Land use and "endangered" critters

[Scott_J]

I came across this little article. could be used to limit access to any and all groups.

Rare lynx hairs found in forests exposed as hoaxhttp://washingtontimes.com/national/20011217-7117603.htmBy Audrey HudsonTHE WASHINGTON TIMESDecember 17, 2001

Federal and state wildlife biologists planted false evidence of arare cat species in two national forests, officials told The WashingtonTimes.

Had the deception not been discovered, the government likely wouldhave banned many forms of recreation and use of natural resources in theGifford Pinchot National Forest and Wenatchee National Forest inWashington state.

The previously unreported Forest Service investigation found thatthe science of the habitat study had been skewed by seven governmentofficials: three Forest Service employees, two U.S. Fish and WildlifeService officials and twoemployees of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The officials planted three separate samples of Canadian lynx hairon rubbing posts used to identify existence of the creatures in the twonational forests.

DNA testing of two of the samples matched that of a lynx livinginside an animal preserve. The third DNA sample matched that of anescaped pet lynx being held in a federal office until its ownerretrieved it, federal officials said.

After the falsified samples were exposed by a Forest Servicecolleague, the employees said they were not trying to manipulate orexpand the lynx habitat, but instead were testing the lab's ability toidentify the cat species through DNAanalysis, said Joel Holtrop, a Forest Service official.

"Even if that is the case, it was inappropriate," Mr. Holtrop said.

Forestry officials, conservationists and retired federal officialssaid they were outraged that the data were tampered with and said theyare skeptical it was an attempt to test the lab.

"I would find the evil-twin argument more plausible," said RobGordon, executive director of the National Wilderness Institute.

"That would be like bank robbers taking money from a bank andsaying they were just testing the security of a bank, they weren'treally stealing the money. That's beautiful, but I don't think it willfly," Mr. Gordon said.

Retired Fish and Wildlife Service biologist James M. Beers calledthe false sampling amazing but not surprising.

"I'm convinced that there is a lot of that going on for so-calledhigher purposes," Mr. Beers said.

The employees have been counseled for their actions and banned fromparticipating in the three-year survey of the lynx, listed as athreatened animal under the Endangered Species Act. Federal officialswould not name the offendingemployees, citing privacy concerns.

The lynx listing and habitat study began in 1999 during the Clintonadministration and concludes this year. It was criticized by Westernersas a political move to impose restrictions on public lands.

Radical environmental groups felt the restrictions didn't go farenough.

To protect the habitat of the felines, roads would have to beclosed to vehicles, and off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, skis andsnowshoes would have been banned. Livestock grazing and tree thinningalso would have been banned.

"It was rigged from the word go; it was full of bad biology and badpolitics," Mr. Beers said. "It gave them [the federal government] carteblanche to go after ski resorts, stop road building and go afterranchers and tree cutters."

When the Vail Ski Resort announced an expansion of trails intopossible lynx habitat, the radical animal-rights group Earth LiberationFront (ELF) torched five buildings and four ski lifts in protest. TheOct. 18, 1998, fire caused $12million in damage and was the largest act of eco-terrorism in the UnitedStates. No arrests were made, and the statute of limitations expired inOctober.

This past summer, ELF planted spikes in hundreds of trees tosabotage a timber sale and protect the lynx and spotted owls in theGifford Pinchot National Forest — one of the forests where the falsesamples were planted.

This isn't the first time forestry officials have encounteredquestionable studies to identify the presence of lynx in the Northwest.

In 1999, a scientist hired by the federal government submitted lynxhair samples supposedly found in the Oregon Cascades, farther south thanwhere the animals were thought to exist, said Chris West, spokesman forthe American ForestResource Council.

Federal officials spent thousands of hours and tens of thousands ofdollars trying to duplicate the finding but found no evidence of thecreatures.

The hairs were never validated, the samples were thrown out, andthe contractor was never paid, Mr. West said.

"These are cases of rogue biologists trying to influencenatural-resources policy," Mr. West said.

"There has clearly been some shenanigans going on here," he said ofthe false sampling in Washington.

Forest Service officials say this year's errant sampling was caughtand therefore did not affect the integrity of the sample survey.

"We have looked at it carefully and feel the overall integrity ofthe sampling effort is in place, and the ongoing results will have validscientific and sound results," said Heidi Valetkevitch, Forest Servicespokeswoman.

