By:
Patrick Durkin +
Posted: 12/14/15
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An experimental vaccine for chronic wasting disease actually increased the likelihood of elk to contract CWD by at least three times.
Hopes for a vaccine to prevent chronic wasting disease (CWD) suffered a severe blow when Wyoming researchers announced in early November that elk inoculated with an experimental serum were at least three times more likely to contract CWD than unvaccinated elk. Continue reading
Efforts underway to overturn court decision barring their hunting or trapping
By Doug Smith Special to the Star Tribune
November 28, 2015
Gary Kramer • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
For the first time in four years, Minnesota’s 2,200 wolves aren’t in the crosshairs of hunters or trappers. The state’s fledgling wolf season was killed last December by a federal court ruling that reinstated canis lupus to the protection of the endangered species list. Now individuals can kill a wolf only in defense of human life, and only federal trappers can remove or kill wolves causing livestock depredation. Hunters and trappers killed 272 wolves last year. “The intent of the wolf season was to allow sustainable hunting and trapping,” said Dan Stark, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wolf specialist. “We weren’t trying to have an impact on the [wolf] population or [livestock] depredations.” Winter severity and fluctuations of deer numbers have greater impact on wolf numbers than hunting and trapping, Stark said. The DNR estimated 2,221 wolves inhabited Minnesota last winter and 2,423 wolves the winter before, a statistically insignificant difference. Continue reading
By Joshua Rapp Learn
The Wildlife Society
Posted on October 23, 2015
Feral swine are one of the most difficult invasive species to eradicate in North America. The pigs (Sus scrofa), first introduced from Europe, are intelligent enough to avoid many traps and can change their behavior to be more evasive and nomadic once they’ve had encounters with hunters.
But researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services are perfecting a poison that’s as basic as bacon for breakfast: salt. Continue reading
October 9, 2015
Pheasant range states are seeking a National Wild Pheasant Plan Coordinator. The position will be located in the Pheasant’s Forever office in Brookings, SD. Application deadline is November 30, 2015.
National Pheasant Plan Coordinator Second Announcement
By ERICA GOODE OCT. 5, 2015 Science
A male greater sage grouse performed mating rituals for a female grouse, not pictured, on a lake outside Walden, Colo. Credit David Zalubowski/Associated Press
When the Obama administration announced last month that it would not add the greater sage grouse to the endangered species list, some conservation groups predictably criticized the ruling.
“It’s a sign that politics as usual has taken over the process,” said Erik Molvar of WildEarth Guardians, which had lobbied to protect the bird.
A more surprising development was that many other environmental organizations applauded the decision and the Interior Department’s proactive approach: With the threat of regulation under the Endangered Species Act hanging in the background, the department prodded states, federal agencies and private landowners to work together on a conservation plan that could make an endangered listing unnecessary. Continue reading
