Both chambers of Congress passed conference agreement legislation on Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that include substantial funding boosts for conservation programs, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.

A late September decision in the U.S. District Court in Montana has landed the grizzly bear back on the list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), reports the Wildlife Management Institute. Judge Donald Molloy ruled in favor of two claims of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's lawsuit on September 21, citing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's (FWS) failure to consider the impacts of climate change on the bear's food supply and lack of enforcement in the approved conservation strategy.

Companion bills introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate in early October are intended to maintain recreational fishing, hunting and shooting on federal public lands and ensure continued opportunities for these activities, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. The Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act is intended to prevent arbitrary closures of public lands administered by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

In an effort to address proactively the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife and plants, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released a climate change strategic plan on September 23, positioning the issue as the agency's top priority. The plan is intended to allow the FWS to respond more capably to the impacts of climate change on natural resources and to frame how FWS employees will engage within the conservation community on the issue, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

Raise your hand if you know where the Northeast Kingdom is.