The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group

Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2002 – Volume 9(1)

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Greetings!

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our newsletter editor, Art Smith, here’s another issue summarizing our Working Group’s recent activities. On page 10, you’ll find a note from Art soliciting anyone who might be interested in taking over as newsletter editor. This is Art’s 5^th year of serving our Working Group as newsletter editor, and he’s expressed interest in moving along to serve our group in a different way in the coming months. If you’re curious about what the editor’s task involves, talk to Art or to me at your convenience.

The next issue of INTERACTIONS will likely contain information on our annual election of new officers and board members. If you’re contacted by a member of the Working Group asking your willingness to serve in some capacity, I hope you’ll give it serious consideration. The efforts of those who have served as officers and board members in the early years of our Group have helped pave the road that’s enabled our current success and health.

At last fall’s annual TWS Conference in Reno, we learned that our Working Group continues modest growth in membership, while some other Working Groups are having a difficult time sustaining their numbers and remaining active. In part, I think this is because 1) wildlife damage management is a present and growing need within our profession, and 2) our Group’s members have taken an active role in organizing symposia and events that are both relevant to our members and also continue to further our goals and objectives.

Within this newsletter you’ll find a statement submitted to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service by our Working Group’s leadership, in response to the Draft EIS on cormorants. There is no way such a statement can reflect the diversity of opinion present within our entire Working Group. However, I think the discussion that occurred among our Group’s officers and board members as this statement was crafted over 2+ months enabled us to reach a reasonable consensus. There is now an opportunity for our Group to lend its voice to the discussion about certification / state oversight of private nuisance wildlife control operators (NWCOs). This issue has come to the forefront in recent months, as both the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) as well as the National Wildlife Control Operators Association (NWCOA) have developed recommendations regarding what each considers to be appropriate state oversight of this industry. At this writing, our WG officers and board members are considering whether and how to lend our voice to this discussion. If you have a particular interest in this topic and would like to help define whatever input we might choose to have, please contact me.

Also, give serious consideration to attending the 9^th Annual TWS Conference in Bismarck, North Dakota (Sept. 24-28, 2002), as well as the 10^th Wildlife Damage Management Conference that our Working Group is organizing for April 6-9, 2003 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Consider submitting a paper for the 10^th WDM Conference; a “Call for Papers” will be circulated in April, with abstracts due by July 1. Or, if you’re thinking further ahead, how about planning to attend the 3^rd International Wildlife Management Congress to be held Dec. 1-5, 2003 in Christchurch, New Zealand? (See p. 7 inside for more info.)

- Bob Timm

<rmtimm@ucdavis.edu>

Minutes of the 2001 annual meeting of the wildlife damage management working group, tws, September 27, 2001, Reno, Nevada

The meeting was opened at 12:05 pm by Bob Timm, Chair. Officers present included Bob Timm, Chair; Scott Craven, Past Chair; Gary Witmer, Secretary/Treasurer; and Board Members—Dale Nolte, Gary San Julian, Robert Schmidt, and Desley Whisson. Forty-four persons attended the meeting. Introductions were made by all in attendance. Bob announced the results of the board member election; new board members include Frank Boyd, Mark Conner, and Dale Nolte. He also thanked Gary San Julian for putting together an excellent group of candidates. Bob thanked out-going board members Dale Rollins, Gary San Julian, and Robert Schmidt.

The minutes of the 2000 annual meeting in Nashville, TN, were voted on and approved. Gary Witmer reported that the current Working Group membership was 250, keeping it the largest working group of TWS. Gary gave the treasurer’s report: the year started with a balance of $2,777.73 and as of September 26 there was $3,084.35 in the checking account. Expenses were newsletter production and mailing costs, while income was from membership dues. Richard Curnow had audited the account on January 26, 2001, and found all to be in order. The membership and treasurer’s reports were voted on and approved. Richard Curnow agreed to again audit the account near the end of 2001.

Bob Timm gave an update on the Working Group’s publications on behalf of Paul Curtis of Cornell. About 4,430 copies of the urban goose booklet have been sold. The suburban deer booklet came out in November and, already, 1,268 copies have been sold. Bob raised the question of what new topics/species should the Group pursue; the only response was by Danny Martin (970/266-6087) that a suburban coyote booklet might be of value. Persons interested in that should contact Danny. Dennis Slate was asked about a suburban raccoon booklet; he responded that they were currently concentrating on a raccoon symposium for the TWS Annual Meeting in Burlington, VT, in 2003.

Scott Craven reported on the Feral and Free-ranging Domestic Cat position statement. He said that he had received no comments since the draft presentation of the statement. Jim Miller commented that the Council had approved the statement (see The Wildlifer, Issue 306, March 2001).

Bob Timm gave an update on the Working Group’s website. Dallas Virchow is maintaining the site and would like comments on it and suggestions for improvement and additions. The past Proceedings of the Great Plains and Eastern Wildlife Damage Management Conferences are being scanned in along with the Group’s newsletter, Interactions.

There was considerable discussion about the next Wildlife Damage Management Conference (WDMC) to be held in Hot Springs, AR, April 6-9, 2003. Bob gave an overview of where we are at and called for more volunteers to help with the planning. A meeting was held later in the evening to discuss matters in more detail. Contact Bob (707/744-1424) if you are interested in helping.

