The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

Roger Sabota
Northwoods notebook

As reported in the Oct. 4 edition of The Daily News, U.S. District Judge, Paul Friedman, sided with environmental groups and placed wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin back on the endangered list. He ruled that it was not clear whether the 1973 Endangered Species Act permitted them to be delisted.

The state of Wisconsin has requested the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to appeal the decision. Last winter the estimated wolf population in Wisconsin was between 537 and 564 wolves. The Department of Natural Resources goal was to have a wolf population of 350 animals in our state.

This action by a Federal District Judge is truly a step backwards. It is feared that citizens will take the wolf problem on their own shoulders and do away with problem animals. The Wisconsin DNR had a very carefully laid out plan, which is now on hold, to deal with wolves. Managing wildlife in today’s society is a complex task at best.

An Idaho man has lost his hunting and fishing privileges in Idaho for life. He was convicted of poaching deer. He also was sentenced to 45 days in jail and 10 years probation plus he was fined $21,000.

An Iowa hunter accidentally shot and killed his hunting partner. After leading authorities to the scene of the accidental shooting the hunter took his own life. Authorities have said that foul play was not suspected.

Steve Heiting, who resides and bow hunts near St. Germain, is happy that he purchased bear protectors for his trail cameras. He sent us a photograph of a bear that completely filled the lens since it was less than a foot from the camera. Another photograph taken with the same camera showed a medium sized black bear laying on its back eating apples. Steve said, “That bear looked exactly like our black lab.”

About one year ago when we returned from our visit to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado we talked about all the pine trees that were dying on the western slope of the park. As one heads east into the park from the community of Grand Lake there are huge areas, acres and acres, where the pine trees are dead and have turned brown. The trees are the victims of the Mountain Pine Beetle. The Mountain Pine Beetle is one of several common, native insects that challenge western pine forests. When trees are weakened by overcrowding, by lack of diversity of plant life and by mistletoe infestation, the pine beetle population can rapidly spread, sometimes approaching epidemic levels.

See Notebook, Page 2C

Even healthy trees can be affected when there is a widespread infestation of the beetle. Thousands of acres of forest can be affected. In 1990, the U.S. Forest Service reported that the beetle killed 289,800 trees in the state of Washington. Over 155,422 acres were affected. As many as 15,000 adult beetles may infest one tree during an epidemic that can last for more than 10 years.

Much to our dismay this year the beetles had crossed over the top of the park to the eastern side since we were there last year. While driving from meadow to meadow watching elk we constantly saw patches of dead pine trees.

Outbreaks of Mountain Pine Beetle infestations ebb and flow with the changing health of a forest. Adult beetles attack large diameter trees, usually six to eight inches or more in diameter. Bigger trees provide higher quality food and larval habitat and the thicker bark provides greater protection from predators and climatic extremes. As beetles bore through the bark of a healthy tree the tree will produce large amounts of resin or pitch. This may literally “pitch” the beetles out. Outbreaks of beetle infestations are usually severe when:

a. Sustained favorable climate conditions for beetle survival, such as a series of mild winters and good weather during the dispersal and attack periods are present.

b. There is an abundance of trees of susceptible age, size and proximity in a general area close enough for long-range dispersal of the beetles.

c. Dwarf mistletoe has infested trees, thus stressing and weakening them.

Outbreaks decline and collapse when:

a. There is a depletion of susceptible host trees.

b. Climatic conditions are no longer conducive to beetle population growth and expansion.

Information that we have read documents that at the present time the pine beetle infestation is extending from Mexico north to British Columbia. Combine this threat with the ash borer and we have reasons to be concerned about the health of our forests. Some years ago our area was hard hit by the spruce budworm.

The youth deer hunt was conducted last weekend across the state. Although there have been some abuses of the youth hunts, they are an excellent activity to get youngsters into hunting. This is the time to get youngsters started in the proper and ethical manner of hunting.

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