Evaluating Wolf Translocation as a Nonlethal Method to Reduce Livestock Conflicts in the Northwestern United States

Abstract:  Successful nonlethal management of livestock predation is important for conserving rare or endangered carnivores. In the northwestern United States, wolves ( Canis lupus ) have been translocated away from livestock to mitigate conflicts while promoting wolf restoration. We assessed predation on livestock, pack establishment, survival, and homing behavior of 88 translocated wolves with radiotelemetry to determine the effectiveness of translocation in our region and consider how it may be improved. More than one-quarter of translocated wolves preyed on livestock after release. Most translocated wolves (67%) never established or joined a pack, although eight new packs resulted from translocations. Translocated wolves had lower annual survival (0.60) than other radio-collared wolves (0.73), with government removal the primary source of mortality. In northwestern Montana, where most wolves have settled in human-populated areas with livestock, survival of translocated wolves was lowest (0.41) and more wolves proportionally failed to establish packs (83%) after release. Annual survival of translocated wolves was highest in central Idaho (0.71) and more wolves proportionally established packs (44%) there than in the other two recovery areas. Translocated wolves showed a strong homing tendency; most of those that failed to home still showed directional movement toward capture sites. Wolves that successfully returned to capture sites were more likely to be adults, hard (immediately) rather than soft (temporarily held in enclosure) released, and translocated shorter distances than other wolves that did not return home. Success of translocations varied and was most affected by the area in which wolves were released. We suggest managers translocating wolves or other large carnivores consider soft releasing individuals (in family groups, if social) when feasible because this may decrease homing behavior and increase release-site fidelity.     

LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS - SOME MYTHS DEBUNKED

With natural gas being flared in major producing countries in volumes that would more than satisfy the entire energy needs of developing Africa, world attention is focusing on ways of shipping this premium fuel from sources where it is in surplus to destinations where it is urgently needed. Development and successful operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) systems provide the means for achieving the purpose. The author reviews six misconceptions that have caused energy planners to underestimate the potential of this new transportation mode. He concludes that, given the necessary financing, international LNG movements could reach some 18 billion cubic feet daily by 1985, representing a ten-fold jump in the traffic.     

Ecosystem Services as a Common Language for Coastal Ecosystem-Based Management

Abstract:  Ecosystem-based management is logistically and politically challenging because ecosystems are inherently complex and management decisions affect a multitude of groups. Coastal ecosystems, which lie at the interface between marine and terrestrial ecosystems and provide an array of ecosystem services to different groups, aptly illustrate these challenges. Successful ecosystem-based management of coastal ecosystems requires incorporating scientific information and the knowledge and views of interested parties into the decision-making process. Estimating the provision of ecosystem services under alternative management schemes offers a systematic way to incorporate biogeophysical and socioeconomic information and the views of individuals and groups in the policy and management process. Employing ecosystem services as a common language to improve the process of ecosystem-based management presents both benefits and difficulties. Benefits include a transparent method for assessing trade-offs associated with management alternatives, a common set of facts and common currency on which to base negotiations, and improved communication among groups with competing interests or differing worldviews. Yet challenges to this approach remain, including predicting how human interventions will affect ecosystems, how such changes will affect the provision of ecosystem services, and how changes in service provision will affect the welfare of different groups in society. In a case study from Puget Sound, Washington, we illustrate the potential of applying ecosystem services as a common language for ecosystem-based management.     

Worldwide Availability of Silver

This article summarizes and interprets estimates, by the US Bureau of Mines and others, of the availability of silver from primary and secondary sources in market economy countries. Despite conservative measurements, ample silver to support expansion of its use in industrial applications was found to exist. Supply from only portions of this resource base can be expected to respond to changes in silver demand, because factors other than price are the major determinant of the flow of silver from large segments of its resource base.