Cougars (Puma concolor) in South Dakota: Biology and Hunting
by Emily Tady
The Cougar (puma concolor) is an apex predator, and can be found in South Dakota. Cougars were once hunted to near extinction, but are now listed as Least Concern on the ICUN Red List. Despite this comeback, cougar hunting is still allowed. In South Dakota there are federal restrictions for hunting on federal land, while state land has its own set regulations. The cougar is not only found in South Dakota, but in a plethora of jurisdictions. This presentation will give a biographical overview of the cougar and various hunting restrictions and the conservation reasoning behind them.
Controversy with Black-Beaked Woodpeckers
by Jackelyn Cruz-Lopez
The Black-Backed Woodpecker is an uncommon bird to see when in South Dakota. The elusive woodpecker feeds on a variety of insects but spends its time hunting in burned down trees. The discussion begins with controlled forest fires and the feeding habits of the Black-Backed Woodpecker.
Controlling Noxious Weeds in Kansas
by Matthew Roche Ghillino
Noxious weeds are one of the greatest threats to the Kansas environment and agriculture. They invade native wildlife, increase erosion and cost Kansan farmers millions of dollars in extermination efforts and lost production. In response to this issue, The Noxious Weed Control Program, managed by the Kansas Department of Agriculture, was created to classify and research various weeds across the state. While noxious weeds are still pressing issue, many steps are being taken by the Kansas government to eradicate these weeds. This presentation will focus on the negative environmental impacts that noxious weeds have in the Kansas environment as well as several methods used by the Kansas government to control the spread of noxious weeds.
Nice work, everyone!
Emily, do you have a sense of how often mountain lions’ ranges extend through different management jurisdictions? E.g., Custer State Park, which allows hunting with permits, is adjacent to Wind Cave National Park, which does not allow any hunting at all. Mountain lions have large ranges/territories. How might that impact their numbers and management? Did you run across any information that suggests that the lions might preferentially spend time in protected areas?
Jackelyn, you mentioned that the Black-Backed Woodpeckers love beetle larvae. There has been an outbreak of pine beetles in the Black Hills region over the last several years. Do you think this could be related to low numbers of predators like the Black-Backed Woodpecker? Looking forward, how might this affect Black-Backed Woodpecker population numbers over the next several years?
Thanks for thoughtful presentations on Black Hills/Badlands topics! I so wish our class trip was still happening next week. I hope that you both have the opportunity to visit the area in the future!
Matthew, your presentation was really interesting! What is the origin for most of these noxious weeds? Many/all of them appear to be invasives—were they deliberately introduced? Escaped from landscaping? I also notice that purple loosestrife (_Lythrum_salicaria_) is not currently considered a noxious weed in Kansas. Do you think that could change? I know it’s a huge problem in Minnesota and South Dakota, and I have seen it growing locally in wet roadside ditches.
Great work, all!
Great question.
None of my research really indicated that overlapping jurisdictions was a management problem. I did find on article on the National Geographic website by Mark Elbroch that mentions overlapping occurring between different cougars’ territories, but not between jurisdictions. Since the population density is 2:1 for female to male cougars, scientists expect some overlap between the cats. If there were to be an issue of jurisdiction overlap, I do not think it would have too big of an effect on cougar numbers, since there are still harvesting limits in place to protect the population. None of my research indicated that the cats preferentially spend more time in protected land than in unprotected land. If protected land is properly managed, it could have more prey or a better environment for the cougar. This could cause the cougar to stay there.
Well done! Thank you all for putting together such enticing presentations! I learned a lot!
You all do a very good job demonstrating the reasons why regulations are important to protect the land / wild-life and maintain the balance of the ecosystems within which they live. Despite evident benefits, it appears that the motivations for the implementation of conservation / eradication (as the case might be) practices are different: while non-profits or groups of scientists & ecologists will drive the protection of wild-life, economic factors (and farmers?) drive the eradication of certain plants. What do you think will need to happen for governments to realize that humans are interdependently linked to the environment and make key decisions to ensure a safe and healthy future?
Emily, I loved your presentation! It was informative, well-researched, and well-presented! You mentioned livestock predation but you didn’t elaborate on interaction with humans. How rare is it that we get attacked? And I’m curious if you ever heard the rumors that a “mountain lion” was spotted in Lenexa along a stream a number of years ago?
Jackelyn, I was really interested in how human efforts to stop forest fires have disrupted the ecosystem, as illustrated by black-backed woodpecker numbers. Since their predominant range is in Canada, how did you become interested in them? I love the yellow cap on the male!
Matthew, your presentation brought back memories of my grandfather, a farmer near Wichita, getting upset about Johnson Grass (he hated it), thistles, and bindweed. I was a kid and secretly cheered for the thistles and the bindweed (which I called wild morning glories) because, let’s face it, they are pretty. He and I had quite a conversation once about why he didn’t appreciate my attitude toward the “weeds”. He didn’t have the facts and statistics at his fingertips that you just presented, but I can almost hear him cheering you on!