However, the incident has damaged the integrity of the federalagencies within their own ranks and in the communities they serve.

"It destroys the credibility of the hard work we are trying to doto track these animals," said one retired Forest Service employee.

Mr. Gordon said the false sampling aggravates an alreadydistrustful relationship between Westerners and the federal government.

"This revelation makes all the projects these offices andindividuals were involved in suspect, and may merit review," Mr. Gordonsaid.

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[climberbro16]

"It was rigged from the word go; it was full of bad biology and badpolitics," Mr. Beers said. "It gave them [the federal government] carteblanche to go after ski resorts, stop road building and go afterranchers and tree cutters."

What a last name eh? Mr. Beers

[Scott_J]

Ya and Mr.Beers is probably some fucking wimp hiding behind his "I am a fed and I am god" name tag.On a climb in Alaska a few years back I bumped into a FED that was in charge of Federal Fish and Wildlife Commerical Fishing Division. His big nut buster was: he was only 28 years old and HE was going to write POLICY from Anchorage on the ways and means of blue water fishing. I should of shoved him off the fucking climb, but I was young and dumb so I just left the fuck where he was and went to another water falls to cimb.I hate feds. I hate feds. I hate feds. I hate feds. I hate feds. I hate feds. I hate feds. I hate feds. I hate feds. I hate feds. Now I feel better.

[ 12-18-2001: Message edited by: sisu suomi ]

[Fairweather]

Great Story!! Thanks for the info s.s. It only affirms my belief that the environmental movement will go to any legnths to "have their way". Lies, bogus science, fear mongering, terrorism, and a general hatred of American style freedom are all their trademarks. I believe many of them, including some gov't "scientists" simply find environmentalism a convenient way to impose their socialism on our country.

[AlpineK]

quote:

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Originally posted by Fairweather:

Great Story!! Thanks for the info s.s. It only affirms my belief that the environmental movement will go to any legnths to "have their way". Lies, bogus science, fear mongering, terrorism, and a general hatred of American style freedom are all their trademarks. I believe many of them, including some gov't "scientists" simply find environmentalism a convenient way to impose their socialism on our country.

---

I agree that there are plenty of eco kooks out there. In my line of work I run into lots of people who have crazy ideas about the environment based on their wacco ideas and not science. However I think that there are plenty of right wing nazi types who think its ok to fuck the environment as long as they make a buck. The American way of life consumes too much of the worlds resources and trashes huge chunks of the environment. There is no way we can keep up our present course forever.

I have no respect for those scientists or the attitude expressed by Mr. Fairweather.

[Dru]

I f the logging companies are gonna shoot spotted owls when they see em.... we make fake spotted owls god damn it!

[dbconlin]

I am a biologist and have worked on lynx studies utilizing the same protocol as the one identified in this article. It is unfortunate that some employees took matters into their own hands in order to sway evidence for their own purposes. However, this is not the rule. Studies similar to this are being conducted all over the northern USA. In my experience, the data is valid, and the field biologists involved have been honest. It is very important that we take into consideration human impacts on wilderness, and not let runaway logging, mining, development OR RECREATION go unchecked. The article says:

"Radical environmental groups felt the restrictions didn't go farenough.

To protect the habitat of the felines, roads would have to beclosed to vehicles, and off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, skis andsnowshoes would have been banned. Livestock grazing and tree thinningalso would have been banned"

This is presented in a slightly misleading way. Skis and snowshoes would never be banned in a practically applied management scheme, even if lynx were found in a specific spot and nowhere else. That paragraph states what the "radical environmentalists" want, not what would actually get done. Motorized vehicles, road building, and logging may very well be restricted in this scenario, but an outright ban would not be likely. I don't think studies will find any climbers guilty of impacting lynx habitat, unless they are using motorized transportation and roads for approach access. If policies such as these are put into effect it is for justified reasons. It is not our place to dominate the landscape at the cost of all other species.

I worry that the actions taken by the individuals in this case will lead to a mistrust of the governmental organizations by the public, as is painfully obvious in the case of this board. That is too bad. In this case, the data has not been skewed because the forgery was identified and the results of the study are still valid, i.e. no lynx live here anyway because we've already killed them all (trapping, shot by ranchers, etc.). Oh well.

[nolanr]

I'm w/ Alpine K. We've got several hundred years of blatant resource over utlization and no regard to the environment in our country's history, and now a few decades of the pendulum swinging back the other way w/ the environmental movement. If you're keeping score at home, the environmentalists are still way behind.

