The Wildlife Management Institute has selected a 34-year wildlife professional to fill the role of Western Field Representative. Chris Smith, Director of Special Projects for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP), will join the staff of WMI in mid-March. Chris brings extensive experience in working with western conservation issues having previously served as Deputy Director for Montana FWP for 11 years. Prior to that position, he was employed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, rising through the ranks to Assistant Director. He earned a B.S.

As the New Year tolled the end of many big game hunting seasons around the country, it opened a fresh season of anxiety for state wildlife agencies awaiting the results, for better or worse, of their chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing programs. For Maryland and Minnesota, the news was not good, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

The 77^th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference will be held March 12-17, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia. The Conference Steering Committee is seeking ideas and participation from professional conservation interests to help develop the conference agenda. In particular, recommendations for topics, potential cochairs and presenters for the four Special Sessions are invited. Ideas for prospective plenary keynoters are welcome.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently released "American Woodcock: Habitat Best Management Practices for the Northeast." It explains how managers, foresters and landowners can create the kinds of habitat that woodcock need: daytime feeding areas, nesting cover, and roosting habitat, according to the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that it will hold another general sign-up opportunity for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Applications will be accepted from March 14 through April 15, 2011. Contracts awarded will become effective October 1, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced on February 8 that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released final drafts of two sets of guidelines impacting wind development.The land-based Wind Energy Guidelines and the Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance are intended to work together to establish processes to make the best possible decisions about the potential negative effects to wildlife from wind energy development, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. Both sets of guidelines will be open for public comment for 90 days.

"Mitigation" is generally defined as those actions taken to avoid, minimize, or compensate for losses to natural resources?including wildlife?caused by development and other "permitted" activity. ?The requirement to provide compensatory mitigation is most often set forth in permit, license or other authorization that allows the development or other?activity to proceed.

On February 10, the USDA Forest Service (FS) released its proposed new rule to update the agency's land management-planning process, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.The effort is the latest attempt to update the current planning policy that was finalized in 1982. FS land management plans guide management activities on the193 million acres within 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands in the National Forest System.