The Idiot Files Revisited
Those already on my list of card-carrying members will have to scootch over and make room. Governor C. L. Otter of Idaho is anxious to swell the ranks of the morons. Nicknamed "Butch", this giant of intellect wants to declare open season on the state's gray wolf population.
Speaking last week to the Associated Press, he announced that he wants hunters to kill about 550 of the animals, leaving only about 150 still alive. Speaking to a rally of hunters on the 11th, he said, "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself", earning resounding cheers from the gun-totin', blood-hungry dysfunctionals hanging off his every word. The only restraint on Otter at the moment is the fact that the animals are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has, however, announced plans to strip the wolves in Montana and Idaho of their protected status in the next few weeks.
After having been hunted damn near to extinction, wolves were reintroduced to the northern Rockies a decade ago, and now number approximately 1,200 in that region. Idaho's wildlife agency calls for maintaining a minimum of 15 wolf packs in the area so that the animals don't end up right back on the endangered list. Otter's proposed slaughter would take them down to just 10 packs. Suzanne Stone, a spokeswoman for the advocate group "Defenders of Wildlife in Boise" says that number would in fact return the wolves to the point of eradication.
In case you're wondering why Otter is so hot on the trail of these predators, it's because the wolves are killing elk and other animals "essential" to Idaho's multi-million dollar hunting industry, according to the governor.
I think Otter's plans make it clear that he has no knowledge of the ESA, not does he care to. The ESA requires government to identify, and eliminate threats to endangered species. If Otter is proposing an organized orgy of killing that would drive wolf numbers back to endangered levels, it would seem to indicate that Otter needs to remove himself from office in order to comply with the Act. That would be an action requiring intellectual activity and that, of course, is where it would all fall apart. Otter is clearly incapable of intellectual activity.
The Act requires government to take action regarding endangered species based on the best scientific information available. Again, Otter is not interested in such information. The interconnectedness of all aspects of nature is something we humans really do not understand. It is something we tinker with at our own peril, but because to do so does not result in immediate disasters, many refuse to even consider the undesirable potential. It's the same with smokers who know they are playing around with self-inflicted lung cancer, but continue to light up anyway, because the one they're currently smoking is never THE cigarette that slams the coffin lid shut.
The document "Biodiversity: Connecting with the Tapestry of Life" co-produced by the Smithsonian Institution and the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology states, "Species and the ecosystems in which they live are indelibly linked ... changes in the life cycle of one species could impact the life cycles of many other species (including humans), alter ecosystems and ecosystem functions, and contribute to local, regional and, ultimately, global changes." Otter doesn't care. The act of shooting any one wolf will not slam a coffin lid down on his head, more's the pity.
The absence of wolves, a natural predator of elks, has already made itself felt on the riparian vegetation, the streams it borders, and the wildlife that call those places home. Willows growing along river and stream-banks in Yellowstone Park have been seriously overgrazed by the elk population. Since their numbers have been protected from the natural culls arranged each year by Nature, in the form of wolf packs, they have increased to the point where scientists are taking note of the effect they are having on the riparian environment. Too many animals grazing there, uninterrupted for too long, is leading to bank-caving. Excessive deposits of dung and urine are resulting in high levels of coloform bacteria.
Does Otter or anyone he cares about ever go for a dip in one of these waterways on a hot summer day, I wonder? Would he start to figure it all out if they got a good mouthful of the water, and he ended up pacing the floor in emergency? Does he realize that the loss of shaded banks is leading to damage to fish habitats? It would be beneath him to care about that. After all, the mighty hunter does not shoot his firearm off at piscine prey.
All of these concerns related to the overgrazing of riparian vegetation have led the scientific community to recommend the reintroduction of the grey wolf to the national parks of the western U. S. They are not recommending the introduction of Otter and his ilk. They do make note of one aspect of the situation that might serve to grab Otter's attention, however, when they state that "... turning creeks as sources of clean, fresh stock water into ditches of polluted, stagnant water is poor animal husbandry and an unacceptable practice from the standpoint of herd health." If the gun-totin' Otter could just be convinced to let Nature balance things out her own way, he might actually end up having better elk hunting available to him and his brothers in the kill.
The problem is, you can't talk reason or anything vaguely resembling reason to an idiot like Otter. Using words with more than one or two syllables is usually a sure way to lose their interest. The only sound that really holds them is the report of a rifle. No, if Otter has his way, the only "grey wolf" left in his environs will be the so-named hotel standing at the west entrance of Yellowstone Park.
