Tom Mangelson -Grizz hunting license for photography

Tom Mangelsen has secured one of 10 hunting licenses to hunt grizzlies in Wyoming. He, of course, will use it instead to photograph them for conservation purposes.

http://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/2 ... right.html

Way to go, and congrats Tom!

Great guy. We need more people like this. Unfortunately they'll learn from that and most likely make changes to rules
next hunting season. Just read comments below article and the fact 7000 people applied for license.
I hope the guy who wanted to kill 399 didn't get the license.

Good shooting Tom! Hope you can capture some images which show the world how great these animals are.

Ed Cordes wrote:Good shooting Tom!  Hope you can capture some images which show the world how great these animals are.

Pretty sure that will happen.  Now there's a man that is inspiring.   

There's also another person who was fortunate enough to win a tag who says they will also not hunt, so that's excellent. As much as I enjoy hearing that news, I wonder if it's smart to advertise that; it will just make the powers that be more wary and they will be sure to come up with a way to prevent non-hunters from applying in the future. Personally, I have nothing against hunting; I've hunted my entire life (60+ years, but for food, never for trophies) but it's just plain wrong to hunt animals that are this few in number. If science is saying they are becoming over-populated in certain areas then there are other, more beneficial ways of dealing with that. If the state is just trying to bring in additional funds, then they should hold a lottery for just photographers, videographers, nature lovers, etc. to have sole access to an area for 5 days, 10 days, whatever. I'm willing to bet the state would bring in a whole lotta money in a big hurry.

Bill Chambers wrote:There's also another person who was fortunate enough to win a tag who says they will also not hunt, so that's excellent.  As much as I enjoy hearing that news, I wonder if it's smart to advertise that; it will just make the powers that be more wary and they will be sure to come up with a way to prevent non-hunters from applying in the future. 

In New Mexico, a conservationist was winning bidder on at least one oil lease. You bet changes were proposed right away to prevent non-drillers from winning leases. I can’t find a link quickly, but I’ll post one if I can find one. So, of course you are right. It really isn’t about money at all.

I may have been thinking of this case:

https://www.perc.org/2010/03/01/bogus-bidder-one-year-later/

And here’s another article that includes conservation bidders being rejected:

https://www.coloradoindependent.com/164880/how-blm-lease-sales-work-can-i-bid-on-blm-lease-sales

Joe

Bill Chambers wrote:As much as I enjoy hearing that news, I wonder if it's smart to advertise that; it will just make the powers that be more wary and they will be sure to come up with a way to prevent non-hunters from applying in the future.  

I agree with your point that in the future the powers that be will try and prevent a conservationist from obtaining one of these limited hunting licenses for a animal whose population should be protected. But I also agree with the going public as Tom Mangelson and others are doing. I think we do need to be very public with our opposition to the current administration's efforts to eliminate or greatly diminish the endangered species act and it's protections of wildlife whose populations are at risk.  

This, of course, is not about the hunting vs non-hunting issues, but about the importance of continued protection of animals at risk through the endangered species act. The rush to de-list is reckless, and I applaud those like Tom Mangelson who make efforts to counter with conservation efforts.

It's ironic science is touted when the discussion on here is global warming, etc. I'm surprised the analytical people that many photographers on here are jump into this topic with an emotional response because the animal is perceived as cute or better than others because it's furry instead of hairy. Or maybe because it's a big predator it's a more important animal life than that of an elk. I am always surprised at the emotional response my grizzly bear images get, while an image of a bighorn sheep, pika, or warbler is not appreciated as much as an animal.

I have a bachelors in science in wildlife management and work to set hunting seasons with the WDFW in Washington. Hunting seasons are set based on science, population surveys, etc. They are having a grizzly hunting season not because they don't like them, but because science dictates they are overpopulated in certain areas and out of balance with the predator/prey relationship. Wildlife biologists know how many of each species they have in areas and are using hunting as a conservation tool. The animal will be eaten, it will serve a conservation goal, and the state will make money off the applications so they can better manage other species. In this first season, their goal is likely to remove 10 bears, but all the people applying and not using the tag will not make any difference and may end up hurting the bear more in the future.

Once the biologists know this is occurring, they will gladly accept the non-hunting application dollars. If the success percentage is 6 bears out of 10 this year, they will have a shortfall of 4 bears for next season. Given the 60% success percentage, they will now have a population goal of removing 14 bears the next year. Consequently, they will give out about 22 tags instead of 10 like they did the first year. I'm sure these people will find it too expensive to give their money to the state to manage wildlife every year so they will drop out. Then 22 hunters will get the tags and remove 22 bear from the population. This strategy of getting the tags does nothing but to support the fish and wildlife service. They thank you. As for having any lasting impact on bear populations, this won't serve that goal. Nature simply does not manage wildlife populations well, resulting in a boom/bust principle like we saw with wolves and elk in Idaho. Humans are an animal and part of the ecosystem. Wildlife at a stable level each year better aligns with the goals biologists and managers have for our wildlife. North America is essentially one big farmland and changed ecosystem. That isn't changing anytime soon so we better manage the animals on our farm.

PopeShawnPaul wrote: Nature simply does not manage wildlife populations well...

Excellent post.  Please consider that I'm a lifelong hunter and a moderate conservative, if there is such a thing anymore.  I realize that hunts are science based, but I feel the emotions come in because the grizzly population have been nearly wiped out in the past because of the actions of past generations.  I live in Florida so I know basically nothing about grizzlies, but we have the same issues in Florida concerning black bears and panthers.  I'll be the first to admit that my next comment has not been researched by me as to it's viability, but I would much rather see species which have nearly been wiped out by man's ignorance and/or greed, and are still only living on a fraction of their traditional range, treated in a different way if at all possible.  I would like to see relocation viewed as a possibility before a hunt is sanctioned. I realize here in the southeast that may not be viable because of the vast over development, especially here in Florida.

As to your statement which is quoted above, I would have to disagree as it is written.  IMHO, nature has managed wildlife for eons before humans came unto the scene.  Nature manages in a very harsh manner at times, but it does indeed manage.  If, in your statement, you meant nature doesn't manges wildlife in today's human dominated environment, I would agree.

Hunts postponed by court:

https://dailycaller.com/2018/08/31/wyom ... zly-hunts/

Joe

Good news.
The Greater Yellowstone Grizzlies have been returned to protected status by a federal judge.

https://missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/20 ... grizzlies/


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gr ... 5f8f9fe885