Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

We conducted an operational scale trial of the herbicides Sonar® (fluridone) and Rodeo® (glyphosate) to evaluate control of giant cutgrass (Zizaniopsis miliaceae) and effects on waterfowl food plants in moist-soil managed impoundments of the Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area, Darien, Georgia. Sonar and Rodeo reduced giant cutgrass frequencies both post-treatment years, although greater reduction occurred in the Rodeo-treated impoundment. Panic grass (Panicum spp.) frequency within the Rodeo- treated impoundment decreased the first year post-treatment. First-year frequency of flat sedges (Cyperus spp.) decreased in all impoundments when compared to pretreatment frequency. However, second-year frequency did not differ from pretreatment for the Sonar or Rodeo-treated impoundments. First-year smartweed (Polygonum spp.) frequency was lower in the Sonar-treated impoundment; second-year frequency was higher in the Rodeo-treated impoundment.

We captured 54 black bears (Ursus americanus) 91 times and equipped adult females with radio-transmitters in a managed forest in the mountains of South Carolina during the summers of 1991-1993 to determine population dynamics and female denning ecology. Ages of captured bears ranged from 1 to 10 years, averaging 3.3 + 0.3 (± 1 SE) for males and 3.7 ± 0.3 years for females. Litter size (N = 7, ˉx = 2.3), lactation rate (42.3 %), suspecting mean age at primiparity (4 years), and interbirth interval (2.2 years) were representative of a productive population and good-quality habitat. Eight female dens were visited and consisted of 3 ground nests, 2 root systems, 1 tree den, 1 brush pile, and 1 hollow log. Most dens (N = 5) were associated with early successional communities. Estimated population density for the 192-km2 study area was 0.31-0.34 bears/km2.

We estimated litter size and age of first reproduction of female black bears in Florida from the examination of 139 female reproductive tracts. Corpora lutea occurred in 81 of the tracts. The number of corpora lutea per tract, a close approximation of litter size, averaged 2.6 (range: 1-4). Most (75%) female bears bred initially when 2.5 years old, and the remainder at 3.5 years. Litter sizes and age of first breeding of female black bears in Florida are comparable to those found in other productive areas of eastern North America.

Expansion of the black bear (Ursus americanus) population outside White River National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas, has caused local citizens to request reduction of the population. An estimate of black bear population size is necessary before any management recommendations can be made. We used 2 census methods to estimate population size. Hunter surveys of bear sightings during the 2-day firearm deer hunt were used in 1994 to estimate population size with a Petersen-Lincoln estimator. The survey yielded a population estimate of 213 bears (95% CI = 129-297). We used cameras triggered by infrared monitors to photograph bears visiting bait sites over a 7-day period during August 1995. Infrared monitors recorded 176 events, resulting in 87 photographs of 23 different bears. We used 2 separate models to calculate population sizes using data from cameras. Program CAPTURE calculated a population size of 348 (95% CI = 300-396) bears for the refuge.

Habitat use occurs at several spatial scales; however, bobcat (Felis rufus) habitat use has not been investigated at multiple scales. Additionally, sex-specific differences in bobcat habitat use have been hypothesized but not tested. Therefore, we investigated habitat use of 30 bobcats (9 males, 21 females) from 1 January 1989 to 31 December 1993 on 2 study areas in east-central Mississippi. We investigated bobcat habitat use at 2 spatial scales: habitat use within the home range and habitat composition of the home range relative to habitat composition of the study area. We did not detect differences (P > 0.10) in bobcat habitat use among sexes or study areas for either spatial scale. An empirical example of the importance of assessing habitat use at different spatial scales was discovered. Sapling and pine stands were preferred (P < 0.10) habitats when habitat compositions of home ranges were compared to study area compositions.

During 1990-1992, 291 northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) were captured, radio-tagged, and relocated from southern and eastern Texas to an intensively managed 563-ha eastern Texas study area; 139 resident birds were also captured, radiotagged, and released at the point of capture. We examined macro- and micro-habitat selection by relocated and resident birds. At the macro-habitat level, all 3 groups of bobwhite were associated with food plots (P < 0.05), preferred stands of pure pines > 30 years old, and avoided stands of pure pines 6-15 years old, hardwoods > 30 years old, and mixed pine-hardwoods > 30 years. At the micro-level, bird locations had more dead grass and bare ground but less live grass than random locations (P < 0.05). Bobwhite were not associated with edges (P > 0.05).

Stress Survival Tactics is a program developed as part of an officer survival in-service program for Texas Game Wardens. This paper presents a training technique that works well when dealing with the emotion-laden issue of survival stress or critical incident stress. Hormones released in a survival situation have a tremendous effect on emotions, sensory perceptions, psychomotor skills, and on one's ability to process information. Stress Survival Tactics mentally, psychologically, and physically prepares officers to train for a survival situation such as a use-of-force situation. A critical incident can be any incident, personal or professional, that pushes one to the limit and challenges the ability to endure. Mental rehearsal and preparation is a technique that can be used to prepare for an incident before it occurs.

