Will Colorado’s vote to bring back wolves be a model for conservationists?
Colorado voters narrowly approved a ballot initiative directing wildlife officials to reintroduce gray wolves west of the Rocky Mountains. It was the first time in U.S. history that voters mandated the reintroduction of a threatened species. “The ballot initiative was the final Hail Mary approach to get this done, to break the stranglehold that the livestock industry has had over this for decades,” said Rob Edward, president of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund, the organization behind the initiative. (No paywall)
EPA boosts safety rules for M-44 cyanide cartridges
The EPA said on Thursday that although it will allow the continued use of cyanide in the anti-predator M-44 device, it will add safety requirements, including that the devices be placed farther away from residences.
Some Montana ranchers try to coexist with grizzlies
In Montana's Tom Miner Basin, just outside the protected wilds of Yellowstone National Park, ranchers are embracing a variety of non-lethal strategies to deal with an influx of grizzlies, reports Ensia in a story done in partnership with the Food & Environment Reporting Network. It's an experiment that could have broad implications for how the livestock industry manages these and other top predators as climate change restricts their traditional food supply.
USDA expands review of cyanide traps against predators
Following reports of dead pets and the possible exposure of a teenager to cyanide, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is expanding its review of the use of spring-loaded traps to poison livestock predators in the West.
Greens try to detonate practice of cyanide bombs
Environmental groups have filed a federal lawsuit to stop the use of cyanide bombs to kill predators, including grizzly bears and coyotes, on livestock ranches. “One kind of device, called an M-44, is embedded into in the ground and looks like a lawn sprinkler but sprays cyanide when …