MAFWA

Ohio Division of Wildlife shares 2025 review and what's to come in 2026

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 16:51:31 GMT

Ohio Division of Wildlife shares 2025 review and what's to come in 2026 (PDF)

Mystery solved: Elusive cougar cubs documented again in Michigan

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 22:03:58 GMT

Mystery solved: Elusive cougar cubs documented again in Michigan

Posted on December 18, 2025 , by admin

Nine months after two cougar kittens were documented in the Upper Peninsula, a new trail camera photo indicates the elusive animals are still alive and living with their mother.

Michigan DNR News

Dec. 18, 2025
Contact: Brian Roell , DNR biologist

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources verified the Dec. 6 photo of an adult cougar being followed by two kittens down a snowy trail in central Ontonagon County. The last time the kittens were documented – in early March – they were only about two months old and their mother was nowhere in sight, raising concerns about the kittens’ survival.

But the newly verified photo shows an adult cougar with two juvenile cougars that appear to be about a year old, according to Brian Roell, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist.

Michigan is home to very few cougars and genetic testing has confirmed the existence of only adult males. The new photo suggests one of the first instances of cougar reproduction to take place outside the cougars’ core area in the Western states.

“This is a historic confirmation for Michigan since it is the first time in over 100 years that verified cougar reproduction has occurred east of the Mississippi River and possible even east of the Missouri River,” Roell said.

A private landowner sent the trail camera photo of the cougars to the DNR on Sunday, Dec. 14. Roell verified the site of the photo Monday and the DNR’s cougar team confirmed the photo Tuesday by enhancing the nighttime image to verify the existence of the three cougars. The sex of the kittens is unknown.

Cougar kittens, or cubs, generally stay with their mother for about two years before venturing out on their own.

“The kittens’ chances of survival are actually pretty high because just like bears, cougars invest a lot of their energy into their young,” Roell said. “So these kittens will stay with their mom through this winter and possibly even into next winter. They already have a leg up, seeing as how they’ve been with her for a year now.”

Roell is surprised the cougar kittens weren’t documented from any public or private trail cameras since March. The DNR operates more than 1,300 trail cameras in the U.P. to survey wildlife abundance.

“The interesting thing is, where were they for nine months?” Roell says. “That’s a mystery.”

Native to Michigan, cougars were essentially hunted out of the state by the early 1900s. Since 2008, the DNR has confirmed about 168 cougar sightings, all in the U.P., although most of those sightings are of the same animal being reported by multiple sources, Roell said.

Cougar sightings have increased each year since 2019, Roell added, but the number of trail cameras has also increased. Cougar sightings on DNR-operated cameras accounted for more than 25% of the verified cougar sightings in 2024. Visit the DNR’s cougar dashboard and cougar photo page for more information.

In addition to the cougar kittens in Michigan, there have been more cougars reported in other areas, including Nebraska. However, cougars need vast territories because they are solitary ambush predators that rely on deer and other large prey, which leads to low population densities. Even states with the largest cougar populations generally have just a few thousand of the animals.

“This isn’t an animal that is ever going to become very numerous,” Roell said. “They’re going to remain rare on the landscape regardless of whatever happens with them here in Michigan.”

Cougars are on the list of endangered mammals in Michigan, meaning it’s illegal to hunt or harass them, which includes trying to locate their den on public or private property.

“Too much human pressure can also trigger the female cougar to abandon her cubs,” Roell said. “As with all wild animals, we’re asking the public to respect their habitat and allow them to live naturally in their home.”

A Moment of Alignment: Linking SWAPs and NFWF’s 30-Year Vision

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 17:54:59 GMT

Posted on December 17, 2025 by admin

WMI Outdoor News Bulletin December 2025 Edition – Volume 79, Issue 12

As NFWF launches its first NextGen Business Plan, states have a timely chance to align their wildlife action plans with long-term, large-scale investment and influence conservation for decades to come. At a time when conservation challenges are expanding faster than the capacity to meet them, a unique opportunity has emerged, one that connects the next generation of State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) new 30-year NextGen Business Plans. This alignment offers an opportunity to link state-led conservation priorities with large-scale investment strategies that can shape the course of wildlife conservation for decades ahead.

The collaboration grew out of discussions among members of the AFWA–U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Joint Task Force on Landscape Conservation and NFWF about 18 months ago, exploring how the three partners (states, the Service, and NFWF) could work in a more strategically aligned and mutually reinforcing way. Those early conversations identified a shared opportunity to test how NFWF’s long-term investment framework could intentionally connect to the priorities and science that underpin State Wildlife Action Plans.

From Parallel Paths to Converging Frameworks

For two decades, SWAPs and NFWF’s business plans have advanced on parallel tracks. SWAPs, first completed in 2005 and revised in 2015, form the backbone of state-led, science-based conservation, built around eight core elements that identify species and habitats of greatest conservation need and guide monitoring, coordination, and public engagement. During that same period, NFWF’s plans evolved from Keystone Initiatives focused on individual species to Landscape Business Plans addressing ecosystems, watersheds, and partnerships.

Now, as states finalize their third-generation SWAPs and NFWF launches its NextGen Business Plans, the timing is serendipitous. Both frameworks are being renewed in 2025, opening a shared window to align planning and investment for the next 30 years.

The Southeast Pilot: A Model in the Making

NFWF

That alignment is being explored through the Southeast Forests and Rivers Pilot, the first of sixteen NextGen plans that will ultimately span the nation. The pilot builds on the longleaf-pine ecosystem, the same focus that anchored NFWF’s earlier Longleaf Forests and Rivers plan, while expanding to encompass a broader range of forest, grassland, and aquatic systems. In this way, the longleaf ecosystem remains core to a more inclusive regional framework that reflects both ecological and community interconnections.

