More on Making Fire, Last Days to Comment on Sodium Cyanide, Desert Explorer Gear

Even a Child Can Do It

Yesterday was a beautiful 70 degree day in Lafayette, Colorado. My son and I took advantage of the entire day, and towards the day’s end we built a fire in our usual manner- with the bow and drill. And as usual my three year old sat closely and watched as I set up my tools for creating fire. Once I got the spark on the flake of wood I keep in my kit, we transferred it into the awaiting Juniper bark birdsnest. Nico then helped me blow the Juniper bark into flame. After our fire was going, Nico decided that he wanted to give his fireset a try. He asked to borrow my “special rock”, a piece of sandstone rounded in a streambed with the perfect hole in the center for the drill. He explained the ends of the drill, and where they go, he got his gear together and got set up. I helped him wrap the bowstring around the drill and to my surprise he was able to situate himself perfectly, his foot firmly against the fireboard , his body directly over the drill, with his bow moving back and forth consistently. Although he is a little lacking in weight and stamina, I can see that it is just a matter of time before he creates his first fire. I look forward to the day. For more on primitive fire skills, visit the Desert Explorer website. For more on introducing children to the wilderness and teaching them primitive skills, visit the Wilderness Kids page.

Last Days for Comments on Sodium Cyanide and M-44’s

The comment period will end on 05 March regarding the proposed ban on sodium cyanide, Compound 1080 and the M-44 predator control device. If you have not yet commented, please do. To learn more about the proposed ban and what it means, visit the Sinapu blog. Visit the EPA website to make comments- click here for the comment page. (If the page does not load, go to www.regulations.gov, and type “hq-opp-2007-0944″ in the search field.)

These devices pose a serious threat to all animals and humans alike. In recent years there have been a number of instances of humans being poisoned by these devices, both civilians and federal agents responsible for device placement. These devices are placed primarily on public lands and private lands when requested. They have also been placed on private land without owner consent. There are problems with their oversight and the responsible agency, Wilderness Services, a branch of the Department of Agriculture, has failed numerous audits. Regardless of which side of the predator control issues one falls, the fact is that these poisons are lethal, dangerous, and pose a serious threat to the public. For more information and links see our 06 February, 2008 blog post.

Desert Explorer Updates

This week on Desert Explorer I added a Gear Shop page and a page on Homemade Gear. The Gear Shop page lists some of the equipment that I have come to rely on in recent years. I will continue to add to it as I find pieces of equipment that deserve to be there. The Homemade Gear page is barely underway. I have only posted the homemade alcohol stove, and a link to the instructions. Unfortunately the link seems to be broken at present. I will leave it up and check on it in the next few days. The alcohol stove made from two Red Bull cans is one of the most useful and efficient stoves I have ever had. I will add plans soon for a homemade silcloth daypack , a mosquito net, and a simmer plate for stoves without the simmer option. I have made all of these and have had great results in their use. Check back for those updates.

I also began a wildlife page on the Coyote this week. The 06 February blog post mentioned above is also available there.

Summer will be here soon and we will be in the canyons and on the river before we know it- start getting prepared!

I Never Met a Coyote I Didn’t Like…

Recently a long-time friend who also happens to be a chemist and environmental scientist, Christopher Parker of Lander, Wyoming sent me a link to the story of Dennis Slaugh. Slaugh, in 2003, had a federally manufactured M-44 predator control device release a cloud of sodium cyanide powder in his face. Slaugh immediately became ill, and has suffered from the encounter ever since. The federal government has said they were not responsible for the event, and has refused to help Slaugh or even communicate with him. The M-44 is designed to release its charge into the mouth of the predator that attempts to eat the baited device. Unfortunately, it has no way to discern between species.

These devices are manufactured for and by the federal government, and set by officers of the innocuous-sounding federal agency called Wildlife Services, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to an article in the January, 2008 issue of Men’s Journal, the agency “shoots, traps, or poisons” 1.7 million animals annually. The same article states that this happens at a cost to taxpayers of 100 million dollars a year.

I have been aware for much of my life of the killing of animals by the federal government as part of the federally subsidised predator eradication program. I knew a number of people in the small Nevada town where I grew up who were in the business of hunting “dogs”, as they referred to coyotes. These hunters and trappers would boast large numbers of coyote kills each year. Until now I have paid little attention to the federal programs, and federal dollars, that subsidize the large-scale killing of part of the food chain of the western U.S. Yes, your tax dollars are killing coyotes, mountain lions, bears, foxes, bobcats, skunks, pet dogs, and have come close to killing humans. Slaugh is not the only person injured by the devices. It is only matter of time before someone is killed.

And therein lies my worry. My three year old son and I spend a lot of time in the wilds of Utah. As he gets older, we plan to spend more time, as much time as we can, exploring the deserts and canyons and rivers of the southwest. That is why we live in the West. Until recently, until I learned of the M-44 devices that are used for killing predators, my primary worry in the wilderness with my son was the Midget Faded Rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis concolor, and cougars to a lesser degree. Now added to these is the possibility that he may find one of the M-44 devices. The government requires that a sign be posted warning of the nearby danger, within 25 feet of the device, according to an online post. This requirement is ridiculous in many ways. In the case of my son, who cannot read yet, it is utterly useless.

There is just too much for me to cover regarding this subject at the moment. I will follow up on this post, continue researching, and add more links to stories as I find them. Some of the topics I plan to research include ranching subsidies, the actual threat of predators as opposed to what might be the perceived threat, the actual loss by ranchers each year due to predators, the possible environmental damage caused by the release of sodium cyanide, the threat of coyotes to people in both wilderness and urban/suburban settings, and the position of my Colorado representatives on these issues.

This brings me to the bill introduced in the House in December of last year. The comment period ends on 05 March, 2008. The bill is titled the Compound 1080 and M-44 Elimination Act. It can be read by clicking here and typing “HR 4775”, the bill number, in the search field. It is simple and straightforward- ban cyanide and the devices. Read it and send an email, a fax, or make a phone call.

The website Trap Free Oregon has more information on the action that needs to be taken, on the proposed ban, the devices and poison. It also has a sample letter to help you draft your own.

The organisation called Sinapu is one of the groups responsible for the petition to the EPA. More info on the subject can be found at their website.

This post and my further research will be available at www.DesertExplorer.us.