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A Statistical Model Of Expansion In A Colony Of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, R. P. Cincotta, D. W. Uresk, R. M. Hansen

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

To predict prairie dog establishment in areas adjacent to a colony we sampled: (1) VISIBILITY through the vegetation using a target, (2) POPULATION DENSITY at the colony edge, (3) DISTANCE from the edge to the potential site of settlement, and (4) % FORB COVER. Step-wise regression analysis indicated that establishment of prairie dogs in adjacent prairie was most likely to occur when an area was near a densely populated colony edge with high visibility through the vegetation.

Prairie Dog Control—A Regulatory Viewpoint, Dennis C. Clarke

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Prairie dogs and their control are complex issues. At this conference we've heard numerous speakers discuss a wide variety of topics concerning the organism's effect on range and man's attempts to deal with those effects. It appears one could make a case for or against the prairie dog depending on his own particular situation and experience. While the organism is a natural part of the prairie ecosystem, it may not be a desirable inhabitant of a livestock producers range when its population goes unchecked.

This leads to conflict. The prairie dog becomes a biopolitical issue. On one hand it evolved …

Control Methods For Objectional Roosts Of Purple Martins, Albert E. Bivings Iv

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Multi-thousand bird roosts of Purple Martins (Progne subis) occasionally form in the South during the early summer (June-July). Nightly depositions of fecal material create considerable nuisance and potential health problems. Since they are federally protected migratory birds and have legions of bird-lovers trying to increase their populations, lethal controls are unlikely to be popular or even permitted. Control techniques including plastic netting (partial or complete exclusion), active scaring and modification of building schedules are discussed and evaluated. Plastic netting was observed to be the most successful long-term solution.

Field Study—Steel Versus Lead In Aerial Hunting, Duane Bernstein, David Nelson

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The purpose of this study is to get an objective measure of the comparative performance of steel and lead when used in aerial hunting. Comparisons will be made by patterning lead and steel from 35 and 45 yards using improved cylinder and modified shotgun barrels. Tests will be conducted from the ground and air to compare penetration by lead and steel.

Historical And Present Status Of The Black-Footed Ferret, Dean E. Biggins, Max H. Schroeder

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) was once widely distributed in the Great Plains and intermountain valleys of North America, its range overlapping the combined ranges of several species of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.). Most life history information has been obtained from studies of ferrets in southwestern South Dakota (1964-1974) and studies near Meeteetse, Wyoming (1981-present). The ferret's nearly complete dependence on prairie dogs was documented in both study areas. The recent collapse of the Meeteetse population of ferrets due to an outbreak of canine distemper underscores the threat posed by this disease, but reductions of prairie dogs …

Rodent Damage To Various Annual And Perennial Crops Of India And Its Management, Ranjan Advani

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The results of about 12 years' study deals with rodent damage to several annual and perennial crops of India including cereal, vegetable, fruit, plantation and other cash crops. The rodent species composition in order of predominance infesting different crops and cropping patterns percent damages and cost effectiveness of rodent control operations in each crop and status of rodent management by predators are analysed.

Cougar Predation On Livestock In New Mexico, January 1983 Through June 1984, Gary A. Littauer, Ronald J. White

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

A telephone survey was conducted in which the objective was to obtain information from the entire population of livestock producers in New Mexico who had losses to cougars (Felis concolor) in 1983 and the first six months of 1984. A total of 103 ranchers reported losses in 1983 and 60 reported losses in the first six months of 1984. Verified (by examination of kills) losses of sheep and lambs to cougars totaled 1,202 in 1983 and 525 in the first half of 1984. Verified losses of cattle and calves totaled 230 in 1983 and 102 in the first half of …

An Overview Of The South Dakota Animal Damage Control Program, Alvin L. Miller

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Animal Damage Control in South Dakota is a very comprehensive program. The program's objective is to reduce agricultural loss caused by predators, nuisance animals, rodents, migratory birds and waterfowl. It involves the cooperation of several federal, state and county agencies as well as landowners and In turn requires very close coordination of these various entities in order to successfully achieve our objective. Operational control, extension services, research and educational programs are alI important facets of such a comprehensive program.

