Farmer hopes Vic bushfire case aids others
How Drought and Wildfire Could Bring Bears Back to Texas
19 December 2012
published by http://stateimpact.npr.org
USA — There are hardly any bears in Texas, but it hasnt always been that way. Black bears used to roam the state from the Piney Woods of the east to the mountain ranges of the far west.
Then American colonists arrived.
Bear hunting was part of the hunting culture that early Texans enjoyed, Texas Parks and Wildlife Diversity Biologist Jonah Evens told StateImpact Texas. Eventually we wiped them out completely from the state.
By the early 1900s there were no bears left. The nearest breeding populations remained across the border in Mexico.
And then there were no bears in Texas for decades until they returned to Big Bend National Park, I believe it was the early 80s, Evans said.
That Big Bend population in remained stable, but never expanded to other areas. In East Texas the occasional bear would wander in from Louisiana, but never stuck around to have bear babies. And thats how things stood until just a couple of years ago.
In this last two years weve had a whole lot of dispersal, a lot of movement into other parts of the state, Evans Says.
At least 12 sightings were reported to Parks and Wildlife this year alone, with bears reported even in the Texas Hill Country. Scientists believe drought and wildfires in Mexico are driving the creatures back to Texas. And some of them are desperate enough to come closer to human settlements than they normally would in their search for sustenance.
When bears do come close to humans, experts urge tolerance and caution.
Hopefully you can enjoy the experience of actually seeing a bear but understand that coming into these areas they dont necessarily want to be by people, Professor Patricia Moody Harveson, who studies bears at Sull Ross State University, told StateImpact earlier this year. Theyre looking for things because theyre missing things right now.,
In general theyre kind of like big racoons, we recommend that people shew them away and get back into a safe place if they can, said Texas Parks and Wildlifes Evans.
The bears being spotted now, may be the start of a repopulating of the state. We could be watching the slow return home of a species that looked like it may have been gone for good.
I believe that some of these dispersing bears will find hospitable ranch land in Texas. And they could breed with some other bears out there, Evans said. The real telltale would be seeing cubs.
Texas Parks and Wildlife is asking Texans, especially near the border, to secure their garbage and other food stuff from bears. It also reminds people not to feed bears in the wild.
The blue dots mark counties were bears aren’t usually spotted but were seen in 2012.
The failure was in the forest areas.Advertisement
Following a 10-year strategy, ACT fire managers have created a mosaic across the landscape of different fuel levels, burning at every opportunity.
But forests have been too wet to burn this spring and the past two summers.
Read more:http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/red-alert-for-high-risk-of-fires-20121118-29koa.html#ixzz2CmafUgo3
The failure was in the forest areas.Advertisement
Following a 10-year strategy, ACT fire managers have created a mosaic across the landscape of different fuel levels, burning at every opportunity.
But forests have been too wet to burn this spring and the past two summers.
Read more:http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/red-alert-for-high-risk-of-fires-20121118-29koa.html#ixzz2CmafUgo3
The failure was in the forest areas.Advertisement
Following a 10-year strategy, ACT fire managers have created a mosaic across the landscape of different fuel levels, burning at every opportunity.
But forests have been too wet to burn this spring and the past two summers.
Read more:http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/red-alert-for-high-risk-of-fires-20121118-29koa.html#ixzz2CmafUgo3
Two summers of unprecedented rain and unusually cool temperatures have left a large fuel load of grass and unburnt forest areas in and around Canberra.
A network of 500 fire trails and strategic burns along the north-west urban edge, heavy grazing and extra grass slashing will create a fortress for the territory which forecasters say faces a higher than average risk this summer.
After a fire-fuelled tornado in January 2003 killed four Canberrans and frightened thousands more, CSIRO fire expert Phil Cheney told the subsequent inquiry the fire’s penetration into urban areas under extreme conditions did not reflect a failure of fuel management on the urban interface.
Read more:http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/red-alert-for-high-risk-of-fires-20121118-29koa.html#ixzz2CmaXNjum
The failure was in the forest areas.Advertisement
Following a 10-year strategy, ACT fire managers have created a mosaic across the landscape of different fuel levels, burning at every opportunity.
But forests have been too wet to burn this spring and the past two summers.
