PETITION FOR RENEWAL

NUMBER: WCC-95

TITLE: Vertebrate Pests of Agriculture, Forestry and Public Lands

DURATION: October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2004 (5-year Renewal)

DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION:

Vertebrate species (birds and mammals) cause significant economic damage to a diversity of agricultural crops, structures, and natural resources throughout the United States. Losses due to wildlife damage are estimated to exceed $12 billion per year. Additional costs are associated with the impacts of wildlife-vectored diseases on public health, and the loss of native biodiversity due to species overabundance. Wildlife conflicts and damage are expected to continue as a result of expanding human populations and intensified land-use practices. At the same time, public attitudes and environmental regulations make it especially challenging to manage wildlife damage. Agencies and individuals working in this field are being more carefully scrutinized to ensure that any control actions taken are justified, environmentally safe, and in the public interest. Traditional control strategies that use traps or toxicants are not as socially or politically acceptable as in the past. Federal and state regulations and guidelines, and public pressure demand that alternative, non- lethal strategies be identified and utilized. Costs of obtaining data to support re-registration of the few remaining rodenticides and other vertebrate pesticides are high. Trapping restrictions imposed in some states as a result of ballot initiatives are already having implications for wildlife damage management. Other changes in practices of controlling vertebrate pest damage have occurred and will continue to occur because of the presence of sensitive or protected species.

WCC-95 serves as a coordinating and information-sharing group for University researchers, Cooperative Extension Specialists and Agents, Federal researchers, State biologists, industry representatives, and individuals working or interested in the field of wildlife damage management. There is no other meeting of this type available for participants to share needs, research goals, research in progress, product registration issues, and information on current or proposed management strategies in a setting that provides opportunity for discussion and feedback. As such, it is an efficient way to meet these needs, to eliminate unnecessary and unintentional duplication of effort, and to address new and emerging issues in wildlife damage management.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To identify and evaluate research and educational needs including damage assessment, integrated management strategies and materials, new target-specific wildlife management practices, studies of relationships between wildlife pests and endangered species, development of new non-lethal approaches to wildlife damage management, and trends in social attitudes affecting the use of technologies.

2. To coordinate efforts between governments, universities, and private industry in gathering data for registrations of chemicals for repelling, mitigating, or controlling vertebrate pests to make it cost-effective to register the essential management materials.

3. To identify resources to accomplish the committee's goals, and to disseminate information and educational materials to researchers, teachers, stakeholders, and other interested parties.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES:

The efforts of WCC-95 are expected to:

Identify critical/key research and educational issues for wildlife damage management.

Evaluate techniques for the development of improved research protocols.

Allow the exchange of ideas and information, and to generate interest in a specific research area through sponsoring symposia or workshops.

Result in publication of joint research articles and/or review articles on a common issue.

Coordinate specific research programs in priority areas on a regional basis.

Use invited speakers to inform and update committee attendees and others of regional issues and research efforts, and distribute annual meeting minutes and presentation abstracts.

Facilitate interactions between state and federal regulatory personnel with research, management, and industry personnel.

EDUCATIONAL PLAN:

The WCC-95 educational program:

Provides information for extension personnel to utilize in their workshops, publications and other programs.

Facilitates involvement of graduate and undergraduate students in research.

Updates committee members, and other interested parties and agencies, on recent legal, regulatory, management and research issues and progress related to wildlife damage management.

Facilitates arrangement of guest specialists to speak on topics of interest, providing information needed by researchers.

Allows committee members to present ideas for research and management for review before a group of peers and interested parties in an informal setting.

Facilitates the development of consortia to provide research data and encourages interaction between interested parties on specific aspects of wildlife damage management.

Provides a forum for discussing ways and materials for better informing citizens, teachers, and students, of wildlife impacts and approaches for reducing these impacts on agriculture, natural resources, threatened/endangered species, and public health.

PARTICIPANTS:

The following wildlife damage management personnel, representing state and federal agencies, universities, cooperative extension services, and private sector companies have been active in recent years with WCC-95. The current chair is Ray Sterner of the National Wildlife Research Center.

Specialization	Appointment

Res. Ext.	Teach.

Arizona:

Sullivan, L.M.	Natural resources programming,	100

wildlife damage management

California, Davis:

Gorenzel, P.	Wildlife damage management	100

Howard, W.E.	Vertebrate ecology	Active emeritus prof.

Salmon, T.P.	Wildlife damage control	100

Timm, R.M.	Predator and rodent management	25	25

Whisson, D.	Vertebrate pest ecology	25	75

California, Pomona:

Baker, R.O.	Vertebrate ecology, IPM systems for	25	25	50

reducing wildlife damage

Illinois:

Van Deelen, T.	White tailed deer and furbearers	100

Louisiana:

Musik, J.A.	Agricultural economics	100

Nebraska:

Virchow, D.R.	Wildlife damage control, IPM	100

Texas:

Rollins, D.	Predator management	25	75

Utah:

Schmidt, R.H.	Wildlife damage control, wildlife policy	20	40	40

Participants, Cont.

