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2007

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Articles 91 - 120 of 147

Full-Text Articles in Environmental Health and Protection

A Landscape-Level Survey Of Feral Hog Impacts To Natural Resources Of The Big Thicket National Preserve, Pedro M. Chavarria, Roel R. Lopez, Gillian Bowser, Nova J. Silvy Jan 2007

A Landscape-Level Survey Of Feral Hog Impacts To Natural Resources Of The Big Thicket National Preserve, Pedro M. Chavarria, Roel R. Lopez, Gillian Bowser, Nova J. Silvy

Human–Wildlife Interactions

We conducted a survey of the impact of feral hog (Sus scrofa) on the natural resources of the Big Thicket National Preserve (BTNP), a unit of the National Park Service. We worked in 3 management units: Lance Rosier, Big Sandy, and Turkey Creek. Random stratified sampling was conducted to assess impacts from hog damage on resources by vegetation type at a landscape scale. Landscape features such as topography, soil moisture, soil type, and dominant vegetative cover types were used to predict hog damage. The overall damage to vegetation from hog rooting or wallowing averaged 28% within the 3 …

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Hogs Gone Wild, William H. Clay Jan 2007

Hogs Gone Wild, William H. Clay

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wildlife damage management professionals deal with very few animals that pose as many conflicts or threats as those caused by feral hogs. Whether it’s crop damage, livestock predation, environmental degradation, or disease transmission, feral hogs play a substantial role. Earlier this year, headlines in major newspapers and other media outlets highlighted the latest incidence of an E. coli outbreak in California; more than 200 people across the United States became sick, and 3 people died as a result of eating fresh spinach contaminated with this bacteria. The source of the outbreak was traced back to feral hogs in California.

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Effi Cacy Of Cpth-Treated Egg Baits For Removing Ravens, Peter S. Coates, Jack O. Spencer, Jr., David J. Delehanty Jan 2007

Effi Cacy Of Cpth-Treated Egg Baits For Removing Ravens, Peter S. Coates, Jack O. Spencer, Jr., David J. Delehanty

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human-altered landscapes have provided resource subsidies for common ravens (Corvus corax) resulting in a substantial increase in raven abundance and distribution throughout the United States and Canada in the past 25 years. Ravens are effective predators of eggs and young of ground-nesting birds. During 2002–2005, we tested whether chicken egg baits treated with CPTH (3-chloro-p-toluidine hydrochloride) could be used to manage raven numbers in an area where raven depredation was impacting sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) and greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations in Nevada. We performed multiple raven surveys at a treatment site and …

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Use Of Decoy Traps To Protect Blueberries From Juvenile European Starlings, Michael R. Conover, Richard A. Dolbeer Jan 2007

Use Of Decoy Traps To Protect Blueberries From Juvenile European Starlings, Michael R. Conover, Richard A. Dolbeer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Fruit consumption by large flocks of juvenile European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) is a serious problem for growers of strawberries, grapes, apples, cherries, blueberries, and other small fruit. This study examined if numbers of juvenile European starlings foraging in blueberry orchards could be reduced by catching them in decoy traps and relocating the birds elsewhere. From late July through August of 1989, 620 juvenile starlings were captured in 2 decoy traps at a blueberry orchard in Connecticut. A similar number were caught during the same period in 1990. During these 2 years, numbers of juvenile starlings foraging daily in …

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Ipm And Iwdm: Is There A Difference?, Michael J. Bodenchuck Jan 2007

Ipm And Iwdm: Is There A Difference?, Michael J. Bodenchuck

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Integrated pest management (IPM) has been the model for pest management for more than half a century. IPM has been defined as “the process of integrating and applying practical methods of prevention and control to keep pest situations from reaching damaging levels while minimizing potentially harmful effects of pest control measures on humans, nontarget species and the environment” (USDA 1994). The IPM model taught in invertebrate pest management classes includes the concept of an economic threshold (a level at which the benefits of control exceed the costs of the damage plus the costs of control). The methods which are “integrated” …

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Why This Journal Was Created, Johan T. Du Toit Jan 2007

Why This Journal Was Created, Johan T. Du Toit

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The publication of this second issue of Human–Wildlife Conflicts is something of a triumph, not only because it reflects the continued support of the journal by contributing authors, but also because it confirms the journal’s ability to survive through lean times. The Jack H. Berryman Institute is dependent on Congressionally directed federal funding passed through USDA/ APHIS/Wildlife Services, but that was disrupted by the power shift that occurred in the U.S. Congress in January. The resolution of Congress to withhold approval of most spending bills until presentation of the fiscal 2008 budget later this year meant that the Berryman Institute’s …

