Ballot-box biology: who should decide how we manage wolves, bears and deer
Dr. Mark Gordon and Michael Waddell both push back on wildlife decisions made by popular vote rather than by biologists, while Steven Rinella describes the messy trade-offs of managing waters and the spread of chronic wasting disease in deer. Together they show why wildlife management is a hard balancing act that voters rarely see up close.
What does Joe Rogan mean by ballot box biology? Show answer
Wildlife decisions made by popular vote, often by urban voters who never encounter the animals involved.
What is Rogan's objection to Colorado's wolf reintroduction? Show answer
It was voted in by people who do not live with wolves, while rural residents face losses of livestock and dogs.
What does Rogan say followed British Columbia's grizzly hunting ban? Show answer
More bears than before and more conflicts, including bears breaking into houses, despite rural opposition to the ban.
Is Rogan against wolves? Show answer
No. He calls them an important part of ecosystems like Montana and Wyoming, and objects to placing them where land and people are not ready.
What does the Montana elk example show? Show answer
Elk numbered in the thousands where about 800 was sustainable. Wolves cut the herd sharply, which also made hunting tags harder to get.
What figure does Michael Waddell give for mountain lion predation? Show answer
Studies suggest one adult male mountain lion can kill 80 to 100 deer in a year.
What did the Utah outfitter's business card story prove? Show answer
That lions were denser than the official territory theory claimed, since he had taken ten from a small area and had photos.
How is Waddell's criticism two-way? Show answer
He faults distant voters and also agency experts who dismiss experienced field observers lacking doctorates.
Why does Waddell distrust predator counts based on sightings? Show answer
Predators are rarely seen. He trapped 22 coyotes in one season on land where he almost never saw them.
What do Steven Rinella's lake and oil rig examples show? Show answer
Habitat value is counterintuitive. Removing rigs or weeds, even invasive ones, can leave fewer fish.
Why is chronic wasting disease so hard to fight? Show answer
Its prions persist on vegetation and cannot be cooked out, so lowering deer numbers slows it but never clears an area.
What is Rinella's position on eating meat from infected deer? Show answer
There is no confirmed human case after many people ate it, but he would not knowingly eat it or serve it to his children.