Specialization	Appointment

Res. Ext.	Teach.

Virginia:

Byers, R.E.	Pomology	5

Parkhurst, J.A.	Wildlife damage management,	0	0	0

wildlife:human conflicts

Scanlon, P.F.	Wildlife physiology, toxicology,	0	0	0

vertebrate pest management

Federal/State Agency Representatives:

Eisemann, J.D.	Vertebrate risk assessment	USDA/APHIS/WS

avian toxicology

Fagerstone, K.A.	Wildlife damage management	USDA/APHIS/WS

pesticide/drug registration

ecology/animal behavior

Finley, E.	Vertebrate pest management	CA Dept. of Food & Agr.

Hagen, T.D.	Rodenticide baits	S. Dakota Dept. of Agr.

McCann, G.R.	Small mammals/rodents	USDA/APHIS/WS

Miller, G.H.	Environmental planning	CA Dept. of Food & Agr.

Nolte, D.	Foraging behavior, repellents,	USDA/NWRC

protecting forest resources

O'Brien, J.	Vertebrate pests-rodents and	NV Division of Agriculture

lagomorphs

Page', S.W.	Regulatory, compliance,	USDA/APHIS/WS/DST

Product registration

Petersen, B.E.	Avian toxicology	USDA/APHIS/WS

pesticide registration

Sterner, R.T.	Animal behavior, chemical	USDA/APHIS/WS

registration, GLP/QA

rodent repellants

Steuber, J.	Predator damage management	USDA/APHIS/WS

Wittmer, G.	Wildlife damage research	USDA/APHIS/WS

Industry Participants:

Askam, L.	Commercial control of birds	Bird Shield Repellent Corp.

Baroch, J.	Agr. rodent pest management,	Genesis Laboratories, Inc.

rodenticide registration

Bryson, D.	Rodenticide manufacture	LEPHA Tech., Inc.

Freeman, D.	Formulator	RCO, Inc.

Hazen, B.	Commercial control of vertebrate	Wilco Distribution, Inc.

pests

Marshall, E.	Rodenticide manufacture	LEPHA Tech., Inc.

Svircev, N.	Registration mgr. research	Hacco, Inc.

Symmes, M.	Rodenticide manufacture	LEPHA Tech., Inc.

Thompson, J.	Registration mgr. research	Hacco, Inc.

The Appendix H for each of the participants listed above is attached.

Guest speakers from appropriate agencies are invited to give presentations at the annual meeting each year. In recent years, there have been speakers from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, USDA – Wildlife Services, and Calif. Dept. of Health Services.

OPERATIONAL STRUCTURE:

There are 3 elected offices in WCC-95:

Chair presides over current year's activities and conducts the annual meeting; ensures that meeting announcement and minutes are distributed; maintains mailing list; arranges and moderates program and guest speakers for annual meeting.

Vice-chair assists chair in all activities; functions as chair in absence of chair; usually advances to chair in next election.

Secretary takes notes at annual meeting and provides meeting minutes to chair; assembles abstracts of presentations for inclusion in minutes; assists chair and vice-chair as needed.

SIGNATURES:

________________________________	_______________

Administrative Advisor	Date

________________________________	_______________

Chair, Western Director's Association	Date

ATTACHMENTS:

*	ACCOMPLISHMENTS

NAMES, ADDRESSES, AFFILIATION AND SPECIALTY OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS CONTRIBUTING TO WCC-95. (APPENDIX H SUBMITTED).

Accomplishments:

Over the last 3 years, WCC-95 has been a primary forum for discussion of important issues and challenges facing wildlife damage management. Consequently, WCC-95 has continued to expand its participant list and has succeeded in bringing together a diverse group with interests in rodents, birds, coyotes, foxes, deer, and other vertebrate pests.

Representatives of government (federal and state), university and private industry have met to coordinate research for the development of integrated management programs for vertebrate pests, and to determine strategies for dealing with educational issues as well as the loss of some of the traditional control tools (traps and poisons). Topics addressed have included resolving conflicts between endangered species conservation and vertebrate pest control techniques, educating the general public on the importance of vertebrate pest control and techniques used, and methods for dealing with deer overabundance. Discussions and interactions for obtaining data needed for requesting chemicals that are socially and environmentally acceptable also have taken place. Abstracts of presentations and comprehensive notes on discussions are published and distributed to all participants after each meeting.

This request for renewal of WCC-95 is supported by an expanded and more diverse group than in the past. In 1996, 25 attended the meeting; in 1997 there were 33; and in 1998 there were 36 in attendance. The diversity and number of participants in WCC-95 reflect the importance of this forum for addressing current and emerging issues in wildlife damage management.