u/SharpShooterM1

Horses evolved in north america and by the time of the last glacial interchange roughly 10,000 years ago (the end of the last ice age) their were an estimated half dozen species of horses living in north america, and its been proven through genetic testing that at least one of these horse species (one of the most widespread at that) was equus ferus, the exact same species as the modern horse. Their have also been several archeological sites discovered in the last few years that proves north american horses were still alive in part until less than 5,000 years ago (and possibly even less than 3,000 according to a site in mexico).

10,000 years is nothing in terms of evolution or ecology, much less under 5,000, so horses are absolutely native to north america in my opinion.

The problem is they are not native to where over 75% of wild horses are found today. Most feral horses are found in the southwest and the great basin, two environments we have absolutely no indication true north american horses ever actually inhabited.

Horses guzzle up water and require rich grasses to survive, two things that are rare in the modern great basin and southwest, yet were far wetter during the Pleistocene but they have changed significantly as the climate got warmer and more arid in these regions, and this is why most studies find horses to be harmful to ecosystems, because they are draining resources out of an ecosystem they never evolved for.

But their are also wild horse populations in the rocky mountain foothills, alaska, and the yukon, which are the exact kinds of habitats their Pleistocene ancestors would have and did inhabit, and they populations have not been found to be directly harmful to the local plant communities like southwest horses, and the only effect they have is "pushing out other big game fauna", but this is due to over population rather than direct competition. Elk and whitetail deer also become highly detrimental to local ecosystems when they become over populated despite being native species.

That leads into my other point. Management and population control. Any native big game animal needs to be managed, both for human and natural sake, otherwise we risk conflict with humans and over exploitation of the ecosystem, yet we have placed horses on this pedestal that means they essentially cannot be managed in any meaningful way, and this has done far, far, far more harm to the continuation of wild horse than it has aided, at least in recent times, because in pretty much every conservation circle that crosses paths with them the very idea of wild horses is becoming increasingly unpopular because massive amounts of money are allocated to care for removed feral horses that legally cannot be euthanized or sent to slaughter while most other conservation organizations are picking pennies for any amount of funding they can get (I would know because i work with several conservation organizations).

I 1000% want horse in north america in the long term, but in order for that to happen we need to start treating them like a native game animal rather than an untouchable object that has been put above native wildlife.

The greater prairie chicken, one of the most popular prairie animals, one that has gone from a population spanning from Canada to Mexico, the Rockies to the Appalachian mountains, one who’s flocks were so large settlers described them as “emerged from the grass like a cloud of smoke” as they plowed, now only exists in a few isolated populations across the United States.

Oddly enough early settlement had actually been very good for the prairie chicken, particularly around the edges of their natural range. As settlers and logging companies cleared vast forests, the land was converted into crop fields and pastures. Early agriculture created ideal habitat: crop fields often contained multiple types of crops and native ground cover, while lightly grazed pastures retained tall grasses for cover, nesting, and forage. Heavily grazed areas also created ideal leks where males could perform their mating displays.

And thus the greater prairie chicken expanded its range by several hundred miles, and in Wisconsin particularly it spread from only inhabiting the souther third of the state to inhabiting almost 3/4ths of it.

But this boom did not last. Central Wisconsin's sandy soils proved poorly suited for long-term subsistence farming, and within decades many farms were abandoned. Forests began reclaiming the land, and prairie chickens gradually lost their newly expanded range.

Then came new agricultural technology in the 1930s. Farmers could now cultivate large monoculture crops even on poor soils, and this is where the greater prairie chicken started its decline towards what we know today. Its historic range in southern Wisconsin, and indeed most of the Great Plains and prairies, were rapidly converted to monoculture crops that were unsuitable to prairie chickens.

By the 1950s, it was clear that Wisconsin's prairie chickens would disappear without intervention. Conservationists began purchasing farms and abandoned properties in central Wisconsin specifically to save them.

It worked, with the buena vista wildlife area being founded in the 60's. This area hosts the single largest (and indeed one of the only) populations of greater prairie chickens east of the Mississippi today, as well as one of the largest grasslands in the eastern United States.

The thing is however, this isn’t supposed to be grassland. Buena Vista is surrounded by regrown eastern forest and must be periodically mowed and managed to prevent trees from reclaiming it. They also regularly plant food plots to provide food for the prairie chickens in the winter, as the area gets much more snow accumulation than a natural prairie would.

It is an artificial refuge, but there is little alternative. Nearly all other suitable habitat in the state was destroyed, along with the prairie chickens that lived there.

Today many other grasslands have been or actively are being restored across the Midwest, many of which could support prairie chickens, in theory.

