Latest news with #USFishandWildlifeService
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Officials investigate unexpected death of apex predator after long-awaited return to national park: 'It's heartbreaking'
A female gray wolf died in Rocky Mountain National Park just months after being reintroduced to Colorado as part of the state's restoration effort, reported The Sacramento Bee. The wolf, known as 2514-BC, was found dead on April 20 after biologists received a mortality alert from her radio collar. She was part of a group of 15 gray wolves brought from British Columbia and released in Eagle and Pitkin counties in January. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the death because gray wolves have federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. State officials have not determined the cause of death pending the investigation and necropsy. This marks at least the sixth death among Colorado's reintroduced wolves. Previous deaths have been linked to natural causes and intentional killings, including federal officials killing a Colorado wolf in Wyoming in March after it killed sheep. "Wolf survival in Colorado is within normal margins for a wolf population in the Rocky Mountains," the state wildlife agency stated. On average, gray wolves in the Rocky Mountains live three to four years. These deaths threaten the success of Colorado's historic wolf restoration program. Wolves are a keystone species. They help maintain healthy ecosystems by controlling deer and elk populations, which prevents overgrazing and allows vegetation to recover. Losing female wolves is particularly troubling, as they play a crucial role in expanding the population. Colorado voters approved wolf reintroduction in 2020, but the program's success depends on wolves surviving long enough to establish stable packs. Wolves disappeared from Colorado by the 1940s after settlers hunted their prey and then targeted the wolves themselves when they turned to livestock. Their absence disrupted natural ecosystems for decades. "It's heartbreaking to learn about the passing of this Colorado wolf, one of the precious few reintroduced female wolves," Alli Henderson from the Center for Biological Diversity told The Colorado Sun. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Colorado Parks and Wildlife factored wolf mortality into its restoration plan and continues working to establish a sustainable population. The state has already completed two releases, bringing wolves from British Columbia to help rebuild Colorado's population. Wildlife officials expected wolves to naturally return to places like Rocky Mountain National Park once they were reintroduced to the state. Last summer, a reintroduced wolf from Oregon spent time in the park, marking the first documented wolf presence there in 109 years. If you support wildlife conservation, contact your representatives and voice your support for policies that protect reintroduced species. You can also help organizations working on wolf restoration through donations or volunteer work. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Straits Times
12-07-2025
- Straits Times
Man had 14 toucans stashed in his Volkswagen dashboard, US Says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Carlos Abundez is charged with smuggling 14 live, bound Keel-billed toucans that the authorities said were hidden inside the dashboard of his Volkswagen Passat. WASHINGTON - The driver of the Volkswagen Passat said he had nothing declare, according to US Customs and Border Protection officers. But when a narcotics and human detection dog got a whiff under the steering wheel, which authorities said had been covered with duct tape and cloth, it noticed something was amiss. So did the officer handling the dog, who made a startling find while reaching for something that was hidden behind the cloth. Stashed inside the vehicle's dashboard were 14 live Keel-billed toucans, a threatened species of bird that is illegal to bring into the United States and can each sell for up to US$5,000 (S$6,400), authorities said. Native to southern Mexico down through Ecuador, including Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua, the birds appeared to have been sedated when they were discovered during an early morning inspection June 25 at the Otay Mesa US-Mexico border crossing in San Diego. One of the birds 'began to move rapidly in a flutterlike fashion', investigators said in a federal criminal complaint. The driver, Carlos Abundez, 35, of San Ysidro, California, told a US Fish and Wildlife Service agent that he was not aware how the toucans got into his car and that he had no connection to any bird trade activity, according to a criminal complaint. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Air India crash report shows pilot confusion over engine switch movement Business F&B operators face tougher business landscape amid rising costs and stiff competition Business What's in store for policyholders after GE removes pre-authorisation letters for two private hospitals Multimedia Which floor is this? Chongqing's maze-like environment powers its rise as a megacity Life The rise of Tupai King, the rage of weather: How durian season is changing Asia 'Woven air': Ancient fabric spun across history makes comeback amid lies and climate change Life At 79, she can do 100 pull-ups: Why more seniors are hitting the gym World US man who decapitated father and displayed head on YouTube gets life in prison Abundez said that he had left his part-time residence in Tijuana, Mexico, late on the night of June 24 to cross the border into the United States to get McDonald's when he saw two unfamiliar vehicles. He said that his car had been parked in the driveway and was locked. He was charged July 7 with smuggling and illegal importation, both of which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine. After making his initial court appearance Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Diego, Abundez was released on US$10,000 bond. He will be allowed to travel to his home in Mexico, and his arraignment is scheduled for Aug 7. The birds, which were identified as juveniles, had injuries that included broken tails and a broken leg, according to customs officers. After receiving veterinary care at the border, the toucans were transferred to a US Department of Agriculture Animal Import Center for quarantine. Authorities said they were in stable condition. 'Smuggling endangered birds by sedating them, binding their beaks and hiding them in car compartments is not just cruel – it's criminal,' Mr Adam Gordon, the US attorney for the Southern District of California, said in a statement. Mr Gordon said that the trafficking of exotic wildlife through border crossings in Southern California poses a serious threat to public health and agriculture. 'These birds bypass mandatory quarantine and screening, potentially carrying devastating diseases like avian influenza,' he said. Mr Paul Blake Jr, a lawyer for Abundez, declined to comment. NYTIMES
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of smuggling 14 toucans in vehicle
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A man suspected of attempting to smuggle 14 live, bound Keel-billed toucans at the U.S-Mexico border was charged Tuesday in federal court. Carlos Abundez, 35, of San Ysidro, faces several charges including smuggling merchandise and importation contrary to law, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release. The incident happened at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer found a bound bird, wrapped in cloth, duct taped to the underneath of the dashboard of the suspect's Volkswagen Passat, according to border officials. The officer initially didn't know what the object was until it began to move and flutter, CBP said. San Diego man drowns after saving two young boys in Colorado River When officers opened the side panel of the dashboard, they found a total of 14 sedated juvenile Keel-billed toucans hidden within the compartment. A wildlife inspector from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified the birds from the species Ramphastos sulfuratus. Some of the 14 birds had injuries including broken tails and a broken leg, CBP confirmed. Those birds were taken to the Department of Agriculture Animal Import Center for quarantine and are in stable condition. Keel-billed toucans, which are illicitly sold as pets and can cost up to $5,000 per bird, are native to southern Mexico down through Ecuador, including Venezuela, Columbia and Nicaragua. Abundez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
08-07-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
Trump's budget would clip bird banding. Hunters are not happy.
