Scrounging around the Interwebz for something of interest about wild pigs, hog hunting, etc., I found this piece in The Bay Citizen.
The article is about feral hogs, wild boar, and turkeys and their impacts on the local habitat. The author did a ride-along with a trapper, and from the descriptions I’m pretty sure I know exactly where they were. I’ve ridden horseback up on several of those traps, and seen the hogs in the park from time to time. I’ve also seen a place or two where the hogs have been working over virgin territory… especially in the spring after the rains.
The trappers do a great job of minimizing the hogs on the park, but they really haven’t done much with the turkeys. However, the turkey population, from my own observations, seems relatively stable out there. I expect coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and the occasional lion do their part with that. There are still plenty of birds, but the flocks seem to stay pretty consistent.
Anyway, the main reason for posting about the article (besides the fact that I haven’t had much else to write about) was that the author actually spoke to several biologists and researchers, and I think he got a pretty fair mix of opinion and fact. For example, it’s a fact that in sensitive environments, the hogs and turkeys can definitely have a negative impact. But what you don’t often hear in these articles is the other possibility, which is also captured in the piece. In some cases, these invasive species can actually have a positive impact.
The ecological impact of disturbances like that is complex. Feral pig rooting creates disturbance that leaves openings for both native and nonnative plants. In areas already full of exotic weeds, like many parts of the Bay Area, that’s bad news for natives, especially plants that grow from bulbs. Some biologists even consider pigs the top threat to rare native lilies. But in areas with few invasives, the pig disturbance could actually enhance habitat for certain native plants. DFG biologist Marc Kenyon says that in some places, after pig rooting, “we’ve noted more rare plants coming back.”
So it’s not a glowing endorsement of non-native species, but it does shine a light on the complexities of understanding the big picture impacts of hogs and turkeys.
Now I know there are a handful of folks out there bristling at the fact that these parks aren’t opened to sport hunters (for readers back east, some of these regional “parks” are bigger than some eastern Wilderness Areas) , especially when it comes to paying professional hunters and trappers to manage populations. The argument that the parks could make money off of the sport hunters, instead of paying “hired killers” is not a new one, and maybe not completely without merit. However, sport hunters are simply not the right solution for many reasons, most of which I’ve discussed before. Eradication and control are not part-time, recreational pursuits.
I’ll add that the public relations nightmare that would result from allowing hunters into many of the regional parks would be far more than any reasonable administrators could handle. It’s simply not feasible on a broad scale. Maybe in some isolated cases, it could work out as an additional hunting opportunity… but in general, it’s just not going to happen, people.
(One other thing that’s seldom mentioned in articles about the feral pigs on public land is the fact that most of the East Bay parks are heavily grazed by cattle for a large part of the year. When you hear the park biologists talking about damage from invasive, non-native species, it’s often like the cattle don’t even exist… as if not mentioning them erases their impacts on the habitat. True enough, without the cattle to keep the understory down, the threat of wildfire would make the parks unsafe, but at the same time, I just find it irresponsible to discuss the ecological impact of the unwanted species without consideration of the “preferred” non-natives.)
So anyway, have a look at the piece if you’re interested. I do think it was well-written and about as even-handed as any I’ve seen so far.
Tom
Great post, and very interesting.
If the East Bay really, really wants to end its feral hog problem, it should open up an easily-obtainable permitting process for commercial sale of wild pig meat from those places. Considering how effective commercial hunting has been on other populations in the past, and considering the number of people who would jump at the chance to make a quick buck, I’d bet that population would collapse pretty quickly.