The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s (TRCP’s) Vice President for Policy and Government Relations and former President of The Wildlife Society Tom Frankin was appointed to the Obama Administration’s new Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council.  See the full story here.

Michael Hutchins Uncategorized, Wildlife Policy News

TWS is currently seeking to hire an Assistant Director of Government Affairs. This new position will be under the direction of TWS’ Director of Government Affairs and Partnerships. The successful applicant will communicate with state and federal natural resource agencies, national conservation organizations, congressional staff, wildlife professionals, and TWS subunits and membership. The Assistant Director of Government Affairs will work to advance TWS policy positions, disseminate information about wildlife policy and TWS policy activities through articles in TWS publications and other venues, and research wildlife policy issues to provide advice and support to the Director of Government Affairs, the Executive Director, and TWS Council.

Primary Duties:

· Monitor and analyze federal legislative and regulatory proposals related to wildlife science/management/conservation and work with TWS membership, Chapters, Sections, Working Groups, Council, and staff to identify priority administrative and legislative issues that should be addressed by TWS.
· Assist in the development and distribution of TWS position statements and technical reviews.
· Assist in the preparation of policy news articles for TWS publications.
· Represent TWS in policy activities with external groups, and develop/maintain liaison with governmental resource management agencies, legislative bodies, and various non-governmental organizations regarding wildlife policy issues.
· Encourage and coordinate the active involvement of TWS membership, Chapters, Sections, Working Groups, and Council in federal, regional, and local policy decisions.

Education/Knowledge: Bachelor’s degree is required. Master’s degree, or other advanced degree, preferred. At least one degree should be in natural resources, wildlife management, or a related field. Understanding of legislative and regulatory processes required.

Experience: Two years experience in natural resource agency or association administration and/or natural resource policy analysis desirable. Legislative experience a plus.

Skills and Abilities: Must be able to handle multiple activities simultaneously. Ability to work well with a variety of people, including governmental officials and wildlife biologists. Must have excellent verbal and written communication and organizational skills. Must be self motivated and dedicated to the conservation of natural resources.

How to Apply: All job applications must be received by December 1, 2009, with the position to begin on or about January 4, 2010. Qualified applicants should email a letter of interest, salary requirements, and résumé to Laura Bies, Director of Government Affairs (laura@wildlife.org).

Darryl Walter Wildlife Careers, Wildlife Policy News wildlife policy

My predictions have come true. Not surprisingly, HSUS is opposing efforts to control Burmese pythons, one of the potentially most destructive invasive species to ever be unleashed on the North American continent. In typical HSUS doublespeak, Beth Preiss, an HSUS spokesperson, said that they feared that the control program could “do more harm than good.”  They also feared that the effort could be “wasted”, as the python’s population had reportedly “reached 100,000.” 

First, no one knows exactly how many pythons there are in the Everglades and its surroundings, but what we do know is that the removal of any reproductively active snakes means less snakes in the future.  HSUS wants state and federal agencies to throw up their hands and give up. Hunting down individual snakes, by itself, will not solve the problem, but it is a start. It is likely that other innovative control methods, such as the use of sex pheromones to lure snakes into traps, trained snake-sniffer dogs, and radio-collared “Judas” snakes (e.g., reproductively active males that can search out females) to locate other snakes will all be necessary.  Wildlife managers should use all of the tools at their disposal. One thing is for sure–every snake that is located should be killed immediately, quickly and humanely.

As I have stated many times before, HSUS and other animal rights groups simply do not care about the future of our native species and ecosystems or about human safety and economy. For them, everything is about the individual animal.

Fortunately, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the state agency responsible for protecting our native wildlife is rapidly mobilizing to attempt to do something about these non-native interlopers. 

This latest HSUS debacle provides further good evidence for my contention that animal rights and conservation philosophy are incompatible and that organizations like HSUS do not deserve the support of anyone who is concerned about the future of our native wildlife and their habitats.

Michael Hutchins Animal rights, Environmental ethics, Wildlife Policy News, invasive species, wildlife conservation

On April 28th, the Obama Administration revoked a Bush era ruling that federal agencies did not have to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before implementing actions that could harm endangered species. This effectively gave individual agencies the ability to build or authorize the construction of  dams, roads, mines, etc. without having to consider their potential impacts on wildlife conservation under the Endangered Species Act.

