HELICOPTER CRASHES IN NEVADA COYOTE HUNT

[nosmokes]

original-peer

For Immediate Release: April 22, 2008
Contact: Carol Goldberg [phone]

HELICOPTER CRASHES IN NEVADA COYOTE HUNT

— Accidents Mount as National Review of Aerial Gunning Safety Underway

Washington, DC — A crew out hunting coyotes crashed their helicopter near Denio, Nevada, according to records released today by WildEarth Guardians and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The April 11th accident adds to a rising total of crashes and fuels growing calls to end aerial shooting of coyotes and other predators.

In this latest incident, the helicopter lost power as it circled a wounded coyote in an attempt to inflict a fatal shot. Because it was hovering at only twenty feet above the ground at the time of the crash, the gunner and pilot escaped without reported injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board incident report states that the flight originated from a private ranch near Denio in clear weather and operated without a flight plan for the purpose of “predator control”.

This crash would be the ninth aerial gunning accident recorded in Nevada since 1990. The lion’s share of aerial gunning takes place as part of a $100 million a year federal program called Wildlife Services, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agricultures. In 2006, Wildlife Services killed 35,505 animals by aerial gunning, including badgers, bobcats, red foxes, grey wolves and even domestic housecats. In 2006 (the latest available data), Wildlife Services in Nevada reported 4,665 coyotes killed through aerial-gunning, the highest such total for any state.

Despite or due to its prevalence, the practice of aerial wildlife hunting is drawing critical attention across the country:

* On June 1, 2007, two Wildlife Services agents died when their plane crashed during an aerial gunning trip in Wayne County, Utah. On September 12th Wildlife Service agents crashed a second time that year. Since 1979, the federal program has experienced a total of 51 accidents that resulted in 10 fatalities and 28 injuries;
* In 2007, the State of South Dakota suspended aerial gunning after its agents had a crash and two other incidents occurred that year by private entities;
* In November 2007, Wildlife Services announced a “nationwide safety review focusing on aviation and aerial operations” and other aspects of the controversial program.

“The sheer number of accidents involving aerial gunning of wildlife is stunning,” said Wendy Keefover-Ring of WildEarth Guardians, which organized the petitions urging both South Dakota and Wildlife Services to end their programs, pointing out that aerial gunning may actually make problems worse by causing coyotes to compensate for deaths by either bearing larger litters or permitting more animals in the pack to breed. “Apart from being inherently dangerous, aerial gunning is one of the least effective and efficient ways to minimize any coyote-related losses.”

In aerial hunts, pilots are often flying at low altitudes with little margin for error. In 107 plane or helicopter crashes recorded by the groups, distracted pilots have flown into power lines, trees and land formations. In some instances, gunners have shot their own aircraft or bullet casings have become lodged in the cabin’s mechanical workings.

“The wisdom of strafing wildlife from aircraft becomes more questionable with each new accident,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting federal statistics documenting the very marginal role wildlife plays in livestock losses. “Aerial gunners should be grounded until the national safety review is completed.”


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complete release including links to related sources here

[Massacure]

1. Did they get mauled by coyotes after the incident?

:shrug:

[aquart]

2. Why would a coyote want to touch them?

[Canuckistanian]

26. I hope their corpses have their faces gnawed off

The same way that I felt after the Newfoundland sealers died.

Useless, mindless, unintelligent slaughter of wildlife pisses me off.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. Bet it was al Qaeda

The coyotes have been training them, and now they're using surface-to-air missiles to kill those poor, uh, hunters.

Are they called "hunters"? Shooting animals from a helicopter - is that considered "hunting"?

[SteveM]

11. Bet it was predator over-population...

Unfortunately, many predators have become over-populated. This results is folks losing their pets to coyotes, not to mention the loss of native species to small/medium-size predators. Most of these actions using helicopters are by government agencies or large ranches; there are not enough hunters to do the job.

You have attempted to stigmatize hunters either because it is gratuitous or because you are ignorant of hunting.

BTW, how would you handle a species when its over population threatens other wildlife?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

17. Sorry,

but the "predators," as you so wrongly call them, were there first.

"Over-populated"? According to whom?

The people are the predators, not the coyotes.

And I come from a family of hunters, so you might want to rethink your erroneous assumption.

You're welcome.

[stubtoe]

19. "How would you handle a species when its over population threatens other wildlife"

You mean, like, humans?

