Greetings to all, from what I hope is the beginning of the "Post Covid Era." To say it has been quite the ride, would be an understatement and one cannot imagine a single life or family that has not been touched by this Global Pandemic. Reflecting at lost freedoms, family members and friends, Confucius was probably on to something much larger than he realized when he said that "everyone eats and drinks; yet only a few appreciate the taste of food." After a wild wet 2019, and a Covid 2020, and simply considering those two things alone, 2021 seems to have gotten off to a better start. If one can possibly understand the ups and downs of … [Read more...] about Better Beginnings
White-tailed Deer
Tara Wildlife – Turning the Page
Albert Einstein is credited with more sayings than…. well…. than he really said. Nevertheless, the two Einstein quotes which follow, seem to have originated with this one-of-a-kind intellectual wonder: The only source of knowledge is experience If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. While we have all likely experienced, in real time, the Global Covid Pandemic, we are still seeking knowledge based on our singular and collective experience. Social distancing aside, there seems to be no simple cause/effect explanation; because there is a lot about this bug that we simply do not understand. Ironically, … [Read more...] about Tara Wildlife – Turning the Page
The 2019 Flood: An Agonizing Journey – An Inevitable Result
When the Steele Bayou gates were opened on April 1, the Yazoo Backwater Area (landside) had crested at 97.2 feet with an estimated 512,000 acres of the basin covered in floodwater. At a reading of 49 feet on the Vicksburg Gauge, the Mississippi River was at 6 feet above flood stage. On May 23, the Backwater Flood had risen to 98.2 feet with a River Stage at Vicksburg recorded at approximately 50 feet. At those recorded levels, 550,000 acres were now affected by backwater flooding; an area nearly three‐fourths the size of Rhode Island! As of July 17, Backwater flood levels had only dropped back to levels recorded on April 1. One‐half … [Read more...] about The 2019 Flood: An Agonizing Journey – An Inevitable Result
The Water’s Up……So What’s New?
I just received the Mississippi River Forecast/Update for May 3rd, 2019. It comes every day about this time and is a reminder of the current state of wet that defines the lower Mississippi River Delta. Peter Nimrod, Chief Engineer for the Mississippi Levee Board provides these daily updates and I am grateful for this generous public service. Latest forecasting calls for a relatively flat river that will be 48.5 feet (Vicksburg) on May 20. Remember that Flood Stage (Vicksburg Gauge) is 43 feet. Predictions are that the Mississippi will rise another +/-2.5 feet in the days following.....resulting in a 50 something foot river, extending into … [Read more...] about The Water’s Up……So What’s New?
Wildlife Management at Tara – Challenges and Changing Perspectives
“It was a long and stormy night”…………or, as Bob Segar and the Silver Bullet Band popularized in the hit song “Against the Wind”………. life has its challenges. How one views these challenges depends a great deal on ones perspective. Viktor Frankl, a noted Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist once quoted, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves”. To put that quote in its proper perspective, it is helpful to note that Frankl was born in 1905, died in 1997 and was a Holocaust survivor. There is little doubt that Dr. Frankl faced many changes and challenges in the 92 years he spent on this … [Read more...] about Wildlife Management at Tara – Challenges and Changing Perspectives
Chronic Wasting Disease – What is it and why should I be concerned?
By W.H. Tomlinson, Certified Wildlife Biologist Chronic Wasting Disease Discovered in Mississippi By now, many of you are aware of the discovery of a buck deer which tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Issaquena County, MS. This occurrence is the first confirmed incidence of CWD in Mississippi. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) has stepped forward as the lead Agency responsible for oversight and implementation of a CWD Response Plan going forward. As part of the response process, three separate Management Zones have been established, including: a five mile radius Containment Zone; a ten … [Read more...] about Chronic Wasting Disease – What is it and why should I be concerned?
