismanaged the deer herd and a new team needs to be brought in that can do the job.”

Contentiousness is not new to deer hunting in Wisconsin. In this instance, it is a particular déjà vu throwback to the mid-1940s rancor of certain “sportsmen” who opposed deer herd reduction, especially antlerless harvest, despite the fact of a large and growing deer herd and deteriorating habitat conditions nearly statewide. The target of their vitriol, boorishness and threats was Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) chairman Aldo Leopold. Leopold and others had produced a report in 1943, which concluded that, “there is an imperative need for prompt and decisive herd reduction in the irruptive counties.” The naysayers decried herd reduction (which was widely adopted) as extermination and the demise of deer hunting. In 1944, the harvest of “exterminated deer” was 28,600; in 1954, it was 25,400; in 1964, it was 96,600; in 1974, it was 112,900; in 1984, it was 295,300; in 1994, it was 377,500; and in 2004, it was 519,400. For that matter, more deer were killed by deer/vehicle collisions in Wisconsin in 2008 (at least 32,000) than there were deer harvested by Wisconsin hunters in 1944 (28,693).

According to preliminary results (the season continues in some parts of the state), although harvest success was down from 43 percent in 2008 to 31 percent this year, more than 196,600 deer (including 86,250 antlered bucks) have been taken by 638,040 gun hunters, which is less than 1 percent fewer hunters than in 2008. The harvest does not include the bow and muzzleloader success, which may increase the take by 25 to 35 percent. The 2009 harvest likely will be lower than any year since 1983. Conversely, it will be higher than any year prior to 1983. Clearly, not every Wisconsin deer hunter has had his or her worst season ever.

The prehunting season deer population in the state was estimated at somewhat less than 1.5 million (still, three times the whitetail population in all of North America 100 years ago, when there was no deer hunting season in the state). However, WDNR officials anticipated a reduced harvest because of low fawn production in 2008, predicted unfavorable weather during the deer season, and changes in the deer season structure with the intent or reducing pressure on antlerless deer in a number of management units. In 2009, 13 deer management units had no bonus antlerless permits in order to allow populations in those areas to increase; 38 units were moved out of herd control to regular season; and 29 units were moved out of their Earn-a-Buck program. Each of these contributed to a substantial decline in antlerless harvest in 2009.

As to the competence of the WDNR’s big game biologists, the WDNR, in cooperation with the WCC, enlisted in 2006 a panel of out-of-state wildlife professionals with extensive experience in deer management to review Wisconsin’s deer management operations and procedures. This was done in response to concerns voiced by deer hunters. The panel ultimately identified several areas where adjustments in operations might improve management capability. However, its overall conclusion was: “Wisconsin has the most comprehensive and transparent deer management program for comparable states that harvest white-tailed deer. Wisconsin collects more demographic information, on an annual basis, to monitor the deer population than any of the 21 states we surveyed. The WDNR should be commended for its efforts to track deer population dynamics and make those efforts transparent.” (The review panel’s 2006 report can be viewed at: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/hunt/deer/SAKreport.pdf.)

Deer management in Wisconsin has been complicated by Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which has impacted a significant portion of the southern part of the state. To eradicate or contain the disease, the WDNR has aggressively worked to lower deer densities in the CWD zone. Because of the nature of the terrain and land ownership, eradication has failed and containment has had only modest success.

The difficulty that big game biologists face in managing remarkably dynamic white-tailed population size, density and distribution is not that they don’t know how to do it. Rather, the problems encountered include lack of agreement among citizens (stakeholders) about how large the deer population should be. Also, big game biologists do not manage habitat or enforce harvest on the private lands that constitute the vast majority of Wisconsin acreage. They do not control weather any more than they dictate their agency’s budget. If the WDNR is to be criticized for its deer management program, it may be for earlier policy decisions, influenced by hunter demands, that enabled an irrupting deer herd to exceed its long-term habitat carrying capacity in many parts of the state.

