WCC095: Vertebrate Pests of Agriculture, Forestry, and Public Lands
Statement of Issues 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.
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