February 2013

Moose are the iconic big game species of the north woods. The largest subspecies is found throughout much of Canada and Alaska, while the lower 48 states have populations of three different subspecies in New England, the Upper Midwest, and Rocky Mountain states. Moose had largely been extirpated through much of their southern range by the late 1800's, but populations rebounded due to conservation efforts by wildlife managers. Within the last twenty to thirty years, limited hunting programs were established in most states with moose populations. However, in recent years managers have seen...

Climate change is altering the environment in profound ways. It is also undermining a basic component of wildlife management and forcing managers to address questions that could not have been imagined just a few decades ago. A recent paper on the future of polar bear conservation provides one example of this new reality, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.

The science and "art" of wildlife management traces its roots to the pioneering work of Aldo Leopold in the 1930's. Building on the foundation of ecological science, America's utilitarian culture, and a conservation...

Many small, uncharismatic nongame species, especially those not recognized with economic or social value, have received much less conservation and management concern than charismatic species that capture the public's attention. The Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister) is one such species. Allegheny woodrats are small rodents (but not rats!) about the size of gray squirrels that inhabit talus slopes, boulder fields, caves, and cliffs in hardwood forests along the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. Because the areas they inhabit are so isolated, they generally show...

Nearly 98 percent of the world's climate scientists believe global warming is real and is now affecting the natural world. Yet, while the effects of climate change may already be impacting the outdoor pursuits of sportsmen and women, these individuals have not been well informed on the potential cascading effects of climate change to ecological processes and their implications for sustainable hunting and fishing. While evidence strongly suggests that things are not as they used to be, there still exists a lack of consensus on how serious climate change may be to natural resources and what...

Hosted by the National Wildlife Federation and Defenders of Wildlife, a special workshop held in conjunction with the upcoming 78th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources conference will explore the successes, career tracks and overall experience of North America's women wildlife conservation professionals.

Organized by the ad hoc "Women in Wildlife Conservation Network," this workshop will feature a panel of distinguished women conservationists who will present and discuss their experiences and lessons learned while moving along their career path to leadership. Titled "...