Efficacy Of Aluminum Phosphide For Black-Tailed Prairie Dog And Yellow-Faced Pocket Gopher Control, P. Rodger Moline, Stephen Demarais

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The efficacy of aluminum phosphide was tested on a total of 300 active black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) mounds and 68 active yellow-faced pocket gopher (Pappogeomys castanops) tunnels during June-August, 1986 on the southern Great Plains in Lubbock County, Texas. Efficacy of aluminum phosphide was higher than controls (P < 0.001) for both species. Efficacy was higher for black-tailed prairie dogs (94.7 - 96.0%) than for pocket gophers (61.5 - 85.7%). Soil porosity and moisture appeared to influence efficacy for yellow—faced pocket gophers.

A Novel Strategy For Pocket Gopher Control, Michael E.R. Godfrey

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Current techniques for the control of pocket gophers use traps, fumigants or toxic baits. Trapping and fumigation are labor intensive and seldom effective in giving more than short-term relief. Toxic baiting usually uses baits that are rapidly degraded and although the resident gopher may be killed the burrow system is frequently reoccupied very rapidly and little long-term control is achieved. The use of persistent baits that remain toxic and acceptable to the gophers for an extended period may result in more effective long-term control.

Demography And Population Dynamics Of Prairie Dogs, John L. Hoogland, Diane Kay Angell, James G. Daley, Matthew C. Radcliffe

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

For the last 14 years, we have been studying the sociobiology, demography, and population dynamics of blacktailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. Our study colony covers 6.6 hectares (16 acres) and has not expanded during the period of research; in late spring of each year the colony contains a mean ± SD of 133 ± 29 adults and yearlings and 81 ± 33 juveniles. We have discovered four surprising aspects of the demography and populations dynamics of prairie dogs. (1) Mortality during the first year is approximately 50% for both sexes. Those males that …

Control Of One Native Animal Species To Benefit Another Native Species, John T. Lokemoen

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

This paper expresses my feelings on the topic of controlling one native animal species (small carnivores) for the benefit of another native species (waterfowl). The relationship between the predator and prey has always been an interesting one. During much of man's experience with wildlife, predators were generally feared and persecuted. It was almost universally agreed that killing predators resulted in larger game populations, which man wanted for food or sport.

Small Mammals: Pests Or Vital Components Of The Ecosystem, Carolyn Hull Sieg

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Small mammals regarded as "pests" should not be viewed separately from other components in the ecosystem. Small mammals have significant influences on vegetation and soils, exert predatory pressure on other animals, and provide food for predators. Future management efforts should include consideration of these diverse influences.

Consider Using Electric Powered Fences For Controlling Animal Damage, Robert E. Steger

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The use of electronics in animal damage control is not new. The use of amplified frequencies or sound has been widely used for controlling insects, rats, and other kinds of animals. Recent innovations for uses of electric powered fences are being recognized. Animals heretofore managed by expensive predacides or physical barriers are being managed with electric powered barriers. For example, caterpillars are being economically managed in New Zealand with the use of one electrical wire slightly above ground level. This application is being made possible because electric powered fences are 1) economical; 2)effective; 3) provide flexibility; and 4) are relatively …

South Dakota—Its History, Land, And Wildlife, Chuck Post

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

South Dakota, duh KOH tuh, was named for the Dakota, or Sioux Indians who lived in this region before the white man came. In addition to the Sioux, two other tribes lived in the area before the white man. The Arikara built permanent homes and raised crops while the Cheyenne lived mostly by hunting. The wandering Sioux were hunters and warriors who moved from place to place following the great herds of bison.

