Beginning later this month, management of national wildlife refuges will be guided by three new policies that have been developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state fish and wildlife agencies over the past six years, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

Of Mice and Mountain Lions: The Adventures of a Wildlife Biologist (2004) is authored by my friend and colleague Ronnie Ridley George, currently the Deputy Director of the Wildlife Division for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. It is an autobiographical work.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is currently reviewing the first public land-development project that would challenge the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) new conservation-based public land-use policy, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

A June ruling by the Federal District Court of Idaho stopped implementation of new (2006) grazing regulations by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

A proposal being considered at the highest levels of the USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) to allow raking of pine straw for private economic gain on up to 1,780,000 acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). If adopted, the proposal would negatively impact wildlife, taxpayers and the program itself, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

The steering committee for the 73rd North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference has added a fourth Special Session. That Special Session will take place concurrently with the three others previously announced, on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, from 9:45 a.m. to 12:00 noon, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona.

The fourth Special Session is:

Conservation Partnerships: Effective Military Natural Resources Conservation

Chair: Chris Eberly (ceberly@dodpif.org); Cochair: Steve Helfert

"The status quo won't do," stated Wyoming Governor David Freudenthal in regard to efforts to conserve sage-grouse in the face of energy development, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. Freudenthal's comments were made to a group of ranchers, oil and gas producers, biologists, conservationists, and state and federal officials at a summit he convened late last month. He added, "We have a narrow window of opportunity to protect the grouse and prevent it from being listed as an endangered species.

The 73rd North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, will feature a full-day workshop on the development of a North American Hunting Heritage Action Plan. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, March 25, 2008.

Progress on the 2007 Farm Bill legislation continues even though the House Agriculture Committee was unable to adhere to the initial schedule for consideration, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. Committee Chair Collin Peterson had originally hoped that the Committee would complete deliberation and action on the bill prior to the July 4 recess. The Committee now is scheduled to start deliberations during the week of July 16.