While harvest success and corresponding satisfaction by some Wisconsin hunters in 2009 may be reduced, there are some positives that have resulted from the situation. Hunting incidences in Wisconsin, for example, have declined, and the state’s incident rate of 1.11 per 100,000 hunters compares more than favorably with the national average of 3 per 100,000 hunters. Deer/vehicle collisions in Wisconsin actually are on the decline as are the numbers of dead deer and injured humans as a result. The negligible decline in hunter numbers masks the fact that deer hunter numbers have rebounded substantially from those of the CWD confusion at the outset of the decade. With the “return” of deer hunters has been a gradual rebuilding of the devastated deer camp traditions in the state.

Despite the dissatisfaction of some hunters, Wisconsin continues to rank among the very top deer harvest states in the nation. Earlier this year, a study by a professor at Concordia College in Nebraska revealed that, based on the prior 10 years, Wisconsin is the top trophy deer state in the country, with 26 of its counties are among the nation’s top 50. As a result of the modestly reduced whitetail population in Wisconsin, hunting experiences and harvest expectations may become more akin to those of past decades and eras when the taking of any deer was a feat, not a perceived entitlement. (pmr/rem)

Learn to ID Ducks!

From Flyways.us

Learn to ID Ducks!

A new tool is now available to help you better identify ducks. Originally designed to help train volunteers and field staff, this tool also should be very helpful for hunters, bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts. It contains written descriptions, photos, video clips, and range maps of North American ducks.

View Duck ID

Petition to continue the successful Lake Champlain sea lamprey control program

From LCI:

Lake Champlain Anglers and Other Friends of the Lake,
Please consider signing the petition to the Governor of Vermont, at the link below, to ensure the continuation of the successful Lake Champlain sea lamprey control program in 2010.

http://www.petitiononline.com/Lewis010/petition.html

Your participation in the petitions of the past three years has been effective in reminding officials of the importance of this program to our environment and our economy. Both the Atlantic salmon and lake trout populations have shown marked improvement in recent years with salmon over 9 pounds being caught, and the largest lake trout in the documented history of Lake Champlain, nearly 16 pounds, being caught during the LCI Father’s Day Derby this past June. Experts believe 20-pound lake trout and 10-pound salmon are a very real possibility.

Thank you for your concern and support. Your forwarding of this petition to friends and others concerned about the health and future of Lake Champlain would be most appreciated.

Sincerely,
James



All the best,
James Ehlers
Executive Director



Lake Champlain International, Inc.
Clean Water. Healthy Fish. Happy People.
a 501(c)(3) organization

531 Main Street Colchester, VT 05446
james@mychamplain.net www.mychamplain.net
802.879.3466 Fax: 802.879.1746

I am a (female) hunter. Watch me foam

Note from Eric - When with the VT FWD I helped bring the Becoming an Outdoor's Women program to Vermont. We are fortunate that we have a relatively high percent of our hunters are women. Nationally women are the fastest growing segment of the hunting population.

From the Women's Outdoor Wire

I am hunter. Watch me foam.
By Pat C. Robinson, Editor. Courtesy of Recorder Newspapers.

It's a fact of life: Dogs bark. Cats meow. Women hunt.

That's right, women hunt. We hunt, we have hunted, we will hunt, until the cows come home. Why? Because we love it and we can.

There's something about being in the Great Outdoors, either pheasant hunting clutching a 20-gauge or huddled in a blind ready and waiting with a bow that to me is the most wonderful thing in the world.

For one thing, it's a good way to pass the colder months here in the Mid-Atlantic. For me, fall and winter aren't the gray dreary seasons most take them for. True, days are shorter, but they are by no means dismal. Yes, the woods are no longer lush with thick, green vegetation -- unless thick with conifer stands, but the beiges and browns have their own subtle beauty. Nor is all drab: Along small streams there's emerald green moss and even watercress.

For another, it puts food on the table if luck and expertise form an alliance. Last week, after a good morning of pheasant hunting in Black River, I bagged a cock bird for dinner. I sautéed his meaty breast in white wine and served it over rice with a side of baked beans.