And/or their livestock?

:hide:

[Blarch]

20. If coyotes are a problem...

then it's the people who have become 'over-populated'

They were here first.

[stevedeshazer]

32. I'm about, I dunno, 100% sure you've never been to Denio

I have.

It is one of the LEAST populated areas in the continental U.S.

You're wrong.

[Paladin]

33. If Your Concept Of "Hunting" Includes Using Helicopters.....

...you deserve to be stigmatized.

[ForrestGump]

44. It's NOT 'hunting'...

it's a cull. There's nothing sporting about it, and there does not need to be. I wouldn't want to do it, and I hate that it's done at all (especially to predatory animals), but it's often necessary. Yes, the reasons for target populations being so out of whack are these days almost invariably related to soemthing we've done, but that does not alter the reality of what needs to be done.

Helicopter-based culls of certain species are practiced around the world and are a more efficient (well, ideally they would be) method for reducing numbers than a hunter or a team of hunters on the ground for days, weeks, or even months. Again, it's most definitely not even close to a fair contest, or possessed of any of the more positive attributes that accompany the attempts of a really good hunter (good, in my estimation, being the kind of outdoorsperson that's a vanishing breed and, certainly in the USA, many hunters seem decidedly not good and basically just lazy bubbas who have little to no clue) to take prey, but it's a way to get a tragically unpleasant job done as quickly as possible.

For the record, I don't hunt (not with a weapon....but with a camera, yes). I did, however, grow up in rural areas in a nation where feral invasive species wrought havoc on native animal (and plant) populations and I hold advanced degrees in zoology and ecology.

[Ilsa]

34. I've seen it before, too.

I can remember when deer were overrunning several state parks. TX Parks and Wildlife had a hunting day. Not really hunting, but the ones paying a big fee could come in and use a bow to get a deer if they promised it would be consumed, not trashed. Sometimes this is necessary. If there were too many deer, the entire population would have difficulties finding food, and the herd would shrink in size, making them easier catch for more dangerous creatures. It really is part of conservation.

Hunting from helos sounds like "cheating", though. And very dangerous.

[zanne]

38. Hunting? From a helicopter?

That's not "hunting". That's shooting fish in a barrel.

[Lorien]

74. The loss of the wolves and HUMAN overpopulation are the main causes

wolves kept coyote populations in check. Now BushCo has taken wolves off the endangered species list: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-04-17-wolves_N.htm and only about 1,500 remain in the lower 48. The loss of the wolves effects everything from red fox populations (lowering because of coyote) to the loss of aspen groves.

So yeah, how DO you you handle a species when its over population threatens other wildlife?

[Hayduke Lives]

80. That's a steaming pile of bull

The Feds kill predators on my Public Land to benefit welfare ranchers who graze sheep/cattle on sensitive ecosystems at great cost to the land and the taxpayers. It has nothing to do with "hunting".

Western welfare ranchers are irrationally and ideologically opposed to sharing the land (our public land) with predators. Interestingly, coyotes have actually been evolving due to 100 years of federal extermination. They now give birth to larger litters at a younger age to compensate for the high mortality. There is no predator over-population...just an overpopulation of Republicans in Congress that take money from these parasitic ranchers.

[jaysunb]

4. Preditor Control....

I wonder how they pick the shooters for this task. I'll bet they could sell tickets or give the task as a perk for say, a political perk.

I'm going to look into this. :tinfoilhat:

[texshelters]

5. I guess death by natural causes (over population)

wasn't good enough for these bastards!

Tex Shelters

[leftchick]

6. sick fucks

and with my tax dollars!

:grr:

[OnyxCollie]

7. Shit happens. nt

[L. Coyote]

8. What can I say. Karma, karma, karma.

[DCKit]

9. Darwin WAS right. n/t

[juno jones]

10. Can't help but say

Coyotes 1, Hunters 0, Mother Earth pleased.

[SteveM]

13. You should see what measures are taken in some Refuges...

Balcones Canyonlands Wildlife Refuge in Central Texas has an over population of deer AND feral hogs which threaten the ENDANGERED black-capped vireo and the golden-cheeked warbler. If these two birds die off due to lack of suitable nesting sites (the deer love shin oak, which the birds depend on) do you think Mother Earth would be pleased?

What may be a "natural" die off to humans with urban sentiments, is a contrived extinction to other species. Humans are part of nature and they are predators. Take them out of the equation -- unnatural -- and you have human contrivance at its worse.

