1
00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:06,840
Speaker 1: From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is

2
00:00:06,920 --> 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 --> 00:00:22,400
Speaker 1: dot com. Now here's your host. Ryan cal Callahan, a

5
00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,400
Speaker 1: Nebraska angler, found what he called the catch of a

6
00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,760
Speaker 1: lifetime last month when he stumbled upon a ninety million

7
00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:32,560
Speaker 1: year old fish fossil in the Missouri River. Andy Moore

8
00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,239
Speaker 1: was participating in a fishing competition when he spied what

9
00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,239
Speaker 1: he thought was a skeleton sitting on a rock. He

10
00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,640
Speaker 1: took a quick picture before casting his next jig, but

11
00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,960
Speaker 1: he posted all the photos from that day on Facebook.

12
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,800
Speaker 1: His friend contacted him after seeing the image and told

13
00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,720
Speaker 1: him what he'd found was much much older than he thought.

14
00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,000
Speaker 1: More called the Army Corps of Engineers and they sent

15
00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,960
Speaker 1: out a geologist who had permission to excavate the site.

16
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,320
Speaker 1: More soon learned that what he thought was a skeleton

17
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,559
Speaker 1: from quote like a year ago, was actually a ninety

18
00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,240
Speaker 1: million year old specimen known as a bulldog fish. More

19
00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,039
Speaker 1: should be thankful the fish wasn't swimming around in the

20
00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,279
Speaker 1: Missouri River on the day of his tournament. Bulldog fish

21
00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,280
Speaker 1: were large predatory fish of an extinct genus called the

22
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,280
Speaker 1: fact in us. They could grow over sixteen feet in

23
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,240
Speaker 1: length and are known for their large, sharp teeth that

24
00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:29,520
Speaker 1: protrude outward from their upper jaw and lower jaws. Their

25
00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,880
Speaker 1: lower jaw jets forward, making them look like the fish

26
00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:37,080
Speaker 1: version of a much larger and more terrifying bulldog. A

27
00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:41,280
Speaker 1: bulldog fish specimen sold for over one hundred thousand dollars

28
00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,160
Speaker 1: in two thousand twenty. But more won't have any such luck.

29
00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,000
Speaker 1: The fossil will be dried and preserved at the Lewis

30
00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:51,080
Speaker 1: and Clark Visitors Center in Crofton, Nebraska, for according to

31
00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,520
Speaker 1: More everybody in the world to enjoy and to look

32
00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,240
Speaker 1: at for educational purposes. Maybe that will be some karma

33
00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,440
Speaker 1: for more and uh knock out a hundred k and

34
00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:06,720
Speaker 1: uh walleye fishing competition prizes over the next year. This week,

35
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,480
Speaker 1: we've got Turkey troubles, the Klamath Tasmanian tigers, and so

36
00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,639
Speaker 1: much more. But first I'm gonna tell you about my week.

37
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,320
Speaker 1: In My Week, as you know, is sponsored by Steel

38
00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,840
Speaker 1: Power Equipment. I am packing the schedule as tight as possible.

39
00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,320
Speaker 1: Just got back from the first Light store opening in

40
00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:27,160
Speaker 1: Haley Idaho. Really cool space, great turnout, fun folks, and

41
00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,080
Speaker 1: it's admittedly very nice to see all that gear in

42
00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,600
Speaker 1: one place. Got around a sporting plays in with Casey Hawks,

43
00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,200
Speaker 1: who you may know as your head of customer service.

44
00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,079
Speaker 1: At this point, Old Seahawk only shoots a twenty eight gauge.

45
00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,800
Speaker 1: Needless to say that around was humbling. After the event,

46
00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,000
Speaker 1: I drugged the camper up out of the catch them

47
00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,919
Speaker 1: over Trail Creek, down the Lost, up the Divide into

48
00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,600
Speaker 1: the Salmon Country, up the Lamb High and over the

49
00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:55,200
Speaker 1: Pass into Horse Prairie. Did some really fine camping along

50
00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,520
Speaker 1: the way. Yes, the Black Series camper is making me soft.

51
00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,200
Speaker 1: We had mesical margharita's and tempera battered triple Tale for dinner.

