As an addendum to our last post “Wildlife & Biodiversity,” Conservation Biology is an interdisciplinary approach to prevent serious loss of biological diversity. Today we’ll discuss how Conservation Biology and Biodiversity work hand-in-hand to help you make the most of your management area! Conservation Biology’s Two Main Goals To investigate human impacts on biological diversity,…
Wildlife & Biodiversity
Here in my home state of Kentucky, less than one-half of 1% of our 25.8 million acres remains in its natural state. Considering that 80% of Kentucky’s wetlands have been destroyed, more than 500 of the Commonwealth’s plants and animal species are considered rare, and environmental degradation impacts one-third of state monitored waterways. Many natural…
Wildlife & Exotic Species
Even when habitat is present for native wildlife, animal populations can be seriously impacted, or even eliminated, as a result of the introduction of exotic or non-native species. Exotic plants and animals are mainly introduced in an area by people. For example, about 25 million homes in the US have exotic birds as pets –…
Wildlife & Endangered Species
Legislation designed to protect certain animals has a long history in the U.S., the first law specifically addressing species threatened with extinction was the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. The Act authorized the Secretary of the Interior to determine what wildlife species were facing extinction in the United States. Today we’ll discuss some aspects of…
Wildlife & Predators
Predators are animals that survive by killing and eating other animals. Because the idea of killing as a way of life is distasteful to the general public – and because predators do, on occasion, kill domestic livestock – people have severely persecuted predators. Often called vermin or varmits, predators have been subjects of control programs. Lets…
Wildlife & Range Management
Rangelands occupy about 47% of the world’s land area. They characteristically are unsuited for cultivation, but produce forage for livestock and wildlife. In the US, rangelands occupy about one-third of the country – much of it public land in the 17 states west of the Mississippi River. Management of Range Vegetation Range vegetation is managed…
Wildlife & Farming
Historically farmers were wildlife’s best friend – small farms created large amounts of edge and, often when left, waste grain in the fields benefitted wildlife in winter. Unfortunately, farming today employs many practices that are not beneficial to wildlife. Clean-Farming, or the small farm, with its many fields, fence rows, and ditches (all sources of…
Wildlife & Wetlands
Historically, the U.S. has had an abundance and diversity of wetlands. However, the wetlands that exist now may represent only 50% of those seen by pioneers as they advanced across the continent some 200 years ago. The loss of wetlands in this country is of extreme concern to wildlife managers because of the value the…
Wildlife & Fire
The use of fire in wildlife management is a controversial area of research. Resource managers are attempting to counter the “Smoky the Bear” image and show that fire can be a valuable wildlife management tool. So how does fire influence your management area? Wildlife habitat can be positively or negatively impacted by fire. How fire…
Wildlife & Snow
Wildlife, especially northern wildlife, exhibit a number of adaptations to snow: pelage changes, hibernation, migration and physical adaptations, among a few. Today we’ll discuss how wildlife cope with some of the harshest weather they’ll face all year. Snow becomes denser and harder as time goes by (the snow ages). This aging and hardening process is…
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