Felix Salten, author of "Bambi: A Life in the Forest," was a hunter and had his own preserve outside of Vienna.

[juno jones]

16. I understand that.

In fact my comment was tounge-in-cheek. Humans fuck up the enviroment unaturally, then we have to do 'something' about it in an unatural manner.


Unfortunately, this kind of hunting brings out all kinds, and not nescessarily people who ultimately hold any repect for the animals. Whether the humans in the helicopter were of this sort, I don't know, and yes, I'm tarring with a wide brush. But in many states, like in the Rockies where the protections are being taken off off wolves, there are a lot of people who would like to go in to shoot just for the sake of shooting. this is what I object to on this fine Earth Day.

Edit to add: I've lived out in the boondocks, where local pets and livestock were always subject to coyotes or cougars. I had no problems with my local neighbors who shot at predatory animals on their property. Just to let you know I'm not all 'urban' or anything.

[LWolf]

22. Yes.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[emilyg]

12. Serves them right.

[CRF450]

14. Is it me, or does DU seem to be full of un compassionate retards?

Their are alot of predators overpopulating (coyotes are one of them) some areas. Hunters help control this problem like another poster pointed out.

Praising someone's death over an activity like this is a really fucked up and immature thing to do.

[reclinerhead]

15. Probably just you

There are, however, plenty of folks here with apparent reading comprehension issues. Both the pilot and the "hunter" are ok.

That being said, there is a big difference between hunting, and a couple of dickheads in a helicopter trying to shoot a coyote at 20 feet altitude.

(Ed: for spelling)

[CRF450]

18. I know that they're alive

It just seems that some here praise the death of people doing a job they dont approve of politically or whatever.

The article states that the gunner and helicopter pilot own a ranch. Coyotes and other predators are a big problem to ranchers as they do hunt and kill their livestock.

[mitchtv]

39. God forbid they Hire a fucking shepherd, or cowboy

or Gran Pyrennes, or llama, or Kuvasz.

[Hobarticus]

50. Nope...not just you.

Something else, ain't it?

[CRF450]

51. Its mind blowing, thats for sure!

The two men shooting the coyotes most likely have problems with them killing their livestocks, it happens alot. Over populating predators not only cost ranchers money when they kill livestock, they're also taking away food from the people who need it. Theirs nothing good in just killing animals, but for the sake of our own food supplies, somethings gotta give.

[Hobarticus]

53. Just another day at the DU...

Some people are pretty passionate about wildlife, but only see custodial care of that wildlife in black-and-white terms. Even worse, they tend to cheer when it goes wrong. Never mind that some people who'd call themselves "progressives" are cheering over a human being dying, but that's how it goes here.

Peace, and good night.

[Joey Liberal]

21. Helicopters to hunt Coyotes?

Talk about cowards.

[havocmom]

29. It's more about distance and areas inaccessible by road

than cowardice.

The west is a BIG place. Roads are few and far between in much of it. Terrain is not conveniently traversed in a timely manner on foot. Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.

havocmom, who understands the term 'badlands' up close and personal.

[Dukkha]

23. Better them than the coyotes

:nopity:

[Skittles]

24. I detest hunters but that's a bit harsh. n/t

[High Plains]

37. Seriously twisted values, dude.

[BadgerLaw2010]

40. Coyotes are vermin.

[flvegan]

25. "private ranch" and "predator control"

Riiiiiight. Sounds like...well, nevermind. I'm glad that neither person was injured.

Damn fucking happy that they lost that chopper.

"Strafing wildlife" should really not be so accepted, especially at a place like DU. "Hunting" with a chopper and a high powered weapon. That's not hunting. That's just being a total fucking dickhead with a bit of money.

[havocmom]

30. Florida used to have lions. Where are they all now? Why are they mostly gone?

Gone due to the interests and actions of humans. Not just a vice in the west, it would seem.

Sorry, but some of us in the west, who love wildlife but also have to live with them when they are not so lovable, would LOVE to see all the native American species roam through their complete natural range, but a lot of cities sprang up and people put fences all the hell over the place. Buffalo did not just hang out in Montana but the folks in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma don't REALLY want them in their whole range, too many back yards would be wrecked, so they want us to not hurt them in Montana, even when the populations get too big for the land to sustain them 24/7/365. The buffalo USED to just pass by. Wolves used to range a bit further than they do now. Oh, and the wolves of Yellowstone went in and kicked coyote butt, killing off a huge part of that unnatural, too-dense population. Other animals benefited from the reduced coyote numbers.