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Ecology And Management Of Feral Hogs, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Ben C. West Jan 2007

Ecology And Management Of Feral Hogs, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Ben C. West

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) have been present in North America since the arrival of the earliest settlers in the sixteenth century. Colonists originally released hogs because of the animals’ ability to survive on their own and to serve as a ready food supply for settlers. Since that time, hogs have expanded their range and now are present in 40 of the 50 United States and parts of Canada. Their rapid expansion is similar to that of other introduced species, and, as a result, they are generally classified as an invasive exotics, along with hundreds of other plant and …

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A Tribute To Frederick F. Knowlton, William H. Clay Jan 2007

A Tribute To Frederick F. Knowlton, William H. Clay

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Dr. Fredrick F. Knowlton officially retired on March 31, 2007, with well over 45 years of service to the USDA/Wildlife Services. Fred worked at Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife Research Center Field Station in Logan, Utah, for 35 years alone! His work on coyotes and other species has had an extraordinary impact on the science and management of coyotes. Things that we take for granted today about the life history of coyotes were the result of Fred’s tireless ambition to understand these animals and to improve our ability to manage them. One of our agency’s first Ph.D. hires, Fred produced about …

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America’S First Feral Hog War, Michael R. Conover Jan 2007

America’S First Feral Hog War, Michael R. Conover

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This issue of Human-Wildlife Conflicts focuses on the management of feral hogs (Sus scrofa). As this exotic species has become more numerous and has expanded its range in North America, its adverse impacts on both our nation’s agriculture and environment are becoming more apparent and alarming. How best to manage feral hogs has become one of the most vexing questions for wildlife agencies today, owing to society’s mixed attitudes towards feral hogs (Rollins et al. 2007). Environmentalists and farmers want feral hogs eradicated. Others, especially those who enjoy hunting them, are rooting (pun intended) for the continued expansion …

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Adaptive And Economic Management Methods For Feral Hog Control In Florida, Richard M. Engeman, Bernice U. Constantin, Stephanie A. Schwiff, Henry T. Smith, John Woolard, John Allen, John Dunlap Jan 2007

Adaptive And Economic Management Methods For Feral Hog Control In Florida, Richard M. Engeman, Bernice U. Constantin, Stephanie A. Schwiff, Henry T. Smith, John Woolard, John Allen, John Dunlap

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) negatively impact the environment in most places around the world where they have been introduced into the wild. In many places, hog removal is essential to protect special habitats, in particular, wetlands. This paper describes techniques developed for use in adaptive management approaches to enhance hog removal efforts in Florida, as well as methods to evaluate the economic impacts from hog management. A valuable adaptive management tool that can be an easily applied index to monitor feral hog activity is track plots. This method has been effective for monitoring hog distribution and relative abundance, …

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Hazing Of Canada Geese Is Unlikely To Reduce Nuisance Populations In Urban And Suburban Communities, Robin A. Holevinski, Paul D. Curtis, Richard A. Malecki Jan 2007

Hazing Of Canada Geese Is Unlikely To Reduce Nuisance Populations In Urban And Suburban Communities, Robin A. Holevinski, Paul D. Curtis, Richard A. Malecki

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Growing populations of resident Canada geese (Branta canadensis) have caused increased nuisance problems in urban and suburban communities. Hazing, or persistent harassment, is often recommended as a nonlethal management strategy to alleviate these problems. Does hazing simply cause a local redistribution of birds, or can it solve nuisance problems by pushing geese to rural areas where hunting mortality could reduce the population? To answer this question, we marked 368 adult and 400 juvenile geese with leg bands in 1 urban and 1 suburban community in western New York State during June 2002 and 2003. This sample included 30 …

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In Memory: A Tribute To Glen Stevenson And Joe Harris, Angie Dustin Jan 2007

In Memory: A Tribute To Glen Stevenson And Joe Harris, Angie Dustin

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Joe and Glen you could depend on
Along the river and the breaks
In rough country and wild weather
They’d be the ones you’d take

Pure poetry in motion
As across the hills they’d fly
Excitement in the hunt
And the freedom of the sky

