1 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: From Mediator's World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available 3 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: dot com. Now here's your host, Ryan cal callahan. After 5 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: pleading guilty to willfully remaining, approaching and photographing wildlife, a 6 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: twenty five year old Illinois woman, Samantha Daring, will be 7 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: spending four days in jail. If you recall, Yellowstone National 8 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: Park officials have been publicly on the hunt for this 9 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: particular offender since May of two thousand and twenty one, 10 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: after a YouTube video of the woman being bluff charged 11 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: by a salgrizz to within an estimated fifteen feet of 12 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: her surfaced. In addition to four days in the WHOSCAL, 13 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: she was also sentenced with one year unsupervised probation, too 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: thousand dollars in fines, and is banned from Yellowstone National 15 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:10,119 Speaker 1: Park for one year. Charges were dismissed against her for feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, 16 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: or intentionally disturbing wildlife. The ultimate punishment was much lower 17 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: than the one year in jail and ten thousand dollars 18 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: in fines she could have received. That's according to the 19 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: Cody Enterprise. What do you think of that sentence? Does 20 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: it fit the crime? Keep in mind our national park systems, 21 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: even the states bordering Yellowstone National Park down to hotel billboards, bars, 22 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: and every tourist trap along the route. Heck, even the 23 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: tail of some airplanes market intentionally or not being close 24 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: to wild animals. Here's a quote. Wildlife in Yellowstone National 25 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: Park are indeed wild. The park is not a zoo 26 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: where animals can be viewed within the safety of a 27 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: fenced and closure. They roam freely in their natural habitat 28 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: end when threatened will react accordingly, said Acting United States 29 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: Attorney Bob Murray. Quote. Approaching a soal grizzly with cubs 30 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: is absolutely foolish. Here, pure luck is why Daring is 31 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: a criminal defendant and not a mald tourist. It is 32 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: pure luck, Bob. We have set up the road systems 33 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: in national parks to be so similar to theme parks 34 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: that any sort of wildlife education gets lost in the 35 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: all two familiar lines of people. Lines are where folks 36 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: like you and me turn our brains off, not on. 37 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: We are conditioned to just follow the tail lights in 38 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: front of us. Everyone going through the gates of Yellowstone 39 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: National Park has basically been told they will get or 40 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: this is their chance to be close to super wildlife 41 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,920 Speaker 1: stars such as bison, wolves, elk, and grizzly bears. So 42 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: when Samantha Daring is ending four days in the clank 43 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: and she's forked over two thousand dollars and fines plus 44 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: court fees and maybe we get one more follow up 45 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 1: story out of this, does anyone think another bad tourist 46 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: video is going to pop up next year? Will that 47 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: video be the one that stops bad tourist behavior? Come on, 48 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: this lady is getting more seriously reprimanded than most people 49 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:30,519 Speaker 1: out there illegally killing wildlife. For the record, I think 50 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: our park rangers should just have the free range to 51 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: gently tap any visitor young old infirmed on the forehead 52 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: with the two by four whenever they break park rules 53 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: and say this time, look and that not on your 54 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: forehead is the only thing that saved you from a mawling. 55 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: This week, we've got goats, fire bear, and nuts. But 56 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: first I'm gonna tell you about my week. And my 57 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: week was fantastic. Buddy of mine and I headed out 58 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: to find him a moose, which we did find moose ultimately, 59 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: but not the right one. Conditions were tough, save for 60 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: one small storm that hit in the high country with 61 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: wet snow and reasonably cold temps. It was hot, not 62 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: much for moose moving around. I hauled the can am 63 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: over there. We put more miles on that than I 64 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: ever thought I would. I quickly became a convert to 65 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: the reasons why folks buy them. They're very comfortable, especially 66 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: on old logging roads and pothole infested dirt. I do 67 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: not have defrost in my machine, so we'd get bundled 68 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: up and head out pred Onto account for the wind chill. 