Just a gentle reminder that those in eastern areas, closer to urban environments, might not fully appreciate life in other areas. Usually, a 'private ranch' IS a ranch privately owned by a family or incorporated by a family. And they usually raise the meat folks in more urban areas eat or feed the pets than now roam where the deer and antelope used to.

Balance. Sometimes it needs tweaking in a area. The sprawl of urban life is a good example, and coyotes are doing quite well adapting to the unbalanced lifestyles of humans. Keep a close eye on the pets ;)

[flvegan]

31. So "strafing wildlife" from a chopper is okay?

[havocmom]

36. considering the geography of some areas

yep

[flvegan]

48. Groovy. Little more than a hakapik for the wolves.

Nice.

[havocmom]

79. So your neighbors will embrace relocating all the preditors native to their area

in their yards?

[ForrestGump]

45. I don't like it, either, but

-- as I said in my post up above -- this was part of a cull, designed to rectify population imbalances that're ultimately harmful both to target species and to others (and, importantly, their habitats). The imbalances were, I'm sure, a direct result of human interference over the years, but that doesn't change the fact that they need to be redressed and we're responsible for trying to put right what we put wrong. And, in jurisdiction terms, the US government needs to manage the resources over which it has stewardship.

There was never any intent to have helicopter-based shooting be a fair fight, or to have any of the sporting virtues that some might identify in certain types of one-on-one hunting. The idea is simply to reduce numbers of target species, as efficiently as possible. If you don't understand that need, then you don't understand even the most basic models of predator-prey dynamics and other relationships, such as those between various species and the environments that are supposed to carry their populations. The consequences of local overpopulation can be dire, and not just for the overpopulated species.

The shooters were most likely professional government hunters. I highly doubt they were thrillseeking good ole boys who ran out of highway signs to riddle with bullets. I also highly doubt they were wealthy bozos who wanted to kill Rin Tin Tin. I would most definitely be less than happy if the US government was selling the experience to such people, that's for sure...

[flvegan]

49. So strafing wildlife is "redressing" an imbalance?

Don't diminish my statement with your absolute BULLSHIT assumption of your last fucking paragraph.

[Hobarticus]

52. Something doesn't add up...

Someone with a Punisher avatar, concerned over someone shooting a weapon...

[flvegan]

55. Is that it?

I mean, really. Is that it?

Fucking pathetic strawman, eh?

[Hobarticus]

57. No, your hyper-caffeinated language is laughable, too...

"Strafing"?

Fucking hyperbole much?

[flvegan]

61. *smooch*

Didya read...oh, wait...bad question for the likes of you.

[Hobarticus]

63. Your rapier-like wit matches your irrefutable logic...

And you zing me with "the likes of you", even. No idea HOW I'll recover from that one.

Frank Castle would be proud.

[flvegan]

65. Yet, you have nothing?

What a shitbrick existance.

Sorry.

[Hobarticus]

66. Talk about a pathetic existence...

Let's turn "culling" into "strafing" so we can get our knickers in a frothy little twist.

Find another hobby, besides comics.

[flvegan]

68. Bahahaha!!

Strafing was in the OP. And some dumb shit suggesting "besides comics" with a MP sig...oh, to laugh!

[Hobarticus]

71. Strawman! Strawman! WHAAA!!!!

Moron.

[flvegan]

73. So...uh, then...NOTHING.

Well, it suits you.

[Hobarticus]

77. Actually, your POV's been disproved quite handily here...

by everybody who actually knows what they're talking about. Anyone who's had to cull predators isn't thinking it's fun and games.

Ahh, what's the use. I'd tell you stories why predatory management is crucial, but you'd just zing me with some snappy retort and ask "that it?".

[ForrestGump]

56. It is

Not that it's strafing, though please feel free to use that word if it appeals to your sense of the overly dramatic.

It's fairly obvious that you don't know much about the way things are out in Nature. Perhaps you should stick to pitbulls and other concerns more relevant to urban (and vegan, animal rights, etc.) environments and at least ease in the reins of your pompous high horse when it comes things you know little about, like wildlife management, conservation, and population and community ecology.

[Hobarticus]

58. We need a fainting couch over here, on the double...

"Strafing".

