1 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: From Mediator's World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is 2 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: Kel's we can review with Ryan Kel Kelly and now 3 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: here's cal. I am so darned jealous. For the most part. 4 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,319 Speaker 1: I don't get all wrapped up in big antlers or 5 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: envious of new shiny things, But ma'am am, I jealous 6 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: of these two sisters from Kansas. Ashley and Aaron Watt, 7 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: found an old grizzly bear skull sticking out of a 8 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 1: sandbar while floating down the Arkansas River in southeast Kansas. 9 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,639 Speaker 1: You heard that right, Kansas. We're not in Kansas anymore. 10 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,639 Speaker 1: Although not currently home to Ursus arc dos horribilius, Kansas 11 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: was at one point. The bears were likely killed off 12 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: or extra pated from Kansas. By the mid eighteen hundreds, 13 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: even though we know the grizz lived in Kansas, there 14 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: only been three skulls found, the one by the Watts 15 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: sisters being the most intact, only missing a couple of 16 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: minor teeth. I can't help but think about how hunting 17 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: in Kansas would be different today had we adopted our 18 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: notions of conservation a couple hundred years earlier. Can you 19 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: imagine stepping into a line of pheasant hunters getting ready 20 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: to walk a field of standing corn that might or 21 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: might not be hiding an eight hundred pound bear. I 22 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: imagine there'll be a lot less pressure, as the biggest 23 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: danger to most Midwestern Upland bird hunters these days is 24 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: other Midwestern upland bird hunters. But back to that skull find. 25 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: The Arkansas River still exposes the bones of bison, sometimes 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: the really old ones, but it looks like this grizz 27 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: skull is likely from a modern bear and actually may 28 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: have managed to die of old age near the river. 29 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: As one listener, Jeffrey Hancock wrote in to tell me, 30 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: he quote like to think this particular bear died fat 31 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: and happy after eating some settler. This sweek, We've got 32 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,559 Speaker 1: the Delta, smell, owls, New Jersey, and so much more. 33 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: But first I'm gonna tell you about my week. As 34 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: a reminder, this podcast is powered by Steele, the makers 35 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: of a wide range of equipment used to both cut 36 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: things down and clean things up, including those battery powered 37 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,079 Speaker 1: chainsaws I like so much. I keep bringing them up 38 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: because I throw that saw right into the bed of 39 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: my truck, which coincidentally is my actual bed. That I 40 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: sleep and many nights, and that ripping little saw doesn't 41 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: leave my sleeping space all stinky, like that nasty two 42 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 1: stroke Craigslist outboard engine I bought. In fact, I just 43 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: got done with a few nights crashing in the truck 44 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: up outside a Sortman, Montana, a town that had a 45 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: population of over two thousand and eighteen eighty four, but 46 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: less than seventy in two thousand ten. Two real famous 47 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: old prospector types named pike Land Dusky and Dutch Louis 48 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: discovered gold there in eighteen eighty four, setting off a boom. 49 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: Pike Land Dusky's name pop u up a ton, but 50 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: mostly because he was killed in a saloon by Kid 51 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: Curry or Harvey Alexander Logan, who was part of the 52 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: Wild Bunch, the folks that rode with Butch Cassidy and 53 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: the Sundance Kid. Maybe that's where that line from young 54 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: Guns to with Emilio Estevez comes from. I'll make you 55 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: famous anyway. I was an ansortment looking up old ghosts. 56 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: I was up to watch some Peregrine falcons hunt sharp 57 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: tailed grouse and hang out with the great folks from 58 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: the Peregrine Fund and the non lad partnership. As we've 59 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: covered here on the Weekend Review, if you like raptors 60 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: that occasionally gut piles, you likely have developed a distaste 61 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: for lead shot or lead core bullets. If not, I 62 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: don't believe the birds will be going anywhere, as their 63 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: numbers seem to be steadily increasing. If you are a falconer, however, 64 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: one who raises, trains and hunts with falcons, you absolutely 65 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: despise led shot, as these incredibly powerful, honestly pretty intimidating 66 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: birds are surprisingly fragile and take an astounding amount of time, patience, 67 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: and from my perspect active neurotic care and the effects 68 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: of lead poisoning are devastating to both the bird and 69 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: the falconer. Anyway, I got to tag along and watch 70 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: the birds hunt. Like many hunts, the ones I watched 71 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: were unsuccessful, but still a lot of fun. One aspect 72 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: I found incredibly cool is that these falconers also run 73 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: dogs English pointers to be exact in tandem with their falcons. 