I consider myself something of an environmentalist. I like clean air, water, and healthy wildlife habitat. But some environmentalists seem to believe that if it can be described as an environmental problem... then they are obligated to climb on the bandwagon regardless of how realistic the problem is.
Yes it is
@Travlr , I consider myself to be an "environmentalist" too... I want a healthy, vibrant environment just as much as the next guy. I see "grassland birds" as "canary in the coal mine" species for us, and recognize the huge loss of them in the past 50+ years, because of our transition to row crops on so much of what had been "grasslands". Our environment is suffering and will suffer for a long time because of this, IMO. It's not suffering so much because we've lost those birds... but because of the loss of environmental biological processes in general, which those birds require to thrive. They were here to indicate to us that "all is well"........... they've been lost to a large degree... telling us that "all is no longer well" with our environment... and WE are going to suffer in many ways... including dying as a direct result of what we've been doing and how we've (as a species) been managing.
It's amazing to me how many birds are gone. I've noticed the decreases in numbers but never had a real grasp, thinking that perhaps it was just local. But within the last few days I found out that Meadowlarks have crashed, losing roughly 130 MILLION in the last decade.
Just in the last two years since I've been "regeneratively farming"... abandoned row cropping, seeded everything down and am grazing it, I'm seeing actual Meadowlarks occasionally again... fairly common to see the smaller Eastern Meadowlark... different song than the Western. Before doing that though, in 25+ years of living here, 0. They were one of the VERY common meadow birds when I was growing up. Barn swallows are still somewhat "commonplace", but their population nationally has dropped off about 70% compared to the 1960's. Bluebirds and Bobolinks... quail in our area, even the Ruffed Grouse, which is a bit more of a woodland grass nesting bird, is gone. Used to hunt them every year as a teenager, and hear their thumping all summer long, and they were plentiful. I expect that the coyotes, which came in after the DNR transplanted turkeys here, are getting alot of them. I never saw a coyote when I was growing up. Plenty of turkeys around though now. And more pheasants than there used to be... I see them ALL the time now. Pheasants aren't a "native bird" here though... imported from China as I understand it.
Being in Minnesota you may not be aware of the pine beetle damage out west. Literally 80/90% of the fuel in the California fires is trees killed by pine beetles. And as a kid I'd walk in the forests and hear woodpeckers constantly, sometimes in several directions at a time. Now it's unusual to hear a woodpecker. I might hear a couple in a day... but there are silent days too.
I was told of a cattle block that you can feed wild hogs and it will kill them stone dead fast, ??? you know anything about it
Barren sow?
Likely. That probably won't win though
No I don't! If you find out let me know.
I will be at the feed mill that sells them this week and find out they said it is safe for any animal that chews a cod like cows and deer but will kill a hog and did not want to let a horse have it
Block with urea probably
Or rumensin?
Salt will kill a hog. Maybe mix something in the salt block that a hog can't resist?
I know no one is giving the exact location but what general area was that huge wench "harvested"? Fingers crossed her kin folk aren't in my neighborhood. The 200 pounders are doing enough damage around here as it is.
Huge area so likely anywhere in 4 counties. Lot of big hogs along the red river I know
Didn't stand long in first place