White-Tailed Prairie Dog Ecology In Wyoming, George E. Menkens Jr., Brian J. Miller, Stanley H. Anderson

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

White-tailed prairie dog populations and habitats were studied on six towns in Wyoming. Habitats and habitat structure varied greatly both within and between towns. Prairie dog populations on each town were found to fluctuate by more than 50% between consecutive years. Prairie dog density was not significantly related to burrow density indicating that burrow density was not a useful predictor of population density.

The Lure Crop Alternative, Steven D. Fairaizl, William K. Pfeifer

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Lure crops are proposed as an alternative to scaring waterfowl. The lure crop works on the principle of permitting waterfowl to feed undisturbed for the duration of the damage season in an unharvested field of their choice thereby utilizing trampled grain. Waterfowl from adjacent areas are encouraged to use the lure crop through the use of scaring devices placed in protected fields. General criteria for implementation of a lure crop project and specific criteria for lure crop purchases are presented. Factors contributing to a successful lure crop and problems which reduced lure crop effectiveness are identified. Benefit/ cost analysis of …

Adc In The U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Gerald J. Fichtner

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

ADC transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture by Public Law 99-190. Parameters of ADC in USDA are that the program is biologically sound, environmentally acceptable, and economically feasible. Major program components are cooperative operational control, education and information, and research. The National Animal Damage Control Advisory Committee is being formed. The American Society for Testing and Materials is helping on research priorities. A line-staff organization has been put in place within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in USDA.

Field Evaluation Of Olfactory Attractants And Strategies Used To Capture Depredating Coyotes, George E. Graves, Major L. Boddicker

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Forty-five experimental and commercial olfactory attractants (lures) were tested under field conditions over a 30-month period to evaluate attractiveness to coyotes, elicited behaviors, and responses with lethal and simulated lethal coyote capture devices. The top 7 lures evaluated in spring and summer test periods that produced the highest simulated coyote capture rates with trap rings, M-44 heads, and break-away snares were WU 15-20%, Sheep Liver Extract, and (Carman's) Canine Distance Call Lure; (Carman's) Final Touch, Rotten Meat Odor, and TMAD 10%; and Estrous Urine Fractions, respectively.

Distribution And Impact Of Canada Goose Crop Damage In East-Central Wisconsin, James W. Heinrich, Scott R. Craven

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Near Horicon marsh, in east-central Wisconsin, increasing fall concentrations of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) have produced many opportunities, and a few difficult problems. The problem of crop depredations has plagued the Horicon area since the mid-1960's and has resulted in many changes in goose management in Wisconsin.

Management Of Prairie Dog Populations In Wind Cave National Park, Richard W. Klukas

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Since the late 1920's there have been periodic control programs on black-tailed prairie dogs in Wind Cave National Park. The most recent control effort, which began in 1982, resulted in the reduction of total dogtown acreage from 2,000 to 750 acres. Recent studies carried out within the park have provided managers with more soundly based justification for carrying out control programs. The same information also points to the importance of maintaining prairie dog populations at or above certain minimum levels and the need for integrating this control program with several of the other resource management programs being carried out in …

Duck Nest Success And Predators In North Dakota, South Dakota, And Montana: The Central Flyway Study, Michael A. Johnson, Thomas C. Hinz, Thomas L. Kuck

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Data on duck nest success and the distribution and abundance of nest predators were obtained from nine study areas in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. Success rates were extremely low due to predation and duck production over much of the region may be insufficient to maintain populations.

Prairie Dog Overpopulation: Value Judgement Or Ecological Reality?, Kirsten Krueger

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The subject of prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) overpopulation is complex, and judgements of overpopulation may not be based on prairie dog population size or density. Caughley's (1981) model of animal overpopulation is applied here to prairie dogs to clarify the basis for a judgement of overpopulation in each of several cases. There are ecological components to all such cases, but a purely ecological judgement of overpopulation requires much more information than is currently available. However, defensible management of prairie dog systems is a goal, and time-honored but flawed assumptions are never an adequate substitute for results derived from thorough, scientific …

Results Of A Bird Damage Survey Of Kansas Feedlots, Charles D. Lee

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

A mail survey was conducted in the Fall of 1986 of 196 licensed Kansas feedlots to get a better idea of the extent as well as kinds of wildlife damage they experience. The results of this survey are being used in designing a research project to help feedlot operators cope with bird damage.