Speaking last week to the Associated Press, he announced that he wants hunters to kill about 550 of the animals, leaving only about 150 still alive. Speaking to a rally of hunters on the 11th, he said, "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself", earning resounding cheers from the gun-totin', blood-hungry dysfunctionals hanging off his every word. The only restraint on Otter at the moment is the fact that the animals are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has, however, announced plans to strip the wolves in Montana and Idaho of their protected status in the next few weeks.
After having been hunted damn near to extinction, wolves were reintroduced to the northern Rockies a decade ago, and now number approximately 1,200 in that region. Idaho's wildlife agency calls for maintaining a minimum of 15 wolf packs in the area so that the animals don't end up right back on the endangered list. Otter's proposed slaughter would take them down to just 10 packs. Suzanne Stone, a spokeswoman for the advocate group "Defenders of Wildlife in Boise" says that number would in fact return the wolves to the point of eradication.
In case you're wondering why Otter is so hot on the trail of these predators, it's because the wolves are killing elk and other animals "essential" to Idaho's multi-million dollar hunting industry, according to the governor.
I think Otter's plans make it clear that he has no knowledge of the ESA, not does he care to. The ESA requires government to identify, and eliminate threats to endangered species. If Otter is proposing an organized orgy of killing that would drive wolf numbers back to endangered levels, it would seem to indicate that Otter needs to remove himself from office in order to comply with the Act. That would be an action requiring intellectual activity and that, of course, is where it would all fall apart. Otter is clearly incapable of intellectual activity.
The Act requires government to take action regarding endangered species based on the best scientific information available. Again, Otter is not interested in such information. The interconnectedness of all aspects of nature is something we humans really do not understand. It is something we tinker with at our own peril, but because to do so does not result in immediate disasters, many refuse to even consider the undesirable potential. It's the same with smokers who know they are playing around with self-inflicted lung cancer, but continue to light up anyway, because the one they're currently smoking is never THE cigarette that slams the coffin lid shut.
The document "Biodiversity: Connecting with the Tapestry of Life" co-produced by the Smithsonian Institution and the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology states, "Species and the ecosystems in which they live are indelibly linked ... changes in the life cycle of one species could impact the life cycles of many other species (including humans), alter ecosystems and ecosystem functions, and contribute to local, regional and, ultimately, global changes." Otter doesn't care. The act of shooting any one wolf will not slam a coffin lid down on his head, more's the pity.
The absence of wolves, a natural predator of elks, has already made itself felt on the riparian vegetation, the streams it borders, and the wildlife that call those places home. Willows growing along river and stream-banks in Yellowstone Park have been seriously overgrazed by the elk population. Since their numbers have been protected from the natural culls arranged each year by Nature, in the form of wolf packs, they have increased to the point where scientists are taking note of the effect they are having on the riparian environment. Too many animals grazing there, uninterrupted for too long, is leading to bank-caving. Excessive deposits of dung and urine are resulting in high levels of coloform bacteria.
Does Otter or anyone he cares about ever go for a dip in one of these waterways on a hot summer day, I wonder? Would he start to figure it all out if they got a good mouthful of the water, and he ended up pacing the floor in emergency? Does he realize that the loss of shaded banks is leading to damage to fish habitats? It would be beneath him to care about that. After all, the mighty hunter does not shoot his firearm off at piscine prey.
All of these concerns related to the overgrazing of riparian vegetation have led the scientific community to recommend the reintroduction of the grey wolf to the national parks of the western U. S. They are not recommending the introduction of Otter and his ilk. They do make note of one aspect of the situation that might serve to grab Otter's attention, however, when they state that "... turning creeks as sources of clean, fresh stock water into ditches of polluted, stagnant water is poor animal husbandry and an unacceptable practice from the standpoint of herd health." If the gun-totin' Otter could just be convinced to let Nature balance things out her own way, he might actually end up having better elk hunting available to him and his brothers in the kill.
The problem is, you can't talk reason or anything vaguely resembling reason to an idiot like Otter. Using words with more than one or two syllables is usually a sure way to lose their interest. The only sound that really holds them is the report of a rifle. No, if Otter has his way, the only "grey wolf" left in his environs will be the so-named hotel standing at the west entrance of Yellowstone Park.
1 Comments:
This one has left me steamed. It seems that the only certainty left is that the stupid people outnumber the rest of us, and they have guns.
Logic would dictate that the hunters are the ones who pose a threat to the elk population. So I humbly submit that the herd of hunters is what is in need of some culling. Think of the fun it would be on hunting season, if we could similarly arm the wolves ... or the elks.
Post a Comment
<< Home