Darryl Walter Oil, wildlife conservation habitat protection, Oil Spill

I came across an article on “thrill killing” in USA TODAY and I was very disturbed by it.  USA TODAY reports that youths age 14-23 gather in groups and do random killing of wildlife.  Poachers run down deer with cars or snowmobiles, and chase raccoons, then beat them to death with clubs. They also shoot deer, elk and antelope, sometimes removing valuable antlers but often leaving the carcass to rot on the ground,

Read the entire article here and I look forward to hearing your comments.

Darryl Walter Human-wildlife conflict, hunting habitat protection, hunting

The New York Daily News reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to ban the importation of a nine species of constrictor snakes imported from other countries.

This is good news as these invasive species reek havoc on the ecosystem.

Read the entire story here.

Darryl Walter US Fish and Wildlife Service, invasive species, snakes habitat protection, invasive species

The leasing of public land for oil and gas drilling on large tracts of wildlife-rich northwest Colorado is a growing threat to the state’s heritage and an important part of the economy, the Colorado Wildlife Federation said in a report released this week.

The data show that 41 percent of the 4.9 million-acre Piceance Basin has been leased. The report was compiled from state oil and gas records, information from the state Division of Wildlife and peer-reviewed research.

Read the complete story here.

Darryl Walter Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management and Conservation, energy development habitat protection

The Seattle Times reports that wildlife officials from the United States and Canada want to gauge how climate change is affecting grizzly bears and hope to encourage conservation groups to purchase key parcels of bear habitat.

Those are two of the major changes for future grizzly restoration efforts in the Northern Rockies and North Cascades. There are an estimated 1,500 endangered bears in the region’s four states and two provinces.

A new recovery plan for the species must be finished by the end of 2012. Read the entire story here.

Darryl Walter Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife management grizzly bears, habitat protection

The Celebrating Our Wildlife Conservation Heritage or COWCH was created with the goal of preserving the history and evolution of the wildlife profession by interviewing influential wildlife biologist, educators, managers, and other pioneers.

To date we have recorded more than 60 COWCH interviews with distinguished leaders in the wildlife profession including students of Aldo Leopold, charter members of TWS, Aldo Leopold Award winners, past-presidents of TWS, and other trail-blazers in wildlife management and conservation. These interviews—along with many more we hope to do—form a priceless record of the roots of our profession.

Read more and watch interview excerpts here.

Darryl Walter COWCH, Wildlife professionals conservation education, COWCH, habitat protection, wildlife biologists, Wildlife Careers, wildlife conservation, Wildlife Society member

Oklahoma State University Professor Fred S. Guthery received the 2009 Outstanding Publication Award from The Wildlife Society for his book “A Primer on Natural Resource Science.”

The Outstanding Publication Award recognizes excellence in scientific writing characterized by originality of research or thought and a high scholastic standard in the manner of presentation. The award was presented at The Wildlife Society’s 16th Annual Conference in Monterey, Calif.

Read more here.

Darryl Walter TWS Annual Conference, Wildlife management annual conference, conservation education, habitat protection

A friend of mine, who works for the FCC, sent me this article knowing that I would have an interest in it…

The FCC will soon be able to celebrate seven years of sitting on its duff and doing nothing about the problem of bird-slaying wireless towers. Even a court order hasn’t scared the agency into action—Ars wonders what will.

Read the entire article here and feel free to comment.

Darryl Walter Human-wildlife conflict, Policy bird research, habitat protection

When new electrical transmission lines are built, migratory animals can be disrupted.  Western governors and Cabinet secretaries signed an agreement to work together on protecting wildlife corridors essential to the survival of migratory animals such as pronghorn, caribou, mule deer, and elk.

Signed at the Western Governors’ Association annual meeting, the agreement aims to improve state wildlife data systems for use as renewable and fossil energy resources are planned and transmission lines and highways are considered.

Read more here.

Darryl Walter Wildlife management energy development, habitat protection

Going green is supposed to be good for the environment, unless you’re a bat.

Researchers are investigating the deaths of bats around wind farms where some of the dead animals show no signs of injury. But it’s not just bats that seem to be having problems with the farms.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Darryl Walter Animal behavior, wildlife conservation bats, bird research, conservation education, habitat protection