We’ll pick up the radio
And try to call -‘57’
It’s then that it will hit us
As we gaze into the heavens

Whenever we hear the engine
Of a plane in distant sky
We’ll …

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In The News, Fall 2007, Joe N. Caudell Jan 2007

In The News, Fall 2007, Joe N. Caudell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, reported several disturbing trends about the state’s 2006 feral hog hunt. Initially, it was thought that feral hogs existed only in small, isolated pockets within the state, consisting of <30 individuals per pocket. But, during the fall 2006 hunting season, at least 200 hogs were taken from 2 counties. USDA/ APHIS Wildlife Services has been studying the feral hog population and believes that there are at least 3,000 hogs in the state, and it has found evidence that the hogs are breeding in several counties. Wildlife biologists theorize that additional hunting pressure put on the hogs by large hunting parties is causing the hogs to disperse over a larger area than when they are pursued by individual hunters.

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Influence Of Habitat Patch Characteristics On The Success Of Upland Duck Nests, Jaiume M. Jiménez, Michael R. Conover, Raymond D. Deuser, Terry A. Messmer Jan 2007

Influence Of Habitat Patch Characteristics On The Success Of Upland Duck Nests, Jaiume M. Jiménez, Michael R. Conover, Raymond D. Deuser, Terry A. Messmer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

When there is a rich guild of nest predators that use different modalities and techniques to locate hidden nests, we hypothesized that no habitat patch characteristic will consistently predict nest success, because if such a characteristic existed then predators would develop a search image based on it and use that characteristic to increase their hunting efficiency for nests. We tested this prediction in the Prairie Pothole region of North Dakota by characterizing the features of 16 habitat patches that contained >1,800 dabbling duck nests. Nest success was monitored during both the early and late nesting season over 2 years. Nest …

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Feral Hog Research In Western Louisiana: Expanding Populations And Unforeseen Consequences, Michael D. Kaller, James D. Hudson Iii, Eric C. Achberger, William E. Kelso Jan 2007

Feral Hog Research In Western Louisiana: Expanding Populations And Unforeseen Consequences, Michael D. Kaller, James D. Hudson Iii, Eric C. Achberger, William E. Kelso

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Hunter harvest data suggest that feral hog (Sus scrofa) populations in western Louisiana are increasing, and population control in this region is complicated by the mixing of feral and domestic free-ranged hogs. Aggressive management may be warranted as feral and domestic hogs appear to be having unexpected effects on their ecosystem. We present the results of 3 recent investigations of genetic source-tracking to link waterborne bacteria with bacteria from feral hogs. We integrate our most recent findings with data regarding: (1) water quality in a watershed without hog management and (2) aquatic biota of the same watershed. Hog …

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Berryman Institute Addresses Feral Hog Problems, Bruce D. Leopold Jan 2007

Berryman Institute Addresses Feral Hog Problems, Bruce D. Leopold

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Congratulations to Dr. Conover for such a great inaugural issue of our journal!! I have received nothing but very positive accolades about the quality of our first issue. Mike and our managing editor, Phil Parisi, have done a fantastic job!!! This second issue is equally as radical as the first. This issue deals with a subject that is growing in importance throughout the southeastern United States: feral hogs. Being in Mississippi, I am all too familiar with the importance (and negative impact) of this invasive species. Berryman East has consistently funded numerous research projects on this subject. We also have …

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Crop Diversifi Cation Leads To Diverse Bird Problems In Hawaiian Agriculture, Marni E. Koopman, William C. Pitt Jan 2007

Crop Diversifi Cation Leads To Diverse Bird Problems In Hawaiian Agriculture, Marni E. Koopman, William C. Pitt

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Over the last 20 years, Hawaii’s agriculture has shifted from a focus on sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) and pineapples (Ananas comosus) produced on large farms to a diverse array of products produced on a multitude of smaller farms. This dramatic shift in production, in addition to the introduction of many new avian species, has resulted in a concomitant change in the problems faced by agriculture. We surveyed farmers to determine the extent of bird damage to crops, the species responsible, the crops most v …

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Range Size, Habitat Use, And Dial Activity Of Feral Hogs On Reclaimed Surface-Mined Lands In East Texas, Robert C. Mersinger, Nova J. Silvy Jan 2007

Range Size, Habitat Use, And Dial Activity Of Feral Hogs On Reclaimed Surface-Mined Lands In East Texas, Robert C. Mersinger, Nova J. Silvy