74 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: The pointers narrowed down the field and limit the exposure 75 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 1: to risk for the falcon. Again, no matter how tough 76 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: looking the bird is, it is a fragile creature that 77 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: is hunting on someone else's turf. I was really surprised 78 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: to learn that owl's silently gliding while a falcon is 79 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: on the ground and grossed in eating or dispatching its 80 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 1: prey will often kill a falcon. The owl gets two 81 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,479 Speaker 1: meals instead of one, and one less competitor on its turf, 82 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,280 Speaker 1: so the bird dog by finding the bird, limits the 83 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: amount of time the falcon has in the air and 84 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: again potentially exposing itself to danger. During one of the flights, 85 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: an owl came off the ground while the falcon was 86 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 1: high overhead, and the birds actually scuffled a bit, but 87 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: as I said, nothing died that hadn't been dead for 88 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: a while. On this trip, in addition to keeping the 89 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: falcons safe, the dogs also act as a clean up crew. 90 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:16,520 Speaker 1: Since we didn't kill any grouse, the falcons got fed 91 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: organically grown, hormone free quail, and I actually watched the 92 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: pointer come in and share a few bites of the 93 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: quail with the falcon, who didn't seem to mind that much. 94 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: Turns out falcons are kind of messy eaters, and the 95 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: pointer happily cleaned her beak. For falconry has been around forever, 96 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: possibly since six thousand BC, and the way people hunted 97 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: with birds back then is likely very similar to how 98 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: they hunt now, except today the birds carry satellite transmitters 99 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 1: linked to iPads that relay location, altitude, and air speed. 100 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: The allusion paragrine that we flew climbed to seven hundred 101 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: feet and covered ground at about eighty miles an hour 102 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: sounds impressive right. Well, when these birds really get going, 103 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: the allusion paragra in tops out at around two hundred 104 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:04,559 Speaker 1: and twenty miles per hour and had to laugh a bit, 105 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: as even with the technological advances of today, the hunt 106 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: itself remains a relatively simple thing, was so much of 107 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: the outcome being determined by a non communicative bird. If 108 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: you want to tag along and watch one of these birds, 109 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: or even get a demonstration of bullet performance, call or 110 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:25,039 Speaker 1: email the good folks at the Peregrine Fund or the 111 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: Non Lead Partnership. If you want to take things a 112 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: bit further, there are a much wider variety of non 113 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: toxic shot alternatives on the market now than even a 114 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,480 Speaker 1: few years ago. You may want to start tinkering with them. 115 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: I know I am currently working with a bunch of 116 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: loads and options from Federal ammunition, some quick housekeeping, then 117 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,159 Speaker 1: onto the show. I screwed up a few things that 118 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: are quite embarrassing. Has this is stuff everyone knows, so 119 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 1: let me wipe the egg from my face real quick. 120 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: Horseshoe crabs are not mollass, so please don't let your 121 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: children think they are. The horseshoe crab is an arthropod. Secondly, 122 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: and very embarrassing, as I typically have to buy two 123 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: a year due to my habit of misplacing things. The 124 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: federal duck stamp made the jump from fifteen dollars to 125 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: twenty five dollars back in the season two thousand, fifteen 126 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: and sixteen. This increase was much needed, as the price 127 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: of the stamp had not gone up since. Lots of 128 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: people wrote in on this, all of whom were very 129 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: nice in their corrections. I appreciate the leeway. One of 130 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: these folks was U S. Senator Martin Heinrich from New Mexico. 131 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: The Senator actually sits on the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission 132 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: and has to approve all of the individual habitat purchases. 