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Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Environmental Sciences

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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Double-Crested Cormorant And Ring-Billed Gull Damage Management On Lake Champlain: Are Basin-Wide Objectives Achievable?, Richard Chipman, Dennis Slate, Larry Garland, David Capen Oct 1997

Double-Crested Cormorant And Ring-Billed Gull Damage Management On Lake Champlain: Are Basin-Wide Objectives Achievable?, Richard Chipman, Dennis Slate, Larry Garland, David Capen

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Ring-billed gulls (Larus delewarensis) and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorx auritus) have nested on Lake Champlain since 1949 and 1982, respectively. Recent increases in cormorant nesting populations and pioneering activities of both species to previously uncolonized islands have resulted in impacts related to accumulation of bird guano and interspecific competition with less common species. Of primary concern are: decreases in wildlife and plant diversity on islands; reduced aesthetics and property values of island associated with the loss of trees; and predation or competition for nesting space with other species such as the state-endangered common tern (Sterna hirundo …


Wildlife Damage To Agricultural Crops In Pennsylvania: The Farmers' Perspective, Margaret C. Brittingham, Walter M. Tzilkowski, James M. Zeidler, Matthew J. Lovallo Oct 1997

Wildlife Damage To Agricultural Crops In Pennsylvania: The Farmers' Perspective, Margaret C. Brittingham, Walter M. Tzilkowski, James M. Zeidler, Matthew J. Lovallo

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Agricultural damage by wildlife is a major concern for both agricultural and wildlife agencies at the state and federal level. Our objective was to estimate wildlife damage to agricultural crops on a statewide basis. We sent questionnaires to 4,958 farmers and 1,003 were returned after 2 mailings. Twenty-five percent of farmers responding to our survey rated the level of wildlife damage to their crops as severe or very severe, 46% as moderate, and 29% had none or very little. Mean levels of crop loss to wildlife ranged from 6% for wheat to 10% for corn grain, and white-tailed deer ( …


Development Of The Virginia Cooperative Coyote Control Program To Protect Livestock, Martin Lowney, John Houben, Phil Eggborn Oct 1997

Development Of The Virginia Cooperative Coyote Control Program To Protect Livestock, Martin Lowney, John Houben, Phil Eggborn

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The Virginia Cooperative Coyote Control Program was created in 1990 to address increasing livestock losses to coyotes and the inability of producers to solve such problems themselves. The eastern coyote arrived in Virginia in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Lobbying efforts of agricultural groups, such as the Virginia Sheep Federation, helped create a cost-share program administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Wildlife Services (USDA-APHIS-WS). The objective of the program was to educate producers about control methods and to alleviate damage by removing offending coyotes where …


Wildlife-Caused Losses For Catfish Producers In 1996, Alice P. Wywialowski Oct 1997

Wildlife-Caused Losses For Catfish Producers In 1996, Alice P. Wywialowski

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

In January 1997, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) surveyed catfish producers about wildlife-caused losses in 1996, Of the 1,465 catfish producers in 15 states surveyed, 1,008 (68.8%) agreed to complete the survey. Surveys were conducted primarily by telephone, but some producers received mail surveys. The response rated varied among states. The majority of catfish producers were in Mississippi (n=-300), followed by Alabama (n=163), and then Arkansas (n=117). The remaining states each had < 100 respondents. Data were analyzed for 6 regions, each with a sample size of > 100 respondents. Overall, 69% of catfish producers cited a wildlife-caused loss of catfish. Producers cited losses to wildlife most frequently in Mississippi (81%), followed by states adjoining …


Nesting Populations Of Double-Crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, And Great Egrets In The United States And Canada: Implications For Management, Jerrold L. Belant, Laura A. Tyson Oct 1997

Nesting Populations Of Double-Crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, And Great Egrets In The United States And Canada: Implications For Management, Jerrold L. Belant, Laura A. Tyson

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Populations of piscivorous birds in North America are receiving increasing attention in the southeast United States because of depredations at aquaculture facilities. We obtained recent (most since 1994) estimates for the number of nesting double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), great blue herons (Ardea herodias), and great egrets (Casmerodius albus) in the United States (US) and Canada from published references and by conducting telephone interviews with state and provincial biologists. Using previously-published data, we also determined annual rates of change in the number of cormorants since about 1990. Estimates for minimum numbers of nesting pairs (minimum …


Development Of A Double-Crested Cormorant Damage Management Plan For The Southeastern United States, Keith J. Andrews, Pete Poulos, Charles Bo Sloan, Jerrold L. Belant, Paige G. Ross, Paul Debow Oct 1997

Development Of A Double-Crested Cormorant Damage Management Plan For The Southeastern United States, Keith J. Andrews, Pete Poulos, Charles Bo Sloan, Jerrold L. Belant, Paige G. Ross, Paul Debow

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

In response to needs within the aquaculture industry to alleviate increasing depredation by double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, in conjunction with Federal, State, and Canadian wildlife and fisheries agencies, the aquaculture industry, and other wildlife professionals, is developing the framework for a comprehensive cormorant damage management program that uses an integrated wildlife damage management approach. This cooperative effort will produce a meaningful, mutually beneficial program that will reduce the effects of cormorants on aquaculture and sport and commercial fisheries, improve understanding of cormorant biology, and avert …


Electric Fencing Reduces Heron Predation At Northeastern Trout Hatcheries, Mark E. Tobin, James F. Glahn, Erica S. Rasmussen Oct 1997

Electric Fencing Reduces Heron Predation At Northeastern Trout Hatcheries, Mark E. Tobin, James F. Glahn, Erica S. Rasmussen

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Great blue herons (Ardea herodius) are the most common avian predator at commercial trout hatcheries in the northeastern United States. We evaluated a 2-strand electric fence for excluding this species from raceways at 2 commercial trout hatcheries in central Pennsylvania. Fences consisted of high density polyethylene 400-lb strength tape supported by fiberglass posts and energized by either a battery-powered or a solar-powered fence charger. Labor and material for constructing the fences at the 2 sites averaged $1.32/m of raceway. Bird visitation at the 2 sites initially declined, but returned to pre-installation levels. However, bird use of raceways declined …


Deer Damage Incurred By Homeowners During 1995 In Virginia, Ben C. West, James A. Parkhurst Oct 1997

Deer Damage Incurred By Homeowners During 1995 In Virginia, Ben C. West, James A. Parkhurst

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Damage caused by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a problem for some homeowners in Virginia. As part of a broader effort to evaluate the attitudes and perceptions of agricultural producers and homeowners toward deer damage in Virginia, a mail questionnaire was developed and implemented during the fall of 1996. The survey yielded 732 useable responses and, of those, 261 individuals indicated they were homeowners and grew at least one planting during 1995. Many homeowners (36%) indicated that deer caused damage to at least one of their plantings during 1995. Of those who had experienced damage, most (61%, n=57) …