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How To Evaluate Wildlife Damage Control Programs - Rodents, Robert M. Timm

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Wildlife damage control programs, whether they be directed at rodents or other species, exist because of particular needs. The first criterion in evaluating any such program is: does the program meet an existing need, i.e. does it effectively reduce damage? To answer this question, it is necessary to define the need. Need can be described in terms of the extent and severity of damage caused by rodents, or potential damage (which may occur, if no action is taken). Actual damage is measured most accurately by an on-site survey or inspection. This may involve measurement of a resource loss (for example, …

The Challenge Of Cost-Benefit Determinations In Bird Damage Control Programs, Richard A. Dolbeer

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Birds cause damage to a variety of crops in North America and, at least for blackbirds feeding on corn, there are fairly accurate estimates of the amount of damage that occurs (Stone et al. 1972, Stickley et al. 1979). To combat these depredation problems, a variety of management tools (cultural methods, mechanical scare devices, chemical toxicants, and repellents)have been developed and are routinely recommended to farmers. Unfortunately, little effort has gone into examing the anticipated or actual losses in relation to the effectiveness and costs of the recommended damage control programs.

Solving Urban Problems Associated With Small Animals, Sharon Whitten

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Small animals have been drawn into the urban setting, and as a consequence of their contact with man their populations are growing. The result of this growth is damage to man's property. We must take steps to reduce damage caused by wildlife in urban areas.

Political And Sociological Aspects Of Wildlife Damage Control, Walter E. Howard

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

I greatly appreciate being invited to the 1979 Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control workshop - especially being your dinner speaker. The climate of public opinion developed from the ecology movement in the western world implies that everything chemical is unnatural and bad, while anything biological is intrinsically desirable. Vertebrate pest control faces a very emotional climate, thanks to government actions and many organizations seeking to profit fran keeping it that way. Unfortunately Americans have been indoctrinated to think that the present vertebrate pest control methodology is archaic and inhumane, that the field attracts those who are killers at heart, and …

New Approaches To Alleviating Migratory Bird Damage, Orvis C. Gustad

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The title of "New Approaches to Alleviating Migratory Bird Damage" does not encompass the broad array of efforts being made through research, but rather is limited to new efforts being made through our Animal Damage Control operational program. My primary emphasis will be on the "Lure Crop" approach. The standard Service approach to resolving migratory bird depredation problems has been to conduct field demonstrations and provide information and materials for moving the birds away from the damage site.

Using Extension Methodology In Prairie Dog Management, Lloyd K. Cheatheam

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

At the turn of the century, Texas' 'black-tailed prairie dog was probably the State's most abundant wildlife species. Bailey estimated the population at 800,000,000 animals in 1905. He also described a single colony that was 100 miles wide and 250 miles long, from San Angelo, Texas to Clarendon, Texas. During this period, other authors described riding by horseback for several days through a single colony. Settlers of this area, wishing to raise cattle, had to first control the prairie dog. My good friend, G.IJ. "Shorty" Kennedy, a retired ranch foreman and an octgenarian, described these historical control methods to me.

How To Evaluate Wildlife Damage Control Programs, Orvis Gustad

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

I did not volunteer to substitute for Bill Pfeifer on the subject of "How to Evaluate Predator Control Programs" as an expert on this subject, but rather to: 1) point out that we recognize the need for good base information for describing effectiveness; and 2) relay how the Service's Animal Damage Control Program proposes to obtain it.

How Wildlife Damge Control Personnel Can Cope With The Gas Shortage And Reduced Budgets, Yet Still Meet The Needs Of The Public, Volney W. Howard Jr.

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

As I see the situation, we are really addressing a two-sided issue -- one involves actual field personnel, such as Animal Damage Control (ADC), and the other contains those involved in extension. Some potential solutions which may be beneficial for one group may not be applicable to the problems encountered by the other. ADC Personnel. The field personnel are faced with increased fuel costs and static or decreased travel budgets. In addition, there is rumor of a 10 to 15% mandatory decrease in gasoline consumption on a per-month-basis by ADC employees in New Mexico. I assume that ADC personnel in …

New Developments In Rodenticides, William B. Jackson

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Rodenticides have become the "standard" for rodent control, and Anti-coagulants have been the quid pro quo. For three decades warfarin(and other dicoumarols) and then the indandiones have been the control element for commensal rodents. However, excessive and indiscriminant uses have selected for resistant populations of Norway rats, roof rats, and house mice in many parts of the U.S. (Jackson and Ashton, 1979). Though resistance is often referenced to warfarin, it is a cross-resistance to all of the currently available, "first-generation" anticoagulants.

Use Of Starlicide In Pigeon Control, Lester B. Kreps

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Feral pigeons, problem birds common to most American cities and farms, are descendants of the Rock Dove (Columba 1ivia)of North Africa and Europe. They were brought to America as domestic poultry by the first European settlers and have since escaped. They are not truly 'wild", as their existence depends upon man's activities. An adult pigeon will eat about a pound of food a week, consisting primarily of grain spilled around elevators, railroad yards and feedlots or fed by pigeon lovers.

