Letters to the Editor for March 5, 2010

The real threats to sage grouse

Environmentalists seem determined to blame the demise of the sage grouse on recreational vehicles, hikers, ranchers and anybody who enjoys or uses the great western sage lands. Actually they themselves hold more blame for the troubles of the sage grouse than perhaps any other thing. They seem to have the goal of making all outdoors off limits to the human race, themselves excluded of course. At times their goals seem to be destroying the economy more than preserving the endangered.

In their exuberance to overprotect all raptors, such as bald eagles, golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, not to mention cougars and wolves, they have slowly doomed the prey of these very efficient predators.

It is true that sage grouse are sometimes killed by deer hunters and other poachers, but hunters cannot come near to the killing efficiency of a hawk, eagle, coyote, wolf, cougar or owls. There is plenty of sagebrush for grouse to hide in but with so many predators on the hunt their life expectancy is short. There are nowhere near the rattlesnakes there were when I was younger, for the same reason. For all the birds of prey it is nearly impossible to raise pheasants any more.

No doubt we will now be bombarded with tales of how eagles and hawks never eat sage grouse nor do wolves, coyotes or any other predator. We will all hear how many more raptors there were before the white man showed up with motorcycles and 4x4s. All animals were always held in check by humans, even in the days of Lewis and Clark. Eagles and hawks never surrendered all their feathers to the Indians for war bonnets voluntarily. They were highly sought after for food and feathers.

Remember, all your actions have unintended consequences. In a true natural ecosystem, man must be included. Every bird of prey eats every day. One eagle may kill a hundred sage hens a year easily. Cows don’t eat sage grouse.

Jerry Huddleston

Baker City