RE: [Philmont]: Please don't feed the bears

Jail time. Minimum fine for feeding wildlife on USFS or NPS land is $1000
and goes up. NM state land I don't know.

Dumb idea!

Jim Moss

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of Joseph Jansen
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 8:37 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: Re: [Philmont]: Please don't feed the bears

I am familiar with the point of view that people should stay out of natural
ecosystems. There is considerable merit to it. A lot depends on just how
level the playing field is. If the ecosystem is collapsing because of
severe drought then some intervention may be called for. In general it
should be possible to prepare something "bearable" for a bear to eat without
giving it a human smell or the smell could be masked with something
odiferous the bears consider OK.

The theories of survival in the wild make sense when the ecosystem is
basically sound. If it is extremely dry this may not be the case.

I am just suggesting that some thought be given to this issue. Probably,
knowing Philmont, a review is taking place and likely has been over many
years. I hope the other species of wildlife are part of that review as
well.

>From time to time at Philmont when a bear has become a major problem the
bear has been hunted and killed.

The question in my mind, which led to my post, is whether the dryness is
severe enough that the ecosystem has been crippled. Not likely but I
thought I'd raise the question.

One thing about natural selection is that it operates over considerable
periods of time, and it is unlikely that this mechanism should figure in
wildlife management in general. What should be considered is survival of
diverse species and human management of the survival of diverse species has
been an accepted principle for quite some time.

Just my .02.

Joe Jansen
JAJansenJr@gmail.com
Philmont 1965; Philmont 1978

>From: WHDickens@aol.com
>Reply-To: philmont@troop47.com
>To: Multiple recipients of list philmont <philmont@troop47.com>
>Subject: Re: [Philmont]: Please don't feed the bears
>Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2006 20:38:24 EST
>
>The way to provide bears, and any other species, with the sustenance
>needed to carry them through lean times is simple. Provide diverse
>ecosystems that allow their species, and those others with which they
>interact, the level playing field called "wilderness". It is not a
>good thing to provide food for bears, or any other species because of
>what we consider to be hard times.
>The
>ability of species to go through the feast and famine cycles of nature
>is what assures their natural selection process carries only the best
>selected individuals to procreate future generations. It is a fools'
>folly for humans to attempt to intervene, except in the dire
>circumstance of species extinction.
>
>Understand the ecosystem constraints that bears, and other species, face.
>It is then that we can examine the habitat improvements needed to
>insure their long term survival. That is ultimately what conservation
>is about.
>
> Wade Dickens
>
>P.S. Thanks to Dr. Mark Brinson, my graduate instructor in Ecology at
>East Carolina University, circa 1978, and the many others who have
>taught me about the wonders of nature.

-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe at
http://usscouts.org/lists/ Listserv Commands at
http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow Scouts and Scouters,
do your best to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind,
obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------

 
Received on Fri Mar 3 01:03:09 2006