Show C2 — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Friday April 25 2003 Idaho F&G boosts Snare sharp-taile- d grouse anti-snarin- r Continued from Cl TWIN FALLS Idaho (AP) — State conservation officers Legislature has been rancorous so much so that it often seems out of proportion with snaring’s actual impact ' 58 During the winter of 2001-200- 2 snarers reported killing 564 coyotes according to state records obtained by snaring opponents Also reported caught et were 36 animals including 18 fox and nine deer though snaring foes estimate the actual number is much high- tailed grouse population in Idaho has been an ongoing effort since 1992 Fish and Game biologist Randy Smith said Popula- tiofis have been planted in the Shoshone Basin east of Rogerson and in northern Nevada in a joint project with the Bureau of Land Management Biologists hope that the populations eventually will merge into one larger group Smith said “It wasn’t too long ago that this bird was petitioned for listing on the endangered species list’’ he said The large and stable eastern d Idaho groupe' population — and efforts to bring back the bird in other areas such as southern Idaho — were among the factors that led the US Fish and Wildlife Service not to list the bird as a threatened species south-centr- are planting Columbian sharptailed grouse in the area to extend the rare bird’s range across southern Idaho Idaho Department of Fish and Game workers spent the ' past week trapping about 50 birds in southeastern Idaho — home of the biggest Columbian habitat in North America They are releasing them this spring west of Rogerson in southern Twin Falls County The bird gets its name from the short wedged tail that tops out in a point Fish and Game wildlife technician Mike Remming releases this birds at sites suitable for leks — mating grounds where male birds come to perform their courtship dances He plants a stuffed sharp-taile- d grouse in the Held and plays a recording of mating songs before he sets the birds loose — all done to encourage the area for lek selection the sharp- - al non-targ- er Whatever the merits there seems to be an unbridgeable gap between the sportsmen who feel their hunting traditions are under attack and the conservationists who see snaring as cruel and unnecessary At times the debate is downright hostile Daryl Dejoy of NoSnare derides those who want to kill coyotes just to preserve deer populations that will be lata hunted “Essentially we’re dealing with relatively uneducated people whose world is ds large as what they see” Dejoy said “What they are trying to do is save the deer so they can shoot them” George Smith executive director of the sharp-taile- Sportsman's Alliance of Maine said that forces have a broader agenda: “It’s much bigger than coyote snaring It’s really a feeling that our whole tradition is being attacked” That tradition is embodied in towns like Grand Lake Stream a hunting and fishing outpost set amid the brooks and lakes of eastern Maine Hunters in this area along the northern edge of the deer’s habitat worry about the deer herd’s size Though deer are plentiful in southern and central Maine with an estimated 20 deer per square mile eastern and northern parts of the state have just that density State wildlife officials emphasize that coyote snaring is just one of several tools used to restore the local deer population The most important step they say is protecting the areas where does bucks and fawns wait out Maine’s long winters Tobey keeps track of where coyotes have slaughtered deer during die winter and he sets snares nearby in the hope that the coyotes will return Sometimes Tobey will move a deer carcass onto a frozen lake hoping to fell a nearby coyote with a gunshot Coyotes can be and there are no bag hunted the local deer population rebound Hunters last year reported killing 37 deer up from just four in 1992 Ibbey says But coyotes are quite adaptable and 'research hu suggested thatkilling them simply causes more rapid reproduction said Jon Schwedler of the Predator on--1 servation Alliance in Bozeman Mont “Coyotes are just really resilient” he said “You just trad to breed smarter coyt otes” ' Chuck Hulsey of die Maine Department of Inland Fisheries in Wildlife agreed in a November 2001 memo in which he wrote: “The number of coyotes removed through recreational snaring has ' no effect on reducing coyotes” Other state officials and evensome Maine hunters have also expressed regrets about die snaring program In February the Maine chapter of The ’Wildlife Society a professional organization whose membership includes many state wildlife biologists voiced concerns with the program in part because of the risks of snaring animals ' Bucky Owen the state wildlife department’s commissioner from 1993-19does not want to ban snaring But he says the program needs tighter monitoring to protect the Canada lynx a threatened species under federal law g one-fif- th long-distan- non-targ-et 97 ce year-rou- nd limits He believes there efforts have helped Features: t Private secure and gated community Chib House pool tinea center iiitfcinffteI Maintained yudssnow removal Close to golf fishing recreation & shopping Walking tails A private groves Stunning Architecture Complete Main Floor Living PHASE 2 NOW OPEN our discount coupon jTTlVC ! Authorized a ” To the lifestyle you have always dreamed of! For more information and pricing please contact: 'Elegant Homes 4359940985 4359940987 Debbie (ones 4359940884 Alice H Redd 'lO'i Hnnririrmi' tilth B4:i:i2 w'wwcohWi’xtfmcatsprioKcrcckaim 11 Qreenbelts D10 Sq ‘ft to 3200 Sq ‘ft Single Homes from Mid $1 70's Hew Home flans How Available 'from Delsa H Thome Hem Walfang ‘Trails Mo fitted by lKlitLmKSj " Thurs& Fri Mon - Wed & Sat 10:00am to 6:00pm Model Home Open: J0MEBASE1 7 10:00am to 7:00pm 1 jiwmraretagj! Lower foods me hiewtom Outlet Store i "gs I Ml SB : -- 1 CarWash gg-'Brin- Ad l Str-O- FF OFF 20 Js 40 OFF 25 OFF 50 I 10 I infer I Off with Simply SG-200- 0 Unbeatable X A- Carlsen’s your purchase 11 ‘Gas For Less TyGear s ip - V I j hWj 1 OFF 40 it — Taenia L— piuffles Beanie Boppera Punkies I Siajl : 10 eupCaaie Sinclair Gasoline UTAH ale josraio Plat n fall 3amli At To OFF! off! 752-212- °penMnto6pni 1 But Not Advertising Patio Uff lay 3 Budget y jl1 I GMMlocadoanMr Lagan 8 Men Child iloanlng Drily hading City- I - 'A f " V J u- : VWhthh coupon 1 — OTnhingoett5r V Wcicnice wByWw Advertise i with usi Xa i" ’ LwnnAGardw Conslrudion equipcnen - (2) Jj ' - 11 IS 1 salon: 752-9- 1 7SW619 supply: T"- - I 1 n YelhvrPtt 4i 4o°me-i To - adin place an THP irV ' s v 1 Kl A iebOi L t i I v it V': y mrmxmm |