Of Rewilding and State Agencies

  

Cougars are considered a species of "Least Concern" overall but remain extirpated from much of their historic range, including the eastern United States.  Photo credit: NPS (Public Domain)

What should be the central goal of state wildlife agencies? 

According to a December 2023 article and study published in BioScience Magazine, American constiuents believe a top priority of state wildlife agencies should be the restoration of locally extinct or imperiled wildlife species.  The BioScience survey presented five actions of state wildlife agencies and asked the 3589 participants to prioritize the list.  These options included: (1) restoration of locally extinct (extirpated) or endangered species, (2) increasing recreational hunting/trapping opportunity, (3) leasing and purchasing more lands for recreational access, (4) improvement and management of existing wildlife habitat, and (5) removing exotic and invasive species.  In the United States, some examples of invasive species include feral hogs, northern snakehead fish, nutria, Burmese pythons, and zebra and quagga mussels. Respondents, including hunters, heavily favored the restoration option, which was the most popular #1 choice (43%).  For all respondents in the aggregate, the least popular choice was promotion of hunting/trapping opportunities (7%), while for hunters the least popular option was increased recreational access. 

The idea of rewilding – restoring wildlife to strengthen habitat resilience and biodiversity - is gaining traction.  Beavers, for example, are a keystone species crucial to wetland habitats and help mitigate the impact of drought with their presence.  Historic and current conservation efforts have primarily focused on species-level extinctions.  However, geographic range contraction is a frequently overlooked yet critical aspect of the biodiversity crisis.   As the authors state: "Unambiguous legal and ecological reasoning indicates that an adequate interpretation of the legal definition of endangerment includes species that have been extirpated from large portions of their historic range —even if the species is not in danger of global extinction.”  (Carlson, et. al, 2023)

 

This is certainly true of cougars.  While cougars are technically listed as a species of “least concern” and still exist in western North America (as well as much of Central and South America where they are locally known as pumas) they historically roamed throughout the continent.  Cougars were extirpated in the Midwest and eastern United States in the 1800s, except a lone remnant, known as the endangered Florida Panther.  In the Western United States, some regional cougar populations in areas like the Olympic Peninsula and Southern California are imperiled due to habitat fragmentation, leading to genetic isolation and high rates of fatalities from vehicle collisions.  Where present, cougars are a keystone species.  Since administration of the federal Endangered Species Act currently does nothing to address range contraction, conservation nonprofits and tribes often take up efforts to save locally threatened cougar populations (such as the Panthera Puma Program, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Cougar Conservancy).  However, the issue of rewilding often falls on state wildlife agencies, presenting an obstacle for the restoration of native carnivores and other species that are not prioritized by hunters but ecologically important. 

 

Currently, state agencies not only prioritize consumptive recreational access and use (hunting, fishing and trapping) over wildlife restoration and recovery, but devote most of their resources towards promoting an abundance of game species most favored by hunters and anglers, such as deer, ducks, trout and turkey.  Natural predators of game species, like wolves, cougars, and bobcats, are often viewed as "competition" and disfavored at all levels by state wildlife agencies.  As Aldo Leopold warned back in 1949, this is not an ecological approach, and overbrowsing by deer has harmful impacts on the biodiversity of eastern forests.  

 

The Bioscience study demonstrates strong support for restoring species that are extirpated or locally endangered.   Constituents view wildlife restoration as a priority over increased recreational access and promotion of hunting.  This approach means acknowledging the ecological importance of wildlife (not just utilitarian benefits to humans) and the critical role a species is unable to fulfill in regions where they have become locally extinct due to historical persecution, unregulated hunting, or habitat degradation.   In suitable habitat, the restoration of species like wolves, beavers, bison, and cougars - all listed as feasible candidates for rewilding - would also restore ecosystem functions that have been lost.  Public views towards wildlife and conservation are continuing to evolve.  Americans increasingly favor a more inclusive, ecologically-driven approach to state wildlife management that looks to the future and engages with hunters and non-hunters alike. 

Read more on Bioscience.