Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Complete meeting minutes are posted at: http://wildlifecontrol.info/. 1. USDA-CSREES Updates (Menzel): (a) Budget outlook: Small decreases anticipated in federal formula funds for most program areas; Hatch and MacIntire-Stennis funding may be shifted to a competitive grants program in the future (proposed in the Presidents budget); focus will be on agroecosystems with a possible $75million AES grant program. (b) Other funding opportunities: Michael Bowers manages NRI Program on Invasive Species; 2006 RFP will include components on animals and pathogens- possible link with deer management? 2. Administrative Updates (Decker): Need to seek a new administrative advisor, as Dan Decker will be leaving the Cornell University AES in July 2005. Possibly consider changing this project to a multi-state coordinating committee. Need to expand membership of NE1005 to include USDA-APHIS and state wildlife agency staff. 3. Developing New Funding to Support Research Objectives: Need to submit the USDA-NRI multi-state proposal that was developed in 2004 concerning deer impacts to forest regeneration, biodiversity, and ecosystem health. All participating states should contribute to this effort. David Drake will continue to take the lead on submitting the USDA-NRI proposal, although he will be moving to Wisconsin in summer 2005. This research effort would potentially include both the NE and NC regions. 4. NE-1005 participants should consider a research/educational effort related to deer and chronic wasting disease. This could be a collaborative project with the Northeast Wildlife Agency Administrators. NYS will be developing programming in this area and is willing to share results with other interested states. 5. State Reports WV - The nuisance black bear study was completed. Nuisance bears that were moved farther from conflict sites were less likely to cause a repeat complaint. Moving bears resulted in less `reported` nuisance behavior, but some damage was probably not reported. Aversive conditioning (rubber buckshot and/or pyrotechnics) was not effective - some bears repeated nuisance behavior after 24 hours, all bears repeated nuisance activity by 20 days post-treatment. PA - A movement study of deer hunters was completed. Hunter density was negatively correlated with the distance from a road and slope. The average maximum distance hunters reached from a road was 0.8 km, and they walked on average 5.5 km during daily hunting activities. Hunters reported walking 2.5 times farther from roads than was evident from the GPS data. This information will be useful for evaluating impacts of changes in harvest regulations. NY - A research project evaluating woodpecker damage to homes was completed in May 2005, and publications are in preparation. Faculty and staff will be involved in new research and education initiatives for chronic wasting disease in deer in collaboration with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Bear education and aversive conditioning programs are currently being evaluated by two graduate students. A new integrated human dimensions and field ecology project examining suburban coyotes will be implemented in late summer 2005. NJ - Staff summarized and published data from the regional analysis of deer impacts. David Drake will be leaving Rutgers University, and Joe Paulin will be taking over as wildlife damage program coordinator. 6. NEREC Proposal and Activities: David Drake (Rutgers) has served as the leader for the NEREC project. To date, efforts to pursue funding have not born fruit. With David Drakes departure for the University of Wisconsin, and the low probability of securing new funds to support this effort, the current plan is to terminate this project.

The regional multi-state project NE1005 has been active in addressing wildlife damage concerns. Experiments have been conducted to evaluate non-lethal means (e.g., Irri-tape, owl models, bird calls, suet feeders) to reduce woodpecker damage to homes. Applied research and outreach activities relating to deer-damage management have been conducted, including efforts to more accurately document the economic impact of deer-damage in the Northeast, and evaluate deer damage to forest regeneration and effects on biodiversity. Research has also focused on non-lethal options for reducing human-bear conflicts. Efforts are underway to develop critically needed research and outreach programs associated with chronic wasting disease in deer. Activities and federal formula fund support associated with NE1005 resulted in a regional analysis of deer-damage to crops in the northeastern United States. It was estimated that deer cause more than $630 million in losses annually in the 13 northeast states. About $390 million in losses is associated with deer-vehicle accidents; about $240 million was associated with deer damage to high-value agricultural crops and ornamental plants. Faculty associated with NE1005 are also co-leaders of the Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Research and Outreach Cooperative. These two multi-state initiatives are addressing impacts caused by wildlife in the northeast.

Curtis, P. D., G. J. San Julian, and G. F. Mattfeld. 2005. A model of collaborative programming to address wildlife issues: The Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Research and Outreach Cooperative. Urban Ecosystems: (in press). Posner, L. P., J. B. Woodie, P. D. Curtis, H. N. Erb, R. O. Gilbert, W. A. Adams, and R. D. Gleed. 2005. Acid-base, blood gas, and physiologic parameters during laparoscopy in the head-down position in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine:(in press). Drake, D., J. B. Paulin, P. D. Curtis, D. J. Decker, and G. J. San Juliuan. 2005. Assessment of negative economic impacts from deer in the northeastern United States. Journal of Extension 43(1):1RIB5. http://www.joe.org/joe/2005february/index.shtml Stedman, R., D. R. Diefenbach, C. B. Swope, J. C. Finley, A. E. Luloff, H. C. Zinn, G. J. San Julian, and G. A. Wang. 2004. Integrating wildlife and human-dimensions research methods to study hunters. Journal of Wildlife Management 68:762-773. Weaver, H. W., J. T. Anderson, J. W. Edwards, T. L. Dotson, and C. W. Ryan. 2004. Conditioning response of nuisance black bears to physical and auditory stimuli in southern West Virginia. Northeast Fish and Wildlife Conference 60:41-42 (abstract).