Author Archives: MadelineBodin

Talking Turkey

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Wildlife Health Unit is asking turkey hunters to be on the lookout for lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV). The virus, which causes lesions similar to the ones seen in the oh-so-common avian pox, was first confirmed in New York this spring.

Perhaps because of its resemblance to avian pox, LPDV has only been discovered in wild turkeys in the United States recently, when it had previously only been known in domestic turkeys in the United Kingdom and the Middle East, according to the quarterly newsletter from the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study. The newsletter also suggests that LPDV is more likely to cause lesions or nodules on a turkey’s legs or feet than the more common avian pox is.

Read the NYS DEC’s first request for more information on LPDV, here. (2nd item)
Read the department’s more recent request, here.
Read the Southern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study Briefs, here. It includes some details about what LPDV looks like under a microscope.

There will be no State Wildlife Research News on Thursday or Friday of this week because of the holiday. Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Photo: a healthy Rio Grande wild turkey, photographed  by Robert Burton, courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. (For a photo of LPDV, see the NYS DEC write-up or the newsletter, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

Talking Turkey

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Wildlife Health Unit is asking turkey hunters to be on the lookout for lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV). The virus, which causes lesions similar to the ones seen in the oh-so-common avian pox, was first confirmed in New York this spring.

Perhaps because of its resemblance to avian pox, LPDV has only been discovered in wild turkeys in the United States recently, when it had previously only been known in domestic turkeys in the United Kingdom and the Middle East, according to the quarterly newsletter from the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study. The newsletter also suggests that LPDV is more likely to cause lesions or nodules on a turkey’s legs or feet than the more common avian pox is.

Read the NYS DEC’s first request for more information on LPDV, here. (2nd item)
Read the department’s more recent request, here.
Read the Southern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study Briefs, here. It includes some details about what LPDV looks like under a microscope.

There will be no State Wildlife Research News on Thursday or Friday of this week because of the holiday. Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Photo: a healthy Rio Grande wild turkey, photographed  by Robert Burton, courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. (For a photo of LPDV, see the NYS DEC write-up or the newsletter, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

Mood Indigo Snake in Alabama

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In 2005, the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries staff began investigating of the status of the Eastern indigo snake in the state. Two years of intensive field investigation did not discover any of this federally-listed species, so the department, along with several partners, began to reintroduce them.

Since 2010, 78 wild indigo snakes into the Conecuh National Forest in Alabama. According to the USDA blog:

Some of the released snakes were bred in captivity from wild-caught snakes from Georgia through the cooperation of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Fort Stewart. The snakes were raised at Auburn University and the Atlanta Zoo. Each captive-raised snake with this project has been implanted with a passive integrated transponder tag for permanent identification as well as a radio transmitter to track and assess their survivorship. Auburn University will monitor the snakes movements and survival in the Conecuh National Forest.

In 2011, the US Forest Service recognized the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries for their indigo snake restoration project. Other partners in the project include Conecuh National Forest, Auburn University, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The Orianne Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Zoo Atlanta, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Oh, and the average indigo snake is about seven feet long, making it one of the largest snakes native to North America. It is not venomous.

You can read more about the project in a press release from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, here. (And no, I don’t feel the slightest bit sheepish about mentioning this release 20 days later. The “recent” award was given in 2011, after all.)

Here’s the press release from the time of the first snake release.
And here’s the USDA blog, with more information.

Photo: Indigo snake, courtesy of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Mood Indigo Snake in Alabama

Posted on by
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In 2005, the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries staff began investigating of the status of the Eastern indigo snake in the state. Two years of intensive field investigation did not discover any of this federally-listed species, so the department, along with several partners, began to reintroduce them.

Since 2010, 78 wild indigo snakes into the Conecuh National Forest in Alabama. According to the USDA blog:

Some of the released snakes were bred in captivity from wild-caught snakes from Georgia through the cooperation of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Fort Stewart. The snakes were raised at Auburn University and the Atlanta Zoo. Each captive-raised snake with this project has been implanted with a passive integrated transponder tag for permanent identification as well as a radio transmitter to track and assess their survivorship. Auburn University will monitor the snakes movements and survival in the Conecuh National Forest.

In 2011, the US Forest Service recognized the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries for their indigo snake restoration project. Other partners in the project include Conecuh National Forest, Auburn University, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The Orianne Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Zoo Atlanta, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Oh, and the average indigo snake is about seven feet long, making it one of the largest snakes native to North America. It is not venomous.

You can read more about the project in a press release from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, here. (And no, I don’t feel the slightest bit sheepish about mentioning this release 20 days later. The “recent” award was given in 2011, after all.)