The NextGen model marks a significant evolution in approach. It extends the planning horizon from 10 years to 30 years, creating space for more durable partnerships, adaptive learning, and long-term outcomes. It also moves from focusing on what is probable under foreseeable funding to what is needed to achieve lasting conservation results, a bold reframing that better matches investment strategies to the scale and urgency of the challenge. Together, these shifts illustrate how NFWF is building a more forward-looking approach to conservation design and implementation.

NFWF is also broadening its focus from targeted species conservation investments to whole-system outcomes, combining habitat-suitability modeling, ecosystem services, and community resilience. This marks a shift from transactional coordination toward a more relational, co-developed partnership that emphasizes shared learning and trust.

Because both SWAPs and NextGen plans operate on ten-year cycles, they will intersect twice more over the next three decades. This adaptive feedback loop means each new SWAP can inform NFWF’s next round of investment, while NFWF’s measurable outcomes can help guide future SWAP revisions.

Beyond a One-Off: Building a Pathway for Broader Alignment

While the Southeast pilot is the starting point, it is not yet a finished model. It is a learning process designed to test how state-led priorities can best inform NFWF’s long-term investment strategies. Each of the fifteen NextGen plans that follow will focus on different landscapes, but the pathway being developed now in the Southeast can help shape how those future alignments take form. The longleaf ecosystem and its partnerships provide the first proving ground, but the real value lies in establishing an approach that can evolve and transfer across regions over time.

Transitioning to full SWAP integration will not happen all at once. It will depend on the bridges and connective tissue that already link state and national efforts, such as the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS), the Midwest Landscape Initiative (MLI), the Northeast Landscape Committee, and western landscape initiatives, to connect planning with investment. Regionally Shared Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) can also serve as integrators, linking biological priorities across state lines and aligning conservation design with NFWF’s outcome-based framework. Likewise, Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs) identified through SWAPs and regional designs can spatially connect those priorities to on-the-ground implementation, providing another bridge between planning and investment.

The goal is clear: to make state-led priorities foundational within NFWF’s business plans. Exactly how that happens will depend on working together through iterative learning, shared capacity, and continued collaboration among states, NFWF, and their regional partners. The opportunity to define that pathway exists now, while both planning cycles are open and the potential for alignment is at its strongest. The key is flexibility: unified but not uniform. State biological priorities and regional coordination capacity can guide where and how large-scale investments are made.

NFWF

If successful, this approach will demonstrate how SWAPs can serve as a national biodiversity framework, connecting local action to continental-scale investment through shared science and sustained collaboration.

Anchored in AFWA’s Vision and the Relevancy Roadmap

This emerging alignment reinforces the goals of AFWA’s newly adopted Resolution 2025-04-05, A Vision for Fish and Wildlife Conservation in the Future. That resolution calls for raising awareness of and securing funding for third-generation SWAPs, recognizing them as the unifying blueprint for proactive, collaborative conservation across jurisdictions.

It also dovetails with AFWA’s Relevancy Roadmap, which emphasizes connecting conservation to community values: well-being, resilience, and economic vitality. NFWF’s NextGen framework echoes those same principles, linking ecological outcomes with social and economic benefits. By aligning with SWAPs, the NFWF business plans gain additional precision, credibility, and accountability, grounding large-scale investment strategies in the state-led science and priorities that Congress envisioned when it created the State Wildlife Grants Program.

Together, these frameworks position SWAPs as more than technical plans and NFWF’s business plans as more than funding strategies, they become mutually reinforcing instruments for unifying investment, policy, and public engagement.

Momentum Across Regions

NFWF

The convergence of planning and investment is also unfolding beyond the Southeast. In the Appalachian region, initiatives such as the Appalachian People and Places Collaborative and the Campaign for Appalachia are weaving biodiversity, cultural identity, and local economies into shared conservation goals.

This work increasingly reflects a One Health approach; recognizing that ecological integrity, community well-being, and economic vitality are deeply interdependent and must advance together.

Partners across these efforts have expressed strong interest in using SWAPs as a common biodiversity foundation that connects initiatives from Alabama to Canada, a vision consistent with the NFWF model now underway.

Why Acting Now Matters

NFWF expects to finalize the Southeast Forests and Rivers NextGen Business Plan by spring 2026, followed by fifteen additional plans. That means the blueprint for how SWAPs inform these plans and how regional partnerships are resourced to support them is being written now. At the same time, vulnerabilities in sustaining regional coordination capacity through partnerships such as SECAS, MLI and other landscape-level collaborations are creating challenges for maintaining continuity and shared learning at scale.

NFWF

Acting within this window underscores the essential role of regional coordination systems as the connective tissue linking state-led priorities in SWAPs to long-term, large-scale investment, and why sustaining that shared capacity will remain critical beyond this first phase of alignment.

Looking Ahead

This pilot offers an opportunity to build a practical and adaptable approach for linking state-driven science with broader-scale conservation investment, advancing AFWA’s vision and keeping SWAPs relevant and actionable for the long term.

It also creates an opportunity for NFWF and other partners to align their investments more closely with the priorities, data, and relationships that states and regions have cultivated over two decades of shared planning, making those investments more relevant, coordinated, and enduring.

By turning alignment into action, this collaboration can help ensure that large-scale conservation strategies stay connected to outcomes on the ground.

Why has Missouri succeeded in wild pig control?