133 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: Senator Heinrich would like to make sure that everyone knows 134 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: this is no small error that I made as the 135 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: ten dollar increase will provide an estimated one hundred and 136 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: fifty million dollars for wetland habitat over ten years, and 137 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: that even though the price of the stamp has increased, 138 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: the percentage of funds that goes from the stamp to 139 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: wildlife habitat has remained at nine eight percent, which I 140 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: believe pencils out about fifty Additionally, Senator Heinrich mentioned that 141 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: he managed to take a seek a stag with his 142 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: bow in Maryland and said, quote, ma'am, are they delicious? 143 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: And last, but not least had a great listener email 144 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: in to ask Cal at the meat eater dot com. 145 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: She says, Hey, Cal, I was hoping that you might 146 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: be able to provide some insight on how I can 147 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: practice conservation in my own home. I already hunting fish, 148 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: but other than contributing additional money to conservation, I'm a 149 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: poor wildlife graduate student or calling my state representatives, how 150 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: can I be a better conservationist? I already keep the 151 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: cat inside, harvest rainwater, practice water conservation, and try not 152 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: to use too much plastic. But other than these any 153 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: other tips, I live in an apartment in the middle 154 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:56,560 Speaker 1: of Phoenix First, thank you, sounds like you're already kicking butt. Second, 155 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: if you have windows or a balcony, you could provide 156 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: some useful plants for pollinators like bees, beetles, and birds. 157 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: And you can always volunteer a couple of dirty secrets 158 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: that nobody talks about. When you volunteer, you almost always 159 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: come away with a new recipe, hunting or fishing spot, 160 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,679 Speaker 1: or some other personal benefit that makes up for your 161 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: gas money. And special for those of you in the 162 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: state of Arizona, if you were to get to know 163 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: the folks at the Arizona Chapter of back Country Hunters 164 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: and Anglers, I'll tell you right now that chapter can 165 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: cook and cook anything found in Arizona, from choia buds 166 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: to rattlesnakes. This is a great question. If anyone has 167 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: a great example of conservation work to be done in 168 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,439 Speaker 1: the home, please right in. This is a great topic. 169 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: I'll compile them and let you and myself know. Moving 170 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: on to the slow moving fish desk. Remember how a 171 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,839 Speaker 1: few weeks ago we talked about how the Trump administration, 172 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: like nearly all administrations, made changes on how the Endangered 173 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: Species Act is enforced. This last Tuesday, we might have 174 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: learned one of the reasons why they wanted to weaken 175 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: those safeguards. On October twenty two, the Interior Department announced 176 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: that it was lifting protections for several threatened species in 177 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: California's Sacramento San Joaquin Delta, including the Delta smelt and 178 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: endangered winter run chinook salmon, in order to allow more 179 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 1: water to be diverted from their area's rivers to large 180 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: agricultural operations to the south. This is problematic for a 181 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 1: few reasons. First of all, several biological opinions dating back 182 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: decades and as recently as this past June, have clearly 183 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 1: demonstrated that these fish and other species and communities that 184 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: depend on them need sufficient stream flow to persist. The 185 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: Endangered Species Act protections were meant to make sure the 186 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 1: fishes have enough water during drought, which happens a lot 187 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: in California. A group of farmers represented by the Westlands 188 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: Water District, have been fighting against these ees A protections 189 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: for as long as they've been in effect. Oddly enough, 190 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: or maybe coincidentally enough, David Bernhardt, the current Acting Secretary 191 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,439 Speaker 1: of the Interior Department, worked as a lawyer and lobbyist 192 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: for Wesland's through much of this battle. Those farmers were 193 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: his biggest lobbying client from two thousand eleven to two 194 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,199 Speaker 1: thousand sixteen, in which time they paid his firm one 195 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 1: point three million. According to The New York Times, he 196 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: may not be on that payroll anymore, but he is 197 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 1: still getting some work done, weakening essay protections for the 198 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: Delta smell. The revolving Door provision of the Trump administration's 199 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: own ethics Pledge, which Bernhardt signed, bars officials from working 200 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,319 Speaker 1: on issues they previously lobbied on for two years after 201 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: taking office. At Times investigation, however, revealed that