69 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 1: The front windscreen fully opens, you know, just like a 70 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: pick up topper window. One morning, I watched a bird 71 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: fly from its ground nest on the side of the 72 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: road and barely miss us, I thought, but my buddy said, 73 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: I just got hit in the chest. I was driving. 74 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: He was looking around. Then he opens his armpit and 75 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: the bird flew straight back out the round window where 76 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: it came from. All I could think of was that 77 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: bird telling its friends I got hit by a car today, 78 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 1: and it was a totally different experience than you would expect. 79 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: We took horses and mules the stock up really old 80 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: trails that existed on maps but not so much on 81 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: the ground. We did a lot of path finding and 82 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: cut and chopped alongside the axe and saw marks of 83 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: those folks that have been there before us. I like 84 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,600 Speaker 1: to bring the steel m s a two d C 85 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: with a fourteen inch bar. I can put two batteries 86 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,280 Speaker 1: in my saddle bags, which leaves the saw almost weightless, 87 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: so you can pack it anywhere on a mannied load 88 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: or like we used on this trip Paniers. I was 89 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: completely astonished at how much cutting we got done on 90 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: one battery, and unfortunately, on one outing we did a 91 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: lot more cutting than hunting. We should have stopped going 92 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: up the trail hours earlier. But as I am sure 93 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,600 Speaker 1: some of you can relate, Sometimes your brain and says, 94 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: the next corner, a little further it's gonna open up. 95 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: Right where you're standing looks moosey as all hell, but 96 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: a little further is going to be better. And eventually 97 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,280 Speaker 1: you have to throw your head lamps on, turn the 98 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: string around, and bob and duck and weave the javelin 99 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: like deadfall, hoping not to get skewered. Somewhere too soft. 100 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: All the way home and the dark, we got a 101 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: lot of hiking in. We burned our legs, we burned 102 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 1: our lungs, we burned our foreheads. It was a great 103 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: trip all around. Looking forward to doing it again. Moving 104 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 1: on to the prehistory desk. First up in Morocco, researchers 105 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: at the London National History Museum have discovered a new 106 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: species of dinosaur related to the Stegosaurus. This specimen is 107 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 1: a kind of ankleosaur, which literally means stiff lizard, which, 108 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 1: if you think about it, it's like they gave the 109 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,360 Speaker 1: job of naming dinosaurs to the Intern that day. I mean, 110 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: all fossils kind of fit the diff description, right, That's 111 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: like naming a specimen dead dinosaur or really really old dinosaur. 112 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: All ankleiosaurs have a heavily armored skull, defensive spikes down 113 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: the back, and a bulb shaped tail used as a club. 114 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: It's more famous relation. The stegosaur has those two distinctive 115 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: rows of spade shaped fins down its back and the 116 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: barbed tail. I had to throw that description in in 117 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 1: case you're getting confused and don't have a ten year 118 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: old around that can set you straight. What made this 119 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: new find so unusual was the way this ankleiosaur spikes 120 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: were connected to its body. Previously discovered examples of the 121 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: species had spikes anchored into the flesh, sort of like 122 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: how our hair is rooted into our skin. But the 123 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: spikes of this new find refused directly to its ribs, 124 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: a feature that paleontologists believe has never before been observed 125 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: in any living thing, or, as they put at, an 126 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: unprecedented more followed among extinct and extant vertebrates. That makes 127 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: you sound smart. Having the spike fused directly to bone 128 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: would mean either that these spikes were covered in flesh, 129 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: which seems very painful and impractical, or that they somehow 130 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: protruded through the skin like a permanent compound fracture. Regardless, 131 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: we can be sure this was not an easy critter 132 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: to eat. The researchers found this attribute so unusual they 133 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: originally thought the find might be a fake. They even 134 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 1: use the word bizarre in the title of the published paper, 135 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: Interesting Dinosaur Fact for You. The cartoonist Gary Larson ended 136 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: up making an important contribution to the study of stegosaurs. 