Red Lion

This morning Iwas thinking about how global warming has impacted weather and whitetail deer in Minnesota. We are currently in a bit of a cold snap in MN with wind chills pushing temps to -20 and -30 degrees for this week. We have had very mild winters and hotter summers that last 15 or so years. It used to be very common to have a lot of days of very cold weather and much snow, but in the last 15 years or so things have really mellowed out, weather wise.
The deer population, about 1.5 million in MN the last time I heard, has grown quite a bit over the past decade, as winter weather much milder and food sources liklier more abundant. I suspect though that if global warming continues we could begin to have more drought and lessening food source for deer. I guess I see populations declining at some point during my life time.
What are the thoughts of others on the possible impact of global warming on deer in your area?

bobcat07

In the past 12 years except this one the winters have been very low on snow fall. This has helped the deer population in the area I hunt. What I have noticed is that there is many more big bucks and more fawns. It has been normal to seeone fawn with a doe but now I see 2 and even 3. I guess global warming has a plus side to it. I heard in the future Alberta will be like Flordia and Flordia will be "poof" gone, under water

marcusjb

Global warming has only caused an average temperature rise of less than 2 degrees. I'm not sure that's enough to even notice. Local climate does have trends too, and I'm wondering if that's not what your noticing in your locations. Where I live we are having a colder than usual winter. With all the snow we're having too, I think thereis going to be lots of winter kill this year.Not to mention the wolves.

brushbustin

I personly dont believe in global warming,i think that it is just a big scam by our govt.If you look back through time and history the earths temp has risen and fallen,just look at the ice age.

mauser06

the correct term is not global warming. the earth as a whole is not warming. its called global climate change. some areas are getting warmer, some actually colder and the equator and other areas wont change much at all. some areas will get wetter, some dryer. theres a TON of models out there scientist came up with. ll in. the "corn belt" of the middle of the country is expected to slowly migrate north. pretty iwe were just talking about it in ecology because its slowly changing alot of ecology. we are getting birds in PA that we never had before. animals will be the first to change because they can move the fastest. slowly the soils and plants will change. all depends what area you are in. interesting stuff to say the least. it will be interesting to see what happens over our lifetimes.

our winter thus far in PA has been very odd to say the least. opening day of rifle season right after thanksgiving i was in a tshirt and vest. up till about xmas we only had 1 snowfall i believe. now january it finally got cold. but its been kinda REALLY cold. lows in the teens..highs in the 20s. been snowing lake effect snow daily. and alot of small 1-3 inch snows pretty often. maybe winter will be later now..who knows. alot of plants and flowers started blooming and coming up. now they are frozen solid. alot of animals lost their winter fur a long time ago..i dont know for sure but things like that cannot be good. when we usually had winter it was pretty dang mild to say the least. now its freezing. i guess in the end nature will take its course. plants and animals will learn to adapt or slowly migrate to diffrent locations.

Red Lion

You can term global warming or global climate change or whatever you prefer to term it. I am of firm belief that it exists and has already made significant weather change in MN, and broader worl wide. If I recall right, the last little ice age, occurred due to only a 2.5 degree change/drop in temp due to a large volcanic eruption.
People have been golfing in December, January and February at times the past 5-6 years in MN. 15-20 years ago, that would not have been a thought let alone a possibility with longer stretches of below zero temps and inches upon inches of snow.

PastorHunter

I don't believe the whole global warning thing either. Many scientists have proven that it is nothing more than a natural cycle that could change and reverse at any time.
As one stated, some parts of the country are actually colder than normal with more snow than usual.
Its just a part of nature.
Who knows, in 50 years people may be crying global cooling, but it will be all the same.

PastorHunter

After my last post, I checked the weather....record LOWs for this weekend. Instead of warming, as I said, it is more of a climatic change.
Places like MN are having less snow, but not necessarily higher temps.
That would equate to different patterns in the jet stream and where the moisture is going.
So far this winter, the moisture has gone farther south, especially in the mid US, but the jet stream doesn't flow in a straight line, so it will vary everywhere.
Just another thought.

36fan

Nothing has been proven by either side. I'm a geologist and I've had some courses dealing with subject - the latest was titled Midwest Paleoclimate, which pretty much dealt with the changes that occurred that allowed to the glaciers to advance and retreat from the midwest (a truly fascinating subject). The best data/research being done currently supports the theory that temperatures are rising, and will continue to rise. At the current rate, all the glaciers are expected to be gone from Glacier National Park in ~20 years.

Many try to dismiss this as a natural variation in the climate; however, the changes that we are being observed are unprecedented in the natural record. The largest issue is the nearly exponential increase of CO2 observed in the upper atmosphere. The quantities that are currently being observed along the lines of what was recorded during periods of mass volcanism on the planet.

In the US, it is predicted that the weather patterns will be become warmer and wetter – which result in more severe weather (including hurricanes). As the polar cap on the north pole melts, don’t expect Florida to go under water; however, when the polar ice cap on the south pole melts, that’s a different story - since there is actually land under there (I always liked the analogy, if you have a glass of ice water, and the ice melts, does the glass overflow?)

Red Lion

I know that this is a topic that hasseveral sides and up to debate so I respect and appreciate everyones views. I do have to say that Minnesota had the hottest year in "recorded" history last year, 2006, so not necessarily hotter temps is not quite accurate.