Conjuring up such a meal isn't quite a "woman thing" either, folks. One frosty morning last year I passed six men, their back pouches bulging with birds, locked in deep discussion as to the best way to roast and serve their bag limits. I didn't laugh at the thought of them wearing aprons.

Still, some guys register surprise when they encounter a huntress in the woods.

Like the gentleman of a certain age this past week. He had driven to Chester from Chatham to break in Annabelle, his spirited but obedient little German short-hair.

"I'm surprised to see a girl," he told me.

"A girl," God bless him.

Obviously, some men also forget their mythology. Diana was the Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt. A bow-huntress, no less. More athletic, I would presume, than her twin brother Apollo, the handsome sun god more renowned for his girly-girl beauty than hunting skills. Seems it should be the other way around, doesn't it? But we seldom envision Apollo wearing an apron like a French maid?

Sometimes, though, the joke's on me.

During Saturday's rainy hunt in Black River, I caught some guys pointing and laughing at me.

I thought it was the girl thing, until I glanced down and realized it wasn't the appearance of a female per se, but the legs of my camo rain pants.

They were foaming.

Somehow, I had managed to spill fabric softener on them, and the rain made me look like a walking Maytag in the wash cycle.

Now here was a powerful symbol of 21st century feminism. Only a woman could wash her clothes and hunt at the same time, right?

Check out more of Pat Robinson's newspaper columns.

Road Hunters really hurt all hunters

From the Rutland Herald.com

BROWNSVILLE — A Tunbridge man will face charges he endangered the lives of local business owners while deer hunting.

Saturday, Fish & Wildlife wardens cited George Akroyd, 52, for reckless endangerment, shooting from the road and driving with a suspended license.

According to Fish & Wildlife, Nov. 16, Akroyd shot and killed a deer that was standing in the yard of Carol's Hilltop Bed and Breakfast on Brownsville-Hartland Road. The owners of the bed and breakfast were walking their dog in the yard and Akroyd allegedly fired his gun in their general direction while on the road.

Three witnesses reported the incident and in recent weeks more people forward with additional information identifying Akroyd as the alleged shooter, according to Fish & Wildlife.

Update from the NWF international climate team from Copenhagen

From the National Wildlife Federation:

Team,
Here's today's "This just in" update from NWF Director of Global
Warming Policy Joe Mendelson:

" Hello NWF from Copenhagen! Here is a quick update from your
international climate team.

The negotiations are going slower than one would hope and have been
overshadowed, in part, by massive logistical problems at the Bella
Centre negotiation site. Many are standing hours in the cold and snow
today trying to get in to the conference only to be turned away.
Regardless, your team remains undaunted and is working hard to push the
U.S. to up its ambition to facilitate a final deal.

There has been a public rift between China and the U.S. over the low
U.S. offer on global warming pollution emission cuts and the failure of
the U.S. and other developed countries to offer long-term financing for
the impacted developing nations. In response, China is refusing to
allow any international verification of its recently announced actions
that would significantly reduce the growth of its emissions.

In response, NWF is spear-heading an effort to push the U.S. to change
its position. We’re working to get the Administration to offer a new
long-term finance package based upon the significant money pledged to
stop deforestation that is in the House and Senate legislation and
redirecting other money by phasing out fossil fuel subsidies - an offer
President Obama made at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh this fall. The
hope is that this offer would compel other developed nations to add
their own pledges of money culminating in a huge effort on deforestation
as a means to fight climate change led by the U.S.

Barriers remain to this effort. The State Department is reluctant to
put this forward because the legislation is not final and fear a
Congressional backlash. In contrast, Senate and House staff in
Copenhagen say putting this forward is okay and may actually help lock
the Administration into fighting for the legislation at home. So, one
effort is to get Congressional staff to push the Administration.

If we solve the finance issue, we then think the Chinese would submit
to some international oversight of its emission reductions efforts. Of
course, this is critical for the Senate battle back home.

