March 2023

The Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA) is partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) to hire a Northeast Regional Fish and Wildlife Health Coordinator. The Coordinator will encourage and support the network of fish and wildlife health practitioners in their work to address zoonotic and other wildlife diseases and other fish and wildlife health issues across the Northeast. After an extensive search and interview process, the cooperators are pleased to announce that Dr. Melanie Kunkel has accepted the position.

During the 10 years of the first phase of the Regional Conservation Needs (RCN) program, which started in 2007, over $3 million of conservation funds were awarded. Each federal dollar spent was matched by non-federal funding to leverage the conservation spending most effectively. The projects identified shared priority species, habitats, and threats and actions of the northeastern states.

A research team consisting of scientists and managers from the USGS Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (MS Unit), Mississippi State University, USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse are developing a tool to help USFWS biologists assess imperilment of freshwater fishes in the Southeastern U.S. that have been petitioned for review under the Endangered Species Act.