WELCOME!!!

Please explore our site to learn more about us and how we and the other regional associations and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies work together to conserve our precious fish and wildlife resources.

Our mission is to provide a forum for state and provincial fish and wildlife agencies to share ideas and information, pool resources, and initiate action to benefit the management and conservation of fish and wildlife resources in the Midwest.

77th Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Annual Director's Meeting

June 27-30, 2010

Hyatt Indianapolis

Indianapolis, Indiana

Registration and program details will be available in April.

Great Lakes, Great Peril | Update

Michigan study disputes economic effect of closing 2 Chicago locks

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Feb. 4, 2010 |(2) Comments

Great Lakes, Great Peril

Special Section: This series will periodically examine challenges facing the Great Lakes in what experts forecast will be the century of water.

Illinois politicians have claimed that even a temporary closure of two Chicago navigation locks will lead to regional economic devastation, but a new transportation analysis released by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox tells a different story.

Click here for full story                              Asian carp story 2-5-10

WILDLIFE: Obama admin forms new conservation advisory panel

 (02/04/2010)
Allison Winter, E&E reporter

The Obama administration today launched a new advisory council that will give hunters a forum for advising the government on conservation.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack created the new Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council. It will replace the Sporting Conservation Council created under the George W. Bush administration, adding more representatives from hunting interests.

Click here for full story                    Wildlife Advisory story 2-4-10               

Deadly VHS virus found in Lake Superior

By The Associated Press

January 27, 2010, 8:02PM

this is undated photo released by the Aquatic Animal Health Program, Cornell University, a walleye that was found infected with the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus in 2006 in Conesus Lake in upstate New York is shown.

A fatal fish virus has been detected in Lake Superior for the first time, meaning it has spread to all the Great Lakes, researchers said Wednesday.

Click here for full story                 VHS virus found in Lake Superior

Feds: Don't panic over carp

DNA found in lakes; Granholm calls for White House summit

BY TINA LAM
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Posted: Jan. 20, 2010

DNA tests show the presence of carp at the breakwater of Calumet Harbor in Illinois, beyond the nearest lock. The breakwater leads to the open waters of Lake Michigan.

The announcement came just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Michigan's plea to shut down the locks leading to the lake.

Click here for full story                                  Carp DNA in Lake MI 1-20-10

Bill would place limits on Iowans feeding wildlife

By PERRY BEEMAN • pbeeman@dmreg.com • January 20, 2010

A proposed state law would prevent people from feeding wildlife in much of Iowa, in an effort to prevent the spread of diseases among deer and livestock.

Iowans could still feed wildlife within 50 yards of their homes and on farms as part of normal agricultural practices.

The legislation, backed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, generally would ban people from feeding wildlife on public or private land.

Hunting in baited areas would be banned, too.

The proposals came from a state task force concerned about the spread of diseases among deer and cattle.

Dianne Ford, a DNR lobbyist, said the legislation is aimed at keeping chronic wasting disease and livestock diseases out of Iowa. Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota have faced multimillion-dollar eradication campaigns and livestock losses, an Iowa report noted.

Feeding deer brings the animals together, where they can spread diseases among themselves through saliva, Ford said.

Ford said the idea is simple, but controversial.

Some people consider the proposal an infringement on private landowners' rights.

By Chuck Quirmbach, APR
Thursday, January 21, 2010

The White House is offering to meet with Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and other Midwest leaders about Asian Carp in the Great Lakes.

On Tuesday, Doyle and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm asked for a White House summit on Asian Carp and other invasive species in the lakes. That was after federal officials announced Asian Carp DNA has been found in a Lake Michigan harbor, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request to temporarily shut Chicago area locks, that the states say may be letting the carp get to the lakes.

The chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Nancy Sutley, has written to the two governors, suggesting a meeting in early February. Sutley told Wisconsin Pubic Radio that the White House understands the carp issue is important.

Sutley says she wants to make sure federal agencies are working together, and working with state and local agencies. She says the Obama Administration has already put money into controlling the carp.

A spokesperson for Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm says Granholm looks forward to the meeting, which will either be in Washington or in the Midwest.

Asian Carp Will Soon Invade Store Shelves

by The Associated Press

A bighead carp, a species of the Asian carp, swims in an exhibit at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium.

M. Spencer Green/AP

January 18, 2010

Building off a state-developed marketing plan, a group of Louisiana-based companies has started a joint venture that will put Asian carp on retail shelves within weeks.

The fish are being marketed as silverfin, the name it was given in a marketing plan developed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The agency is promoting recreational and commercial applications of an invasive fish that has caused huge problems for boaters in northern states.

Click here for full story                                     Asian Carp Will Soon Invade Store Shelves

Pushes Tax Incentive for Hunters to Help the Hungry

By The Racine News Team

Legislation Would Allow Hunters to Deduct any Processing Fees They Pay for Harvested Game Donated to Charity

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) is helping lead an effort to give an added tax incentive to hunters and meat processors who participate in food donation programs.  Feingold is the lead cosponsor of legislation introduced by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that allows hunters to deduct any processing cost they pay for legally harvested game they donate, in addition to the value of the meat that they can already deduct.  Participating processors will also benefit because their processing income would be tax exempt if paid for by a charity.  The tax break applies to any wild game meat legally harvested.  