Gary San Julian gave an update on the 9^th WDMC that had been held in State College, PA. The Proceedings have just come out and are being mailed to all attendees. The remaining copies will be sent to the USDA National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC), Fort Collins, which will serve as a repository. Checks for $15.00 can be sent to the NWRC Library requesting a copy; checks should be made out to the Working Group (WDMWG) and Gary Witmer will put the money into the Group’s checking account. Gary San Julian thanked all who had helped with the Conference. He gave the Conference handbook and mailing list to Bob Timm for use with future conferences. He also noted that PSU was sending a check for $5,000 (proceeds from the Conference) to Gary Witmer for deposit in the Group’s checking account and for use in putting on the 10^th Conference. (Note: Gary Witmer received and deposited the check on 10/1/01.)

Gary San Julian also noted that a WDM Short Course (2.5-3 day) for Practitioners would be put on at PSU in the Spring of 2002. It would be similar to the one Tom Barnes had put on in Kentucky some years back. Gary (814/863-0401) is looking for ideas and instructors so contact him if you are interested.

The new Interactions newsletter [Late Summer 2001, Vol. 8 (2)] has just been mailed out and it contains the 2000-2001 membership list. Bob Timm reported that Art Smith had sent his regrets for not being able to attend the Reno meeting and that Art needs input for future newsletters. The newsletter is now being put on the Working Group’s website. Bob noted that Art would be willing to relinquish his role as editor if anyone would like to take on that responsibility. The officers and attendees gave compliments and thanks to Art for all his efforts over the years!

Scott Craven gave an update on the status of the 3^rd International Wildlife Congress (IWC) to be held in New Zealand in December, 2003. He had just attended a planning meeting with one of the New Zealand hosts as well as TWS officers. A brochure and preliminary program listing are out and Scott shared that information with the group. There are 3 Working Groups (Native Peoples, Wildlife Toxicology, and Wildlife Damage Management) that have been specifically invited to participate in the Congress. Scott reported that persons can participate in the Congress on a individual level, but that the Working Group should plan to sponsor one or more symposia. Jim Miller and others agreed and a group of interested persons was formed to pursue this further (Jim Miller, Scott Craven, Robert Schmidt, Dick Curnow, Gary San Julian, Dale Nolte, Jim Armstrong, and Gary Witmer). Potential topics include native versus exotic species, overabundant wildlife populations, wildlife health and disease issues, and fertility and biological control of populations. Scott stated that there had been a lively discussion of how to handle manuscripts and the proceedings, but that the issues had not been resolved. Contact Scott (608/263-6325) if you are interested in becoming involved.

Discussion next turned to the 9^th TWS Annual Meeting to be held in Bismarck, ND, in September, 2002. The deadline for symposia, workshops, and special poster sessions proposals is October 31, 2001 (see The Wildlifer, Issue 308 or the website: www.wildlife.org). Terry Messmer suggested a symposium on “Fee-access hunting: is it wildlife conservation or commercialization?” The discussion considered several aspects of this topic: attitudes of states with little public land versus those with much public land; economic factors; and changing approaches to wildlife population management. Those interested should contact Terry (435/797-3975). Another idea was nest predation and waterfowl (some suggested contacts for those interested in this topic are Ben West at USU, 435/797-8876 and Harvey Nelson (612/831-8333) who heads up PART (Predation Avian Recruitment Team) and was involved in the special issue on the topic in WSB (29)1, Spring 2001. Other ideas included blackbird management (contact George Linz, 701/250-4468) and coyote management (contact Bob Timm, 707/744-1424).

Robert Schmidt led a discussion on the merits of the WDAMAGE electronic bulletin board. He noted that it had been used mostly by NWCOs, but now had a good mix of users. Larry Sullivan and others commented that it was a good source of ideas and information; people generally get good, quick responses to their questions. Robert was asked if a person could search for past listings. This was once possible through a private company, but is no longer available; Robert will look into the potential of reestablishing this service. Robert noted his efforts to protect users by not accepting long files or attachments. Ideas, comments, and concerns should be addressed to Robert (435/797-2536 or e-mail: rschmidt@cc.usu.edu). He would be happy to put any interested person on WDAMAGE if you just e-mail him and request that action.

Other new business included an inquiry by Bob Timm as to whether or not the Working Group should be trying to recruit more members. No specific ideas were brought forth, but if you have thoughts on this, contact Bob or Gary Witmer (970/266-6095). Another topic was whether or not the Working Group should meet at other conferences (VPC, WDMC). It was generally agreed that the idea was OK, especially for planning groups, but that the TWS Annual Meeting would still be the forum for the official annual meeting of the Working Group.

Larry Sullivan brought to the Group’s attention the effort by the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS - John Hadidian) to get a standardized set of NWCO certification guidelines/regulations approved/implemented by state wildlife agencies. Few in the Working Group seemed aware of this and concern was expressed that the Group had not had the chance to review and comment on the guidelines, especially in light of the Group’s earlier involvement in this topic. Bob Timm will contact John and ask for a copy of the proposed guidelines. The Working Group’s board will review the guidelines and, if appropriate, draft a response to HSUS or other parties on behalf of the Working Group.