52
00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,760
Speaker 1: For scientific purposes. I also battered spicy haban hero pickles,

53
00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:11,440
Speaker 1: carrots and string cheese. I'll tell you you've got to

54
00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,040
Speaker 1: keep that one in mind for the kids. Not the

55
00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,000
Speaker 1: hobby hero pickles, but the string cheese. It's a winner.

56
00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,600
Speaker 1: I felt like I was sitting in a Wisconsin bar.

57
00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,880
Speaker 1: One thing I really need your help with, though, is

58
00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,639
Speaker 1: when you're camping, it's very convenient to bring a pre

59
00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,720
Speaker 1: made margharite a mix. I have found even the expensive

60
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,680
Speaker 1: quote natural mixes you know that you get like co

61
00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:38,120
Speaker 1: op hippie dippie type of place, are disgustingly sweet. I

62
00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,120
Speaker 1: blame Triple SEC. Please right in and tell me if

63
00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,320
Speaker 1: I'm wrong. Most of the time I just like a

64
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,800
Speaker 1: whole line squeezed into my tequila or mescal, drink a

65
00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,720
Speaker 1: little bit of you know, Topo Chico or something in there.

66
00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:52,920
Speaker 1: That's if I'm in the mood to mix things up

67
00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:57,480
Speaker 1: at all. Anyway, obviously a problem need a solution. Please

68
00:03:57,520 --> 00:03:59,200
Speaker 1: write in let me know if you have a good

69
00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,440
Speaker 1: recommendation for pre mix or if Triple SEC is not

70
00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,720
Speaker 1: the devil. Gorgeous Montana night attempts to drop down into

71
00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,280
Speaker 1: the fifties. We're up around seven thousand feet. Shot the

72
00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,200
Speaker 1: bow in the morning, felt like fall, and then we

73
00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,760
Speaker 1: had to head back into Bos Angeles. This week I

74
00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,800
Speaker 1: had to New Mexico with Jason Phelps. It's the first

75
00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,960
Speaker 1: week of archery ELK in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.

76
00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,159
Speaker 1: Jason and I have never hunted together before. I'm really

77
00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,039
Speaker 1: looking forward to talking elk calling strategy with that guy.

78
00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 1: I've used Phelps calls for a really long time. Now.

79
00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,839
Speaker 1: I've known Jason a long time. I've called in a

80
00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,680
Speaker 1: bunch of elk, but all for myself. This way, it'll

81
00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,600
Speaker 1: be way more educational to be there with a real

82
00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,479
Speaker 1: elk talking partner. I'll fill you in on that one.

83
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,559
Speaker 1: But enough about me. I know you're all heading out

84
00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:49,680
Speaker 1: or thinking about it. Let me know if I can

85
00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,320
Speaker 1: help in any way. We can do a dedicated gear

86
00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,480
Speaker 1: tips tactics podcast if that's helpful for you. But don't worry,

87
00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:59,920
Speaker 1: I won't skip out on the conservation either. Good luck,

88
00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,920
Speaker 1: have fun, and be safe and be courteous too. We're

89
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,120
Speaker 1: all out in the big Elk woods for the same reason.

90
00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,440
Speaker 1: Moving on to the hog desk, We've known for a

91
00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,000
Speaker 1: long time that wild hogs eat turkey eggs, but a

92
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,320
Speaker 1: new study from Auburn University suggests that removing hogs from

93
00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:21,240
Speaker 1: the landscape can have a significant immediate impact on the

94
00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,480
Speaker 1: wild turkey population in the area. The study was conducted

95
00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,840
Speaker 1: by Matt mcdonnaugh of the Auburn University Deer Lab and

96
00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,919
Speaker 1: presented at last month's International Wild Pig Conference. The National

97
00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,720
Speaker 1: Deer Association has a great right up on mcdonna's presentation,

98
00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,479
Speaker 1: which you should check out. Mcdonnaugh and his team set

99
00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,839
Speaker 1: up four study sites in southeast Alabama to determine how

100
00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,240
Speaker 1: turkey populations respond to hog removal. The sites ranched from

101
00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,520
Speaker 1: acres to thousand, five hundred acres, and they had a

102
00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,880
Speaker 1: camera trap for every two hundred and fifty acres. One

103
00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,680
Speaker 1: study site acted as the control which is, you know,

104
00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,440
Speaker 1: the spot that you leave alone to compare your you know,

105
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,000
Speaker 1: messing around with on other places against and mcdonnah's team

106
00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,920
Speaker 1: worked with the USDA to trap as many hogs they

107
00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,440
Speaker 1: could from three other study sites. They used camera survey

108
00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,359
Speaker 1: as to estimate the hog population at each site, and

109
00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,360
Speaker 1: they ended up trapping more hogs in each area than

110
00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,000
Speaker 1: they had estimated. After trapping all those porkers, they went

111
00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,320
Speaker 1: back to the camera traps and started estimating turkey populations.