Click here for full story                                  Tax Incentive for Hunters to Help the Hungry

Minnesota joins legal fight over Asian carp

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Dec. 28, 2009

Great Lakes, Great Peril

Special Section: This series will periodically examine challenges facing the Great Lakes in what experts forecast will be the century of water.

The State of Minnesota is joining the legal fight to force changes in the way Chicago manages its water in a drastic attempt to keep Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed a brief Monday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to order emergency action to close some navigational locks in the Chicago area. The locks are the last physical obstacle between the fish and Lake Michigan.

Click here for full story                            Carp fight story MN

Van Hollen joins fight against carp

He seeks to stop fish invasion of Lake Michigan

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Dec. 16, 2009

Great Lakes, Great Peril

Special Section: This series will periodically examine challenges facing the Great Lakes in what experts forecast will be the century of water.

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said Wednesday he is willing to use his official authority to try to stop Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan.  "I am determined to take appropriate action to ensure that the integrity of Lake Michigan is not harmed by the introduction of these carp," Van Hollen said in a statement.

Van Hollen said he has contacted his Michigan counterpart, who recently said he intends to file a federal suit to force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Illinois to issue an emergency shutdown of the navigation locks that are believed to be the last physical barrier between the super-sized carp and Lake Michigan.

Click here for full story                           Carp fight story

Granholm issues new order on Ag, DNR agency

By Roland Stoy

The Daily Reporter

Tue Dec 08, 2009, 12:21 AM EST

Lansing, Mich. -

Legislation introduced in the state House addresses Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s executive order combining the state Department of Agriculture (MDA) with the Department of Natural Resources( DNR) and Environment and the state Department of Agriculture (MDA). 

Meantime, she has issued new executive order (EO), which a press release said “modifies the impact of her previous order combining departments and clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the agriculture and natural resources commissions.”

Click here for full story                            Granholm issues new order on Ag

Conservation Funding Ducks Administrative Axe

Both chambers of Congress passed conference agreement legislation on Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that include substantial funding boosts for conservation programs, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.

Congress rejected proposals from the Obama administration that would have slashed millions of dollars in funding for USDA conservation programs. Most conservation programs were allocated FY 2010 funds at levels specified in the 2008 Farm Bill. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was one of the exceptions with a funding level of $1.18 billion. This is slightly below the funding amount found in the Farm Bill for the program. However, the FY 2010 allocation represents the highest level of funding for EQIP since its inception.

The legislation drew strong support, passing in the House by a vote of 263 to 162 and in the Senate by 66 to 22. Despite the fact that the final legislation differs substantially from his original proposals for conservation programs, the President is expected to approve the bill relatively quickly.

WMI Outdoor New Bulletin

As bats disappear at a rapid rate, a national response plan is drafted

From the Boston Globe

This month, federal and state biologists met at an abandoned copper mine in Vermont for an annual survey of bats. In previous years, they counted at least 900 in a sample. This year, they caught one.

The reduction is due to a deadly bat illness called white nose syndrome, which is decimating bat populations in the Northeast. Federal officials are getting more organized to combat it. Marvin Moriarty, Northeast regional director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, unveiled a draft national plan this month to better control the spread of the illness, minimize the risk, and coordinate research and public outreach efforts.

Click here for full story               Bat story 10-2-09

Experts fear Asian carp could ride floodwaters into Lake Michigan's ecosystem

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Sept. 29, 2009

This is how desperate the fight to keep Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan has become: Biologists are talking about turning to sandbags.

University of Wisconsin Sea Grant's Phil Moy said Tuesday that Lake Michigan may be just one big rainstorm away from an infestation of the super-sized jumping carp that fishery experts fear could ravage what's left of the big lake's natural food chain.

Click here for full story                 Asian carp story

September 10, 2009

Study Spells Out Spread of Brain Illness in Animals

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE

Researchers are reporting that they have solved a longstanding mystery about the rapid spread of a fatal brain infection in deer, elk and moose in the Midwest and West.

The infectious agent, which leads to chronic wasting disease, is spread in the feces of infected animals long before they become ill, according to a study published online Wednesday by the journal Nature. The agent is retained in the soil, where it, along with plants, is eaten by other animals, which then become infected.

Click here for full story                    CWD story 9-11-09

Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) governmental members include the fish and wildlife agencies of the states, provinces, and federal governments of the U.S. and Canada. All 50 states are members.

Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) is an organization whose members are the state agencies with primary responsibility for management and protection of the fish and wildlife resources in 16 states, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.

Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, founded in 1922, is a quasi-governmental organization of public agencies charged with the protection and management of fish and wildlife resources in the western part of the United States and Canada. Currently there are 23 members. The Association has been a key organization in the promotion of the principles of sound resource management and the strengthening of federal, state and private cooperation in protecting and managing fish and wildlife and their habitats in the public interest.
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