Larry Sullivan displayed and welcomed the new Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts textbook by Michael Conover. The book is available through CRC Press (800/272-7737).

Laura Simon (203/393-1050) mentioned the availability of a video on problem beaver management.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:40 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Gary Witmer

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

Thanks to the following individuals for contributing to this issue: Mike Dwyer, Kathy Fagerstone, Wayne Langman, Sandra Staples-Bortner, Bob Timm, Mark Tobin, Stephen Vantassel, Yanin Walker, and Gary Witmer.

The following position statement was developed by our Working Group in response to an opportunity to provide input into the Draft EIS process. This opportunity was brought to the attention of the Working Group Officers and Executive Board by Jim Miller, Mississippi State University, past TWS President and Working Group member. Jim suggested that the Working Group could provide some constructive input on the topic. After about 2 months of discussion among Working Group Officers and Board members, the following document was submitted to the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

February 2002

Position Statement:

Double Crested Cormorant Draft Environmental Impact Statement

by

Wildlife Damage Management Working Group of The Wildlife Society

The Wildlife Damage Management Working Group (WDMWG) is the largest of 15 active Working Groups of The Wildlife Society (TWS). One of the Working Group’s objectives is the improvement of wildlife damage management practices, using scientifically based methods and the most current information. During its existence, this Working Group has taken positions of record on other issues regarding migratory bird management.

The Double Crested Cormorant (DCCO) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) raises important issues that the WDMWG believes must be urgently addressed. By means of these written comments, the WDMWG shares its concerns and encourages the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services, and the respective state wildlife agencies to address this management issue without delay. The cormorant issue affects wildlife and fisheries resources, vegetation and habitat sustainability on both private and public lands, the economic livelihood of private landowners, and the public’s perception of wildlife management agencies.

The WDMWG recognizes that historically DCCO populations were small, and this species was considered vulnerable to the threat of persistent pesticides as well as to habitat destruction. Today, such concerns are past. Continental DCCO populations have increased and expanded significantly over the past 20 years, particularly in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Breeding population shifts have occurred over the past 10 years and continue to occur within the southeastern U.S. Increases in over-wintering populations are having major impacts on human activities and on wildlife habitats. This species now causes increasingly serious damage in aquaculture and to recreational fisheries stocks on private and public waters. Cormorant damage to vegetation, which provides habitat for many wildlife species, is significant and affects habitat sustainability both short- and long-term. For example, many mature bald cypresses and other trees are being killed in and around expanding roosts and nesting areas in parts of the Southeast. Further, increasing cormorant numbers degrade the aesthetic quality of life for many rural and urban Americans who live in areas near DCCO staging, roosting, and nesting areas.

The WDMWG believes that in addition to implementation of the various actions listed in Alternative D, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should take more aggressive actions to manage regional and local DCCO overpopulation and resulting damage caused by this species. We believe that the lack of adequate management progress has serious implications for the wildlife profession, and has led to a loss of credibility of wildlife management agencies and prompted legislation proposed in the Congress (Bills S. 909 and H.R. 2879) to address the DCCO overpopulation concerns. Both bills, if passed, would force wildlife agencies, in which the bills’ authors and sponsors apparently have lost confidence, to aggressively address the problem.

It is our observation, based on strategies taken to date by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that the majority of the Alternatives identified in the current DEIS are important but by themselves are inadequate to address the problems and impacts resulting from burgeoning DCCO populations. We submit that in the absence of Alternative E, the other Alternatives provide a piecemeal approach that deals only with individual problem situations, but does not solve the overall overpopulation issue. The EIS should lay the groundwork for development of regional flyway population goals and a specific management plan.

Therefore, the TWS WDMWG respectfully requests and recommends that:

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service work, in cooperation with the USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services agency and with appropriate state fish and wildlife agencies, to develop a combination of Alternatives D and E to urgently address the need for reduction of regional/continental cormorant populations. Alternative D includes several useful provisions that address impacts on public resources and state hatcheries, such as “Public Resource Depredation Orders”. However, Alternative E is the only alternative that provides for the needed management action to reduce regional/continental cormorant overpopulation in a timely and effective manner.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should take immediate action to work cooperatively with USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services and with appropriate state fish and wildlife agencies to develop an aggressive management plan that will result in a significant reduction in DCCO overpopulations in areas currently impacted. This action can be accomplished through appropriate Memoranda of Understanding (MOU’s) and Cooperative Agreements (CA’s) between and among the responsible agencies.

• The responsible agencies should utilize the most efficacious lethal control methods, in conjunction with existing prevention and harassment techniques, to both reduce the overpopulation of cormorants as quickly as possible and to assist the public who are experiencing serious DCCO depredation and/or property damage. The public continues to be impacted negatively, as do other wildlife resources and habitats. It is clear that prompt action must be taken in the future, or Congress will force some action on the responsible agencies. There have been numerous studies (dating back to Schramm et al. 1987) that document both increasing DCCO populations and resulting damage to aquaculture and to recreational fisheries. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should take more aggressive action to manage this overabundant species.

