Wash. biologist hazes swans away from deadly lead

November 29th, 2008 By PHUONG LE , Associated Press Wash. biologist hazes swans away from deadly lead (AP)

Enlarge

Wildlife biologist Mike Smith stands on a small boat on Judson Lake as he talks about scaring away trumpeter swans that try to land there Nov. 18, 2008, near Sumas, Wash. Years of collecting dead carcasses and examining lead-poisoned livers have convinced Smith of this: to save Pacific Coast trumpeter swans, he has to haze them. When trumpeter swans started dying by the hundreds in recent years, scientists traced the problem to the shallow 100-acre Judson Lake that straddles the U.S.-Canadian border 15 miles east of Blaine, Wash. Lead shots have been banned for waterfowl hunting since 1991. But wildlife scientists believe the long-necked swans were swallowing shots, along with food and grit, from the muddy bottoms of lakes and wetlands. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

(AP) -- Years of collecting dead carcasses and examining lead-poisoned livers have convinced Mike Smith of this: to save Pacific Coast trumpeter swans, he has to haze them.



Content from The Associated Press expires 15 days after original publication date. For more information about The Associated Press, please visit www.ap.org .

Similar stories from PHYSorg:


2 rare elephants found dead in Indonesian jungle

created May 08, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Study finds high mortality of endangered loggerhead sea turtles in Baja California

created Oct 14, 2008 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0

Climate change may be stoking stronger winds, altered oceans

created Feb 02, 2009 | popularity 2.8 / 5 (10) | comments 8

Poisoned, wounded Calif. condor treated at LA Zoo

created Mar 14, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Volcanic eruption takes toll on Galapagos wildlife

created Apr 16, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Digg this Stumble it share on Facebook share on Reddit add to delicious save to Yahoo! bookmarks
4.7/5 after 6 votes

Rank Filter

Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

  • Arthur_Dent - Nov 29, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (6)
    The answer is 3-fold:

    1. ban lead shot, period ( it doesn't matter if it's legal for killing quail, if it's poisoning everyone else, too )

    2. work out exactly HOW to clean out a small area of the lake ( 1 person, 2-3 days worth, ie a Weekend/Long-Weekend ), possibly using a cheap metal-detector-wand sealed in a plastic vacuum-bag, without demolishing the ecology by trampling it to death. ( maybe waving it crossways to its latest "hit" would identify where on its length it located the piece )

    3. set a web-site where volunteers can
    a) train ( games are training-simulation, use a cheap/low-HW-requirement OSS engine, have IT volunteers create the simulation, it needn't be detailed, but only train/show what need be done, and what need be avoided ) the volunteer until they "get" it...
    b) assign them a spot in dire need of cleaning, and...
    c) record their lead-catch as their "score" on the web-site.

    Have each area gone-over twice, 2 overlapping grids, so the lake doesn't end up with a grid of not-done areas, and make certain each area is done repeatedly until no more lead is coming out of it.

    You'd be providing payment by Recognition/renoun for the ones making the difference,
    you'd be getting the work done with only budgetary allocation for coordination/development, and...
    you'd be setting in place a prototype for all other volunteer cleanup/improvements of our worst insults against our beloved world, among whom we live.

    Track it right ( programmer's term Instrumentation ), and you'll discover what need be improved for the next project/iteration.

    We CAN earn healthy living-world, IF we do what need be done, now ( rather than "later" ).

    Allowing our children living-world would be a Good Thing, yes?

    Cheers,
  • kerry - Nov 29, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
    Bravo, Mr. Dent

November 29th, 2008 all stories
Biology /

Comments: 2
Rank: 4.7/5 after 6 votes

  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • Share it:
  • share on Facebook
  • share on MySpace
  • share on Slashdot
  • rss-newsfeed
  • share on Google
  • share on Reddit
  • add to delicious
  • save to Yahoo! bookmarks
  • share on Windows Live
  • Add to Mixx!
Rating: 4.7/5 after 6 votes

  • Related Stories

  • Lead shot and sinkers: Weighty implications for fish and wildlife health
    created Jul 11, 2008 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Researchers capture optical 'rogue waves'
    created Dec 12, 2007 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Swan study shows reproductive success in early life leads to faster ageing
    created Apr 21, 2006 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • What limits the size of birds?
    created Jun 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Japan quail farm bird flu 'not H5N1': govt
    created Mar 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Tags


  • Physicists Demonstrate Quantum Memory with Matter Qubits
    Physicists Demonstrate Quantum Memory with Matter Qubits
    Physics / General Physics
    created Jul 03, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (17) | comments 1
  • 'Holey' Nanosheets for Wastewater Dye Removal
    Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
    created Jul 01, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1
  • Jellyfish Robot Swims Like its Biological Counterpart
    Jellyfish Robot Swims Like its Biological Counterpart
    Electronics / Robotics
    created Jun 26, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 1
  • Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?
    Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?
    Physics / General Physics
    created Jun 24, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (18) | comments 29
  • Living Safely with Robots, Beyond Asimov's Laws
    Living Safely with Robots, Beyond Asimov's Laws
    Electronics / Robotics
    created Jun 22, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (52) | comments 40
  • Other News

    California water plan aims to save Puget Sound orcas

    Biology / Ecology

    created 12 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

    A plan to restore salmon runs on California's Sacramento River also could help revive killer whale populations 700 miles to the north in Puget Sound, as federal scientists struggle to protect endangered species in a complex ...


    Scientists 'rebuild' giant moa using ancient DNA

    Biology / Plants & Animals

    created Jul 01, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (10) | comments 12

    (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have performed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant extinct moa bird, using prehistoric feathers recovered from caves and rock shelters in New Zealand.


    Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus)

    Salamanders, regenerative wonders, heal like mammals, people

    Biology / Microbiology

    created Jul 01, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (20) | comments 11

    The salamander is a superhero of regeneration, able to replace lost limbs, damaged lungs, sliced spinal cord -- even bits of lopped-off brain. But it turns out that remarkable ability isn't so mysterious after ...


    Genetically modified trees

    Anti-biotech groups obstruct forest biotechnology

    Biology / Biotechnology

    created Jun 30, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (7) | comments 5

    The potential of forest biotechnology to help address significant social and environmental issues is being "strangled at birth" by the rigid opposition of some groups and regulations that effectively preclude ...


    Super-sleepers could help super-sizers!

    Super-sleepers could help super-sizers!

    Biology / Plants & Animals

    created Jun 29, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 4

    Burrowing frogs can survive buried for several years without food or water. Scientists have discovered that the metabolism of their cells changes radically during the dormancy period allowing the frogs to ...