December 2009

In a recent press release, a Wisconsin State Senator called for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to "replace the Department's big game management team." Upset that his annual deer drive didn't produce desired results, the Senator lashed out at what he deemed the source of the reduced statewide harvest: "I've talked with a lot of hunters and business people and everyone has said that this was the worst deer hunting season they have ever had. The DNR has mismanaged the deer herd and a new team needs to be brought in that can do the job."

Contentiousness is not...

U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (NM) and Max Baucus (MT) introduced legislation in November that would permanently provide $900 million annually to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the federal government's main program to protect land and provide outdoor recreation opportunities. The legislation, S. 2747, is supported by a broad coalition of conservation and recreation organizations. In addition, a provision within the House Resource Committee Chairman Nick Rahall's Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act of 2009, HR 3534, also would provide dedicated LWCF...

Wisconsin conservationists are facing perhaps the toughest political battle ever presented in their 20-year push to reinstate an independent secretary to the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In the coming months, sportsmen's groups and conservation coalitions will attempt to override Governor Jim Doyle's recent flip-flop veto of Assembly Bill 138, which would have restored authority of the states Natural Resources Board (NBR) to appoint the DNR secretary, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decided this month that the black-tailed prairie dog does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. The decision was based on the FWS assessment that the occupied habitat of black-tailed prairie dogs has been steady to increasing since 1961.

It noted that the current estimated habitat of 2.4 million acres is considerably less than the historic estimates of 80?100 million acres, but is significantly more than the 1961 low of 364,000 acres.

Black-tailed prairie dogs are...