Bernhardt ordered 202 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: Department of the Interior officials involved with the San Joaquin Delta, 203 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: salmon and smell to start rewriting the biological opinions only 204 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,479 Speaker 1: four months after he was confirmed as the Deputy Secretary 205 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: of the Interior in two thousand seventeen, though he was 206 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:02,440 Speaker 1: given verbal ap roval to waive the ethics pledge from 207 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:07,120 Speaker 1: d o I ethics lawyer. This June, scientists working on 208 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: the Delta produced a new biological opinion that pretty much 209 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 1: said what others have in the past, that rerouting more 210 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 1: water to irrigators and reducing protections for the salmon and 211 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: smell would be devastating to the entire ecosystem. Those scientists 212 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:27,079 Speaker 1: also feared these actions could promote toxic blue green algae 213 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,440 Speaker 1: blooms in the Delta and San Francisco Bay and caused 214 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 1: more harm to the critically threatened Southern resident killer whales 215 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: that depend on chinook. The scientists and biologists involved in 216 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: this biological opinion were quickly reassigned and replaced, according to 217 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 1: report from the Los Angeles Times. Their replacements the new 218 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 1: group quickly turned around another biological opinion that said rerouting 219 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 1: massive amounts of water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin 220 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:58,560 Speaker 1: rivers and tributaries would have no effect on salmon, smell 221 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,839 Speaker 1: or the eCos system at large. Let's hope they're right. 222 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: Salmon is tasty stuff. In fact, some of the best 223 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: salmon I have ever had was in the form of 224 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:11,600 Speaker 1: sashimi fresh out of California waters. But in order for 225 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: the authors of this latest opinion to be right, a 226 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 1: whole lot of hard working scientists and biologists would have 227 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,679 Speaker 1: to be wrong several times over which, sure, I guess 228 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: that could be the case, but it doesn't take a 229 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 1: real savvy biologist to come to the conclusion that fish 230 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: need water. The Delta smell isn't exactly sexy. They're two 231 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:35,960 Speaker 1: to three inches long and not particularly interesting to most people. 232 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: The thing is they're an indicator species. At the smell 233 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 1: they're doing good, the water is good, and if the 234 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: water is good, the salmon are good. Just like sagebrush 235 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 1: two antelope or pintails to flooded grass. They're also the 236 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 1: primary bait fish in the California Delta ecosystem. If they 237 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: go away, it could set off a cascade effect up 238 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 1: through the food chain. If you want your salmon, you 239 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: want your smell. If you want your killer, way else 240 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: you want your salmon. The intentions from the Department of 241 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 1: the Interior are clear. It just doesn't seem to me 242 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,320 Speaker 1: like the time to sit back and see what happens. 243 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: It's time to call your congressional representatives today and let 244 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: them know how much these lands, waters, and animals mean 245 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: to you. Potentially shady Department of the Interior dealings aside. 246 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: This is ultimately a food question. Is it better to 247 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 1: divert water into fields to feed and employ people through agriculture, 248 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: or is it better to reinvigorate a wild food source 249 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: by continuing to limit that water to the fields by 250 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:38,239 Speaker 1: letting it flow to the ocean. Balance is tricky, especially 251 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: when jobs are on the line. Moving on to some 252 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 1: potential good news, Pennsylvania hunters might soon have a reason 253 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: to celebrate, particularly those who work a standard Monday through 254 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: Friday schedule. The State House Game and Fisheries Committee approve 255 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: Senate Bill one four seven, which would allow hunting three sundays. 256 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: To see them. Sunday hunting is currently banned in Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, 257 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,479 Speaker 1: and Delaware, and restricted in six other states. These restrictions 258 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: are remnants of the Blue laws imposed on our Puritanical 259 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: colonies to encourage church going. And while I have no 260 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 1: problem with piety, I prefer to conduct my worship in 261 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: the woods. Representative Bill Courts lobbied hard for the bill 262 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: when it's passage came under threat from added amendments, saying, quote, 263 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: this bill has taken three hundred and thirty seven years. 