Here’s the press release from the time of the first snake release.
And here’s the USDA blog, with more information.

Photo: Indigo snake, courtesy of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Stickers Help Fund 2015 Heron Survey

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According to the Heron Observation Network of Maine (HERON) blog:

The great blue heron was designated as a Species of Special Concern in Maine in 2007 due to a decline in breeding pairs along the coast. Little was known about the inland breeding population before 2009 when the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife ramped up its monitoring efforts by creating the Heron Observation Network.

Through HERON, volunteers across the state monitor known great blue heron colonies during the breeding season, collecting information that helps state biologists understand the species’ population trend and prioritize future conservation efforts.

In addition to the data collected by volunteers, it is important to periodically do a statewide aerial survey to find new heron colonies that may have recently popped up.

To help fund the next aerial survey, scheduled for 2015, HERON is partnering with Burly Bird (a Maine-based conservation sticker company) to create a UV-coated vinyl sticker that shows a black and white silhouette of a great blue heron.

The stickers can be purchased from the Burly Bird website or through the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s online store.

The Maine Sun-Journal covered the story, here.

Wolverine Wanders from Wyoming to Colorado

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According to the Denver Post, a transmitter-equipped wolverine departed Wyoming, survived the Red Desert and has been located in Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado was once part of the ever-rarer creature’s range, but there hasn’t been a breeding population in the state since 1919, the article says.

In addition to its toughness, this wolverine has an incredible sense of drama and public relations skill: the US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding the wolverine to the endangered species list. A court has ruled that the decision must be made by January 2013. It could be the second animal (after the polar bear) to get a federal endangered species listing because of climate change, the article says.

Read the Denver Post article here.
Read an article in the Missoulian on the proposed wolverine Endangered Species Act listing here.
And here’s a link to a press release about the Wildlife Conservation Society paper about the wolverine’s denning habitat needs that is mentioned in the Denver Post article.

Photo: Wolverine, courtesy Mountain National Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

New Black-footed Ferret Colony Found in S.D.

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The Caspar Star-Tribune reports that a new wild colony of black-footed ferrets has been found on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota. North America’s only native ferret was thought to be extinct in the wild when illness struck a population in Meeteetse, Wyoming and the survivors were brought into captivity between 1985 and 1987.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species description for the black-footed ferret said that, “It is unlikely that any undiscovered wild populations remain.”

According to the Star-Tribune, Mike Gutzmer, with Columbus, Nebraska-based New Century Environmental LLC was hired by reservation leaders to investigate reports of black-footed ferrets in the area. Gutzmer searched the reservation’s prairie dog towns for a month before finding the new population.

Re-introduced ferrets now breed in 19 locations, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Read the Star-Tribune article here.
Read the USFWS black-footed ferret page here.

Photo: Black-Footed Ferret Photo by Charlene Bessken, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife

Spills Are Sandy’s Latest Wildlife Impact

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The New York State Department of Wildlife Conservation (DEC) is reporting some oiled birds as a result of an oil spill on a Hudson River tributary in Kingston, NY.

More details about the spill are available from the Watershed Post and a report from the Hudson River’s Riverkeeper.
Read the Watershed Post piece, here.
And see the Riverkeeper site for more information about non-point source pollution in the area affected by Sandy.

There is also an oil spill in the Arthur Kill, a narrow waterway between Staten Island and New Jersey. The Hudson Valley Press Online is reporting a spill and clean-up at a local oil company on the Arthur Kill and nearby waterways. Read the story, here.

It appears a nearby marina is stumped by by the appearance of oil. New Jersey News 12 offers a brief write-up and a clip. See it here.

The New York State DEC also announced that shellfishing is closed off Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk Counties until next week because of sewage in the water. Read the details in the NYS DEC press release, here.

Photo: DEC staff rescuing a great blue heron harmed by an oil spill in the Hudson Valley after Hurricane Sandy. Photo used courtesy of NYS DEC.

New Leaders for Minn. Wildlife

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According to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources press release:

Paul Telander of Bemidji, a 28-year wildlife management veteran of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), has been named the Fish and Wildlife Division’s new Wildlife Section chief. His new duties begin Wednesday, Dec. 5…. He replaces Dennis Simon, who retired in September…. Telander will oversee a $47.2 million annual Wildlife Section budget and a staff of 220 full-time and 81 part-time employees.

 

You can read the entire release, here.

The Minnesota DNR has also hired an elk expert to lead its big game program. Leslie McInenly will have the lead responsibility for managing deer, elk and moose seasons and populations in the state. She will also work with stakeholders to modify and improve seasons and regulations to address the expectations of a diverse public, the MDNR press release states.

Read the entire release, here.