[Fairweather]

AlpineK and nolanr,

Does our nation's standard of life mean you'll be giving up your car soon? How 'bout your home and property? Your climbing trips? Flying? Your gear? Your computer?...I didn't think so. Do you really think lowering OUR standard of living would help others around the world?

Sure there are still people trashing the environment, but great progress is being made. It is not nearly as bad as "they" would have us believe. I suggest you read "The Skeptical Environmentalist" by Bjorn Lomborg. (a Dane)

Environmentalists tend to be hypocrites, BIG TIME...and their old Volkswagen Micro Buses probably put more hydrocarbons into the air than a Chevy Suburban!

[nolanr]

Yes, I drive a car. Lots of times I'm the only one in it. Does that make me a hypocrite? Maybe it does. I've thought of that before. No matter how wacky they may be, I'm glad there are radical environmentalists, because there are plenty of people at the opposite end of the spectrum. Right now, there are plenty who would rush in to ANWR, change it forever, and maybe suck enough gas and oil out of it to last 6 months, a year, whatever. There are actually people pissed off about the concept of National Parks because those resources are "locked up." Dammit, do you know how many million board feet are in Olympic National Park? We should be firing up the chainsaws and clear cutting it right now!

I just don't buy into capitalism and the free market economy being the ultimate justification for anything and everything. Ed Abbey had a great phrase, something to the effect of "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." And humans. Look at how many people are alive today. Look at the demands for resources. Anything that doesn't get set aside will be consumed, if not now then soon enough. I honestly think a day will come when National Parks, Wilderness Areas, etc. may get opened up to resource extraction, if certain people who wield power deem that the demand is great enough to justify permanently altering and possibly destroying something beautiful that was meant to be set aside and left untouched.

I'm a realist, I realize there needs to be compromise and a balance between conservation and resource utilization to meet basic human needs. But I think if you look at human history, conservationists have won a few battles, some of them fairly significant, but they're definitely losing the war.

[nolanr]

Oh yeah, as far as the lynx hoax...I hate to say it, but maybe the ends justify the means. I've heard spotted owls don't live exlusively in old growth forests. But they got turned into a nice little political cause to stop some logging in NW forests. That's the way things work. I think plenty of times the people on the side of big business and resource utilization have used poor biological evidence to try to get their way.

[Scott_J]

Bad things have happened at the hands of big business and will continue.I was taught by my professors to report data from experiments, observations etc. as they are or were. It was also stressed to NEVER lie about research or observations. I have always hoped(I know this is not the case though with a lot of big business scientists)that both sides followed good lab technique and were truthful.

I was naive when I hoped that the 60's opened the eyes of all new youngsters coming of age in the 70's and 80's. I really thought that all the "enlightenment" would make a difference to big business and we would become a great country that put the Mother Earth 1st thru research and alternative methods to do things. I am not going to give up motorized transportation, natural gas heat, etc etc. I know we have the capabilities to do much more in regard to modern living and protecting the environment, but we don't. Big business always tells us it will cost the consumer 1000s. It will cost but I doubt thousands. If we continue on our path of self destruction we will kill ourselves via the pollution that we purge into the air, water, soil and space daily. Awwww I quit. Point is two wrongs don't make a right and I really hate it when the side I was depending on to be helpful turns out to be a lieing bunch of scientists that will hurt my access to areas by lies.

[AlpineK]

Right on SS. I couldn't agree with you more.

Whoever those scientists were they sure fucked up. By falsifying there data they end up helping the side they were trying to restrict. Just look at Fairweathers reaction.

[Fairweather]

quote:

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Originally posted by AlpineK:

Right on SS. I couldn't agree with you more.

Whoever those scientists were they sure fucked up. By falsifying there data they end up helping the side they were trying to restrict. Just look at Fairweathers reaction.

---

Actually, I too agree with ss. I would lay down in front of any bulldozer that tried to violate a national park or wilderness area. During the 70's and 80's I WAS an "environmentalist"...The Reagan years were a disaster for our forests, cutting and shipping raw logs overseas. Then the 90's came and "environmentalists" began to turn on their core supporters...like me. "Restricted access"; "man as the enemy of nature"; "solitude"; "let nature take the roads and trails back"....they lost my support because they tried/are trying to lock me out.