• Regional populations should be reduced to levels, agreed upon mutually by appropriate agencies and stakeholders, that would not threaten the integrity or viability of DCCO populations, but would positively reduce the level and intensity of the damage being caused by DCCOs. The WDMWG does not propose to know what level of population reduction is necessary to achieve this management objective. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service admits in the DEIS that if the population of DCCOs was reduced to 60% of the current population, a viable continental population could be sustained. This level should enable the responsible agencies to then determine, as nearly as possible, the resulting impact on DCCO reproduction and stability, as well as document reduction in damage to aquaculture, vegetation, and other resources.

We believe most private landowners, and certainly most managers of natural resources (public and private), want to be responsible stewards of the natural resources. We request that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service effectively address reducing the overpopulation of the DCCO, regardless of the fact that it is a migratory species, so aquaculture and fisheries resources, public and private property, and habitats for other wildlife species are not jeopardized. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must effectively address this problem, or the wildlife profession may lose credibility and trust with private landowners and the public. As a result, many private landowners, whose threshold of tolerance for this species’ impacts has been exceeded, will conclude that the only viable solution is to eliminate remaining habitat—which will affect all wildlife species.

2000-2001 Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Officers:

Chair: Robert Timm, (707) 744-1424, fax (707) 744-1040, rmtimm@ucdavis.edu

Chair Elect: Kathy Fagerstone, (970) 266-6161, fax (970) 266-6157, kathleen.a.fagerstone@usda.gov

Past Chair: Scott Craven, (608) 263-6325, fax (608) 262-6099, srcraven@facstaff.wisc.edu

Sec/Tres: Gary Witmer, (970) 266-6095, fax (970) 266-6089, gary.w.witmer@usda.gov

Board Members:

2000-2002

Richard Chipman, (518) 477-4837, fax (518) 477-4899, richard.b.chipman@usda.gov

Larry Clark, (970) 266-6137, fax (970) 266-6138, larry.clark@usda.gov

Desley Whisson, (530) 754-8644, fax (530) 752-4154, dawhisson@ucdavis.edu

2001-2003

Frank Boyd, (205) 844-5670, fax (334) 844-5321, boydfra@auburn.edu

Mark Conner, (410) 778-8400, fax (410) 778-8405, mark.c.conner@usa.dupont.com

Dale Nolte, (360) 956-3793, fax (360) 534-9755, dale.l.nolte@usda.gov

Newsletter Editor:

Art Smith, (605) 773-4195, fax (605) 773-6254, arthur.smith@state.sd.us

CONGRATULATIONS!!! OUR RECORD IS STILL PERFECT!

9 ANNUAL MEETINGS AND THIS WORKING GROUP HAS

SPONSORED AT LEAST 1 SYMPOSIUM AT EACH!!!

The full day symposium accepted for the 2002 TWS Annual conference is titled “Management of North American Blackbirds” and was developed/organized by Mark Tobin, Kathy Fagerstone (both USDA/APHIS/WS, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO), and Robert Schmidt (Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Utah State University, Logan, UT).

Statement of Purpose: Blackbirds, primarily red-winged blackbirds and common grackles but including brown-headed cowbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds, and European starlings, cause significant and sometimes devastating economic losses to an assortment of agricultural field crops. This damage ranges from sunflower losses in the Northern Great Plains, to corn damage in the Midwest, to losses to rice producers in the South. Blackbirds contaminate and consume animal rations in feedlots. There are human health concerns associated with large blackbird roosts and significant human safety risks associated with flocks of blackbirds near airports. Brown-headed cowbirds have a deleterious effect on threatened and endangered species. With blackbird populations in the United States ranging from 500 million in the winter to over 1 billion at the end of the summer nesting season, damage problems are persistent and relentless, and require management.

Because blackbirds are a migratory species, and because the management of blackbirds is controlled by State and Federal regulations, particularly the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (with the exception of European starlings), management actions are complicated. Relevant issues include the following:

- Concerns over the cumulative effects of management actions over a wide geographical area;

- The migratory nature of blackbirds, and the associated regulatory environment;

- Impacts of management programs on non-target species;

- Appropriate management locations for specific damage reduction programs;

- Management materials (particularly with pesticides) and actions utilized;

- Biological and technological knowledge gaps; and

- Stakeholder concerns, including those of other wildlife resource management agencies and stakeholders active in agricultural, human safety, and environmental programs

There are increased demands for managing blackbird damage, particularly within the mid- continental region of the United States (roughly the area drained by the Mississippi River). Environmental, economic, and legal constraints on existing control methods means that more productive, acceptable, and cost-effective methods are needed for managing blackbirds. However, efforts in some locations, particularly the northern Great Plains states, to manage blackbird damage has resulted in threatened litigation, media wars, and the development of an environmental impact statement.

The purpose of this symposium is to develop a forum in which the biological, management, administrative, economic, and political aspects of blackbird management can be addressed with all interested parties represented. Following the symposium, attendees should be able to make appropriate assessments of the validity of differing management concerns and claims. Thus, this is an opportunity to TWS to be a facilitator in developing solutions to complex wildlife problems.

other conference & Book information:

10^th Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Conference Dates: April 6-9, 2003

Location: Clarion Resort on the Lake, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Call for Papers: to be mailed during April 2002

Abstracts Due: July 1, 2002

This Conference is the continuation of the former Eastern and Gt. Plains Wildlife Damage Conferences. Considerable interest in this Conference is developing, now that our Working Group has undertaken sponsorship of this event. Plans are to hold this Conference every 2 years, at locations to be selected in the Eastern or Midwest regions of the U.S.

