ARE LARGE PREDATORS VITAL TO OUR ECOSPHERE?: INSTITUTIONAL ANTI- PREDATOR POLICY BIAS IN ELEVEN WESTERN STATES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING ETHICAL CHANGES IN LARGE MAMMAL PREDATOR MANAGEMENT POLICIES IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE _________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Fullerton ___________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Environmental Studies ___________________________________ By Jay B. Litvak Approved by: ___________________________________ _ Robert A. Voeks, Committee Chair Date Department of Geography ___________________________________ _ Michael H. Horn, Member Date Department of Biological Sciences ________________________________________ Steven R. James, Member Date Department of Anthropology ABSTRACT This thesis examines the predator management policies of eleven Western States as they compare to the management policies of non-predatory game mammals. I measured for bias by determining the minimum number of discrete actions required for the legal take of each mammal under study. The results yielded qualitative numeric values indicating consistent bias against predatory mammals. I included discussions of trophic influences imparted by large mammalian predators on ecosystems, prehistorical (i.e., Clovis-era 13,000 years ago) and historical origins of anti-predator bias, historical and present-day state predator management policies, emerging multi-disciplinary policies, and suggestions for future policies based on environmental and animal rights concerns from an ethical perspective. My findings indicate both ethical and unethical biases within existing state wildlife management policies. I offer suggestions for creating predator management policies that are both ethical and take into account the necessary public safety issues that are increasingly more relevant due to an ever-expanding urban-wild interface. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS .............................................................................. viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 1 Purpose............................................................................................. 1 Definitions ......................................................................................... 15 Problems ........................................................................................... 20 2. THE PREHISTORY AND HISTORY OF HUMAN-PREDATOR INTERACTIONS.................................................................................. 22 Introduction....................................................................................... 22 Prehistory .......................................................................................... 23 First Contact (FC) .......................................................................... 23 Late Pleistocene Predator Interactions: Paleoindians and Mammalian Carnivores................................................................... 33 Second Order Predation (2OP) and the Late Pleistocene Extinction Model (PEM).................................................................. 39 The Fate of the Late Pleistocene Predatory Guild ............................. 42 Conclusions and Implications ......................................................... 46 History .............................................................................................. 49 The European Colonization of North America................................... 49 Institutional Predator [Eradication] Control...................................... 56 A Brief History of Environmental Ethics and Animal Rights..................... 66 Early Environmental Activism ......................................................... 66 Contemporary Environmental Activism ............................................ 71 Animal Rights................................................................................ 80 iii Nature’s Dark Side.............................................................................. 94 3. STATE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT POLICY: QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS.......................................................................................... 96 Introduction....................................................................................... 96 State Results...................................................................................... 99 Arizona......................................................................................... 99 California ...................................................................................... 104 Colorado....................................................................................... 104 Idaho ........................................................................................... 104 Montana ....................................................................................... 104 Nevada......................................................................................... 105 New Mexico .................................................................................. 106 Oregon......................................................................................... 107 Utah............................................................................................. 108 Washington .................................................................................. 109 Wyoming ...................................................................................... 110 Interstate Policy Comparisons ............................................................. 111 Results and Discussion ....................................................................... 116 Specific Policy Recommendations: Reducing Human-Carnivore Conflicts ............................................................................................ 123 Field Research: Policy Recommendations ............................................ 125 Domestic Studies........................................................................... 125 International Studies ..................................................................... 139 Public Attitude Assessment ............................................................ 150 4. CONSERVATION AND POLICY: A CONTEMPORARY APPROACH............. 156 Sound Ideas and Collective Misunderstanding: Is Science Being Heard? ................................................................................ 156 Conservation and Policy: Effectiveness Through Inclusiveness .............. 160 Shouting From the Wilderness: A Solution? .................................... 160 Conservation and Policy: A Contemporary Approach ....................... 162 Cougar Management Guidelines .......................................................... 174 Introduction.................................................................................. 174 Cougar-Prey Relationships ............................................................. 178 Cougar Habitat................................................................................... 179 Assessing Cougar Populations ............................................................. 181 Depredations ..................................................................................... 183 Sport Hunting .................................................................................... 186 Strategies to Manage Cougar-Human Conflicts ..................................... 189 Cougar Research and Management Information ................................... 194 Fatal Outcomes and Public Acceptance ................................................ 196 iv Summary and Conclusions .................................................................. 196 A New Beginning? .............................................................................. 198 Where are We? ............................................................................. 198 Anti-Predator Bias ......................................................................... 199 Ethical and Unethical Bias: A Conundrum? ........................................... 210 Ethical Considerations of the Eleven Western States Wildlife Management Policies .......................................................................... 212 Future Predator Management Policy: The Time is Now......................... 215 A Case of Bias in the Eleven Western States: A Hypothetical Case Study ................................................................................... 221 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 230 APPENDIX ................................................................................................. 232 1. Numeric Listings of State Statutes by State and Species................... 232 SOURCES CONSULTED............................................................................... 243 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3.1 DATA AND CALCULATIONS FOR ELEVEN WESTERN STATES ............... 102 3.2 MEASURES FOR IMPROVING STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS ............ 131 3.3 DIRECT AND INDIRECT HUMAN IMPACTS ON CARNIVORES ..............