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:25:53 GMT

While other areas struggle against an overwhelming invasion, one state’s holistic approach to control has revealed that control is possible

In some ways, the spread of invasive wild pigs across the U.S. resembles the path of a hurricane. They are nearly impossible to stop, destroying entire crops and ruining human property. The widespread destruction they engineer in native ecosystems may be even longer lasting than a tropical storm.

What’s more, new research shows that Missouri’s strategy of responding to the pig problem like it’s a hurricane with a collaborative task force is part of the reason for the state’s unique success in pig control.

“The incident command systems are really born out of disaster response systems,” said Megan Cross, a social scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, describing the holistic program created for wild pig control.

In a study published recently in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, Cross and her co-author, Keith Carlisle, also with Wildlife Services, examined the reasons for Missouri’s unique success in controlling wild pigs (Sus scrofa).

Wild pigs can devastate human infrastructure, agriculture and the native ecosystem when they take hold. They are found in more than 30 states and populations are well-established in many, including some that border Missouri. But a bevy of new rules and measures have beaten back the rising tide of wild pig invasion in Missouri, turning the Show Me State into more of a We’ll Show You How State.

A change in pig perspective

As Cross and Carlisle began to look into the reason for the state’s success, they found that Missouri was unprepared when wild pigs started to appear there in the 1990s. Interviews with wildlife managers who were around in the early years revealed that Missouri approached the problem in much the same way as other states now overflowing with swine. They used limited state funds to trap and remove some animals while encouraging hunters and trappers to pick up the slack.

But this method has proven not to work. Other research has shown that states that open up hunting laws to allow for the public harvest of wild pigs may inadvertently create an economic incentive to promote the spread of wild pigs, especially when rules prohibiting the transportation of wild pigs are lax or nonexistent. Outfitters and guides can earn a lot from these kinds of hunts. In some cases, the potential for big money leads to political lobbies that seek to weaken anti-swine regulations .

In Missouri, it took more than a decade for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to change their approach. Cross and Carlisle conducted surveys with 37 people from 15 agencies and organizations in Missouri to determine what changed and how they achieved success.

The MDC began to realize that its current plan was not working by 2007, when the agency partnered with private landowners, the federal government and nonprofit organizations and began to get a handle on the growing problem. As part of Missouri’s strategy, the state banned the transport of pigs, which started a process to help control their spread.

By 2015, the Feral Hog Elimination Partnership had begun to form between the various stakeholders.

These partnerships were incredibly important, Cross said, as the MDC wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what they have without broad buy-in. It involved entities like the Missouri Farm Bureau, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wildlife Services, the Nature Conservancy, private landowners, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service.

By the end of 2019, most partners had banned wild pig hunting on their lands, but perhaps the most consequential move came when the U.S. Forest Service moved to stop the practice in the Mark Twain National Forest—a place where pig-hunting enthusiasts had already begun to transfer the animals for the sake of sport.

Cross said this move was critical due to the sheer size of Mark Twain, which is about 1.5 million acres of land across 29 counties. But the move was controversial, and the partnership needed to produce results that proved that the move, unpopular among some hunters and trappers, would actually work. The MDC began to implement pig removal via staff and partners in Mark Twain and other areas.

Wild pig strike team

The partnership created an incident command system (ICS)—a management team that coordinated pig removal efforts across lands managed or owned by the various state, federal, private and nonprofit stakeholders involved.

The group divided the whole state into territories that “blurred the lines” between the stakeholders. Responding to hotline calls or other reports of pigs or pig damage, strike teams made up of MDC and staff from Wildlife Services could move freely onto lands managed by organizations participating in the Partnership. They conducted removal efforts and responded to reports of damage from private land owners.

“If you’re in Missouri and you have pigs on your property, the ICS is going to handle it,” Cross said.

The team created systematic baiting in the Mark Twain National Forest and other areas, set up traps on a grid system, and shared resources between partners in the ICS. They also shared information on best practices and strategies and the movement of pigs across the land. Finally, the ICS developed agreements with stakeholders in some neighboring states, allowing the strike teams to cross borders while tracking pigs. This helps to reduce the likelihood of the animals crossing the border and establishing populations in Missouri.

The ICS has been successful in reducing wild pig numbers in Mark Twain National Forest—perhaps their main stronghold 20 years ago—and in other parts of the state. “Full-time specialists were much more effective than people who were only trapping pigs part-time,” Cross said.

In effect, this system worked similarly to those set up to manage and respond to natural disasters like hurricanes or tornadoes. But while those systems are usually formed for a short period of time to respond to the disaster, Missouri’s swine control ICS has been around for years now—the longest such ICS that Cross and Carlisle could identify in scientific literature.

Aside from directly controlling wild pigs on the landscape, the ICS also coordinated with law enforcement officers in Missouri, which helps in the enforcement of laws against hunting and transporting the animals. The inability to hunt pigs on public land had already reduced the incentive for people to pull up with a trailer full of pigs and release them on public lands, Cross said.

“Missouri was a standout in the effort,” Cross said. “These laws and hunting closures are one piece of the puzzle. Their operations on the ground are also quite sophisticated.”

Wildlife Chief Appointed Chair of AFWA Executive Committee

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:11:00 GMT

November 10, 2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Kendra Wecker, chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife, was recently appointed as the Chair of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) Executive Committee. Chief Wecker was appointed for a one-year term as Chair of the Executive Committee.

AFWA represents North America’s fish and wildlife agencies to advance sound, science-based management and conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats in the public interest. The AFWA Executive Committee is charged with employing an executive director and additional employees for the organization, as well as approving a budget.