Working Group members serving as coordinators for this Conference are as follows: Bob Timm and Kathy Fagerstone (Conference Chairpersons); Becky McPeake (Local Arrangements); Jim Miller, Scott Craven, and Thurman Booth (Field Trip); Art Smith, Rich Chipman, Scott Craven, Larry Sullivan, Laura Simon, Gary Witmer, and Kathy Fagerstone (Program Committee); Robert Schmidt (Publicity & Sponsorships); James Armstrong (Continuing Ed. Credits); Dale Nole and Mark Conner (Exhibits); Desley Whisson and Gary Witmer (Registration); Kathy Fagerstone and Gary Witmer (Proceedings).

The Conference will begin with a Sunday evening welcoming reception. Monday morning will be the opening plenary session, followed by 1½ days of papers presented within two concurrent sessions. A Monday evening session will focus on the private nuisance wildlife control industry. Wednesday will be an optional all-day field trip focusing on bird predation at aquaculture facilities and other sites where active wildlife damage management programs are in progress.

20th Vertebrate Pest Conference

More than 300 participants met in Reno, Nevada on March 4-7 to hear more than 70 presentations regarding rodent, bird, large mammal, and predator conflicts with humans and the latest research on resolving damage problems. The Proceedings from this Conference will be available in approximately 8 months. The Conference’s new web site address is: <http: www.vpconference.org>. To purchase copies of past Proceedings of the VPC, see info at this site.

3rd International Wildlife Management Congress

University of Canterbury just outside of the city of Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island, 1-5 December, 2003. Hosted by The Wildlife Society (USA), Manaaki Whenua/Landcare Research (New Zealand), Australasian Wildlife Management Society, Ngai Tahu (Maori tribe of New Zealand's South Island), and New Zealand Department of Conservation/Te Papa Atawhai. The theme is Ki te raki ki te tonga -- Ki uta ki tai (From the North to the South -- From Mountains to Sea).

Preliminary Program: Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Utilization, Management of Overabundant Wildlife, Wildlife Health and Diseases, Contrasting Systems, Wildlife Management by Indigenous People, Management of Wildlife Management, Tools and Technologies, Wildlife Toxicology, and Population Dynamics and Modeling

To receive a First Announcement brochure, please contact: 3rd IWMC, Conference Office, Centre for Continuing Education, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand, email: wildlife@cont.canterbury.ac.nz, tel: 64 3 364 2915, fax: 64 3 364 2057, www.conference.canterbury.ac.nz/wildlife2003

Proceedings of the 9th Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The proceedings of the 9^th WSM Conference are now available ($15.00 US funds only, made to the order of the WDMWG) through Gary Witmer at the USDA/APHIS/WS, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Colllins, CO, (970) 266-6095, fax (970) 266-6089, gary.w.witmer@usda.gov.

Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook

After three years, the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook has finally been revised and expanded by author Stephen Vantassel. The new edition has been almost doubled in size with new chapters on predator damage identification, egg damage identification, hair identification and even bone identification. New species have been added and more information has been included on previous species. The 650Mb book is available on CD in Adobe Acrobat Format at only $20.95 plus S&H.

Those who purchased the previous book (or if you say you saw this announcement in this newsletter) can send the cover page or a receipt of purchase and will receive free shipping to the continental U.S. (phone, mail and fax orders only – not for online purchases). All major credit cards accepted.

If you would like to learn more visit <http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.com/wdih.htm>.

wildlife damage stories in the news from around the world:

Lovelorn Scottish Peacock Keeps Hotel Guests Awake

EDINBURGH, June 13 (Reuters) - A peacock called Percy, pining for his girlfriend Henrietta who was stolen by thieves, is keeping guests at a swish Scottish hotel awake at night with his lovelorn squawks, the hotel's manager said Wednesday.

"He misses her and he's been making a lot of noise going round looking for her," Patrick Vaughan, general manager of the Dalhousie Courte Hotel near Edinburgh, told Reuters.

"I used to go out every night and feed them. Henrietta was sitting on nine eggs and then one morning both she and the eggs were gone," Vaughan said. After local media launched a hunt for the stolen Henrietta it quickly emerged she had escaped her captors' clutches.

But with her faith in humankind shattered, Henrietta is yet to return home to roost alongside her lovesick mate. "She has escaped but we've not got her back yet. We know where she is -- up a tree in somebody's garden, but we can't get her down," he said.

The eggs, however, were nowhere to be found. Vaughan said he was not aware of any black market in peacocks and their eggs, although the 18-month-old pair had been a present to his boss and so had a great deal of sentimental value.

"Health Freak" Polar Bear Steals Toothpaste

OSLO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - A polar bear and apparent health freak stole toothpaste and vitamin pills after breaking into a tourist camp in the Norwegian Arctic, but bizarrely left food untouched.

"Maybe he felt he had bad breath after eating seal all summer," joked Arne Kristoffersen, owner of Svalbard Wildlife Service, the tour operator whose camp was trampled.