Will this all happen? It is tough to say. We are trying hard. The
heads of states are starting to arrive so we hope that ups the pressure
to get a deal done. We will keep you posted on progress and expect
massive protests over the next several days about everyone being shut
out of the Bella Centre facility.

Joe

Sign National Petition to Protect Wetlands

From the Izaak Walton League of America and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partners:


Sign National Petition to Protect Wetlands

Every year, 80,000 acres of wetlands disappear across America. Every acre lost is an acre of important habitat for fish and wildlife or an area that reduces flooding more effectively than almost any levee can. In spite of their importance, recent Supreme Court decisions make it easier to drain, fill, or tile wetlands and harder to stop them from being polluted.

The League and other national hunting and angling groups continue to work to protect wetlands by convincing Congress to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act. We made real progress this summer when the U.S. Senate Environment Committee approved an amended version of the bill. Now, the focus shifts to the U.S. House of Representatives.

You can help send a clear message to Congress and the President about how critical this legislation is by signing an on-line petition about protecting wetlands. The goal is to garner 80,000 signatures – one signature for every acre of wetlands lost annually. Sign the petition today and join more than 65,000 other people who have already said “protect our wetlands.”

Learn more about the League!

New generation of topo maps online

New generation of topo maps online
The next generation of digital topographic maps have been released by the U.S. Geological Survey and downloads are free for hikers, campers, anglers and other land lovers. Each map includes elevation contours, hydrographic features, roads and geographic names. Users can turn geographic features on and off and zoom in and out. A set of analytical tools can also be downloaded. (Dept. of Interior, National Map USGS)

Why Do Hunters Hunt - Why Do You Hunt?

From Outdoor Idaho

HI, I'M BRUCE REICHERT, AND WELCOME TO OUTDOOR IDAHO.

YOU KNOW, MOST HUNTERS NEVER THINK ABOUT WHY THEY HUNT. THEY
JUST DO IT. THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS AND THEY FRANKLY
CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY ANYONE WOULD OBJECT. BUT WHEN YOU PUT THEM
ALL TOGETHER, ALL THE ELK HUNTERS AND DEER HUNTERS AND BIRD
HUNTERS, THE SIMPLE FACT REMAINS THAT HUNTERS ARE A DISTINCT
MINORITY IN AN ACTIVITY THAT HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY
CONTROVERSIAL.

IT'S SEPTEMBER IN GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK AND TED KERASOTE IS
IN HIS ELEMENT. AN ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER FOR "SPORTS AFIELD" AND
AN AUTHOR OF A BOOK ON HUNTING, KERASOTE HAS SPOTTED A BULL ELK
WITH ITS HAREM OF COWS.

TED KERASOTE, HUNTER AND AUTHOR:
WE'RE WATCHING THIS SIX POINT BULL ELK HERD HIS HAREM OF COWS.
HIS AIM OF COURSE IS TO PASS ALONG HIS OWN GENES AND SO HE WANTS
TO PROTECT HIS COWS FROM BEING STOLEN BY SOME OTHER BULL.

WHEN YOU HEAR THE BULL ELK BUGLE AS WE HAVE THIS MORNING, IT'S A
WAY OF DISPLAYING HIS POWER AND SIZE TO OTHER BULL ELK. ALSO YOU
WILL NOTICE BULL ELK OFTEN NOD THEIR HEAD BACK AND FORTH AND IT'S
A WAY THAT OTHER ELK AT A DISTANCE CAN TELL HOW BIG THEIR ANTLERS
ARE BY THE ARC THAT THE TIP OF THE ANTLER DESCRIBES IN THE SKY.
IN THIS WAY, ELK AVOID CONFRONTATION.