137 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 1: A panel of his cartoon The Fire Side shows a 138 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: caveman teacher standing in front of a classroom pointing at 139 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 1: a picture of a stegosaurs tail. The cartoon depicts the 140 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,839 Speaker 1: caveman teacher pointing to the spikes and saying, now, this 141 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,319 Speaker 1: end is called the thago miser, after the late Thag Simmons, 142 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: you know, implying that the poor old Thag was the 143 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: first to get whacked by the stegosaur spiky tail. Almost unbelievably, 144 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: paleontologists hadn't had an official name for the Steaga source 145 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: tail before this, so they started referring to it informally 146 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: as the Thago miser, and after time it became the 147 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: standard term, and that is now just what a Stago 148 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 1: source tail is called. Since the word thag miser has 149 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: been used by organizations as august as the Smithsonian, the 150 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: National Park Service, and the BBC, as well as several 151 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: authoritative dinosaur books. Gary Larson is, in fact so beloved 152 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,840 Speaker 1: by all kinds of scientists that in biologist Dale Clayton 153 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: gave the name string of Phyllis Gary larsoni to a 154 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: previously unknown species of chewing lause found only on owls. Now, 155 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 1: how's that for a legacy mom In other news slightly 156 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 1: less ancient, but still earlier than we thought. A series 157 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: of footprints uncovered in White Sands National Park in New 158 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 1: Mexico make a compelling case that human beings were in 159 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: North America at least twenty three thousand years ago, ten 160 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: thousand years earlier than the previous consensus, and just so 161 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: you know, that still doesn't make people old enough to 162 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: ride dinosaurs. To determine the age of the White Sands footprints, 163 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: the scientists dug shallow trenches alongside them and analyze preserved 164 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:36,079 Speaker 1: grass seeds trapped in each layer of ancient dirt. By 165 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: carbon dating seeds just above one set of footprints and 166 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,839 Speaker 1: finding that they were twenty two thousand, eight hundred years old, 167 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 1: the authors concluded that the prints must have been at 168 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 1: least that old, and possibly older. We've talked before on 169 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,080 Speaker 1: the show about carbon dating and how in order to 170 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: do it you need you know something made of carbon. 171 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: For example, even though the pigment red ochre was used 172 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 1: extremely widely by ancient painters, it contains no carbon, and 173 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 1: so researchers have to rely on other techniques to date 174 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: those paintings. In the case of these footprints, though the 175 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: seeds that provide the carbon can be dated, and so 176 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: they provide a kind of time stamp. Similarly, when researchers 177 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: were analyzing the Chovette Cave in France, which has some 178 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 1: of the world's most beautiful prehistoric paintings, I'll be honest 179 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: with you, as a once considered a tattoo that would 180 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: be you know, of cave paintings, and uh, you know 181 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 1: it was shamed for that idea and never followed through 182 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,320 Speaker 1: with it. Anyway, they discovered very few signs of ancient 183 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: people actually coming into the caves to look at the paintings, 184 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:47,440 Speaker 1: except for a single set of footprints made by what 185 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 1: appeared to be a girl of about ten. Scientists figured 186 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,079 Speaker 1: out that she had been carrying a torch to light 187 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: her way, touching it to the wall to knock the 188 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 1: ash off the end of it so it would burn 189 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: cleaner the way a small grew knocks the ash off 190 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: a cigarette. By carbon dating the ash on the wall 191 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: and where it had fallen into the footprints both on 192 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,960 Speaker 1: the girl's way in and out of the cave, scientists 193 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 1: determined that she had been there twenty seven thousand years ago, 194 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 1: but the last painting in Chauvette was made around thirty 195 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,040 Speaker 1: two thousand years ago, So this girl seems to have 196 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 1: been the only person who had seen the paintings in 197 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: five thousand years and the last person to see them 198 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: until they were rediscovered, which could imply that she was 199 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:38,079 Speaker 1: so unimpressed that she told no one about them, or 200 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: that people just didn't care about art. If that doesn't 201 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: give you chills, it should. That whole story is like 202 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 1: history repeating itself, type of you know what I'm saying, 203 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: or maybe uh, when you hear some old duffers say, 204 00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: you know, nobody pays attention to their kids anymore in 205 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: my day. Anyway, back to New Mexico and our twenty 206 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: three thousand year old footprints. If the White Sands prints 207 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,199 Speaker 1: are twenty three thousand years old, then they were made 208 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: when an enormous glacier called the Cordillarian Ice Sheet completely 209 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: covered western North America down to about present day Oregon. 