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A Bipartisan Push Could Change State Wildlife Protection
Sgt. Pam Taylor of the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife follows Puddles, as the dog sniffs for invasive mussels. State wildlife agencies say they lack the funding to fully meet their conservation mission, including invasive species management.
Ted S. Warren
The Associated Press
Scientists say the world is on the precipice of a mass extinction. The United Nations estimates that 1 million species are on the verge of being wiped out, threatened by climate change, habitat loss, pollution, invasive species and poaching.
In the United States, the federal government has oversight of the more than 1,600 species listed under the Endangered Species Act and powerful legal tools to protect them. But more than 12,000 additional species have been identified as declining or rare, and wildlife experts fear that without action many of them will soon be endangered.
Answer Man: Local bird population dropping? Salmonella to blame?
Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:
Question: I ve lived in this area for 10 years, and I have always fed birds. It seems to me that there are fewer birds around compared to a decade ago, and I ve particularly noticed it this year. Is this just my imagination, or have there been some significant changes? On the other hand, the number of squirrels that show up to pick up bits of bird feed that fall to the ground has not changed at all. Their population always seems quite high. Is there any information on the density of squirrels per square mile within our urban areas?
Answer Man: Beavers lethally trapped at Montreat College?
Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:
Question: At 601 W. State St. in Black Mountain, there is a property owned by Montreat College where we occasionally like to walk. We have watched construction of a beaver dam progress over the past several months, but recently we see that there are traps placed all along the water. These are not the humane catch-and-release traps, but rather appear to be body-gripping, killing traps. It is very disturbing to see these traps in what was such a beautiful natural area. I understand that beavers building their homes can cause significant changes to the environment, but I do not understand why they are not being humanely relocated. I wondered if you or someone else at the paper would be willing to investigate?
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