Control Of Urban Blackbird And Starling Roosts, Ron Ogden

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Blackbirds and starlings often establish large fall and winter roosts in areas where their presence is objectionable because of potential health, economic, and/or nuisance problems. Roosts of more than a million birds are not uncommon. Red-winged blackbirds (Agelphoeniceus), common grackles (Quiscalus cuiscula), brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) make up most of the roosts populations.

Vertebrate Animal Damage Control: Summary Of Panel Discussion And Committee Review, Dale A. Wade

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

It is clearly evident that the program planning committee for this national workshop recognized vertebrate animal damage and its control as one of the most difficult problems with which we deal in resource management. Perhaps no other topic is more controversial since it encompasses all of the biological, social, economic and political factors, with emotion and opinions frequently weighed more heavily than fact.

Problems Registering Certain Rodenticides, Kenneth Seyler

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

My comments today will be in regards to rodenticides we utilize in Montana for field rodent control. These rodenticides are strychnine, sodium monofluoracetate (1080), and zinc phosphide used for Columbian ground squirrel, prairie dog, Richardson ground squirrel, and pocket gopher damage control.

Extension Education Within The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service, Dan Stiles

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

What I want to accomplish today is to discuss: a little about the organization of Extension Education within the Fish and Wildlife Service; our progress and plans; something about extension and animal damage control; some philosophical observations and comments, and lastly, a look toward the future.

Research And Teaching Needs In Wildlife Damage Control And Prevention, W. Alan Wentz

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Wildlife damage control is a fairly unique part of wildlife management. But you will notice that I said it is a part of wildlife management. I believe that too many of today's wildlife managers, professors, and administrators look at this aspect of our profession as something different, something outside of management,... something to stay away from. Wildlife damage control is a part of wildlife management and it is, perhaps, one of the most basic aspects of our profession. In fact, I would guess that nearly every professional wildlife worker has at one time or another been involved in wildlife damage …

Rangeland Management Problems Associated With Wildlife From A Rangeman's Viewpoint, Paul D. Ohlenbusch

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Rangeland is the largest renewable natural resource of the Great Plains states. It supplies forage for the livestock industry (together with tame pasture), habitat for wildlife, water for man and animals, beauty and pleasure for everyone and an economic base for many rural communities. In short, it is many things to many people.

Table Of Contents

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Table of contents

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 11, Number 4. December 1979

The Prairie Naturalist

THE STATUS OF HERONS, EGRETS AND IBISES IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ J. T. Lokomoen

RANGE EXPANSION OF BAIRD'S SPARROW IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ H. A. Kantrud and C. A. Faanes

NESTING RECORDS OF THE WOOD THRUSH IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ S. O. Lambeth and D. O. Lambeth

SOME ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF MARBLED GODWITS AND WILLETS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ K. F. Higgins, L. M. Kirsch, M. R. Ryan and R. B. Renken

NOTES ON THE INCUBATION BEHAVIOR OF BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS ▪ E G. Bolen and E. N. Smith

NOTES

Red Fox Captures Sharp-tailed Grouse at the Lek ▪ S. …

Ground Squirrels In The Great Plains, Bennett A. Brown

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

There are 22 recognized species of ground squirrels in North America (Jones et al. 1975). All belong to the genera Spermophilus or Ammospermophilus. Some species contain as many as 14 subspecies, or races. In many cases, these subspecies are distinguished not only by morphological or distributional characters, but by behavioral differences and varying ecological strategies, as well. These latter frequently impact on the efficacy of various control methods.

Response Of Birds To Raptor Models, Michael R. Conover

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Today, more than ever, there is an increasing need for non-lethal methods to effec- tively control crop depredation by birds. One such method, involving the use of fear- provoking stimuli, has been used since ancient times but often with little success. If fear-provoking stimuli are to be improved, we must identify those features that are most effective and incorporate these into scare devices. Models of raptors are promising fear-provoking stimuli (Rowe 1971, Brown 1974, Messersmith 1975, Blokpoel 1976). Unfortunately, birds usually habituate to these models rather quickly. More efficient models have not been devised, in part because of the lack …

Setting Up An Effective Urban Blackbird Roost Control Program, Sally S. Erdman

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The City of Denton is situated 35 miles north of north-central Texas. This area is within one of the major N-S corridors for migratory birds. It is also far enough south so that winters are generally mild and open. The average rainfall of 30 inches sustains good stands of pecan and several species of oak, which serve as excellent roost sites for blackbirds. For the past several years, summering flocks of blackbirds have chosen Denton as a roosting site. Interviews with oldtimers here indicate that flocks of birds have always been around. It is only in recent years that their …

The Attractiveness Of Shredded Garbage To Gulls And Other Avian Species Potentially Hazardous To Aircraft, Dennis M. Forsythe