112
00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,279
Speaker 1: Over three years from two thousand eighteen to two thousand

113
00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,200
Speaker 1: twenty one, they found that at two of the three

114
00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:34,400
Speaker 1: pig removal sites, turkey populations increased significantly beyond the control area.

115
00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:39,320
Speaker 1: When researchers removed one of the estimated hog population, turkey

116
00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,479
Speaker 1: numbers jumped by about seventy When they removed twice the

117
00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:49,920
Speaker 1: initial hog population, they saw a staggering one turkey population increase.

118
00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,400
Speaker 1: One pig removal site did not see a significant increase

119
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,240
Speaker 1: over the control site, but this area also had the

120
00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:00,240
Speaker 1: worst hog problem of the four study locations. Mcdonna's uddy

121
00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:02,479
Speaker 1: is among the first to measure the real world benefit

122
00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:06,200
Speaker 1: of hog removal on turkey populations. The study suggests that

123
00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,520
Speaker 1: a concerted hog removal program can benefit a local turkey population,

124
00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,080
Speaker 1: but it requires a large scale trapping operation. Recreational hog

125
00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,240
Speaker 1: shooting here and there isn't nearly enough to have an effect.

126
00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,560
Speaker 1: This study doesn't explain why eliminating hogs helps turkeys, but

127
00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,320
Speaker 1: previous research points towards a few likely causes. A two

128
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:28,880
Speaker 1: thousand seventeen study from the U s d A found

129
00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,960
Speaker 1: that hogs are responsible for about twenty five percent of

130
00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,360
Speaker 1: depredation events on turkey eggs. Both hogs and turkey zed acorns,

131
00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,080
Speaker 1: so fewer hogs means more acorns for the gobblers. Mcdonnaugh

132
00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,520
Speaker 1: also pointed out that turkey numbers increase almost immediately after

133
00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:47,280
Speaker 1: hogs are removed, which suggests that turkeys just don't like

134
00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:51,560
Speaker 1: being in close proximity to swineherds. When the pigs move out,

135
00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,880
Speaker 1: the turkeys move back in. This is no silver bullet,

136
00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,440
Speaker 1: and state game agencies in the South have to balance

137
00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:01,360
Speaker 1: the competing interests of hog and turkey hunters when setting policy.

138
00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,480
Speaker 1: It's also worth noting that the turkey numbers are declining

139
00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,400
Speaker 1: all across the country, not just in areas with large

140
00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,960
Speaker 1: established hog populations. But mcdonna's study does offer an important

141
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,960
Speaker 1: piece of information that should inform some policy decisions. At

142
00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,520
Speaker 1: the very least, if you're a landowner looking to boost

143
00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,640
Speaker 1: your turkey numbers, setting some hog traps seems like a

144
00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,440
Speaker 1: great place to start. Then you know, finish with the barbecue,

145
00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,920
Speaker 1: moving on to the conservation desk. The best way to

146
00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,200
Speaker 1: conserve wild places and species will always be to make

147
00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,960
Speaker 1: conservation minded decisions as individuals and as a society. But

148
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,400
Speaker 1: modern technology can help make that possible, and I'm always

149
00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:46,320
Speaker 1: interested in creative ways people are engaging in the conservation movement.