Kendra Wecker was appointed as the Chair of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) Executive Committee.
“Kendra Wecker will be a great asset to AFWA as Chair of the Executive Committee, bringing a great wealth of knowledge and experience,” said Ron Regan, executive director of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “She brings a level of leadership that will help to further the great work of the association.”

Chief Wecker will serve on the AFWA Executive Committee alongside fish and wildlife colleagues from Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The Division of Wildlife has been a longtime member of and partner with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Wecker was appointed to her position as chief of the Division of Wildlife in January 2019. During her 35-year career with the Division of Wildlife, she has also served as the information and education executive administrator and wildlife diversity coordinator. She has received multiple awards, including Wildlife Conservationist of the Year from the League of Ohio Sportsmen, Pheasants Forever Conservation Service Award, and Ducks Unlimited’s State Conservation Partner of the Year. She currently holds an U.S. Presidential appointment as a U.S. Commissioner for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

Why cancer is hitting the Midwest harder than anywhere else in America

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 13:28:00 GMT

By Khloe Quill Fox News

Published October 30, 2025 3:47pm EDT

While the rest of the country’s cancer rates are falling, those in Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Kansas — known as the Corn Belt — are rising at an alarming rate, data shows.

The spike in America’s corn-producing states caught the attention of the University of Iowa’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, which gathered a panel to investigate the trend.

One of the experts, Dr. Marian Neuhouser, a professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, served on the panel as an expert in nutrition and obesity .

“The panel came about after they noticed that the trends for cancer incidence were increasing at a faster rate in Iowa than in other states,” Neuhouser told Fox News Digital.

A data analysis by The Washington Post based on federal health datasets found that the number of people diagnosed with cancer in the six Corn Belt states has outpaced the national average since the mid-2010s.

In 1999, cancer rates in the Midwest were on par with the national average. Now, among residents aged 15 to 49, those rates are about 5% higher, a pattern that began diverging in the 2000s and has steadily widened.

The Post based its findings on data from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which track cancer incidence nationwide.

The analysis compared rates from 1999 through 2022 using multi-year averages for Iowa and excluding 2020 due to pandemic disruptions.

Experts probe causes

Neuhouser noted that some of the increases involve cancers that are preventable or detectable through screening.

Researchers are examining both environmental and lifestyle factors that could be driving the increase.

Outdoor UV exposure and high rates of binge drinking could be contributors, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry, part of the National Institutes of Health’s surveillance network.

Iowa’s Environmental Health Sciences Research Center has described the state as a “hot spot for environmental exposures to carcinogenic agents.”

The soil and groundwater in the region reportedly contain some of the nation’s highest levels of natural radon and nitrate, largely because of fertilizer use in farming. Both substances have been linked to high risks of lung and gastrointestinal cancers .

Meanwhile, the widespread application of pesticides and herbicides, including glyphosate, continues to generate debate among scientists and regulators.

Risk of chemical exposure

Dr. Anne McTiernan, professor of epidemiology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, has analyzed decades of research on glyphosate and cancer risk.

“Glyphosate, a broad-spectrum herbicide, has been used in the U.S. for decades and is reported to be the most widely used pesticide globally,” she told Fox News Digital.

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “a 2A carcinogen (“probably carcinogenic to humans”), which is the second-highest grade of carcinogen, according to McTiernan.

Her review of studies through 2025 found that people with long-term, high exposure to glyphosate, such as those working on farms, had a roughly 40% higher risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma compared to those who were never exposed.

This level of increased risk, combined with lab evidence that glyphosate can damage DNA and cause cellular stress, is considered strong enough to support a causal link, according to the expert.

Role of obesity and alcohol

Lifestyle factors are also compounding risk. Per CDC data, about 21% of Iowa adults report heavy drinking or binge drinking, compared to roughly 17% nationally.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services reports that about 35% of adults in the state are classified as obese, placing it among 19 states with obesity prevalence at or above that level. Nationwide, the CDC reports an adult obesity rate of roughly 40%.

Neuhouser noted that 13 separate cancers are linked to obesity.

“Everyone would like to be able to narrow down cancer risk … to one exposure, but cancer is so complex that it’s usually several factors working together,” she said.

RGS Bolsters Leadership to Accelerate Forest Wildlife Conservation

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 22:24:00 GMT

Pittsburgh, Pa. (Aug. 14, 2025) —

The Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) today announced the hiring of two nationally respected conservation leaders to fill new roles: Chief Conservation Officer (operations) Mark Hatfield and Vice President of Conservation Karl Malcolm. The additions mark a major investment in RGS & AWS’ leadership and ability to scale habitat conservation across North America.

“These are transformational leaders who have built impactful careers in conservation,” said RGS & AWS President and CEO Ben Jones. “We’re building a team that matches the urgency and opportunity facing forest wildlife. Mark and Karl bring the experience and the vision we need to lead the future of working forest conservation.”

Hatfield, who most recently served as the national director of science and planning at the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), brings decades of experience in nonprofit operations, conservation strategy and organizational growth. He led NWTF’s $50+ million Keystone Agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, negotiated in 2022, stewarded and expanded the NWTF and Natural Resources Conservation Service partnership and has managed field programs, finances and staff at national scale.

“RGS & AWS has a proud history and a powerful mission,” Hatfield said. “I’m honored to help strengthen its operational capacity so the entire conservation team and our volunteers can do what they do best – restore habitat, build partnerships and make a difference on the ground and in communities.”

Malcolm, previously assistant director of renewable resources for the Forest Service’s Eastern Region, is a policy expert and field biologist with global conservation credentials. His early work included directly supporting the establishment of China’s first privately funded nature reserve, and his Forest Service leadership role positioned him as a close partner of RGS & AWS in recent years.