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The bird-aircraft strike hazard is a world-wide problem resulting in human fatalities and aircraft damage. Although the exact cost of bird damage is difficult to obtain, United States Air Force losses are estimated at over $10 million per year (Harrison 1976). Collisions between birds and aircrafts occur either enroute or when planes are landing or taking off at airports. Most of these collisions are due to large flocks of birds attracted to the vicinity by food, shelter, or water (Solman 1971). Solid waste disposal sites are an abundant food source for many hazardous bird species, especially gulls and blackbirds; and …

Public Health Problems: Tge, P. M. Gough, J. W. Beyer, R. D. Jorgenson

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) is one of the five major diseases of concern to pork producers. The virus that causes the disease has an affinity for absorptive epithelial cells of the villi of the small intestine, primarily the jejunum. Infected cells are sloughed off, and the loss of absorptive activity results in salt imbalance, hyperkalemia, and dehydration in the pig. Death occurs in 60 to 100% of the diseased infant pigs. Two forms of TGE exist in the United States: an enzootic form that has only recently been recognized as a serious problem, and an epidemic form that was first identified …

Blackbird And Starling Roosting Dynamics: Mplications For Animal Damage Control, Theodore A. Bookhouts, Stephen B. White

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Each winter an estimated 350 million starlings, red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), and brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) congregate in roosts in the southeastern United States (Meanley 1971, Meanley and Royall 1976). These birds have been of increasing concern because of agricultural damage claims (Stickley et al. 1976, Dolbeer et al. 1978), reputed health hazards (Monroe and Cronholm 1977), and other nuisance problems associated with them. Historical population trends (Dolbeer and Stehn 1979) and the source of winter-roosting blackbirds (Meanley 1971, Meanley and Dolbeer 1978, and Dolbeer 1978) have been summarized, but little information on the number of …

Seasonal, Habitat And Sex-Specific Patterns Of Food Utilization By Red-Winged Blackbirds (Agelaius Phoeniceous) In Eastern Ontario And Their Economic Importance, Donald K. Mcnichol, Raleigh J. Robertson, Patrick J. Weatherhead

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Crop depredation by red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) causes serious economic losses to agricultural crops each year in both Canada and the United States. The concentration of vulnerable, monocultural crops, particularly corn, during periods when large flocks of blackbirds congregate in roosting areas prior to migration has invariably led to heavy feeding pressure (Stone et al., 1972; Wiens and Dyer, 1975; Tyler et al., 1978). Efforts to reduce damage levels by mechanical and chemical dispersal agents have been largely unsuccessful, at least in terms of a long-term solution to the problem. Recently, the lethal control of blackbird populations using surfactants has …

List Of Participants: Eighth Bird Control Seminar 1979

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Participants and attendees of the Eighth Bird Control Seminar, October 30--November 1, 1979

Pigeon Associated People Diseases, Walter Weber

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Feral pigeons (Columbia livia) are not harmless birds. Many potential infections of humans silently exist in pigeons which are not apparent. They have the potential for transmission of over 30 diseases to humans plus another ten to domestic animals. Environmental pollution from pigeon droppings is quite evident. Air pollution involves more than noxious gases from automobile exhausts and belching smokestacks. One serious air pollutant is air-borne fungi, which are agents for infectious diseases. There is much information written about the problem, but it remains primarily in the professional journals and technical references, neatly stacked away on library shelves. …

New Developments In Bird Resistant Sorghums, Roger W. Bullard

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

In recent years there has been a major shift of emphasis from lethal to nonlethal methods of controlling bird damage to agricultural crops. In addition to being unpopular, killing large number of birds has generally been ineffective because of rapid recovery of populations. Consequently, most of the methods that are now being investigated emphasize crop protection. Since sorghums are especially vulnerable to bird damage, considerable effort has been expended in the past 20 years to develop varieties that have morphological or chemical characteristics which are resistant to bird damage (Harris, 1969; Tipton et al., 1970; McMillian et al., 1972). Some …

Proceedings Eighth Bird Control Seminar: Frontmatter And Contents

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio; 30 October - 1 November 1979
SPONSORED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES CENTER, BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND NATIONAL PEST CONTROL ASSOCIATION VIENNA, VIRGINIA

DR. WILLIAM B. JACKSON, Conference Chairman and Editor
SHIRLEY S. JACKSON and BETH A. JACKSON, Assistant Editors

Bird Control And Endangered Species, Denis S. Case

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The potential exists for a conflict to occur between endangered species and almost any type of human endeavor. Detrimental effects on endangered species are possible even as a result of efforts to benefit other endangered species. The types of possible conflicts range from potential problems that are easily solved in early planning processes to major brouhahas involving nearly every conceivable agency and party. Relative to bird control, it is important to understand the true magnitude of the situa- tion and to develop a factual perspective. According to Ziswiler (1967), 169 species and subspecies of birds have become extinct since the …