Wildlife Service, several states appealing ban on wolf season

Posted on December 1, 2015 by admin

Efforts underway to overturn court decision barring their hunting or trapping 

By Doug Smith Special to the Star Tribune

November 28, 2015Wolf

 

 

 

 

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 →

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New Toxin for Feral Swine

Posted on October 26, 2015 by admin

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 →

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National Pheasant Coordinator Job Opportunity

Posted on October 9, 2015 by admin

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

 

 

 

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A Shifting Approach to Saving Endangered Species

Posted on October 6, 2015 by admin

 

By ERICA GOODE OCT. 5, 2015 Science

Sage grouse

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 →

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Judge Throws Out Lesser Prairie Chicken Listing

Posted on September 11, 2015 by admin

 

Posted on September 10, 2015

The Washington Post

Lesser Prairie Chicken

male lesser prairie chicken, New Mexico

A U.S. District Court Judge threw out the Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) decision to list the lesser prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) as a threatened species last Tuesday. The March 2014 decision to list this species throughout its range in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado coincided with a habitat conservation plan set up by these states which aimed to keep the species from being listed. This was done to fend off any land use restrictions for operations such as oil and gas extraction that may result from a listing. The judge in this case ruled FWS failed to consider the potential positive impacts of the habitat conservation plan in determining whether listing the species was necessary. FWS has not stated if they will appeal the ruling.

 

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