Wildlife Services

Wildlife Professionals say Oregon beaver trapping ban Misses The Mark

A proposed ban on regulated beaver trapping in (of all places) “the beaver state” has pitted wildlife officials against animal activists, and science against social discourse. Beavers have long been associated with the early history of Oregon’s settlement, bringing commerce and trade to the region during settlement, and their pelts today still hold value to a determined sector of the state’s citizenry.

Recent coyote conflict highlights coexistence conundrum with charismatic canines

This dichotomy of differing levels with regard for the coyote further polarizes the debate. There’s a lot of people who truly love coyotes, and a lot of people who truly hate ‘em. This makes for quite the balancing act for impartial wildlife professionals when the topics of management, regulated cull, and public safety-driven pest control begin to swirl in the same social cauldron.

Rash of fox attacks in Maine prompts trapping program

There have been more than half a dozen fox attacks in the area in just six months, with one unfortunate Bath resident being attacked on two separate occasions. The rash of fox attacks in the mid-coast of Maine has prompted formal action from at least one town, according to reports.

Last year’s rodent “bumper crop” means predator boom this spring

Just as the acorn mast abundance of two years ago drove a rodent explosion last year, I’m confident the expansion in rodent presence will drive a “cyclical boom” in New England’s predatory species this year.

New Hampshire Trappers: Turn in your tissue!

New Hampshire Trappers: Turn in your tissue!

New Hampshire’s trappers are once again being called upon to assist with wildlife conservation in the region. The state’s trapping community intends to fully answer the call. Multiple conservation-oriented projects are being administered by different agencies, and they’re all requesting tissue and carcass samples from legally trapped furbearing wildlife for scientific testing and research.