150
00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:50,160
Speaker 1: Last month, for example, Smithsonian magazine ran a story about

151
00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,520
Speaker 1: a seventeen year old named Annaka Poori, who had developed

152
00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:57,000
Speaker 1: a clever, low cost way to spot elephant poachers. Poor

153
00:08:57,200 --> 00:08:59,600
Speaker 1: is from New York, but when she visited India four

154
00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:02,680
Speaker 1: years go, she was shocked and how much ivory jewelry

155
00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,960
Speaker 1: and statues were for sale in Bombay. She learned that

156
00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,959
Speaker 1: even though the ivory trade is prohibited and elephant hunting

157
00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,439
Speaker 1: has been illegal in India since the nineteen seventies, elephant

158
00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,800
Speaker 1: poaching is still quite common. So Anaka spent the last

159
00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,520
Speaker 1: two years developing software that can differentiate between humans and

160
00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:22,720
Speaker 1: elephants using a cheap thermal camera attached to a drone.

161
00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,280
Speaker 1: Drones are often used by anti poaching units, but it

162
00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,640
Speaker 1: can be difficult to identify human poachers among the other

163
00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:33,920
Speaker 1: animals on the ground. High resolution thermal cameras are expensive,

164
00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:38,679
Speaker 1: but Poori's design uses a two fleer one pro thermal

165
00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,280
Speaker 1: camera that plugs into an iPhone. Both camera and iPhone

166
00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,520
Speaker 1: are attached to a drone, and her machine learning software

167
00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:49,800
Speaker 1: identifies humans and elephants in real time based on their movements,

168
00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,080
Speaker 1: which may seem, you know, like an easy thing to

169
00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,839
Speaker 1: do if you like I watch a lot of bad

170
00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,240
Speaker 1: TV and the c I A can zoom in on

171
00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:01,560
Speaker 1: anything that they want, and seems pretty reasonable to know

172
00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:04,920
Speaker 1: the difference between an elephant and a person. But that's

173
00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,600
Speaker 1: why you got to donate to conservation minded organizations. They

174
00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,680
Speaker 1: don't have the scratch to play with the you know, cia,

175
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:17,000
Speaker 1: et cetera. Anyway, Pouri's system is called the Elephant Savior,

176
00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:21,920
Speaker 1: shortened to ELSA. Did I mentioned poory is nineteen years old.

177
00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,520
Speaker 1: Elsa is still in the prototype phase, but it demonstrates

178
00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,319
Speaker 1: how little creativity can take low cost gear and turn

179
00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:32,319
Speaker 1: it into a powerful tool to help conserve endangered species.

180
00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,160
Speaker 1: Another high school student, if you're not feeling bad enough

181
00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:39,240
Speaker 1: about the direction of your life as a forty year

182
00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:43,280
Speaker 1: old man not talking about myself, is hoping his technology

183
00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,839
Speaker 1: can help drivers avoid animal collisions on the road. Ve

184
00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,839
Speaker 1: Doant Srinavas is a student in some Amish, Washington, and

185
00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,640
Speaker 1: he developed a system called Equis. Equis uses custom optical

186
00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:00,439
Speaker 1: and thermal sensors, which, when paired with artificial intelligence, detect

187
00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,360
Speaker 1: animals when they are moving towards a road. When the

188
00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,439
Speaker 1: system detects an animal, it sends a signal to a

189
00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,439
Speaker 1: lighted sign which warns drivers to keep an eye out

190
00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,319
Speaker 1: for critters, which is great news for those of you

191
00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,319
Speaker 1: who drive while still looking at the road and not

192
00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:19,040
Speaker 1: at your iPhone. There are an estimated two million collisions

193
00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:22,240
Speaker 1: between large animals and cars every year in the United States.

194
00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,400
Speaker 1: According to the Federal Highway Administration, that's two million animals

195
00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,640
Speaker 1: needlessly killed, two million drivers with wrecked cars, and hundreds

196
00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:35,520
Speaker 1: of millions of pounds of wasted meat. Now here's another

197
00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,000
Speaker 1: little bit of tech we learned about from listener a

198
00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:42,400
Speaker 1: j Ritter. Fences are great for controlling livestock, but they're

199
00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,880
Speaker 1: bad for migrating animals. Many species can't get over or

200
00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,760
Speaker 1: under a barbed wire fence. Birds who hunt at night

201
00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,480
Speaker 1: don't see them, and as we frequently cover on the

202
00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,679
Speaker 1: Mediator podcast, sometimes animals get caught as they're trying to

203
00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,280
Speaker 1: jump over. It's sort of like if someone put a

204
00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:00,120
Speaker 1: bunch of those track and field hurdles between you and

205
00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,400
Speaker 1: the refrigerator. Yeah, you could jump over them, but it's