210 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,559 Speaker 1: And that means that either people got here from Asia 211 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: over the glacier, which seems very difficult, or came here 212 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,959 Speaker 1: by boat along the coast, something we've covered many times, 213 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: which also seems very tough. Or possibly we're already here 214 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: even before glaciers closed the route. This last hypothesis could 215 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: mean that human beings were in North America a long, long, 216 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:47,079 Speaker 1: long time ago. The anthropologist Paul Atte Steve's, a member 217 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 1: of the Cree and Mattis People's, recently published a book 218 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:53,880 Speaker 1: from University of Nebraska arguing that human beings have been 219 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,319 Speaker 1: on this continent for more than one hundred and thirty 220 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: thousand years. Moving on to the wildfire desk, goats, fire 221 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: and bears, the Bureau of Land Management has enlisted a 222 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: new kind of soldier in the fight against wildfires, goats 223 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: that's right. According to Colorado Public Radio, BLM biologists have 224 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: released hundreds of goats in key areas to help control 225 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: the invasive overgrown plant species that become tinder for wildfires. 226 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: In the process, goat manure helps the soil hold water 227 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: and enriches the ground for native plants to thrive. At 228 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,880 Speaker 1: Stutty Ranch in western Colorado, eight hundred goats were dispatched 229 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: earlier this year to beat down a type of wheat 230 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 1: grass that deer and elk don't eat. After they're finished, 231 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: they'll move to another BLM area to clear oak brush 232 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: near last year's grizzly Creek fire. Hillary Boyd, a BLM biologist, 233 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: told Colorado Public Radio, quote, our hope is if we 234 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: can kick back some of these grasses, improve the soil, 235 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: and make room for some other more desire bowl plants 236 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 1: to grow, the fields are going to be even more 237 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: valuable for wildlife. Believe it or not, goats have been 238 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: fighting fires in the United States for a long time. 239 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: In two thousand one, Smithsonian Magazine found a couple in 240 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: California who had been using the technique since the Golden 241 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: State has for many years conscripted goats as environmentally friendly 242 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 1: allies and the wildfire fight, and the idea may be 243 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: starting to catch on in other states. Goat grazing is 244 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: only one of many fire suppression techniques, but goats can 245 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: be deployed in areas where prescribed burning is impossible or impractical. 246 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: Landscapes prone to human cause fires are also areas where 247 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: folks don't like a bunch of smoke. Biologists might consider 248 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,760 Speaker 1: using goats around campgrounds, trailheads, and private land cut back 249 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: on underbrush without using fire. In addition, as I mentioned 250 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 1: in our last wildfire round up, some fire conditions promote 251 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: plant growth, even bad plants. There's no sense burning a 252 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 1: bunch of in base of weeds only to have them 253 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: rebound even stronger the next year. Goats can clear an 254 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: area of these plants without making the original problem worse. 255 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:13,680 Speaker 1: Goats aren't the perfect solution, of course, remember the manure 256 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier. If gos a release too late in 257 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 1: the season, fell, munch down invasive plant seeds and deposit 258 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:24,360 Speaker 1: them out the other end. Like all things, goats must 259 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: be used responsibly. There's a lot of reasons for getting 260 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: the wildfire problem under control. Loss of human life, property damage, 261 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: harmed wildlife. Environmentalist groups have raised concerns about how aerial 262 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: fire retard affects animals, especially fish species. You've probably seen 263 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: videos of tanker plans dumping thousands of gallons of the 264 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: red water chemical mixture in a brave effort to control 265 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 1: the spread of a blaze. Between two thousand twelve and 266 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen, the Forest Service used more than one 267 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: and two million gallons of fire retardant. Fire retardant is 268 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: mostly water, but companies