The reintroduction of Wood Bison to the Innoko River drainage in western Alaska has gotten a lot of coverage in the media in recent weeks. However, one aspect of this effort that has been absent from those stories is the role this species may play under future climate scenarios, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. Reintroducing Wood Bison could be an important element that enables rural, subsistence residents to buffer the impact of global climate changes on their local food resources.

Establishing specific strategies, timelines, and measurable goals for the recently created National Deer Alliance (NDA) was the focus of the second annual North American Deer Summit, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. The Summit, held May 6-8, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky, brought together biologists, managers, researchers, non-profit conservation organizations, hunters, and others with an interest in our endemic deer species.

Conservation Briefs is a compilation of short news stories of interest to Outdoor News Bulletin readers. The stories cover a number of issues that have developed in the past month or provide updates on issues that were featured in previous ONB editions. Each story includes links to online resources for more details on each topic.

This Month:

The South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) released its first State of the South Atlantic assessment in March. The report measures the current condition of the Cooperative's spatially explicit natural and cultural resource indicators and scores them on an A/B/C/D/F scale in the style of a report card.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that a second round of funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is now open for application, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. The RCPP was created in the 2014 Farm Bill and was first implemented during the 2014-15 federal funding cycle.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) on May 12 soliciting grant proposals that address research and communications needs for White-Nose Syndrome (WNS).

The 81^st North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference will be held March 13-18, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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 co-chairs and presenters for four Special Sessions are invited. Ideas for prospective plenary keynote speakers are also welcome.

In 2001, the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Division of Scientific Authority (DSA) asked scientists at the US Geological Survey's Tennessee Cooperative Fishery Research Unit to perform a stock assessment of paddlefish in Tennessee waters.