WMI Store Open for Business Whether you are searching for books about major wildlife species, past or recent North American Conference Transactions, or pamphlets covering a range of conservation topics, the recently opened WMI Store is now the one-stop shop for many of your literature needs. WMI books available for purchase include: Ecology and Management of the North American Moose ... Read The Article
Fish and Wildlife Service Addresses Weighty Problem of Light Geese The light goose conservation hunting season currently is underway in a number of states. From the 1970s through the 1990s, the populations of light geese, comprised of greater and lesser snow geese and Ross's geese irrupted. They increased to such an extent that their fragile breeding and nesting habitat in the Arctic sustained serious damage as a result of the birds' overgrazing and excessive grubbing for food. While light goose numbers remain higher than desired, the increased harvest as a result of relaxed hunting regulations is expected to help reduce the number of light geese to a... Read The Article
Omnibus FY2009 Spending Bill Enacted On March 10, by a margin of 62 to 35, the U.S. Senate passed an omnibus appropriations bill, providing fiscal year 2009 (FY09) funding for the majority of federal government agencies. The House passed the bill on February 25 and President Obama signed it into law on March 11. Agencies had been operating under a continuing resolution since the start of the fiscal year last October, after Congress was unable to reach agreement on spending levels for 9 of the 12 appropriations bills. The final tally on the bill was over $410 billion ? money that is separate from the recently passed "economic... Read The Article
Wisconsin Conservationists and Legislators Back Board-appointed DNR Head; Governor Backslides A bill aimed at restoring the authority of the citizen-based Wisconsin Natural Resource Board to appoint the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary was introduced to the Wisconsin legislature on March 9. Backed by a pledged majority support in both the Senate and Assembly, the bill's odds of passing are perhaps the best they have been in the last 13 years, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. Re-instating an independent DNR Secretary has been a priority of Wisconsin conservation organizations since 1995, when then-Governor Tommy Thomson convinced lawmakers... Read The Article
72nd (2007) North American Transactions Available; 73rd (2008) Transactions Coming Soon The long-awaited Transactions of the 72nd North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, held in March 2007 in Portland, Oregon, is available from the Wildlife Management Institute. It can be ordered from the WMI Store as a hard copy ($33) or downloaded in PDF format ($25). The 73rd Transactions, from the North American Conference held in March 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona, is expected to be available at the WMI Store no later than May 1, 2009. It, like all future Transactions of the North American Wildlife and... Read The Article
President Obama Brings Back ESA Consultation On March 3, President Obama requested that the Departments of the Interior and Commerce review regulations impacting the consultation process for the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to determine if a new rule-making process should be undertaken, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. The Presidential Memorandum also requested that agencies resume the traditional consultation process during the review, effectively overriding the regulations that became final on January 15, 2009. The announcement was made during the President's appearance at the Interior Building in Washington, DC, to... Read The Article
Input Invited for 75th (2010) North American Conference The Steering Committee for the 75th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference is soliciting ideas for the Conference theme and topic suggestions for the four concurrent Special Sessions. Recommendations for plenary session keynoters also are invited. The 75th North American will be held March 22-27, 2010, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Input is sought from agencies, organizations and individuals from the professional conservation community. "We welcome and seriously consider all constructive suggestions pertaining to policies, programs and issues of natural resource... Read The Article
House Rejects Massive Public Lands Bill An omnibus public land bill (S. 22) that cleared the U.S. Senate on January 14 failed to pass the House of Representatives on March 11, calling the measure's future into question, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. The legislation combines more than 160 wilderness, water and public land management bills packaged together. The omnibus bill was crafted in 2008, but Senator Tom Coburn, who argued against the scope of the bill and its cost, used procedural tactics that stalled it for almost a year in the last Congress. The Senate easily defeated Coburn's filibuster by a... Read The Article