Human–Wildlife Interactions

During the last decade, surface lignite mines in eastern Texas have experienced damage by feral hogs (Sus scrofa) to reclaimed areas. Specifically, feral hogs have caused damage to plants used in reclamation. In addition to vegetative losses, erosion control problems and water quality impacts have been noted. Big Brown Lignite Mine in Freestone County, Texas, had tried to control feral hogs through year-long trapping, which proved expensive. We hypothesized that hogs were using reclaimed areas only at night and seasonally. If so, knowledge of travel lanes into the mine and seasonal use would help concentrate trapping efforts and …

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Avoiding Confl Icts Between Wildlife Professionals And Local Hunters Over Efforts To Eradicate Exotic Game Species, Hans Sin Jan 2007

Avoiding Confl Icts Between Wildlife Professionals And Local Hunters Over Efforts To Eradicate Exotic Game Species, Hans Sin

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wildlife damage management, by its nature, is conducive to a variety of conflicts within society, whether it is the method of management or the management itself. Conflicts within society are common, and people with diverse opinions and values may disagree about how wildlife or natural resources should be managed. Opinions can vary among different interest groups (e.g., backpackers, wildlife viewers, and hunters) that have invested time and money in the resource. Eradication efforts of big game to preserve threatened or endangered plants or wildlife have been a source of controversy among various local hunter groups, especially on island ecosystems, such …

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Eliminating Trapping Escalates Beaver Complaints And Costs To The Public, Robert Southwick Jan 2007

Eliminating Trapping Escalates Beaver Complaints And Costs To The Public, Robert Southwick

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Beaver populations are healthy and well-established across North America aft er being nearly eliminated due to unregulated harvests during the previous 200 years. According to a 2004 survey of state wildlife agencies, a majority of states report beaver populations are stable or slightly increasing. However, the loss of trapping as a management tool can upset the current balance. For example, in Massachusetts, a beaver-trapping ban was passed through a public ballot referendum. With the inability to utilize effective quick-kill traps and live-restraining devices during regulated harvest seasons, beaver populations have increased significantly (Figure 1). Along with that increase in the …

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Foraging Preferences Of Captive Canada Geese Related To Turfgrass Mixtures, Brian E. Washburn, Scott C. Barras, Thomas W. Seamans Jan 2007

Foraging Preferences Of Captive Canada Geese Related To Turfgrass Mixtures, Brian E. Washburn, Scott C. Barras, Thomas W. Seamans

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Overabundant populations of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) cause economic and safety concerns associated with collisions with civil and military aircraft. Habitat management techniques that reduce the use of airfield habitats by geese might reduce these concerns. The objective of this study was to determine if captive Canada geese exhibited a foraging preference between a vegetation mixture consisting mostly of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens) versus an endophyte-infected tall fescue- (Festuca arundinacea) based vegetation mixture.

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Are Coyotes Right- Or Left-Handed, And Who Cares?, Michael J. Bodenchuk Jan 2007

Are Coyotes Right- Or Left-Handed, And Who Cares?, Michael J. Bodenchuk

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The sheep killer left the pasture with his belly completely full of lambs. He’d killed and consumed 2 this night, obviously more than he needed for himself. But back at the den 8 hungry pups demanded more and more meat, and this was not his first foray into the pasture.

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Book Review: Living With Coyotes: Managing Predators Humanely Using Food Aversion Conditioning, John A. Shivik Jan 2007

Book Review: Living With Coyotes: Managing Predators Humanely Using Food Aversion Conditioning, John A. Shivik

Human–Wildlife Interactions

I was initially worried after receiving a phone call from a predator advocate who told me that I must see the new book that explained how conditioned food avoidance (CFA) could be used to solve the problem of coyote predation. “New?” I thought, recalling the acrimonious debates over CFA in the journal Appetite and elsewhere in the 1980s. On reading the book, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Living with coyotes by Stuart Ellins is not an extension of the ongoing diatribes that started so long ago. Instead, the book acknowledges that many of the previous heated debates …

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Drive-By Netting: A Technique For Capturing Grebes And Other Diving Waterfowl, Joe A. Caudell, Michael R. Conover Jan 2007

Drive-By Netting: A Technique For Capturing Grebes And Other Diving Waterfowl, Joe A. Caudell, Michael R. Conover