“Ruffed grouse, woodcock and the healthy forests these iconic species help define need proactive, science-based conservation action,” Malcolm said. “This role allows me to combine my background in policy, relationship building and boots-on-the-ground project delivery in a way that will benefit forests, wildlife and all of us who cherish these special places.”

USFWS Director Nesvik Confirmed

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 16:28:00 GMT

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies enthusiastically commends the Senate for confirming the nomination of Brian Nesvik, who will serve as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). On August 1, 2025, the Senate confirmed the former Director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

“We applaud the selection and confirmation of Brian Nesvik, a proven leader who possesses a strong history of collaboration and conservation,” said Judy Camuso, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and President of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies. “Mr. Nesvik’s commitment to fulfilling the public trust responsibilities, understanding of cooperative management and commitment to science-based conservation, make him an ideal choice to lead the federal agency most critical to our natural resources. Mr. Nesvik’s experience, demonstrated collaborative leadership skills, and commitment to conservation excellence will strengthen the federal-state relationship and enhance our shared efforts to sustain America’s fish and wildlife resources for future generations.”

The Association proudly supported his nomination and joined many other conservation organizations in advocating for his advancement, including through a public letter of support submitted to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Federal Judge Upholds Swampbuster

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:05:00 GMT

Wildlife Management Institute Outdoor News

June 16, 2025

A federal judge in Iowa has ruled against a landholding company that sought to dismantle a long-standing wetlands law called Swampbuster. Starting in 1985, the Farm Bill put conditions on the receipt of federal subsidies: farmers must not drain wetlands (“Swampbuster”) or plant crops on highly erodible land (“Sodbuster”) if they want to receive the subsidies. Chief Judge C.J. Williams in the Northern District of Iowa dismissed CTM Holdings’ claims, saying Swampbuster falls within the spending power of Congress. Congress can attach conditions to federal funds “in pursuit of the general welfare and may require a recipient’s compliance with conditions to receive the funding.”

The lawsuit arose when CTM Holdings sought to farm a 9-acre portion of property that had previously been designated a wetland. The company, which rents the property to farmers, alleged in the complaint that the USDA “unconstitutionally” conditions its farm benefits through Swampbuster. The company also argued that the wetlands in question were dry, but the federal agency would not remove the wetland designation.

Under the Farm Bill conservation provision, the U.S. Department of Agriculture can withhold federal subsidies, like crop insurance and disaster payments, from farmers who clear, drain, or convert designated wetlands. CTM Holdings, a company that owns around 800 acres in Iowa, argued that the Swampbuster law unconstitutionally restricts what farmers can do with their property.

Liberty Justice Center, one of the law firms representing CTM Holdings, said in an X post that it will appeal the decision to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

NDA names MDC 2024 Agency of the Year

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 14:00:00 GMT

Missouri is recognized for deer management, hunter recruitment and education, and stakeholder engagement.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The National Deer Association (NDA) named the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) its 2024 Agency of the Year Award winner. The award recognizes an agency that has practiced innovative and progressive deer management techniques; affected positive change in deer management regulations, hunter education, hunter recruitment, and/or involvement in youth hunting; and has engaged its hunters and other key stakeholders in the deer management process. MDC was presented with the award Friday, March 28 at Commission Headquarters in Jefferson City.

“We’re thankful to the National Deer Association for presenting MDC with this award,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle. “Deer management in Missouri is a team effort involving hunters, MDC staff, landowners, and partners like the National Deer Association, and we’re grateful for everyone’s contribution.”

According to NDA’s 2025 Deer Report, Missouri consistently ranks high in numerous deer management categories. MDC was also recognized for its Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP), its targeted removal program to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), and its collaborative efforts with key conservation partners and the public to revise its 10-Year White-tailed Deer Management Plan.

“Driven by science and with public input, MDC has a deer management program that benefits deer, deer habitat, and all Missouri residents,” said NDA Senior Director of Conservation Matt Ross. “We are proud to present this award to them and honored to have such a strong partnership with MDC.”

First zoo-raised hellbender successfully reproducing in the wild

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 14:47:00 GMT

April 13, 2023, by MDC News

Missouri hits a significant milestone in endangered hellbender population recovery.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announces a significant milestone in population recovery efforts of the endangered Ozark hellbender. A zoo-raised hellbender has successfully reproduced within the Current River.

“We are very excited to announce this news,” said Missouri State Herpetologist Jeff Briggler. “This is the first documented event of a zoo-raised animal fathering a clutch of eggs in the wild.”

Rivers in southern Missouri and adjacent northern Arkansas once supported up to 27,000 Ozark hellbenders. Today, fewer than 1,000 exist in the world – so few that the Ozark hellbender was added to the federal endangered species list in October 2011.

BACKGROUND

Hellbenders are large aquatic salamanders. Missouri is the only state that contains both recognized subspecies of North American hellbenders: the Ozark hellbender and eastern hellbender, both of which are listed as endangered both by the state of Missouri and by the federal government.

The primary threats are habitat alteration and degradation, over-collecting, disease, predation, and degraded water quality. Hellbenders are long-lived (with a 30-year lifespan), slow-to-mature amphibians that seldom venture far within the river.

Numerous wrinkly folds of skin along the hellbender’s sides provide increased surface area for respiration. Capillaries near the surface of the hellbender’s wrinkly skin absorb oxygen directly from the water. Because the species requires cool, well-oxygenated, clean running water to survive, hellbenders are a major indicator of overall health of a river or stream.

The adult hellbender is one of the largest species of salamanders in North America, with its closest relatives being the giant salamanders of China and Japan, which can reach 5-feet or more in length.

