The first legal black bear hunt in Florida was held in October, the culmination of a long-term effort to restore the species in the state and to develop a scientifically credible management plan for the charismatic species. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) led a process that carefully evaluated the population status of black bears and integrated a long stakeholder engagement process before implementing the management plan. The process used serves as a valuable model for successful use of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.

A recent paper by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (study team) and collaborators documents that, in spite of a century of isolation from other bears and moderately low genetic diversity, grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) are not losing genetic diversity or suffering from inbreeding.

Colorado State University's (CSU) Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology will hold its annual Wildlife Management Short Course on the campus in Fort Collins, Colorado during the week of March 28 ? April 1, 2016. This popular course was developed for laypersons and agency personnel with non-wildlife training. A number of agencies have sent administrators, commissioners, planners, information and environmental education personnel, legislators, and other staff to this course to obtain a broad exposure to wildlife conservation and management issues.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that it will direct $30 million toward projects that improve water quality in the Mississippi River Basin, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. A total of 73 projects ? 33 new and 40 existing ? will receive funding.