Relevant Characteristics Of Zinc Phosphide As A Rodenticide, Rex E. Marsh

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Zinc phosphide has a long history of use and remains an important rodenticide for both commensal and select field rodents. A long list of significant characteristics contributes to its relative safety to nontarget species. It is zinc phosphide's relative safeness to humans, most livestock, and nontarget wildlife that has kept it in vogue, A most relevant and highly proclaimed characteristic is its general lack of potential secondary hazard to predators and scavengers. Poor or inconsistent efficacy on certain field rodents is a major shortcoming that can, in part, be compensated for by prebaiting. Zinc phosphide's favorable characteristics support its continued …

Comparative Toxicity Of Strychnine To Eight Species Of Ground Squirrels, George Matschke, Carolyn L. Fordham, Susan C. Hurlbut, Richard M. Engeman

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The toxicity of 3 strychnine bait concentrations, 0.20%, 0.35%, and 0.50%, was evaluated on 8 species of ground squirrels (Spermophilus spp). Significant species-specific differences were evident in the relative toxicity of strychnine in our tests.

Current And Future Status Of Rodenticides And Predacides, Steve Palmateer

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

I appreciate the opportunity to convey the current and future status of rodenticides and predacides at this workshop. According to the computer, the Agency has 2,888 products classified as vertebrate control agents. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act tends to clump all vertebrate pesticides as rodenticides. This includes fish toxicants such as TFM; bird toxicants and repellents such as Starlicide and Avitrol; dog repellents such as lemongrass oil; bat toxicants and repellents such as naphthalene; commensal rodent toxicants such as warfarin, diphacinone, bromadiolone, brodifacoum, and red squill; field use rodenticides for many species (e.g., prairie dogs, ground squirrels) using …

Should Ducks Be Frightened?, William K. Pfeifer, Steven D. Fairaizl

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The most common method of resolving waterfowl depredations to small grains is to scare ducks using mechanical scare devices or pyrotechnics. Scaring techniques, however, cause waterfowl to damage, by trampling, up to twice the amount of grain consumed. Conditions such as weather, harvest stage, cultural techniques, farm equipment, length of damage season, availability of alternative feeding sites, and waterfowl population could combine to increase trampling losses. These conditions should be evaluated to determine if large scale scaring projects may actually increase damages to small grains.

Endangered Species Considerations In Prairie Dog Management, Max Schroeder

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Past management of the prairie dog has more often than not resulted in the reduction of prairie dog ecosystems upon which one endangered species, the black-footed ferret, depends. This species and over 400 other species found in the United States and its Territories are currently protected by the Endangered Species Act. The current Endangered Species Act had its start in 1964. At that time, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife selected a committee of individuals to determine which animal species in the United States were threatened or endangered with extinction. These individuals, with the help of some 300 other …

Rodenticidal Effects Of Zinc Phosphide And Strychnine Of Nontarget Species, Daniel W. Uresk, Rudy M. King, Anthony D. Apa, Michele S. Deisch, Raymond L. Linder

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

When three rodenticide treatments—zinc phosphide (prebaited) and strychnine (both with and without prebait)were evaluated, zinc phosphide was the most effective in reducing active burrows of prairie dogs; but, it also resulted in a reduction in deer mouse densities. One month after treatment, counts of fecal pellets of eastern cottontails were greater on areas treated with strychnine without prebait than on sites treated with zinc phosphide. Eight months after treatment, no differences could be detected among rodenticides for either leporid. Horned lark densities were reduced 61% on sites treated with strychnine only.