206
00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:06,640
Speaker 1: a real pain in the butt anyway. Some ranchers are

207
00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:09,600
Speaker 1: hoping to remove these hurdles by using a technology called

208
00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:13,400
Speaker 1: virtual fencing. Virtual fencing is kind of like a scaled

209
00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,959
Speaker 1: up version of the invisible fence you keep your dog

210
00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,400
Speaker 1: in your yard with if you're in you know, an

211
00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,880
Speaker 1: h o A style neighborhood. The system uses a series

212
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,520
Speaker 1: of solar powered towers that transmit signals to shock collars

213
00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:30,080
Speaker 1: fitted to livestock. A rancher can use the system software

214
00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,920
Speaker 1: to set up virtual fences that keep livestock within certain areas.

215
00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:37,840
Speaker 1: Depending on the topography. Each tower can read collars across

216
00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,360
Speaker 1: ten thousand to thirty tho acres. The system is cool

217
00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,120
Speaker 1: for a few reasons. Ranchers can see where all their

218
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,520
Speaker 1: livestock are in real time, and they can instantaneously change

219
00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:52,240
Speaker 1: the location of the virtual fence. In theory, they could

220
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,040
Speaker 1: reduce the amount of cowboys out on the range by

221
00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,360
Speaker 1: digitally herding cattle from pasture to pasture. Best of all,

222
00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:03,240
Speaker 1: why wildlife moving through the area are totally unaffected. If

223
00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,760
Speaker 1: you're a rancher, I can imagine a few objections. You

224
00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,079
Speaker 1: might not be comfortable trusting your heard to this kind

225
00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,520
Speaker 1: of tech. If your pastures are already fenced, it's you know,

226
00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,880
Speaker 1: easier in the foreseeable future to mend those fences instead

227
00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,679
Speaker 1: of ponying up twelve thou dollars per tower to set

228
00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:22,040
Speaker 1: up a virtual fence. But on the other hoof, no fences,

229
00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:26,360
Speaker 1: no bird collisions, no altered migration corridors, no trying to

230
00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,560
Speaker 1: scrounge up some skinny kid to ride shotgun to open

231
00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,160
Speaker 1: up all the gates for you, and think of the

232
00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,319
Speaker 1: inflated sense of value your cattle would have if you

233
00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,000
Speaker 1: were to give each one a collar of its own.

234
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:48,160
Speaker 1: Moving on to the Tasmanian tiger resurrection, not all conservation

235
00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:52,160
Speaker 1: technology is created equal. Some believe that advances in genetic

236
00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:56,000
Speaker 1: engineering will enable scientists to bring extinct animals back from

237
00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,800
Speaker 1: the debt, so to speak. You've probably heard this disgust

238
00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,600
Speaker 1: relation to Willie Mamma's but a new multimillion dollar project

239
00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:08,600
Speaker 1: aims to recreate another famous critic, the Tasmanian tiger. Thanks

240
00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,719
Speaker 1: to listener Granger Way for sending this one in, A

241
00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,880
Speaker 1: team of Australian scientists from the University of Melbourne have

242
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:19,320
Speaker 1: joined forces with a self proclaimed de extinction company called Colossal.

243
00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:22,600
Speaker 1: They hope to take genetic material from a living marsupial

244
00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:26,600
Speaker 1: species with similar DNA and use gene editing technology to

245
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,800
Speaker 1: recreate the Tasmanian tiger, or, according to the BBC quote,

246
00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,640
Speaker 1: an extremely close approximation of it. They believe they'll have

247
00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:37,920
Speaker 1: their first baby tiger within the next ten years. That

248
00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,400
Speaker 1: might sound well and good, but de extinction technology has

249
00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,560
Speaker 1: its critics. Another Australian scientists working for the Australian Center

250
00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:50,440
Speaker 1: for Ancient DNA described the technology as quote fairy tale science.