I do not accept that recreation is a significant cause of environmental degredation. The past 10 years they have pissed me off so badly that I look upon anything they say or claim as a junk-science-LIE. The lynx study is the tip of the iceberg, I suspect.

[epb]

I love when people (aka Fairweather) try to destroy a good notion by calling the people who support it hypocrates. Just because some enviromentalists are hypocrates doesn't mean their ideals are bogus.

Come on duuuuuuuuude don't be so childish.

No one is perfect in this world.

[epb]

OH yeah (Fairweather)...sounds like your just making excuses to justify you lazy ass lifestyle.

Classic.

Enviromentalist are all radicals...waaaah. Rather than discredit the movement that exists, why not keep the movement you once supported alive (or revive it)?

[Dru]

fuckin raw log exporting.... I got a raw log pokin the turtle head out right now!!!!!!!!!

[Bronco]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dru:

USA is threatening Canada right now cause you want us to ship you raw logs....... you gonna protest that one too Fairweather?

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Seems like I read somewhere the US was protesting your lack of a sewer treament plant in Victoria sending us too many "raw logs" through the Straight of Juan de Fuca.

[ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: Bronco ]

[RStewbone]

Dru, can I become an honorary canadian until the next election? I can say aboat instead of about.

[Dru]

So you want us to export some raw logs but not others?

actually i read an interesting paper in Nature, i think, a few years back that showed there had been serious decreases in the amount of animal life along British beaches in the 10 years that they had moved to tertiary treatment of sewage entering the ocean and major rivers. The paper hypothesized that there was less fertilization of plankton etc. and it rippled up thefood chain.

not that i am defending Victoria I think they should spend the $$ and get some treatment going on. if you ever tried to swim at a beach in east sooke you would know why.

[Dru]

quote:

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Originally posted by RStewbone:

Dru, can I become an honorary canadian until the next election? I can say aboat instead of about.

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Its "ABOUT" like "I went to see A BOUT between Holyfield and Tyson." rhymes with spout, pout, snout and doubt. (But you probably say all those words wrong too.)

you yankees say "Ah-bat" like "I got bit by A Bat and it gave me rabies"

But whats really fucked up is the way you say route "ROWT" and roof, "RHUF". Like I was down at J tree one time and I said I thought this climb was a good route and some dude asked me, "What root, there's no trees up there, that rowt goes up over that rhuf"

[Fairweather]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dru:

"The Reagan years were a disaster for our forests, cutting and shipping raw logs overseas."

USA is threatening Canada right now cause you want us to ship you raw logs....... you gonna protest that one too Fairweather?

---

I don't vote in Canada. I'm an American If you don't like the policies of your government, vote for change. Don't cry to me.

[Fairweather]

quote:

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Originally posted by epb:

OH yeah (Fairweather)...sounds like your just making excuses to justify you lazy ass lifestyle.

Classic.

Enviromentalist are all radicals...waaaah. Rather than discredit the movement that exists, why not keep the movement you once supported alive (or revive it)?

---

Next to the South Koreans and Japaneese, Americans work more hours per week than any other citizens on Earth. Maybe it's the rest of the world that is lazy? Just a thought.

"The movement" I once supported was hijacked by radicals. (like you?) It now consists of fear mongering, junk mailers, Hollywood whiners and lobbyists who rely on questionable (the lynx study, a case in point) science and twisted or anecdotal reasoning.

[allthumbs]

quote:

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Originally posted by Fairweather:

Actually, I too agree with ss. I would lay down in front of any bulldozer that tried to violate a national park or wilderness area. During the 70's and 80's I WAS an "environmentalist"...The Reagan years were a disaster for our forests, cutting and shipping raw logs overseas. Then the 90's came and "environmentalists" began to turn on their core supporters...like me. "Restricted access"; "man as the enemy of nature"; "solitude"; "let nature take the roads and trails back"....they lost my support because they tried/are trying to lock me out.

I do not accept that recreation is a significant cause of environmental degredation. The past 10 years they have pissed me off so badly that I look upon anything they say or claim as a junk-science-LIE. The lynx study is the tip of the iceberg, I suspect.

---

___________________________________

[ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: trask ]

[allthumbs]

Originally posted by RStewbone:Dru, can I become an honorary canadian until the next election? I can say aboat instead of about.[/quote___________

Sure you can, but keep your sorry ass in Canada and don't come back. If you don't like the way things are, quit bitching and start making a difference. Get on the legislative band wagon.