Fourteen tourists and guides from Norway, Sweden and Italy, came to the camp on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen last week to find the bear had knocked over tents, bitten through a tube of toothpaste and sucked out its contents.

Polar bears' teeth are often yellow, unlike their snow-white fur. The bear, probably aged two, had also popped vitamin-C pills. Dried meat hanging from the roof of one large tent and other food within reach were untouched.

Kristoffersen told Reuters on Monday that the bear was probably driven simply by curiosity. "When bears can eat seals they avoid other foods," he said. "We put a dead reindeer near some polar bear once and they didn't touch it. But they like trying new things."

Tokyo Cracks Down on Crows

TOKYO (AP) - City Hall unleashed its most deadly measure to date Tuesday to control the big, ornery crows that attack people, zoo animals and garbage bags in Tokyo. City workers began setting 100 fenced-in traps throughout Tokyo, hoping to lure the birds in and then gas them with carbon dioxide. The city intends to kill as many as 7,000 crows, or about a third of the population, by March.

The aggressive crows are as adept at picking off prairie dogs at the city zoo as they are at ripping open garbage bags and littering the Japanese capital's streets with rotten food. ``I've heard of these birds attacking kittens,'' task force leader Akira Ishii said as workmen hammered together the first trap in Yoyogi Park, where pine thickets reverberate with grating caws and the sky swirls with black silhouettes. ``Something had to be done.''

Rats are a worry in most big cities. And while there are rats in Tokyo, crows rank beside air pollution as the top metropolitan headaches for Gov. Shintaro Ishihara. The city is spending $236,000 on the crow traps. The crow population in Tokyo has more than tripled - to about 21,000 - since 1985, despite repeated efforts to deprive them of garbage, their main food source. The increase is attributed to a number of factors, including the crows' ability to reproduce quickly and a lack of predators.

Besides plundering curbside trash like voracious dogs, Tokyo crows – which can have a wingspan of more than 3 feet - are known to dive-bomb people coming too close to their fortress-like nests during breeding season. ``Beware of Crows'' signs hang in city parks. ``I hate them,'' said banker Miyo Sakai, victim of a fly-by attack. ``It was a really scary moment.''

Attacks at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo helped rally public support for the crow crackdown. For many people, the last straw was watching crows pluck up and devour baby prairie dogs or peck holes in the backs of hapless deer. ``It's a big problem for those poor animals,'' Ishii said. The Tokyo government received 2,891 crow control complaints between May and August. Experts removed 464 nests, killed 1,064 chicks and destroyed 105 eggs.

The city also has moved garbage collection times closer to daybreak so trash isn't sitting out during crows' prime feeding hours. Bird lovers applaud that move, but any talk of extermination ruffles their feathers. ``People misunderstand crows,'' said Meiko Kurosawa of the Wild Bird Society of Japan. ``They are part of the wildlife in Tokyo, and we have to live in coexistence.''

The species commonly found in Tokyo is the jungle crow. It has largely displaced the smaller carrion crow.

wildlife damage stories in the news from the united states:

Hawk Attacks Golfers Too Close to Her Nest

WOODRIDGE, Ill., June 14 (AP) - Golfers at the Village Greens Golf Course are finding out how motherly love can turn violent.

A red-tailed hawk has injured at least 15 people recently, and in some cases, knocked down stunned golfers to defend her nest near the first tee. ``I was bending over to pick up a golf ball and it knocked me over,'' John Pontarelli said. ``I didn't know what hit me.''

In the past four years, the bird has attacked about 70 people after making the golf course its home, course general manager Brandon Evans said. The attacks usually occur during the spring nesting season and end in June when the baby hawks have learned to fly.

Warnings have been posted at the course, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given the park district permission to break up the nest once it's certain the babies have left.

Sandy Fejt, a Glen Ellyn naturalist, said red-tailed hawks have strong instincts as protective parents, but they are not generally aggressive toward humans. Fejt said the birds are valuable for pest population control because they feast on chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits and mice.

``It's a beautiful animal and we like having it around,'' Evans said, ``when it's not attached to the back of the head of one of our golfers.''

(AP) – Paul Finn of Albany, NY rushes to assist his 3-year-old daughter Kayla after an eagle knocked her down on the beach last week in Hampton Beach, NH. The eagle swooped down and clawed the girl on the back, but she did not require medical attention. The bald eagle has been chasing after balls and annoying beachgoers since last week and has eluded a flock of wildlife officials.

8-Year-Old Bitten; Family Warned Not to Feed Coyotes

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 8, 2001 (The San Diego Union – Tribune) - A bubbly 8-year-old got a lesson about feeding wild animals -- a series of rabies shots. And her mother got a warning from the Department of Fish and Game.

For months, Emerald Bartley and her mother, Tammy Forshee, put out food for a coyote and her pups that had settled in their neighborhood. Before long, the coyotes were standing at their front door, begging for food. On Saturday, the coyote Emerald had nicknamed "Braveheart" turned on her, cornering her in their North Park apartment complex. "He jumped on me and bit my leg," she said. The bite punctured her right thigh. If it weren't for the rabies shots she's finishing Saturday, she would feel fine, she said. The coyotes aren't so lucky. They're being euthanized so they can be tested for rabies.