HELLBENDER RESTORATION

MDC partnered with the Ron and Karen Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation, a part of the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute, and other agencies in the early 2000s to breed the salamanders in captivity and rear eggs collected from the wild in order to combat drastic population declines. Once the captive-bred larvae reached between 3-8 years old, they were released in their native Ozark aquatic ecosystem. Biologists began releasing a few zoo-raised hellbenders in Missouri in 2008, later increasing the number of released animals to 1,000 or more per year beginning in 2012. Since the conception of the breeding and raising of this animal in captivity, more than 10,000 Ozark and eastern hellbenders raised at the Saint Louis Zoo and MDC hatchery have been released into their native rivers.

To help recover this species within the Ozark Highlands, biologists monitor the population status of both wild animals and released animals reared in captivity, as well as locate natural nests within rivers during the fall in order to collect eggs that can be reared and released in the future.

“The majority of the hellbenders existing in the wild and all 10,000-plus released animals have a small chip embedded under their skin with a unique number to allow us to identify the animals in future encounters,” Briggler explained.

Though many have been released to the wild, most hellbenders are only just now becoming mature enough to breed. Because very few nests with eggs are found each year, capturing the event of a male attending a clutch of eggs is a rare event.

“We’re lucky to find 20 nests in the wild a year and finding a tagged father that was raised at the Saint Louis Zoo was like finding a needle in a haystack,” said Briggler. “We have been patiently waiting for this significant achievement to occur.”

In October 2022, biologists found that needle when they came across a tagged male Ozark hellbender that was attending a clutch of healthy, well-developed eggs on the Current River. The animal was attending a clutch of 128 eggs. Upon a later return to the nest, the eggs were beginning the process of hatching with the father protecting them.

“Our ultimate goal was to see the successful reproduction of a zoo-reared animal in the wild,” explained Briggler. “And we’ve now accomplished that goal in our journey to save the unique Ozark salamander.”

FROM EGG TO FATHER

This male Ozark hellbender was collected from a natural nest of eggs in the Current River in the fall of 2013 by MDC and National Park Service staff, then transported to the Saint Louis Zoo where the eggs were hatched and reared.

“We have a dedicated team of hellbender keepers, life-support systems technicians, and veterinary staff who work tirelessly to make sure these animals get the best care possible at the Saint Louis Zoo,” explained Justin Elden, Curator of Herpetology and Aquatics at the Saint Louis Zoo, and Director of the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute Ron and Karen Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation.

The Saint Louis Zoo has nearly 20 years of experience and expertise in rearing hellbenders and has their care down to an exact science.

“This experience allowed for this animal to flourish for the six years it was reared at the zoo and prepare it for its release to the wild,” said Elden. “Caring for hellbenders through their lives, from tiny eggs to sub-adults, takes a tremendous amount of work, but it’s absolutely worth it knowing we’re aiding in the conservation of wild animals and wild places.”

The animal was released into the Current River in July 2019.

“At the time of release, the male weighed 5.6 ounces (160 grams) and measured 11.8 inches (30 cm),” said Elden. “At the time his nest was discovered in the fall of 2022, he weighed 8.9 ounces (252 grams) and measured 14.4 inches (36.6 cm).”

Based on the hellbender’s size, Briggler noted it was likely the animal’s first year reproducing.

“It was exciting to not only see the growth and healthy appearance of this father after living three years in the wild, but to also see such a healthy animal successfully reproduce,” said Briggler.

Eggs generally hatch in about 45 days, but it can take longer with colder water conditions. Upon hatching, the helpless larvae will slowly grow and develop limbs under the father's protection for several months. In late winter or early spring, the larvae will venture outside the nesting chamber to disperse into the surrounding river habitat. Larvae will breathe with external gills for a few years before they finally absorb their gills and take on the wrinkly appearance of an adult.

“Finding a zoo-raised Ozark hellbender reproducing in the wild is one of the greatest accomplishments for our Zoo’s WildCare Institute conservation efforts and we are incredibly proud to be partnered with MDC on saving this species,” said Elden.

In addition to the Saint Louis Zoo, MDC partnered with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to enhance propagation efforts to ensure hellbenders remain a part of Missouri’s biodiversity.

“It is our hope that such wild breeding events by zoo-reared hellbenders will increasingly become more common as more released animals become mature,” noted Briggler.

To learn more about hellbenders, visit MDC’s online Field Guide at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/4M9 .

Learn more about the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute Ron and Karen Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation online at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/4MC .

TOP PHOTO : MDC announces the first zoo-reared Ozark hellbender has successfully fathered a clutch of eggs (pictured) on the Current River. MDC partnered with the Saint Louis Zoo and other agencies to restore threatened hellbender populations to Missouri.

MIDDLE PHOTO : The first zoo-raised Ozark hellbender to successfully reproduce in the wild pictured above. The animal was raised from a clutch of eggs at the Saint Louis Zoo and released on the Current River in 2019.

BOTTOM PHOTO : MDC Herpetologist Jeff Briggler (left) holds the first zoo-reared Ozark hellbender to reproduce in the wild. Pictured with Briggler is MDC Ozark District Supervisor John Ackerson (middle) and National Park Service Natural Resource Manager Victoria Grant (right).

All photos courtesy of MDC Herpetologist Jeff Briggler

New Head of Wisconsin DNR

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 17:04:00 GMT

By Danielle Kaeding December 27, 2022

Gov. Tony Evers appointed Adam Payne on Tuesday to serve as secretary of the DNR. He replaces Preston Cole, who announced he was retiring from the role in November.

