Letters
From Our Readers

KEEPING SCORE
I have a very low opinion of President George W. Bush, but let’s exercise a little perspective in viewing the declining number of newly listed endangered species in recent years [“White House Watch,” Field Notes, January-February]. First, consider what’s been accomplished. Then ask: “Is the proper goal to put all living plants and animals on the Endangered Species List?” Silly question, eh? But truly necessary additions to the list should logically decline over time.

Robert H. Paschall
Bishop, CA

Bob Grant responds: It would be nice to think listings have declined over time because the ESA is fully achieving its goal, but the numbers tell a different story. The current list includes about 10 percent of the thousands of U.S. species of flora and fauna documented as being at risk of extinction. 

CORKY AFTERTASTE
As a winery owner and member of the Audubon Society, I read with interest the article on the cork forests of Portugal [“Cork Screwed,” January-February]. I felt it was well written and quite accurate in its statements. I did, however, disagree with Susan McGrath’s conclusion that wine drinkers should insist on natural cork closures for the wines they purchase. The conversion to artificial closures is all but inevitable. Instead of fighting a battle that is doomed to eventual failure, I would encourage your readers to buy their wine from producers who demonstrate responsible land stewardship by supporting organizations that are dedicated to protecting our planet. If I knew of an organization that purchased cork-oak woodlands in order to preserve them for future generations of wildlife and humans, I would probably send them a donation.

John Dingethal
Sandhill and Ridgefield Wineries
Ridgefield, WA

With the huge rise of interest in cork flooring, why are cork producers struggling?

Claire Whitcomb
Madison, NJ

Susan McGrath responds: Cork flooring has indeed become more popular. But expecting cork farmers to make a living from flooring is like asking wineries in Napa and Sonoma to survive on grape jelly revenues. Only a high-end product like natural cork stoppers can produce enough revenues to make it worth the farmers’ while to preserve their montados.

WHITHER MOUNTAIN LIONS?
Ted Williams states [Earth Almanac, “American Lion,” November-December 2006] that the mountain lion breeding population has expanded into Missouri and Michigan, which is not true—yet. While biologists have documented over 100 accounts of dispersing male mountain lions [a.k.a. cougars] in the Midwest during the past decade, females have not yet established themselves anywhere east of the western side of the Dakotas. Here in Missouri we have documented only 10 authentic cougars since 1994. Most of the hundreds of leads and reports we receive turn out to be mistaken identity: primarily bobcats, dogs and their tracks, and an increasing number of ordinary house cats, often seen at long distances in open fields. Even where small populations are known to exist, sightings of cougars are uncommon. However, evidence of their existence—tracks, scat, scrapes, road-kills of all ages and both sexes, accidental captures, documented depredation, prey kills, photos taken by trail cameras, cougar carcasses from poaching and other accidents, and photos of cougars occasionally treed by hunters—is easily obtained.

Dave Hamilton,
Chairman/Mountain Lion Response Team
Missouri Department of Conservation
Columbia, MO

Ted Williams responds: Many researchers disagree. The Minnesota DNR, for example, expresses confidence that breeding activity occurs in the Midwest. Mr. Hamilton writes in the Missouri Conservationist (his agency’s magazine): “The Conservation Commission has determined that, based on considerations of human safety and risk to livestock, it is undesirable to have a breeding population of mountain lions in Missouri.” This superstition makes me wonder how hard Missouri is looking.

BEACH BUMMED
My wife and I have been going to Cape Hatteras annually for a week for 20 years. It’s like a second home to us. We even get the local newspaper so we can keep up on things like this current ORV “crisis.” One group that Ted Williams did not mention in “Beach Bums” [January-February] is local business owners who see ORV restrictions as a direct threat to their livelihoods. The bumper stickers that say “Plover Tastes Like Chicken” are sold by these people. You would think this was Aspen and the Park Service was banning skiing in the winter. There was a time when a few Jeeps on the beach had little or no impact. Sorry, folks, those days are over. Cape Hatteras and the plovers belong to me, too. So get your Hummers, your Grand Cherokees, and your selfish attitudes off my beach!

Tom Neveil
Chambersburg, PA

We ORV-driving anglers are also conservationists. The two are not mutually exclusive. It is true rules have been broken at times by a small minority of visitors to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area. However, restricting access is not the answer. If you experience problems with traffic laws being broken in your neighborhood, you don’t close the road. You ask for better enforcement.

John F. Cavins
Fuquay-Varina, NC

GROUSING
I was surprised by the absence of any reference in “Sagebrush Showdown” [January-February] to a real threat to the sage-grouse: wind power. Wind farms not only destroy habitat and kill birds and bats, they also include new road construction, substations, and potentially new transmission lines. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends no wind turbines be located within 1.9 miles of sage-grouse habitat or within 5 miles of leks.

Bill Weiler
Wildlife Biologist
Lyle, WA

SHRIMP SHORTAGE
Editor’s note: Many of you had problems ordering the sustainable shrimp featured in “Pass the Cocktail Sauce” [Audubon at Home, January-February]. We have since learned the company’s supply is temporarily depleted, though you may still find some of its frozen shrimp in certain grocery stores. Ocean Boy expects to have shrimp available again by summer. Visit www.oceanboyfarms.com for updates.

CORRECTIONS
A northern mockingbird was misidentified as a gray kingbird in “Beauty and the Bomb” (November-December 2006). The World Wildlife Fund does not receive funding from the cork producers association, as reported in “Cork Screwed” (January-February).

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