Tim Smith

I'm not a resident but I spend fishing dollars in Missouri. I'd sign. Get a biologist who specializes in this if you can or a few "names" (especially sporting organization presidents) at the top of the list and as many members as possible to send in letters. Predator management is as hard as it gets. It sounds like they're taking appropriate steps.

So I sat down with a ranger from Rio Bravo and showed him my photo records. Apparently we have everything here. Still not sure what this is but some were definitely mountain lions and some were definitely jaguar. This week I did a systematic search for tracks and got jaguar, mountain lion (including one that passed 21 paces from my front door) and ocelot. Sweet!

....all other countries run by little girls.

In the fishing report links. But since you asked...Here's one.

I agree with you here Justin. The idea of a "loca-vore" has gotten a lot of attention and I think it's probably a good one. I also want to be sure I don't play the hypocrit. I'm never vegetarian for more than a few days at a time and I've probably eaten more kinds of animals then most people have. I also made sure to shovel as much meat as possible at my son while he was growing up. But in general, I'd rather have a flat belly and reasonably unclogged arteries than a porterhouse...so I don't have a big hunk of meat with every meal anymore. I'll probably eat less and less meat going forward as much for reasons of health than anything but I'd like to minimize impacts however I can. I have also known plenty of vegetarians and most of them did it in now and then rather than indefinitely. I guess I got lucky and didn't run into many self-righteous ones. Or maybe I don't care what most people think in general and I just didn't notice if they were.

That's better. 10 pound of beef = 10 pounds of corn and that doesn't even count the footprint of transport and beef processing. Vegetarians have a much smaller footprint.

Great science as always JD. You'll have that time maching running in no time.

Xenophobia is bad for the digestion. Why mock people trying to eat lower on the food chain? We're better off with them than without them.

Well it's true you can't determine if this was a jaguar or a mountain lion by the depth of the print if that's where we're going... ...but the maximum size of jaguars is far beyond the maximum size of mountain lions.

(When will bighead carp qualify?)

(Hibernation?)

You were on a roll till you hit that note. Excuses are always hollow after the fact...no matter what the reason.

Muddy. You've got a mind. You should give other people credit for putting actual thought into things too. I'm in a project right now that has helped bring about a 25% reduction in pollution in an industry without any government help at all. NONE. The fuel tax solution will only work when there is a viable alternative. Until then it only crushes the economy and creates backlash.

...lots of ways to make something cheaper. All kinds of things affect the bottom line.

Podum, I think the common ground here was established in the first 5 or 6 posts about climate change a few months ago. It seems that most people here have acknowledged and appreciate it. Certainly I do. The problem is that the areas of disagreement are big stumbling blocks in the search for a rational path forward. We're still circling back to learn the differences between climate (long term trends) and weather (short term trends) with people taking offense as if pointing out the distinctions were some kind of ploy. I've got PMs from people with backgrounds in molecular biology backgrounds and no analytical experience in large scale dynamic systems explaining how there's too much variability in the data to really know what is happening. We've got people making outrageous assertions about how American oil is virtually inexhaustable. People are carrying amazing amounts of social baggage into that discussion... ...and its going to take a long time for that to settle down. So you might as well enjoy the ride. And smallie bigs,yes, your weatherman is a joke. Anyone who stands up in the middle of one cold snap on one spot on the globe and uses that as a platform to talk about climate cooling despite powerful long term trends to the contrary simply cannot be listened to. He's a clown. Here are the long term trends for ocean heat. Ignore it if you like, but its published by someone who actually studies CLIMATE, not a TV WEATHERman. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v465/n7296/pdf/nature09043.pdf The ocean started cooling THIS year about mid-way through the year (the only reason the Arctic ice pack didn't set collosal records for summer retreat). That's a short term trend and it's not climate.

I've been using the Olympus Tough series for stills for about 3 years in the field. It has the advantage of being both water proof (to 30 feet) and shock proof. I don't even use a neoprene case for it and it's fine. Literally just stick it in a jeans pocket and go. It's almost as reflexive as carrying a wallet. There is a metal retractable lens cover and the housing is palm sized. Had it everywhere and every place and it has stood up to some serious beatings. They have upgraded picture quality in the later versions. Battery life is pretty good and the macro function is stunning (I can photograph individual threads in fabric with it and I've used it in place of a microscope before) but the wide angle shots are a bit too wide and detail tends to get lost. The movies aren't great. Much better as a pocket still camera.

Where's the "like" button? Sounds like a great trip. Didn't know there were chain pickerel in Jack's Fork.

Belated Happy Birthday, Gary.

Kayser's right, jaguars used to range all over the southwest US. There are jaguars in Arizona as we speak, but they're probably as rare as mountain lions in Missouri. ...funny you mention the Yucatan because that's where I am. About 30 miles south of the Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve in Belize. Both cats occur here (along with the ocelot, marguay and jaguarundi) but jaguars are a bit more common in this area. Belize just had it's first human mortality ever recorded from a jaguar last year during hurricane Richard. One that had been kept as a pet get out when a tree fell on its cage during the storm. Before anyone knew it was free it had already killed a neighbor. Not wise to let predators get used to humans.

Jaguar is much heavier.

Both Gary. This is probably a jaguar. They are common down here.

Thought I'd share this. We had a visitor to the mangrove plantings this week. Either jaguar or mountain lion. Made my week.

The Amish are not above the law. One Amish furniture maker near Arthur Illinois decided it would be a good idea to bury a bunch of 55 gallon steel drums of benzene down by the Kaskaskia River. Once they started rotting and leaking into the river, his hiney ended up in jail. It may be a virtue to be simple (and hats off to them for that), but it is always a vice to be stupid.

Smallie. This guy is a WEATHERman. His job is to predict short term trends in WEATHER. The only reason this debate exists at all is because of day to day, year to year variation in weather that hides long term trends until you back up and look at the big picture. Anyone prattling about the planet cooling off when we have just finished finished a year tied for the hottest on record, and a decade that is the hottest ever recorded a the end of a 150 year tend in temperature increase is simply not worth listening to.

Wayne you're making me crazy. Did you go look at the graph I posted in response to this? The trend is the same, the only thing that differs is the confidence intervals around the trend during that period. You're picking nits here. The National Academy of Sciences is almost universally in agreement with human induced climate change.