Prairie chickens do not do well with translocations, and the few times it has been successful had extremely high mortality rates.

Next month, the US Fish and Wildlife Service will rescind the 50-year-old definition of ‘Harm’ under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); which will put endangered and threatened species at even greater risk.  Currently, the definition of ‘harm’ under the ESA includes 'any significant habitat modification or degradation that kills or injures wildlife’, and the USFWS proposes to rescind that.

H.R. 9901 will nullify the USWFS’ proposal to rescind the ESA’s definition of ‘harm’.

This bill is a bipartisan effort, which is not surprising, given that most Americans (more than 80%) want the ESA safeguarded.

Please call your representatives and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. You can borrow talking points from the press release linked (here it is again). It carries comments from a variety of conservation groups.

You can use forms to help with emails as well. Here’s one I found from Save the Manatee:

I’m sharing this captivating painting by art_of_tannerstreeter on Instagram, based on a fascinating alternate history scenario: the survival of Ice Age megafauna into the era of the American West's settlement.

Historically, Thomas Jefferson was a paleontology enthusiast who rejected the notion of total species extinction. Convinced that "mammoths" or other Ice Age animals still roamed the unexplored West, he had explicitly instructed the Lewis and Clark expedition to look for signs of them!

In the image, a trapper checking his beaver traps in the Rockies finds himself just a few meters away from a male mastodon in musth—a state of heightened aggression—as it pulverizes a dead tree. With no weapon within reach, all he can do is pray the colossus doesn't catch his scent...

A fantastic illustration that blends paleontological accuracy with American folklore!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg4N9bmrztR/?igsh=MW45MHJoZmZtc2RtaQ%3D%3D&img_index=1

Text from the poem 'Immortality' by Clare Harner

Today, the alligator gar, an ancient fish that can exceed 8 feet in length and 300 pounds, is found almost exclusively in the Deep South and parts of Mexico. Historically, however, it ranged much farther north, with confirmed records as far north as Illinois and Ohio and unconfirmed reports as far west as Iowa and Nebraska. Native Americans prized Alligator Gar for their delicious meat and their incredibly durable scales, which were used as jewelry, currency, and even arrowheads.

As European settlement expanded, overharvest and widespread habitat destruction caused populations to collapse. Ohio recorded its last alligator gar in 1939, Illinois in 1966, Kentucky in 1976, and by the late 1990s Missouri's population had dwindled to only a few isolated areas.

In response, Missouri began reintroducing the species in 2007, followed by Kentucky in 2009 and Illinois in 2010. Since then, Missouri has stocked over 8,000 individuals, Kentucky at over 43,000, and Illinois at over 21,000. Because the species doesn't reach sexual maturity until about 11 years of age, it will be a few years still until we are able to gather enough data to determine weather or not the reintroduced populations have become self sustaining.

Side note: Gar as a family have long been unfairly labeled "trash fish" due to the myth that they devastate bass and panfish populations. In reality, they feed primarily on shad, and recent research has shown they are among the few native predators that readily consume invasive Asian carp. Thanks in large part to the famous tv show River Monsters, public opinion has begun to shift, and gar are increasingly appreciated as both an important native predator and an outstanding sport fish.

If you'd like to learn more, I highly recommend MeatEater Podcast Episode 793: The Mysteries of Gar Fish, where they discuss these reintroductions as well as go over some of the most recent research being done not just on gar, but many other species that have historically been labeled as "trash fish" in the USA.

For several decades after the civil war the 4th of July became an almost exclusively African American holiday in many southern states, with white southerners not celebrating due to being salty that their rebellion failed (and the particularly rich ones loosing their slaves), while african americans celebrated very enthusiastically to celebrate the birth of the union that freed them and their ancestors during the war.

Nothing really in bloom at this time other than milkweed and a few tickseeds so sorry about that. There is actually another 80 acres not pictured here that is also prairie restoration. The only prominent invasives I’ve been able to find are wild parsnips and a few patches of thistle but it’s all native beyond that. It gets burned roughly every 3-4 years.

Just thought I’d spread the word to anyone that is like me in that they have been looking around recently but have not bought the games for themselves yet. If you are on PlayStation than the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, which includes all 3 remastered games plus over 40 DLC’s is currently on sale for $12.

I’ve never played mass effect personally but I’ve heard about the trilogy since I was in middle school and I saw a few clips of it recently on YouTube so I looked it up tonight and the legendary edition, which includes all 3 remastered games plus over 40 story and gear DLC’s, is currently on sale until the 11th for just $12. And it only takes up roughly 70 GB. At that price for what many have called the greatest RPG series ever made I would be a fool to pass that up, and I thought I would spread the word so others can have a chance to enjoy it as well.