Hoo boy.

[flvegan]

59. Indeed.

Expected from the likes of you.

[Hobarticus]

60. Tell 'em, Frank.

[flvegan]

62. Yeah!

Fuck off.

[Hobarticus]

64. Three words....TOTAL. FUCKING. BADASS.

You are totally awesome.

[flvegan]

67. Got anything more than weak bullshit strawman....you know, attacks?

Didn't think so.

[Hobarticus]

69. I dunno....do you?

Do you know what "strafing" is? Do you realize how nonsensical that is in a situation like these ranchers were in....or do you just rely on hyperbole to back up your POV that is woefully uneducated about the matter-at-hand?

[flvegan]

70. Is that it?

Weak.

You really make your side look really fucking bad.

Thanks!

[Hobarticus]

72. Again....TOTAL. FUCKING. BADASS.

[flvegan]

75. So, then...nothing.

Thanks for proving my claim.

[Hobarticus]

78. You've only proven how little you know....

And that's a whole helluva lot.

[ForrestGump]

76. The likes of me?

I highly doubt you have any idea of who I am. You should know one thing, though, and that is that I know more about predatory animals than you'll ever learn.

If you had an ounce of humility, you'd listen to people who know more about ecology (or whatever) and actually learn something, but I've noticed that you have a consistent tendency to do the la-la-la thing and just go the bluster route, covering your ignorance with the absolute certainty that you're right. I've seen you do this many times and now you're doing it here.

It's also telling that the best you can come up with in response are lame stabs at me. Really, please go read Odum or Krebs or some other ecology text and get yourself a clue -- you're embarrassing yourself here.

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. It's not nice to mess with Mother Nature

[Pastiche423]

28. That bit of karmic blowback

put a smile on my face.

[tuckessee]

35. That's a shame.

Helicopters sure are expensive.

[LeftofU]

41. coyotes 1 / evil morons 0

Justice.

[misanthrope]

42. LOL!!!!!**nm

**

[NM Independent]

43. Holy Sh*t, you're kidding me right?

Some of you guys are acting like these guys deserved it. Whether they died or not is regardless. Several have died.

I have experience on this topic having lived my life in SE NM, and also working on several ranches. One of the ranches where I gained the most experience with this was on an 50,000 acre (80 sq. mi.) sheep/cattle ranch. This ranch had a total of three roads.

1. Coyotes especially, and other overpopulating predators MUST be dealt with. If they are not, they will eat into our food supply, and humans WILL die as a result. I remember at one point before a planned hunt, the ranch was losing 50-100 head a day of sheep, and 10-20 head of cattle. The coyotes were leaving most of the carcasses behind, just munching the favorite bits and moving on to he next. If you really think a rancher can take that kind of hit, and KEEP FEEDING YOU, then you're crazy. You might not like it, but it's a necessity. Condemning this is condoning starvation of humans as the end result of not controlling the population of other predators.

2. Ranchers - and Farmers too - do what they do at great physical risk to themselves. It is an extremely dangerous job. The probability that they are any more at harm firing weapons from a low flying helicopter, than they are in doing any other everyday ranching task, is probably pretty low. I can't count how many times I almost lost a limb or appendage, or nearly got killed by the livestock. A ride in the helicopter was a nice treat.

3. There are three options for accessing herds and hunting
A. By foot and horseback - most ranches don't have working horses anymore, unfortunately. Most that do, don't have enough.
B. By ATV - most ranches have enough ATV's. However, to match in a day what can be accomplished by air would take more manpower than most ranches have. ATV's can be fairly dangerous in rough terrain and accidents are very common. FWIW, they also tear up the terrain much worse than livestock does. Accessing remote areas is not possible.
C. By Helicopter - Access to all areas of the ranch within minutes. Moderate stealth. Reasonable relative safety (the # of accidents isn't all that bad) that could be made better with some additional federal safety guidelines. No impact on the land. The only real drawback is that you can only carry 2 or 3 people, so transferring resources can be difficult.

[CRF450]

46. Thank you for explaining this!

[Hobarticus]

54. Excellent post...thank you...

For some, it's easier to be outraged than educated.

[TaffyMoon]

47. GOOD!

GOOD!

:nopity:

[dpbrown]

81. Good - in a fair fight the man would have to chase the coyote and kill with his teeth

There is no sport in gunning down animals from helicopters.