“Adam has deep Wisconsin roots and understands that our vast and valuable resources — from our waterways to our farmlands — are core to who we are as a people and a state,” said Evers in a news release . “He is an outdoorsman, a conservationist, and has been a strong, successful leader for Sheboygan County. I know he will bring that same dedication and spirit of service to this role as secretary.”

Payne has been serving as the Sheboygan County administrator for the last two decades where he has overseen development of county budgets each year, as well as other programs and policy changes. Among them, he guided the county through the cleanup of the Sheboygan River and harbor, as well as a project to preserve 328 acres of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline at Amsterdam Dunes .

Before serving as the county’s administrator, Payne led the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association as its executive director. He also spent five years working with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection from 1990 to 1995. Payne headed the Farmland Preservation Program as its director during that time.

Payne said it’s an honor to lead the agency.

“I have always had a passion for protecting and enhancing our natural resources and am an avid outdoorsman,” Payne said in a statement. “I look forward to working with a strong and diverse team of DNR staff, the Board and its many partners and stakeholders to problem-solve, protect, and enhance our natural resources for people today and for generations to come.”

Payne received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in communications and urban and regional planning.

He will begin serving as the DNR secretary Jan. 3.

However, his appointment is subject to confirmation from the Republican-controlled Senate. At least 150 Evers appointees were still awaiting confirmation as of September, according to data from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau

Northern Long-eared Bat Reclassified as Endangered

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 17:53:00 GMT

Date: November 29, 2022

Contact: Georgia Parham, Georgia_Parham@fws.gov , 812-593-8501

Ongoing spread of deadly white-nose syndrome is primary threat, increasing risk of extinction

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a final rule to reclassify the northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The bat, listed as threatened in 2015, now faces extinction due to the range wide impacts of white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease affecting hibernating bats across North America. The rule takes effect on January 30, 2023.

The growing extinction crisis highlights the importance of the ESA and efforts to conserve species before declines become irreversible.

“This listing is an alarm bell and a call to action,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams. “White-nose syndrome is decimating cave-dwelling bat species like the northern long-eared bat at unprecedented rates. The Service is deeply committed to working with partners on a balanced approach that reduces the impacts of disease and protects the survivors to recover northern long-eared bat populations.”

Bats are critical to healthy, functioning natural areas and contribute at least $3 billion annually to the U.S. agriculture economy through pest control and pollination. The northern long-eared bat is found in 37 states in the eastern and north central United States, the District of Columbia, and all Canadian provinces from the Atlantic Coast west to the southern Northwest Territories and eastern British Columbia. These bats mostly spend the winter hibernating in caves and abandoned mines. During summer, northern long-eared bats roost alone or in small colonies underneath bark or in cavities or crevices of both live and dead trees. They emerge at dusk to fly primarily through the understory of forested areas, feeding on insects.

White-nose syndrome, the disease driving their decline, is caused by the growth of a fungus that sometimes looks like white fuzz on bats’ muzzles and wings. The fungus thrives in cold, dark, damp places and infects bats during hibernation. Impacted bats wake up more frequently, which often results in dehydration and starvation before spring arrives. Bats are the only species of wildlife known to be affected by white-nose syndrome, which has been confirmed in 38 states and eight Canadian provinces.

White-nose syndrome has spread across nearly 80% of the species’ entire range and is expected to affect 100% of the species range by the end of the decade. The change in the species’ status comes after an in-depth review found that the northern long-eared bat continues to decline and now meets the definition of an endangered species under the ESA. Data indicate white-nose syndrome has caused estimated declines of 97 to 100% in affected northern long-eared bat populations.

The change in status from endangered to threatened, when final, will nullify the prior 4(d) rule that tailored protections for the species when it was listed as threatened. The Service recognizes that the change to endangered status may prompt questions about establishing ESA compliance for forestry, wind energy, infrastructure and other projects in the range of the northern long-eared bat. We are committed to working proactively with stakeholders to conserve remaining northern long-eared bats while reducing impacts to landowners.

The Service has a strong foundation in place for working with stakeholders to conserve listed bats while allowing economic activities within the range to continue to occur. Since the species was listed as threatened in 2015, the Service has approved more than 22 habitat conservation plans (HCPs) that allow wind energy and forestry projects to proceed after minimizing and mitigating their impacts to northern long-eared bats.

Several newly developed tools have been prepared to help guide project managers through consultation once the change in status takes effect, including an interim consultation framework to help prevent delay for projects already reviewed under the prior 4(d) rule and an online determination key for automatic project concurrence for many activities. We have also developed voluntary guidance for wind facilities to allow operation in a manner consistent with bat conservation, and voluntary timber management guidance to aid risk assessment and to avoid and minimize impacts to northern long-eared bats. Many transportation projects already have ESA compliance in place that will remain.

To address the growing threat of white-nose syndrome to the northern long-eared bat and other bats across North America, the Service is leading the White-nose Syndrome National Response Team , a coordinated effort of more than 150 non- governmental organizations, institutions, Tribes, and state and federal agencies. Together we are conducting critical white-nose syndrome research and developing management strategies to minimize impacts of the disease and recover affected bat populations. To date, this effort has yielded scientific advancements that include identification of critical information about white-nose syndrome and its impacts on North American bat species.

We developed and are using disease surveillance tools to monitor spread and impacts, and we’re testing biological, chemical, immunological, genetic and mechanical treatments in a number of states to improve bat survival.

Learn more about the northern long-eared bat , the final listing rule.