WHAT IS INTERESTING IS SOMETIMES TO WATCH TWO SIX POINT BULL ELK
JUST LOCK ANTLERS AND PUSH AND SHOVE AND SQUEAL, SUDDENLY BREAK
APART AND ONE WILL LOOK AT THE OTHER ONE AND WHEEL AROUND AND RUN
AWAY, AS IF HE HAS DECIDED, "WELL, THAT IS ENOUGH FOR TODAY. I
DON'T WANT TO RISK ANYMORE."

REICHERT:
IN A FEW WEEKS, WHEN HUNTING SEASON OPENS, KERASOTE WILL TAKE HIS
RIFLE INTO NEARBY NATIONAL FOREST LAND AND WILL ATTEMPT TO END
THE LIFE OF ONE OF THESE 800 POUND ANIMALS.

KERASOTE:
THE ELK THAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING, LIVE IN A SEAMLESS WORLD. THEY
LIVE TOTALLY WITHIN THE CYCLES THAT SUPPORT THEM AND MOVE THEM
FROM BIRTH TO DEATH.

HUNTING BRINGS YOU FACE TO FACE WITH THE CYCLES THAT SUPPORT YOU.
WHEN YOU GO OUT AND YOU TAKE THE LIVE OF A BIG BEAUTIFUL ANIMAL,
AS WE'VE SEEN, YOU CAN'T DENY ANY LONGER THAT LIFE, SOME LIFE HAS
TO DIE TO FEED OTHER LIFE. AND YOU BECOME MUCH MORE PERSONALLY
RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.

I THINK ALSO, YOU BECOME HUMBLE ABOUT YOUR PLACE IN THESE CYCLES.
AND YOU ALSO DEVELOP A MORE HEIGHTENED SENSE OF COMPASSION FOR
ALL THE CREATURES THAT SHARE THE EARTH. YOU CAN'T LIGHTLY CAUSE
HARM ANYMORE.

REICHERT:
WHY DO HUNTERS HUNT? WHAT SATISFACTION COMES FROM TAKING THE
LIFE OF ANOTHER SENTIENT CREATURE?

Read More

FAIR CHASE: What Does It Mean In The 90's?

From Outdoor Idaho:

FAIR CHASE: What Does It Mean In The 90's?

The traditions of hunting dictate that game be taken in the spirt of fair play. In other words, pitting the human's skills against the animal's strong instincts for survival.

Theodore Roosevelt established his "Credo of Fair Chase" back in 1893. It is the pattern for hunting that exists to this day in the rulings of the Boone and Crockett Club...

"The term 'Fair Chase' shall not be held to include killing bear, wolf, or cougar in traps, nor 'fire hunting,' nor 'crusting' moose, elk or deer in deep snow, nor killing game from a boat while it is swimming in the water, nor killing deer by any other method than fair stalking or still hunting."

One who has spent time thinking about "Fair Chase" is Jim Posewitz, a biologist who founded Orion - The Hunters' Institute, in 1993. Posewitz also wrote the book Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting. The book is used in hunter education classes in 38 states. The following is excerpted from Beyond Fair Chase.

"Fundamental to ethical hunting is the idea of fair chase. This concept addresses the balance between the hunter and the hunted. it is a balance that allows hunters to occasionally succeed while animals generally avoid being taken." (p.57)

"There are some activities that are clearly unfair as well as unethical. At the top of the list is shooting captive or domesticated big game animals in commercial killing areas where a person with a gun is guaranteed an animal to shoot. These shooting grounds are alien to any consideration of ethical hunting. When discussing the ethic of fair chase, it is important to clarify that we are talking about hunting free-ranging wild animals." (p.59)

"The ethical hunter must make many fair-chase choices. In some areas, chasing big game with dogs is an accepted custom. In other places, it is considered an unfair advantage for the hunter. Likewise, luring animals with bait or hunting in certain seasons sometimes is viewed as giving unfair advantage to the hunter. While local custom and practice need to be respected, it is equally important to be honest about the result of these practices. If there is a doubt, advantage must be given to the animal being hunted." (p.61)

"In addition to hunting practices, there is a constant flow of products developed to provide advantages to hunters. Sights, scents, calls, baits, decoys, devices, and techniques of infinite variety fill the marketplace. In each case an individual choice must be made as to what sustains fair chase and what violates that concept." (p.62)

--------------
Jim Posewitz. Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting. 1994. Falcon Press, Helena, Montana.