The Wildlife Society, along with the Society for Conservation Biology and the Ornithological Council, together representing some 21,000 scientisits, had sent letters to the Interior and Commerce Department asking them to overturn the rule.

This is a concrete example of the power of membership in scientific and professional societies and of the collective policy actions that they can undertake.

Michael Hutchins Uncategorized, Wildlife Policy News, endangered species

In August 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed significant changes to regulations and definitions within the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These changes specifically affect interagency cooperation and consultation found under Section 7 of the ESA as well as multiple definitions affecting how and when a federal action can move forward.

While the proposed changes were quite substantial, the comment period on these changes was initially a mere 30 days, significantly less than what is commonplace for more minor alterations to the ESA. In light of this, TWS wrote to Sec. of the Interior Kempthorne and Sec. of Commerce Gutierrez asking for the comment period to be extended by 90 additional days. In response to this and other requests, a 30-day extension of the comment period was put in place.

Subsequently, in late September, TWS joined the Ornithological Council and the Society for Conservation Biology in submitting official comments on the proposed changes to FWS. Within the comments TWS stated, among other things, that by bypassing sound scientific review, the regulatory overhaul would be sacrificing the effectiveness of the consultation process. Read those comments at http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/ESA_comments.pdf. TWS asked for the proposed rule to be withdrawn from consideration.

In early March, President Obama recognized the success of the Endangered Species Act and expressed concerns about the new rules, saying that “we should be looking for ways to improve it – not weaken it.” In response, Congress passed a spending bill in March containing a provision that gives the secretaries of interior and commerce the authority to rescind the controversial rules. However, Secretary Salazar and Secretary Locke have not yet done so.

In response, the Union of Concerned Scientists has drafted a scientist letter that TWS members might be interested in signing, which urges the Obama administration to strengthen the scientific foundation of the Endangered Species Act: http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/solutions/big_picture_solutions/2009-esa-scientists-letter.html

The letter is intended for scientists with biological expertise who possess or are working towards an advanced degree in a relevant field. The deadline for signing the letter is April 22, as the Obama administration has until May 8 to act.

Laura Wildlife Policy News, endangered species

The latest issue of The Wildlife Policy News was just posted. Included in this issue are updates on the FY 2009 Budget that was recently approved and the status on the FY 2010 Budget.

You can also read about the Teaming with Wildlife Act of 2009 (S.655) which would secure dedicated funding for state-level wildlife management and conservation efforts. The Act would use a portion of the royalties collected from mineral development on federal lands and outer continental shelf oil development to allocate states $350 million per year over five years (fiscal years 2011-2016).

Darryl Walter Membership, Policy, Wildlife Policy News Aldo Leopold, bird research, federal budget, funding for wildlife management and conservation

The United States is home to a tremendous diversity of native birds, with more than 800 species inhabiting terrestrial, coastal, and ocean habitats, including Hawaii. Among these species, 67 are federally listed as endangered or threatened. An additional 184 are species of conservation concern because of their small distribution, high threats, or declining populations.  View a video and the 2009 State of the Birds Report here.

Darryl Walter Wildlife Policy News bird research, habitat protection, wildlife conservation

On the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez disaster, check out the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council website for the latest information on restoration of this injured ecosystem.

Darryl Walter Wildlife Policy News habitat protection, restoration project

Researchers say the right whale offers proof that simple conservation steps can have a big impact, even for species driven to the edge of oblivion.  Read more and watch a video here.

Darryl Walter Wildlife Policy News National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wildlife conservation

Great news, the Spring issue of The Wildlife Professional is now available in print and online.  For TWS members feel free to log-into the digital version here.  For those not yet members of TWS, you can take a preview of the issue here.

Included in this issue is an excellent cover story on “Conservation at a Crossroad” and how hunting and fishing activities support conseravation efforts.

Darryl Walter Membership, Policy, TWS Annual Conference, TWS Sponsored Programs, Wildlife Policy News, climate change climate change, conservation education, energy development, funding for wildlife management and conservation, hunting, North American Wildlife Conservation Model, The Wildlife Professional, wildlife policy, Wildlife Society member