251
00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,360
Speaker 1: He said, this project is more about media attention for

252
00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,920
Speaker 1: the scientists and less about doing serious science. But there

253
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,480
Speaker 1: are other concerns even if we had meant that the

254
00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,360
Speaker 1: idea is theoretically possible. Dr Stewart Pim is a professor

255
00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,320
Speaker 1: of conservation ecology at Duke University. He's been an outspoken

256
00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,880
Speaker 1: critic of de extinction technology because he says it creates

257
00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,720
Speaker 1: what he calls a moral hazard. Dr Pim has testified

258
00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,800
Speaker 1: before Congress and he's heard from politicians who think it's

259
00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,520
Speaker 1: okay to drive a species to extinction because we can

260
00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,000
Speaker 1: just resurrect them later. In other words, we don't need

261
00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,800
Speaker 1: to worry about destroying habitat or losing species if we

262
00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,400
Speaker 1: can kick the can down the road and recreate the

263
00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:36,520
Speaker 1: critters in theory later on now. The Thila scene or

264
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:41,520
Speaker 1: Tasmanian tiger, was the largest carnivorous marsupial of recent time.

265
00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:45,280
Speaker 1: Marsupials are mammals who's young are born immature and are

266
00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:47,880
Speaker 1: carried and suckled in a pouch on their mother's belly.

267
00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,560
Speaker 1: Tasmanian tigers had a slender face that looks sort of

268
00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,280
Speaker 1: like a fox, and distinctive black stripes on the back

269
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,560
Speaker 1: half of their bodies. They hunted at night for wallabies

270
00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,920
Speaker 1: and birds, and sometimes killed domestic sheep, which is why

271
00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,560
Speaker 1: they were hunted to extinction in Tasmania. Aside from their

272
00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:08,880
Speaker 1: taste for sheep, these were extremely cool critters and they

273
00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:13,320
Speaker 1: died relatively recently ago. So here's the question. Is it

274
00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:17,880
Speaker 1: more responsible to bring back a species that is extinct

275
00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:22,120
Speaker 1: or less responsible? Right now, we have the ability to

276
00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,360
Speaker 1: change our practices in a way to prevent the need

277
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:30,080
Speaker 1: to genetically resurrect a species. If we established that beachhead, however,

278
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,800
Speaker 1: would we still be willing to alter our current habits

279
00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,160
Speaker 1: to give these animals a chance? Let me know your

280
00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:39,800
Speaker 1: thoughts a s k cl that's I asked Cal at

281
00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,440
Speaker 1: the Meat eater dot Com, moving on to the duck desk.

282
00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:49,200
Speaker 1: On Friday August, the conservation and hunting group California Waterfowl

283
00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,960
Speaker 1: announced that, for the first time in history, the Klamath

284
00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,840
Speaker 1: River basin in Oregon in California is dry. The Lower

285
00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,920
Speaker 1: Klamath National Wildlife Refuge was established by President Theodore Roosevelt

286
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,760
Speaker 1: in nineteen O eight as a nation's first waterfowl refuge.

287
00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:06,920
Speaker 1: It's one of the most important areas on the Pacific Flyway,

288
00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,359
Speaker 1: but it's been struggling with a severe lack of water

289
00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,560
Speaker 1: over the last ten years. Waterfowl counts in both two

290
00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:14,919
Speaker 1: thousand twenty and two thousand twenty one at the Clamath

291
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,960
Speaker 1: Refuges were among the lowest ever recorded. In two thousand twenty,

292
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,760
Speaker 1: sixty thousand waterfowl and other water birds also died from

293
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:27,200
Speaker 1: an avian bosulism outbreak, which was exacerbated by low water conditions.

294
00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,040
Speaker 1: Since the Klamath Basin is located in the middle of

295
00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,280
Speaker 1: the Pacific Flyway, it will affect bird numbers both to

296
00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:36,840
Speaker 1: the north and to the south. The immediate solution, of course,

297
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,640
Speaker 1: is to get regular water into the refuge, but water

298
00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,280
Speaker 1: is a touchy subject in California, especially in recent years

299
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:48,720
Speaker 1: of drought. Farmers, ranchers, and let's not forget the giant.

300
00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:53,320
Speaker 1: Thirsty cities need water too, and regulators are also constrained

301
00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:57,480
Speaker 1: by laws requiring water in areas protecting endangered species. But

302
00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:02,240
Speaker 1: California Waterfowl isn't asking for handouts. They've launched a campaign

303
00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,920
Speaker 1: to purchase water from surrounding farmers and ranchers. Those water

304
00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,440
Speaker 1: rights agreements will be structured to secure water in the

305
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:12,480
Speaker 1: refuge for perpetuity, which will hopefully stop the refuge from

306
00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,600
Speaker 1: being subject to the highs and lows of yearly rainfall.

