Posted on April 13, 2023 by admin

First zoo-raised hellbender successfully reproducing in the wild

April 13, 2023 by MDC News

Missouri hits significant milestone in endangered hellbender population recovery.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announces a significant milestone in population recovery efforts of the endangered Ozark hellbender. A zoo-raised hellbender has successfully reproduced within the Current River.

“We are very excited to announce this news,” said Missouri State Herpetologist Jeff Briggler. “This is the first documented event of a zoo-raised animal fathering a clutch of eggs in the wild.”

Rivers in southern Missouri and adjacent northern Arkansas once supported up to 27,000 Ozark hellbenders. Today, fewer than 1,000 exist in the world – so few that the Ozark hellbender was added to the federal endangered species list in October 2011.

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Seeking Wildlife Health Coordinator

Posted on March 14, 2023 by admin

The Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA), is seeking applications for a Regional Fish and Wildlife Health Coordinator. This position is a collaboration with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. This is a contracted position with 3 years of initial funding. Renewal will be based on continued funding and satisfactory performance

The announcement and full position description are attached.

Applications are due by end of day on March 27th, 2023.

Please share with anyone that might be interested.

MAFWA_Regional Fish and Wildlife Health Coordinator Announcement

MAFWA Regional Fish and Wildlife Health Coordinator_PD

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New Head of Wisconsin DNR

Posted on December 28, 2022 by admin

By Danielle Kaeding December 27, 2022

Gov. Tony Evers appointed Adam Payne on Tuesday to serve as secretary of the DNR. He replaces Preston Cole, who announced he was retiring from the role in November. 

“Adam has deep Wisconsin roots and understands that our vast and valuable resources — from our waterways to our farmlands — are core to who we are as a people and a state,” said Evers in a news release. “He is an outdoorsman, a conservationist, and has been a strong, successful leader for Sheboygan County. I know he will bring that same dedication and spirit of service to this role as secretary.”

Payne has been serving as the Sheboygan County administrator for the last two decades where he has overseen development of county budgets each year, as well as other programs and policy changes. Among them, he guided the county through the cleanup of the Sheboygan River and harbor, as well as a project to preserve 328 acres of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline at Amsterdam Dunes.

Before serving as the county’s administrator, Payne led the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association as its executive director. He also spent five years working with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection from 1990 to 1995. Payne headed the Farmland Preservation Program as its director during that time.

Payne said it’s an honor to lead the agency.

“I have always had a passion for protecting and enhancing our natural resources and am an avid outdoorsman,” Payne said in a statement. “I look forward to working with a strong and diverse team of DNR staff, the Board and its many partners and stakeholders to problem-solve, protect, and enhance our natural resources for people today and for generations to come.”

Payne received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in communications and urban and regional planning.

He will begin serving as the DNR secretary Jan. 3.

However, his appointment is subject to confirmation from the Republican-controlled Senate. At least 150 Evers appointees were still awaiting confirmation as of September, according to data from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau

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Northern Long-eared Bat Reclassified as Endangered

Posted on November 29, 2022 by admin

Date: November 29, 2022

Contact: Georgia Parham, Georgia_Parham@fws.gov, 812-593-8501

Ongoing spread of deadly white-nose syndrome is primary threat, increasing risk of extinction

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a final rule to reclassify the northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The bat, listed as threatened in 2015, now faces extinction due to the rangewide impacts of white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease affecting hibernating bats across North America. The rule takes effect on January 30, 2023.

The growing extinction crisis highlights the importance of the ESA and efforts to conserve species before declines become irreversible.

“This listing is an alarm bell and a call to action,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams. “White-nose syndrome is decimating cave-dwelling bat species like the northern long-eared bat at unprecedented rates. The Service is deeply committed to working with partners on a balanced approach that reduces the impacts of disease and protects the survivors to recover northern long-eared bat populations.”

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Posted on November 28, 2022 by admin

Research Scientist Named Fisheries

Biologist Of The Year

Wisconsin DNR, November 23, 2022

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is pleased to announce that Coldwater Fisheries Research Scientist, Dr. Matthew Mitro, was awarded Fisheries Biologist of the Year by the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) at their annual meeting earlier this year.

This award is given to an individual who has shown “unparalleled initiative towards the better understanding of fishes and their conservation.” There is no better way to describe Dr. Mitro and his extensive 19 years of fisheries research with the DNR. His work focuses on inland trout species, and he has been essential to many trout projects, including:

  • long-term trout and stream habitat monitoring study
  • research on gill lice infecting brook trout
  • contributing to the trout and beaver management plans
  • protocol development for age estimation in brown trout and brook trout
  • modeling changes in stream temperature and trout distribution in response to climate change

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