Human–Wildlife Interactions

We describe a new method (drive-by netting) for capturing grebes (Podiceps spp.) and other birds that dive under water to escape capture. We used a floating gill net to capture 203 eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) in 20 days in 1999 on the Great Salt Lake (GSL), 652 eared grebes in 41 days on the GSL in 2000, and 409 grebes in 20 days in 2001. Other species captured during the 2000 and 2001 fi eld seasons included 1 western grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis), 9 ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis), and 1 Canada goose (Branta …

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The Changing Face Of Wildlife Damage Management, William H. Clay Jan 2007

The Changing Face Of Wildlife Damage Management, William H. Clay

Human–Wildlife Interactions

On behalf of the Wildlife Services program, I’m pleased to provide some thoughts for this initial issue of Human–Wildlife Conflicts regarding the changing face of wildlife damage management. Having been in this profession for more than 25 years, I have witnessed firsthand the growth and evolution of wildlife damage management programs across the country. The entire field of wildlife damage management has been in a period of change during the past 15 to 20 years. Wildlife damage managers making decisions in today’s environment must now consider a wide range of legitimate public interests that often conflict with one another. These …

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Long Time Coming, Michael R. Conover Jan 2007

Long Time Coming, Michael R. Conover

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Welcome to this inaugural issue of Human– Wildlife Conflicts. Much has changed during my lifetime. I can remember when there were no deer on my family’s farm in Illinois. I can remember in 1979 seeing Canada geese feeding in a golf course in New Haven, Connecticut, and thinking they were a lost family of geese from the Arctic. I can remember going to a wildlife conference and seeing a presentation in the program, titled “Turkey problems in Wisconsin,” and wondering if the turkeys they were referring to had wings or wore overalls. I can remember the editor of The …

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Public Opinion, The Leopold Report, And The Reform Of Federal Predator Control Policy, James W. Feldman Jan 2007

Public Opinion, The Leopold Report, And The Reform Of Federal Predator Control Policy, James W. Feldman

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This paper explores the role of public opinion in a landmark shift in the federal predator control program. In 1963, the Leopold Committee recommended extensive reform in the federal predator control program, predicting that growing public support for the environmental movement would force such a move if the government did not initiate a change. In the years following the publication of the Leopold Report, the U.S. Division of Wildlife Services reformed its predator control program and tried to improve its public image. Meanwhile, both environmentalists and ranchers fought …

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Successful Use Of Neck Snares To Live-Capture Red Foxes, S. Nicole Frey, Michael R. Conover, Gary Cook Jan 2007

Successful Use Of Neck Snares To Live-Capture Red Foxes, S. Nicole Frey, Michael R. Conover, Gary Cook

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Box traps and foot-hold snares are common methods to live-capture study animals. However, these methods are frequently ineffective due to factors such as weather constraints, food availability, and target animal behavior. During a study of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) behavior, we examined the use of neck snares to live-trap study animals. We modified the neck snare using swivel cam-locks, deer stops to minimize damage to the animal. Additionally, we utilized our knowledge of red-fox behavior to set traps in …

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The Role Of Knowledge In Developing People Skills, Ben C. West Jan 2007

The Role Of Knowledge In Developing People Skills, Ben C. West

Human–Wildlife Interactions

As I noted in the last issue of Human–Wildlife Conflicts, wildlife professionals have historically been lambasted for poorly-developed people skills (West 2007). Moreover, I suggested that full development of any skill relies on knowledge, practice, and feedback. To become a top-notch golfer, for example, one must intellectually understand many things, including rules of the game, layout of golf courses, biomechanics of swinging a golf club, situational advantages and disadvantages or different sized clubs, and many other things. However, to have that knowledge is not enough to be a great golfer; one must also apply that knowledge to the game …

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Evolution Of The Field Of Wildlife Damage Management In The United States And Future Challenges, James E. Miller Jan 2007

Evolution Of The Field Of Wildlife Damage Management In The United States And Future Challenges, James E. Miller

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Through the early twentieth century, people in rural areas of North America either dealt with problems caused by wildlife by killing the problem species, eliminating its habitat, changing crops or husbandry practices, tolerating the damage, or moving to a new area devoid of such problem animals. However, many of these solutions are impractical today with the increase in human populations, the increased expansion of development into previously rural landscapes, the increased fragmentation of land ownership, and the increasing movement of people into metropolitan areas. Because of current local, state, and federal ordinances and regulations, along with the impacts of animal …

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