307
00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:18,560
Speaker 1: If you'd like to contribute to this effort, check out

308
00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:23,480
Speaker 1: cal waterfowl dot org that c a l Waterfowl dot Org.

309
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,480
Speaker 1: California Waterfowl isn't the only group working on this issue.

310
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,200
Speaker 1: The US Fish and Wildlife Service just announced that nearly

311
00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:34,280
Speaker 1: twenty six million dollars from the recent bipartisan infrastructure law

312
00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:38,879
Speaker 1: has been allocated for Klamath Basin restoration projects, including nearly

313
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:43,120
Speaker 1: sixteen million dollars for ecosystem restoration. Some of that money

314
00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,520
Speaker 1: is going to groups like Ducks Unlimited, which is being

315
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,280
Speaker 1: given two point six million dollars to address waterfowl needs. Specifically,

316
00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,440
Speaker 1: they plan to use the money to improve wetland habitats

317
00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:56,720
Speaker 1: through irrigation efficiencies on Lower Klamath and Tool Lake National

318
00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:01,560
Speaker 1: Wildlife Refuges. These improvements will include installing pumping stations to

319
00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:05,960
Speaker 1: increase the capacity to reuse and circulate water within the refuges.

320
00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,200
Speaker 1: This is all great news, but unfortunately The problem is

321
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,600
Speaker 1: much bigger than just the Klamath meat eater. Sean Weaver

322
00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,359
Speaker 1: told me that we're in this situation because we've failed

323
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:19,280
Speaker 1: to prioritize wintering waterfowl habitat throughout the West, not just

324
00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,320
Speaker 1: in California. We're gonna displace a shipload of birds with

325
00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,000
Speaker 1: stuff like this, you know, if we don't rectify the situation.

326
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:31,600
Speaker 1: Lower Klamath and Totally Lake is just the start. You know,

327
00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,400
Speaker 1: Great Salt Lake is well on its way to going dry,

328
00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,119
Speaker 1: and no one's doing a damn thing about it. You know,

329
00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,439
Speaker 1: everything that's getting done is small potatoes and not going

330
00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,080
Speaker 1: to fix the larger issue at hand. We've acknowledged that

331
00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,280
Speaker 1: people who have built their lives in the West need

332
00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:50,680
Speaker 1: water too, but we'll need to figure out a solution

333
00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,359
Speaker 1: if we don't want Western waterfowl numbers to decline. We

334
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,720
Speaker 1: just can't keep letting water go. Can't just keep draining

335
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:03,400
Speaker 1: vital waterfowl habitat. Moving on to the public land Desk,

336
00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:07,360
Speaker 1: we're staying out west for this next story. The state

337
00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,240
Speaker 1: of Utah's filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that

338
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,320
Speaker 1: President Joe Biden's expansion of the Bears Ears and Grand

339
00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:18,119
Speaker 1: Staircases Kolana National Monuments is unlawful. President Obama created the

340
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,840
Speaker 1: original boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument at one

341
00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,520
Speaker 1: point three six million acres. In two thousand seventeen, President

342
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,600
Speaker 1: Trump reduced the size of Bears Ears by eight percent

343
00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:32,760
Speaker 1: and Grand Staircases Kalante by forty Since taking office, President

344
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,200
Speaker 1: Biden has restored both monuments to their original sizes, which

345
00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:40,800
Speaker 1: combined stretched about three point two million acres. Now, Utah

346
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:44,199
Speaker 1: Attorney General shawand Rays is arguing that these monuments are

347
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,400
Speaker 1: too big to be protected under the national monument status.

348
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,280
Speaker 1: All of Utah's Republican elected leaders, including several names you'll

349
00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:54,240
Speaker 1: recognize who are not friendly to public lands, signed their

350
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,320
Speaker 1: names to the suit. The lawsuit argues that the nineteen

351
00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:00,399
Speaker 1: o six Antiquities Act, which gives presidents the authority to

352
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,879
Speaker 1: create national monuments, does not allow those monuments to be

353
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,920
Speaker 1: as large as Bears Ears in Grand Staircase Escalante. The

354
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:11,560
Speaker 1: lawsuit points out that the Antiquities Act restricts presidents to

355
00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,520
Speaker 1: monuments that are quote confined to the smallest area compatible

356
00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,360
Speaker 1: with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.