also include chemicals like ammonium phosphate 269 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: to stick to plants and inhibit combustion. The mixture hasn't 270 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:09,439 Speaker 1: been shown to harm humans. Birds are large wildlife because 271 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 1: typically humans, birds and wildlife are gone by the time 272 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,879 Speaker 1: they're flying over. The retardant isn't good to ingest, but 273 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: it's usually washed away and deluded by streams or rain runoff. Amphibians, rodents, insects, 274 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: and other creatures that hunker down to wait out ablaze 275 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,399 Speaker 1: may have more trouble, according to a two thousand eleven 276 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: four AT Service Environmental Impact Report. Water quality can also 277 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: be affected, especially in small ponds and vernal pools where 278 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 1: water can't flow to dilute the ammonium phosphate. A vernal 279 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: pool is kind of like the prairie potholes I talk 280 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 1: about with some frequency. They are typically very shallow, intermittently 281 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: dry areas where water collects. Think of that elk wal oh, 282 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: you know that is often dry. Vernal itself means of 283 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,040 Speaker 1: the spring, which is a fun thing to keep in 284 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: mind the next time you run into someone named burn. 285 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,880 Speaker 1: Fire retardant has been linked to fish kills in Oregon, 286 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: New Mexico, and California, but a two thousand nineteen biological 287 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: opinion by the National Marine Fishery Service concluded that the 288 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: chemicals do not destroy critical habitat or jeopardize the existence 289 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: of threatened salmon, chum, and steelhead trout. In other words, 290 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 1: fire retardant might kill some fish, but it's unlikely to 291 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:30,359 Speaker 1: have population level impacts. In their never ending quest to 292 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,919 Speaker 1: ban hunting in the United States, animal rights lobbyists have 293 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 1: hit another excuse to definitely postponed hunting seasons. Earlier this month, 294 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 1: the Center for Biological Diversity called on the Nevada Department 295 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: of Wildlife to shut down bear hunting units due to 296 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,399 Speaker 1: wildfires in the state. CBDs Nevada state directors said we 297 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: should give bears a break. Climate fueled catastrophic fire isn't 298 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: just hard on us. Bears are struggling to survive and 299 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,080 Speaker 1: recover from the most difficult summer of their lives. As 300 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: you can imagine, if this flies in Nevada, it may 301 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 1: very well fly in other Western states. If wildlife agencies 302 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: shut down hunting for every wildfire, you can kiss those 303 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:14,360 Speaker 1: early season hunts goodbye. Small localized fires can be good 304 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 1: for the landscape and for the animals that live on it, 305 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,680 Speaker 1: but many of the raging blazes we've seen out west 306 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: can be harmful, not only due to the flames and 307 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: the heat, but also due to the methods we used 308 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,280 Speaker 1: to control the fire and the ways fire can be 309 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:32,360 Speaker 1: manipulated by those who want to end outdoor recreation. If 310 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: you like to think of yourself as a hunter or 311 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 1: a conservationist, or as a hunter conservationist, or just someone 312 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: that enjoys knowing that the natural world is out there 313 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,440 Speaker 1: so that video game programmers are building off the real deal, 314 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 1: this is just another reason to be involved year round. 315 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: Active management can mean science based climate change mitigation, prescribed burns, 316 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,199 Speaker 1: which means dealing with a little smoke in your neighborhood 317 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: for a short period of time to offset an entire 318 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:03,639 Speaker 1: summer or longer of smoke inhalation, Selective logging, which can 319 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,639 Speaker 1: even mean a clearcutter cut block here and there, and 320 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: maybe even goats moving on to the inconvenient squirrel desk. 321 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,160 Speaker 1: A man in Fargo, North Dakota, returned from a four 322 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:20,640 Speaker 1: day business trip last month to find his Chevy Avalanche 323 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: filled to the brim with black walnuts. When I say filled, 324 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 1: I mean filled. In photos posted online, Bill Fisher explained 325 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: how an American red squirrel had packed his truck's engine, bay, 326 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: side panels, and frame with lemon sized walnuts in total, 327 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 1: Fisher retrieved forty two gallons of black walnuts from his truck. 