"We learned the biggest lesson to learn," said Forshee, who cried when she heard the coyotes would be trapped and put to death. "You got to let them be." She also received a written warning from state Fish and Game officials for "harassment of wildlife."

Interactions with coyotes are becoming increasingly common in Southern California, said Mervin Hee, chief of the Fish and Game Department's local office. The situation is so severe that he is considering convening a statewide summit to address the issue.

Over the past six months, nine people were bitten in 19 run-ins with coyotes, Hee said. This is the first attack in San Diego County this year. Last year, a coyote bit a boy in La Mesa. Last month, three children were attacked on their school playground in Orange County. None of them was seriously injured. In Los Angeles, several people were forced to jump into a pool to escape coyotes that were chasing them. And, in another incident, a coyote ripped a dog from its owner's arms and ran off.

Hee said these kinds of encounters can be blamed on people feeding coyotes. "They're basically sentencing the animals to death," Hee said. The animals get accustomed to food being left out for them and eventually become more aggressive with people, said John Turman, a district supervisor for Wildlife Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Complaints about coyotes are rising because their population is growing, and they are losing many of their fears of people. Plus, “people aren't doing anything to discourage them”, Turman said. Turman said people should never feed coyotes and suggested that pets and their food should be kept indoors and trash cans should be covered. "The bottom line is people shouldn't do anything to encourage wild animals in an area where wild animals shouldn't be," Turman said. "More often than not, you're going to end up with some sort of problem."

Woman, 93, Killed by Bear in N.M.

CLEVELAND, N.M. (AP) - At 93, Adelia Trujillo still got around without a cane. She was spunky and strong-willed, stubbornly insisting on staying in her small adobe house with its tin pitched roof. But she was no match for the animal that broke into her kitchen.

Trujillo was killed Aug. 18 in the first fatal bear attack in New Mexico in a century of record-keeping. The 250-pound, 4-year-old black bear was tracked down by dogs and shot hours later a half-mile away. In New Mexico this summer, dry conditions and a killer frost have sent bears out of the mountains and into people's homes in search of food.

Trujillo's neighbors and friends in and around Cleveland, about 45 miles of northeast of Santa Fe, were shocked and sickened by her death. ``I'm scared at night,'' said Tita Martinez, 73, a widow who played bingo with her at the senior citizens center in Mora. ``I just pray to God to help me.''

In North America in the last century, black bears killed 45 people, according to Stephen Herrero, a bear expert from the University of Calgary, Alberta. Three-fourths of those deaths were in Canada. Trujillo's death was the second this year, Herrero said; a camper in Canada was fatally mauled in June.

``The odds of being killed by a black bear in an attack can't be anything but extremely slim, because each year there are millions and millions of interactions between people and bears,'' said Herrero, author of ``Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance.''

Residents of villages at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are used to seeing bears. The animals lumber down from the hillsides every summer to raid the apples, plums and chokecherries that dot the meadows and line the roads in this lush river valley. But this year, the bears have been deprived of much of their usual food - berries, grass and other young vegetation - in the mountains. And they are not finding much in Mora's orchards.

Around the state this summer, hungry bears have attacked wildlife and farm animals, dragged a camper from his sleeping bag, broken through doors and windows and torn apart kitchens. ``My kids play outside, and it's really scary - even in the daytime,'' said Beatrice Vigil, who lives in Monte Aplanado, near Cleveland. ``We don't trust the bears now, that's for sure.''

The state Game and Fish Department regional office some 80 miles away in Raton, near the Colorado line, has been logging about 100 bear complaints a day, four times as many as in the previous worst year, said Joanna Lackey, chief of operations in the state's northeastern quarter. One tried to break through a window into Lackey's office and another tried to enter her house.

Trujillo, a widow since 1989, worked for 15 years in the elementary schools' ``foster grandparent'' program, helping teachers in the classroom. The kids called her Grandma. She heated her home with wood, cooked her beans and tamales on a wood stove, grew and canned some of her own food, and began each day with prayer. ``She had the means to get updated things and she didn't want it. She wanted to stay as simple as possible,'' said her grandson, Richard Ortega. The bear apparently got in by smashing a pane of glass in a door. Trujillo was found dead in the kitchen.

Lackey said investigators will never know what prompted the bear to break into the home, in an area where houses are scattered along a two-lane road with open fields behind them. Nothing was cooking and no food was sitting out when the bear entered, perhaps around daybreak, she said. The bear was healthy and had been eating grasses and other natural foods - not food for humans, according to the Game and Fish Department. The attack ``was probably just a case of one startling the other, and the bear just reacted instinctively,'' Lackey said.

WANTED (ALIVE)

Newsletter Editor for Interactions

Editing this newsletter has been an entirely enjoyable experience, but I feel that the time has come for me to move on to different challenges and let someone else take over.

The pay isn’t good, but the experience cannot be beat.

Qualifications for the position are a serious interest in human/wildlife conflict resolution, word processing and writing/editing abilities, and an enthusiastic attitude. The editor is responsible for the creation, printing, and mailing of Interactions issues on a regular basis.