State of the Birds Report Reveals Widespread Losses

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 12:20:00 GMT

October 12, 2022 American Bird Conservancy

A newly released State of the Birds report for the United States reveals a tale of two trends, one hopeful, one dire. Long-term trends of waterfowl show strong increases where investments in wetland conservation have improved conditions for birds and people. But data show birds in the U.S. are declining overall in every other habitat — forests, grasslands, deserts, and oceans.

Published by 33 leading science and conservation organizations and agencies, the 2022 U.S. State of the Birds report is the first comprehensive look at the nation’s birds since a landmark 2019 study showed the loss of nearly 3 billion birds in the U.S. and Canada in 50 years. Findings included in the 2022 State of the Birds report: More than half of U.S. bird species are declining. U.S. grassland birds are among the fastest declining with a 34 percent loss since 1970. Waterbirds and ducks in the U.S. have increased by 18 percent and 34 percent, respectively, during the same period.

Seventy newly identified Tipping Point species have each lost 50 percent or more of their populations in the past 50 years, and are on a track to lose another half in the next 50 years if nothing changes. These species, none of which are currently listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, include beloved gems such as the Rufous Hummingbird, songsters such as the Golden-winged Warbler, and oceanic travelers such as the Black-footed Albatross. Hawai‘i’s ten most endangered species are collectively represented by fewer than 5,500 individual birds.

The report advises that meeting declining birds’ tremendous needs will require a strategic combination of partnerships, incentives, science-based solutions, and the will to dramatically scale up conservation efforts. In a companion document, there are three key conservation policy priorities listed to help Tipping Point species recover. “Everyone can make a difference to help turn declines around,” said Michael J. Parr, President of American Bird Conservancy (ABC). “Everyone with a window can use simple solutions to prevent collisions. Everyone can help green their neighborhood and avoid using pesticides that harm birds. Everyone who lives in a neighborhood can bring the issues and solutions to their community and use their voice to take action.”

Decisive and collaborative action is particularly needed in the case of Critically Endangered Hawaiian forest birds, of which several are at risk of going extinct within the next few years. Their biggest threat is avian malaria, carried by invasive mosquitos brought to the islands by humans. “Building upon successes in human health, there is hope and the opportunity to use naturally occurring bacteria to reduce mosquito populations, break the disease cycle, and allow the forest birds to thrive,” said Chris Farmer, Hawai‘i Program Director at ABC. “The Birds, Not Mosquitoes partnership is dedicated to developing and implementing this technique to save our remaining forest birds.”

The State of the Birds report used five sources of data, including the North American Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count, to track the health of breeding birds in habitats across the U.S. “From grassland birds to seabirds to Hawaiian birds, we continue to see that nearly all groups of birds and types of bird habitat have declined significantly,” said Martha Williams, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). “The one group that is seeing an increase in population size is wetland-dependent birds, including waterfowl.”

“While a majority of bird species are declining, many waterbird populations remain healthy, thanks to decades of collaborative investments from hunters, landowners, state and federal agencies, and corporations,” said Dr. Karen Waldrop, Chief Conservation Officer for Ducks Unlimited. “This is good news not only for birds, but for the thousands of other species that rely on wetlands, and the communities that benefit from groundwater recharge, carbon sequestration, and flood protection.”

The report suggests that applying that winning formula in more habitats will help birds and natural resources rebound. “The North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Federal Duck Stamp Program, grants from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and regional Joint Ventures partnerships are all part of a framework that has a proven track record with restoring and protecting wetland-dependent species,” said Williams of the FWS. “Now we want to use that precedent to work with our partners to restore bird populations, conserve habitat, and build a foundation for how we respond to the loss of other bird groups.”

Data show that the biggest population declines are among shorebirds, down by 33 percent since 1970, and grassland birds, down by 34 percent. Conservation must be stepped up to reverse these losses. Everyone can play a role in saving these species by making their voices heard in support of bird-saving legislation. “Urgent action and funds are needed to halt biodiversity loss in the U.S.,” said Jennifer Cipolletti, Director of Conservation Advocacy at ABC. “Federal funding sources such as the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act can help fill the massive gap in funding for conservation programs managed by states, territories, and tribes. Migratory Bird Joint Ventures can play a vital role as the nexus among these organizations, bringing partners together to facilitate effective delivery of these funds for the greatest conservation success.”

Recognizing the need to work at bigger, faster scales, 200 organizations from across seven sectors in Mexico, Canada, the U.S., and Indigenous Nations are also collaborating on a Central Grasslands Roadmap to conserve one of North America’s largest and most vital ecosystems — grasslands, which span hundreds of million acres. “People have changed our grassland landscape and people are key to its future,” said Tammy VerCauteren, Executive Director of the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and a representative of the Central Grasslands Roadmap partnership. “Collectively, we are working to make a movement to save our grasslands and the people and wildlife that depend upon them. Together we can ensure Tribal sovereignty, private property rights, food security, resilient landscapes, and thriving wildlife populations.”

Given widespread declines in bird populations, the report emphasizes the need for proactive conservation across habitats and species. “Despite best hopes and efforts, 70 Tipping Point bird species have a half life of just 50 years — meaning they will lose half their already dwindling populations in the next 50 years unless we take action,” said Dr. Peter Marra, Director of The Earth Commons — Georgetown University’s Institute for Environment & Sustainability. “What we’ve outlined in this State of the Birds is a recipe for how conservation biologists can work with communities and use surgical precision to solve environmental problems — blending new technology and data to pinpoint the cause of losses and to reverse declines while we still have the best chance — now, before more birds plummet to Endangered.” The 2022 U.S. State of the Birds report was produced by a consortium of government agencies, private organizations, and bird initiatives led by NABCI (North American Bird Conservation Initiative). Read the report at StateoftheBirds.org.