357
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,280
Speaker 1: Critics of the lawsuit, which include conservation and environmental groups

358
00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:26,680
Speaker 1: like Earth Justice, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and the Natural

359
00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:30,320
Speaker 1: Resources Defense Counsel, point out that presidents have used the

360
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:35,720
Speaker 1: Antiquities Actor designate large monuments many times before. In for example,

361
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,920
Speaker 1: the Supreme Court upheld President Teddy Roosevelt's use of the

362
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,119
Speaker 1: Antiquities Act to protect eight hundred thousand acres in Arizona

363
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,520
Speaker 1: when he declared the Grand Canyon a national monument. The

364
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,760
Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership hasn't weighed in on Utah's lawsuit,

365
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,000
Speaker 1: but in two thousands seventeen, they published an article criticizing

366
00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:56,440
Speaker 1: President Trump's decision to reduce the size of both the monuments.

367
00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,480
Speaker 1: According to TRC President with Fosberg, quote, there is a

368
00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:02,639
Speaker 1: right and wrong way to go about this in the

369
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:06,879
Speaker 1: administration's decision to skirt Congress in these decisions threatens to

370
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,960
Speaker 1: up end one hundred and eleven years of conservation in America,

371
00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,440
Speaker 1: putting at risk the future of any monument created under

372
00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:17,520
Speaker 1: the Antiquities Act. What's interesting is that Utah's lawsuit also

373
00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,760
Speaker 1: suggests that the solution lies with the U. S. Congress.

374
00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:25,119
Speaker 1: The suit argues that an appropriate congressional solution would collaborate

375
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,440
Speaker 1: with the state and federal agencies, tribal nations, and local

376
00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,040
Speaker 1: governments to figure out the best way to conserve the

377
00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,320
Speaker 1: habitat and cultural sites that make these monuments necessary in

378
00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:37,320
Speaker 1: the first place. I'm no lawyer, but I always come

379
00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:39,879
Speaker 1: down on the side of more public land, not less.

380
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,560
Speaker 1: Thousands of hunters and anglers use both monuments every year,

381
00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:46,720
Speaker 1: and the areas protect important habitat for the species we

382
00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,040
Speaker 1: love to pursue, even those they're really hurting, like big

383
00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:54,160
Speaker 1: desert mule deer and big desert sheep. While Bears Ears

384
00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,880
Speaker 1: and Grand Staircases Kalante are large monuments, their size isn't

385
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:01,680
Speaker 1: unprecedented in our nation's history. It's also difficult for public

386
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:05,240
Speaker 1: land agencies to efficiently manage these areas if their sizes

387
00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:08,840
Speaker 1: change every four or eight years. President Obama established these

388
00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,680
Speaker 1: monuments under the authority of the Antiquities Act, and despite

389
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:17,200
Speaker 1: the additional recreational pressures a monument designation can put on areas,

390
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:22,120
Speaker 1: we at least know that they're safe from development. That's

391
00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:23,840
Speaker 1: all I've got for you this week. Thank you so

392
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,239
Speaker 1: much for listening. As per usual right in and let

393
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,800
Speaker 1: me know how I'm doing and how you're doing in

394
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,000
Speaker 1: your neck of the woods by sending me an email

395
00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:34,960
Speaker 1: to a s K C. A L. That's ask Cal

396
00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,119
Speaker 1: at the Meat Eater dot com. And again, it's hunting season.

397
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,639
Speaker 1: Don't let your favorite road or trail get waylaid by

398
00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,160
Speaker 1: a tipped over tree. Hustle down to your local knowledgeable

399
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,880
Speaker 1: steel dealer, which you can find by going to www

400
00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,800
Speaker 1: dot steel dealers dot com. They're gonna get set up

401
00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:53,560
Speaker 1: with what you need and not try to send you

402
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,080
Speaker 1: home with what you don't. Thanks again and I'll talk

403
00:23:56,119 --> 00:24:04,040
Speaker 1: to you next week. A smer Po Da Boke of

404
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,080
Speaker 1: the d As cover