264 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: We're asking for three days. Since we started the show 265 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: talking about raptors and owls, I thought i'd bring it 266 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: full circle here at the end. While using raptors to 267 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: hunt sharp tailed grouse over the sage brush flats and 268 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: cuts of the Missouri River breaks feels like something that 269 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: hasn't changed in several thousand years. Using raptors to hunt 270 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,280 Speaker 1: seagulls over the boardwalks and spray tons of the Jersey 271 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: Shore seems uniquely ma Ocean City, New Jersey, is a 272 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: beach town that depends on the roughly one and fifty 273 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 1: thousand visitors they get each year, But in recent summers, 274 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: the flood of summer tourists has encountered another less welcome infestation, seagulls. 275 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: The seagulls have figured out that Ocean Cities boardwalks offer 276 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,840 Speaker 1: a seasonal feast of French fries, pizza, and soft serve. 277 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: The goals have become so plentiful and so brazen that 278 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: they've started literally attacking people to get them to drop 279 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:35,280 Speaker 1: their food. So this year, city officials decided to do 280 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: something about it and the words of the New York 281 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: Times quote. Deciding it had had enough, Ocean City turned 282 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 1: to an army of wind bouncers. The city unleashed a 283 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: posse of raptors, four hawks, to falcons, and an owl 284 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,280 Speaker 1: to take on the unruly goals. Using birds of prey 285 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: to control unwanted avian pests. Isn't a new concept. Airports 286 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: have been doing it for years as a non leaf, 287 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: all on, non toxic solution. Best of all, it works. 288 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 1: And though I learned recently that falcons and owls are 289 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: not friendly with each other in the wilds of Montana, 290 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 1: they apparently get along fine on the shores of the 291 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: East Coast. Since we're still on the subject of owls, 292 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: I wanted to close this week's episode with owl herpes. Well, 293 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 1: this is probably the first owl story I've heard about 294 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: New Jersey. It's not the first mention of a case 295 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: of herpes in a beach town. Oh my God. To 296 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: clarify what I'm talking about here, a new strain of 297 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: herpes was recently identified in great horned owls. They can 298 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: cause pink eye and corneal ulcers. Herpes viruses come in 299 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: many different strains, and they've been around for more than 300 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: four hundred million years, since before mammals split off from reptiles. 301 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:52,080 Speaker 1: Herpes viruses are thought to have evolved alongside their hosts, 302 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: leading to what scientists call latency, meaning that animals often 303 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: carry around particular types of herpes without much in the 304 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,960 Speaker 1: way of symptoms, allowing the virus to spread widely through 305 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:07,159 Speaker 1: the population. For context, the World Health Organization the w 306 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,440 Speaker 1: h O estimates that sixty of people on the planet 307 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:15,360 Speaker 1: have Herpes simplex virus type one. This can present as 308 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: cold sores or genital warts, but in many cases, people 309 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:23,200 Speaker 1: carrying herpies don't display any symptoms at all, which allows 310 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: them to pass it along over and over and over again. 311 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: But enough about the sixty Back to the owls. This 312 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: new strain of owl specific herpies was recently discovered in 313 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,679 Speaker 1: a couple of captive of great horned owls. Biologists aren't 314 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,920 Speaker 1: sure how common this strain of herpies is, how widespread 315 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:44,199 Speaker 1: it is in wild populations, or if it always shows 316 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 1: itself and i ulcers, but they're working to figure it out. 317 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, though this new 318 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,160 Speaker 1: report is something to keep an eye on, it's not 319 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: among their top concerns for owl populations. In fact, it's 320 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: not even their top owl peace concern. Owls have long 321 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: been known to fall victim to a different form of 322 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,440 Speaker 1: herpes that they get from eating rock dubs and pigeons, 323 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: and that strand is almost immediately fatal for them. So 324 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: there you go all you ever wanted to know about 325 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: owl herpes. That's it for this week. Thanks for listening 326 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:21,719 Speaker 1: as per usual. If you want to set me straight 327 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,119 Speaker 1: right into ask Cal that's a s k C a L. 328 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: At the Meat eater dot com. Leave me a review 329 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: by hitting that furthest right hand star and be sure 330 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,160 Speaker 1: to tell a friend if you want to hear more 331 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: fun and interesting facts. I'll talk to you next week.