The Program Committee for the 77^th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference has announced the four Special Sessions slated to follow the event's Plenary Session on Wednesday, March 14 2012. The Conference, hosted by the?Wildlife Management Institute (WMI),?will be held at the Hilton Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, March 12-17 2012.

The House Appropriations Committee passed a fiscal year 2012 (FY12) Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill on July 12 that included substantial cuts to agency spending and key conservation programs, as well as policy riders impacting natural resource related issues, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. After 10 hours of debate on amendments, the bill was passed on a party line vote sending it to the full U.S. House of Representatives for consideration later this month.

On Sunday, July 3, cancer claimed Bill Stevens, 72, friend of conservation and friend of thousands.

This month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced plans to expand hunting activities at 10 national wildlife refuges in eight states, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. The proposal was published in the Federal Register on July 5, and a public comment period will be open until August 4. The FWS proposal comes just weeks after the judicial system closed the books on a lawsuit filed in 2003 that aimed to stop hunting on refuges.

In response to a legislative mandate to merge the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado State Parks into a new division referred to as "Colorado Parks and Wildlife," leaders of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (CDNR) have adopted an open and inclusive process to develop a transition plan, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.The approach is designed to engage employees and the public to help a department transition team develop a plan for combining the two agencies by the end of February 2012.

"State fish and wildlife agencies are struggling to address new and emerging conservation issues while retaining core traditional programs. Many are finding they are unable to do so adequately, and they fear loss of relevancy to society unless they are able to transform into organizations that meet changing public needs and interests. Organizational transformation is not easy." This statement highlights the contents of the recently released "Leaders' Guide" to Transformation of State Fish & Wildlife Agencies: Ensuring the Future of Conservation in a Rapidly Changing World.