Advertisement The trophy may not last. The lab falls under the US Geological Survey's Ecosystem Mission Area, the agency's major ecology program, which under President Trump's 2026 proposed budget. would see funding reduced to $29 million from $293 million. Many hunters are unhappy at the prospect. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I just hate the thought of losing that,' said Eric Patterson, a duck hunter based in Alabama. 'It is an extreme measure to take.' Mark Lindberg, a wildlife biologist who worked for the University of Alaska Fairbanks for 20 years, said that the cuts would have a lasting effect. 'We're going to go from being the most refined waterfowl harvest management system in the world — no comparison — to one of the least informed,' he said. Lindberg is also a hunter. Each band reported by hunters is essential for detecting changes in waterfowl populations and for setting hunting regulations. In its contribution to waterfowl management, the Bird Banding Laboratory 'has given us something that is the envy of the world,' said Ramsey Russell, a duck hunter in Mississippi. Advertisement Capturing and handling live birds is prohibited by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so the lab is also responsible for issuing permits to researchers and bird banders in the United States. The lab has a field station in Patuxent Research Refuge in Maryland, and maintains a database of the millions of bands that have been placed on birds for more than a century, including how many times scientists and hunters have encountered an individual bird. 'Reporting of bird banding from hunters is one of the best citizen science programs that is out there,' said Brad Bortner, a retired wildlife biologist who worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service for 30 years and was its chief of migratory bird management. Bird banding aids the management of bird species. When researchers place a band on a bird's leg, they also record information, including the animal's sex and age, and even measurements like weight or data drawn from tissue and blood samples. The data helps scientists track and understand a species' movements, habitat preferences, population growth, and more. In turn, whenever a hunter, biologist, or other finders recover a band, they report it to the Bird Banding Lab, and that information is used to calculate the survival rate of the species. That data, along with surveys and hunting information from the previous year, informs the harvest management for ducks. 'We're not just killers,' Creasey said. 'We genuinely care about the resource and want it to thrive.' Advertisement The mathematical models behind duck regulations require that bands be placed on these animals every year, to guide the harvesting figures. 'If you skip it, you basically have no data out there,' Bortner said. 'And it causes real complications.' Hunters treasure the bands they find, often placing them on lanyards and wearing them around the neck. Truck windows have been smashed to steal bird band lanyards. 'They do have a very intrinsic value, just personal value, to hunters, which is why the citizen science model works,' Russell said. Typically, when hunters report a band, they receive a certificate with information about the specific bird killed. A band can reveal the complex narrative of a bird's migratory journey. Many hunters 'get a kick out of seeing where the bird came from,' Patterson said. Many birds migrate between Canada and South America every year. To coordinate all of the data, the Bird Banding Laboratory works with the Bird Banding Office in Canada — which could be crippled if the American lab is defunded, said Chris Nicolai, a waterfowl scientist at Delta Waterfowl, a duck conservation nonprofit. Nicolai noted that a significant portion of band data is collected, for free, by hunters, who also buy duck stamps to legally hunt waterfowl. The stamps, in turn, support habitat conservation. 'Hunters are paying for this information in several forms and then acting as scientists by collecting data for the information they paid for,' Lindberg said. 'It's a neat system that I really don't understand the criticism of.' A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, which manages the US Geological Survey, declined to comment directly on the cuts to the lab. Advertisement Congress must still approve the proposed budget. Bird organizations, including the American Bird Conservancy and the Ornithological Council, have expressed concern about the closure of the lab, as banding is also important in monitoring raptors, seabirds, songbirds, and other birds. Through banding, researchers have kept tabs on the oldest wild bird in the world, a female albatross named Wisdom, whose band number is 'Z333.' For Bortner, the lab's uniqueness has made it vital. 'It's the only one,' he said. This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
City of Grand Junction to modify River Park access on Monday
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — The City of Grand Junction will be modifying the access to River Park at Las Colonias on Monday by placing large sandbags near the park's boat ramp. The sandbags will address the Colorado River water levels, which have been dropping over the past month, and provide a safeguard to four endangered fish species until the water levels increase. River Park will remain open during regular park hours, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.; however, attendees will have a different experience during low water levels compared to when the channel has higher flows, according to the city. Residents can still access the water and beach areas during this time and into the fall while the sandbags are present. The River Park's federal permit, issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, requires the River Park channel to be cut from the main channel of the Colorado River when the river flows below 810 cubic feet per second to protect wildlife habitats. With the agreement that the city would follow federal permit requirements during low water levels, the River Park's construction was authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The river park project was funded through $1.2 million in grants from organizations such as Great Outdoors Colorado, the Colorado Water Conservation Board and more. The project was made possible through partnerships with Bonsai, Colorado Mesa University, and the U.S. Department of Energy. More information about River Park and Las Colonias Park can be found on the City of Grand Junction's Park and Recreation website at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
