WMI Hires New Western Field Representative 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. degree in Wildlife... Read The Article
Auld Lang Syne Requires New Resolutions for CWD 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. On February 10, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) received confirmation that a white-tailed deer taken by a hunter in Allegany County was infected with CWD. It was the first documented case of the disease in the state's deer... Read The Article
Input Invited for 77th (2012) North American Conference The 77th 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. Special Sessions deal with timely policy and program issues and opportunities related to the practical and philosophical professional management... Read The Article
Woodcock and Young Forest Habitat Get Double Boost in Northeast 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). By developing and restoring woodcock-friendly young forest, landowners can significantly help reverse the timberdoodle's decades-long... Read The Article
Another CRP Enrollment Highlights the Conservation Program's 25th Anniversary 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. Enrollment acreage for CRP was capped at 32 million acres in the 2008 Farm Bill. Current enrollment for the program is 31.1 million acres. USDA plans to enroll 4 million acres during the upcoming sign-up, which would nearly offset the 4.4 million acres on... Read The Article
FWS Releases Final Drafts of Guidance for Wind Developers 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. "Development of wind power... Read The Article
Mitigation Funding in Wildlife Conservation is Conference Special Session "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. The topic will be featured during a Special Session?"Mitigation Funding in Wildlife Conservation: Does Anyone Have a Plan"?at the 76th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference next month in Kansas City... Read The Article
New Forest Service Planning Rule Open for Comment 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. The new rule is intended to provide a science-based and collaborative framework for the planning process in order to support ecological as well as economic... Read The Article