Experiences gained from this position are the development of important contacts nation- and world-wide, up-to-date knowledge of fast-moving wildlife damage topics, and the satisfaction of working with some of the best managers, researchers, and leaders working with wildlife/human conflicts.

This position is perfect for an emerging manager or researcher who is not afraid to do a little extra volunteer work to gain valuable experience. The position is also open to students as well, as long as there is support from the major professor and it is realized that the position requires more than a short-term commitment.

If interested, please contact Art Smith, (605) 773-4195, fax (605) 773-6254, arthur.smith@state.sd.us.

Congress Told That Wildlife Can Threaten People, Property

WASHINGTON, DC, November 30, 2001 (ENS) - Wildlife can sometimes pose threats to Americans and their property, a new report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) concludes.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, reviewed of the damage to crops, livestock, property, and public health and safety that wildlife may pose. The report outlines the nature and severity of threats posed by wildlife, the actions that federal wildlife managers have taken to reduce such threats, and opportunities for nonlethal methods of predator control on farms and ranches. The review was requested by the Congressional conference committee reviewing the fiscal year 2002 budget request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Wildlife Services program, tasked with controlling damage by wildlife, primarily mammals and birds.

"As the U.S. population has grown and impinged upon wildlife habitats, conflicts between wildlife and humans and their property have become increasingly common, making modern wildlife management more challenging," the GAO reported. "Mammals and birds damage crops, forestry seedlings, and aquaculture products each year, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars," the GAO said. "In fiscal year 2000, predators (primarily coyotes) killed nearly half a million livestock - mostly lambs and calves - valued at about $70 million."

"Beavers, woodchucks, and other species cause millions of dollars in damage each year to property such as roads, bridges, dams, water drainage systems and electrical utilities," the report continues. "Seemingly benign wildlife, such as deer and birds, can also sometimes be injurious. For example, accidents involving automobiles and deer result in over $1 billion in damage annually, and deer consume a wide variety of landscape, garden, and forestry shrubs, plants, and trees." The GAO found reports of about 6,000 collisions between aircraft and wildlife in 2000, noting that such collisions sometimes kill pilots and passengers, and cost the nation's air carriers almost $400 million a year.

Wildlife Services "considers and applies what it believes to be the most appropriate methods - whether lethal or nonlethal - of prevention and control," the GAO said. When nonlethal controls such as fences and guard dogs fail to protect crops or livestock, Wildlife Services may recommend habitat modifications or other control methods, or capture and kill the wildlife blamed for the damages.

"The Wildlife Services program spent nearly $60 million on such damage control activities in fiscal year 2000; the program provided about $23.3 million of these funds, and its clients provided the remaining $36.4 million," the GAO found. "In view of the growing controversy surrounding the use of lethal controls, Wildlife Services scientists are focusing most of their research on developing improved nonlethal control techniques."

AND ONE last one FROM EUROPE:

Starlings Flocking to Rome Get an Earful

ROME, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The swarms of starlings that swoop down on Rome's historic piazzas and baroque churches every winter, forcing tourists and passers-by to seek refuge under umbrellas, are about to get an earful.

The Italian League for the Protection of Birds (Lipu) will broadcast bird "distress calls" over loudspeakers in the historic center starting next week, using a technology it has tried in Rome's leafy outskirts to scare the birds away. "We have recorded the sound that starlings make when there is danger and we will play it over megaphones at dusk when they are starting to nest down," Danilo Selvaggi, the coordinator of Lipu's Rome project, told Reuters Friday.

"We want to chase the starlings out of concentrated urban centers with distress calls and spotlights. They will head to outlying parks and suburbs," he said. "It is very efficient and there is no cruelty to birds involved since they just migrate to parks and woods outside the city," Selvaggi added.

Between October and February some four million starlings migrate to the Italian capital from Germany, Poland and Russia, darkening the horizon and tracing abstract shapes in the sky that capture the imagination of onlookers.

The huge flocks also coat cars, buildings and anyone who has not found cover with bird droppings. Tourists are advised to carry umbrellas or raincoats at dusk and residents have to put up with the rank smell for months at a time. "No one can sit at an outside table at dusk," a waiter at a cafe near Rome's busy Piazza Repubblica said. "They are pretty from a distance but can be quite a nuisance." Last year, a jet bound for Hong Kong with some 250 people aboard ran into a flock of starlings during take-off from the Italian capital and had to make an immediate emergency landing. It took more than 24 hours to clean the engines out.

Ornithologists spotted the first starling in Rome in 1925, and since then the city's urban heat and tree-lined streets have lured millions of the small birds into downtown areas making the city one of the biggest starling nesting areas in the world. In a bid to fend off the pesky birds, Rome developed the "distress call" in 1995 and has used it in many outlying suburbs before deciding to move to more central neighborhoods.

This month, Lipu went after Prati, a residential area northwest of the historic center. In three days, the number of starlings fell to less than 100,000 from about one million, Selvaggi said. "So now we want to focus on the city center, especially around the central train station," Selvaggi said.

Other cities around the globe are considering adopting the technology and even ships have followed suit, using the distress calls to keep the birds away while out at sea.

Art Smith

Department of Game, Fish & Parks

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Pierre, SD 57501

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