Climate Change: Science, Transparency and Public Opinion

From the Wildlife Society Blog:

Climate Change: Science, Transparency and Public Opinion
December 5th, 2009
No comments

I’ve been meaning to blog about this topic since the story broke about “Climate-gate” around a week ago. As many readers may already know, there has been considerable controversy about a series of private e-mails stolen from the world famous Climatic Research Center at the University of East Anglia in Britain.

In those e-mails, the unit’s director, Phil Jones, told a colleague that he would “hide” contradictory evidence from Siberian tree rings and replace it with more accurate data on changes in local air temperature. In another message, he speaks of keeping research he disagrees with out of a U.N. report, “even if we have to redefine what the peer review literature is.”

The recent debate has energized critics of climate change science, who believe that some scientists are playing political games and altering results for their own purposes. They claim that this incident has called into question the credibility of science and scientists. Others believe that this debate is about the scientific process itself, which is suddenly playing itself out in the public arena. Politicians and the public want certainty, but science is a messy affair. Indeed, scientists can draw different conclusions from the same data.

But, I wonder how much this ”scandal” has damaged climate science? The musing of individual scientists in their personal e-mails are one thing. In fact, I’ve been know to say a few stupid things in my e-mails as well, and I challenge anyone who uses electronic communication to examine their own record.

That being said, individual scientists should understand the need for transparency in science and never forget its central tenet: skepticism. To quote Charles Darwin, one of the greatest scientists to have ever lived:

“I have steadily endeavored to keep my mind free so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved (and I cannot resist forming one on every subject) as soon as the facts are shown to be opposed to it.”

The massive amount of data that have been accumulated on climate change–from rising global temperature trends, to melting glaciers, and numerous phenological effects on animals and plants–have convinced many, if not most scientists, that something is going on. According to Jane Lubchenco, Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Our collective understanding of how the earth is warming…rests on a wealth of scientific information that is very diverse and comes from multiple sources and multiple groups.”

One of the main points of contention is whether or not our changing climate is the direct result of human activities or simply yet another natural cycle of warming and chilling that we have seen throughout earth’s history. Our warming climate (9 of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred in the past decade) is correlated with the rise of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, many of which are due to human activities. However, as all scientists are taught, correlation does not imply causation. Its that pesky uncertainty again. As an analogy: Do you believe that smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer? This connection is also based largely on correlational studies–people that smoke have a higher probability of getting the disease. Knowing this, should you take a chance that you will die substantially earlier by starting to smoke, a highly addictive habit? I sincerely hope not.

There might be a degree of uncertainty in all science. However, there is also the Precautionary Principle, which tells us that if the risk is great, perhaps society should err on the side of caution. The risks associated with climate change are great–especially the risks to wildlife, plants, and existing natural ecosystems. We’ve already pushed them to the limit, and the extra burden of climate change, in theory, could be catastrophic. And I haven’t even touched on what a warming planet could do to human agriculture, fisheries, forestry and other industries. Of course, I don’t want to be alarmist, or to predict how fast one of these potential futures might play out. On the other hand, what if we do have a serious problem? What if it is happening faster than we’d all like it to? Looking back decades later, climate scientists will derive little pleasure in telling people “I told you so.”

Uncertainty is a part of science, one that is often exploited by those who disagree with its findings. But the public should not worry. Science is the most self-correcting of all human endeavors. Scientists that cheat the system are not tolerated by it–they are punished and cast out. The scientific fraternity values truth above all, and those that abuse that responsibility pay a price. Charles Darwin recognized the power of science to see through the smoke and mirrors when he said:

“Great is the power of steady misrepresentation, but the history of science shows how, fortunately, this power does not long endure.”

The true nature of climate change will reveal itself and scientists will light the path.