328 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: He told me the total hall wade about eighty pounds, 329 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:47,960 Speaker 1: and he estimates the squirrel had stashed well over one 330 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,119 Speaker 1: thousand nuts in just ninety six hours. I can't really 331 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: do this justice over the airways, so I encourage you 332 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,480 Speaker 1: to google red squirrel Chevy and check out the photos 333 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:02,440 Speaker 1: for yourself. Fish says he can still hear walnuts rolling 334 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,480 Speaker 1: around in the frame of his truck, but he's had 335 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: a good attitude about the whole thing. He offered the 336 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: all natural pop picked black walnuts on his Facebook page 337 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:15,920 Speaker 1: and said that the furry tree dweller may be retiring 338 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,879 Speaker 1: soon due to health reasons. The squirrel is dealing with 339 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 1: a caustic work environment due to a relentless micromanaging supervisor 340 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: of the canine type, referring to his dog. Believe it 341 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,680 Speaker 1: or not, this isn't the first time Fisher has dealt 342 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 1: with this problem. His neighbor's walnut tree produces mature nuts 343 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: every two years, and every two years he finds walnuts 344 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: in his truck. This year, he thought he'd be safe 345 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: doing a full clean up in the middle of September 346 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,120 Speaker 1: before his business trip. He was wrong. He told us, 347 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: this is definitely a red squirrel with attitude to match 348 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:53,040 Speaker 1: against other squirrels. According to forestry professor Georgia Peterson, red 349 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: squirrels frequently engaged in what's called larger hoarding. They'll store 350 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 1: large caches or middens of their favor at foods. The 351 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: squirrel prefers Fisher's black wallnuts, but red squirrels often go 352 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:09,200 Speaker 1: for fungi, fruits, and especially tree seeds from coniferous species. 353 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: The other type of hoarding is called scatter hoarding. Eastern 354 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: gray squirrels more frequently stashed their food in this way 355 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 1: by hiding or burying small amounts of food in various 356 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: locations throughout their territory. Both types of squirrels engage in 357 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,640 Speaker 1: both types of hoarding, but reds tend to larder while 358 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,160 Speaker 1: grays tend to spread. As meat eaters Clay Nucom pointed 359 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:33,320 Speaker 1: out recently in an article on the meat eater dot Com, 360 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,439 Speaker 1: finding a squirrel's cache of food, or at least finding 361 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,160 Speaker 1: the area where they've been storing food, is the first 362 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: step in a successful squirrel hunt. If Fisher wanted to 363 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: do any squirrel hunting, he might try parking his Chevy 364 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,640 Speaker 1: on the nearest patch of public land. Squirrels might think 365 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,439 Speaker 1: that cars and trucks make great food larders, but it 366 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: can be dangerous to drive with a cash of pine cones, nuts, 367 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,480 Speaker 1: or tree bark. Your engine can overheat due to a 368 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 1: lack of air flow, and combustible materials can catch fire 369 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 1: if they're pressed against an exhaust pipe. If you live 370 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: in an area with lots of red squirrels, be sure 371 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,520 Speaker 1: to check your engine bay regularly for squirrel food during 372 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,199 Speaker 1: the fall months. Parking your car in a garage is 373 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: the best way to avoid being chosen as a pantry. 374 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: But I've also heard that mothballs, hot peppers, and other 375 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: animal repellents can do the trick. If you want to 376 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 1: know a personal favorite of mine, downy dryer sheets. Get 377 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:32,200 Speaker 1: a box of downey dryer sheets. Poke those dryer sheets 378 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,240 Speaker 1: and any little hole that you think a squirrel can 379 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,920 Speaker 1: get through, or a mouse or whatever. There's something about 380 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,159 Speaker 1: those things that just to irritate the crap out of them, 381 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,120 Speaker 1: they won't go near him. Hopefully you'll have better luck 382 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:45,200 Speaker 1: than Fisher did. He's tried placing a mixture of Tabasco 383 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: sauce and cayenne pepper under the hood and parking his 384 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:50,399 Speaker 1: truck as far away from the tree as possible, but 385 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:54,639 Speaker 1: so far nothing has been able to dissuade his furry intruder. 386 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 1: That's all I've got for you this week. Remember, if 387 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,160 Speaker 1: the squirrels are putting away that much food, it's going 388 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 1: to be a hard winter, So go to steal Dealers 389 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 1: dot com and find your local steel dealer to get 390 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: prepared to cut and buck some firewood. As always, thank 391 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: you so much for listening, but right in to ask 392 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,359 Speaker 1: Cal that's a s k C A L at the 393 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 1: Meat Eater dot com and let me know what's going 394 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 1: on in your neck of the woods. Thank you so 395 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 1: much for listening. I'll talk to you next week.