Over the past decade, Florida has undergone rapid suburbanization of its borderline wilderness areas. New airspace restrictions and low-level flight restriction over what are now populated areas have increasingly impeded aerial wildlife research and law enforcement patrol with fixed-winged aircraft. During the same decade, domestic marijuana cultivation in Florida's wilderness areas, especially Commission-maintained wildlife management areas, has increased dramatically. Enter now the federal government's plan to surplus over 3,000 helicopters, including parts and tools over a 5-year period. How to justify a transition from fixed-wing operations to a mix of fixed- and rotary-winged operations, how to acquire the helicopters, how to operate and maintain them, and how to make it all work within a limited budget are the foci of this paper.

Since the 1987 closure of Texas' Type II Public Hunting Lands to the hunting of deer with dogs and a subsequent statewide prohibition of the method in 1990, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has received numerous complaints about small bands of East Texas hunters who continue to use the method in open defiance of the prohibition. These complaints further allege that outlaw dog deer hunters have virtually taken over public hunting lands, intimidating lawful users and ignoring the rights of adjoining private landowners. Texas game wardens, operating in a covert capacity, infiltrated dog deer hunting groups in Jasper and Newton counties and took 25 defendants to the courts for violations of wildlife regulations.

This research project examines traditions and cultures in Florida supporting the rights of private property ownership and the harvest of game or fish, whose ownership is common to all. The conflicts which arise from these deeply held values will be identified and discussed. This study presents the results of a questionnaire administered to wildlife law enforcement officers and interviews conducted with property owners and wildlife resource users throughout the State of Florida. This study will examine, from a current and historical perspective, the steps taken by the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (GFC) to resolve conflicts.

As a result of an increasing frequency of assaults on conservation agents performing their duties, administrators of the Protection Division of the Missouri Department of Conservation requested Conservation Agent Training Academy staff look at the current status of officer safety training offered to agents. The division also decided to complete an extensive assessment of all training provided for conservation agents. To satisfy immediate needs and prepare a way to meet long-term needs, a Safety Needs Assessment was completed. Results of the assessment revealed relatively small gaps in safety training as well as a viable method for evaluating any future training needs.

Fish and wildlife officers are trained in most aspects of law enforcement, arrest, search and seizure, all types of criminal investigations, fish and wildlife identification, firearms, drugs, interrogation, driving, and so on, but fewer may be trained in something they do just about every day and which could be life saving: tracking.

The Conservation Monitor was a telephone survey of 854 Missourians first conducted in 1994 by the Gallup Organization for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). Objectives were to assess Missourians' opinions on the state's environment, MDC's performance, and conservation issues. Results revealed high satisfaction among Missourians with the care given their state's fish, forests, and wildlife, and more generally with the care given Missouri's natural environment. However, 28% did not know or were incorrect about MDC's responsibilities, and 40% were unable to suggest one thing the agency might do better. Missourians thought a much larger portion of the state is in public ownership than is true and perhaps assume that state and federal resource agencies in Missouri are in a stronger position to influence land management than is the case.

Small watershed impoundments provide the principal recreational fishing opportunities within national forests in Mississippi. Relative abundance and stock structure of bluegiii (Lepomis macrochirus) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were assessed by electrofishing 18 national forest impoundments during spring 1990, autumn 1990, and spring 1991. There were no significant yearto- year or seasonal differences in catch per unit effort (CPUE) or proportional stock density (PSD) for either species. Mean CPUE for stock-size largemouth bass (total length ≥ 200 mm) ranged from 8.2 to 9.7 fish/hour of electrofishing and mean PSD ranged from 14.0 to 22.5. Mean CPUE for stock-size bluegill (total length ≥80 mm) ranged from 38.7 to 45.0 fish/hour and mean PSD ranged from 21.5 to 21.8. Twenty-five habitat, accessibility, and watershed variables were evaluated by multiple regression techniques to determine factors that significantly described largemouth bass and bluegiii CPUE and PSD.

During spring and summer 1986, a massive disease-caused fish kill occurred on Lake Walter F. George, Georgia, which resulted in significant and longlasting changes in the fish populations of this reservoir. Prior to the fish kill, populations of both threadfin (Dowsoma petenense) and gizzard shad (D. cepedianum) were dominated by intermediate- and harvestable-size fish. Anglers reported largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fishing was poor, and age analysis indicated poor recruitment for several years. Following the fish kill, shad populations were dominated by large numbers of fingerlings, and standing crops of intermediateand harvestable-size shad were much reduced. Large numbers of largemouth bass were recruited to the fishery the year following the fish kill, and recruitment remained good for 8 of the 9 years following the kill.

We surveyed the extent and availability of fisheries data from major (>200 ha) impoundments in 2 southeastern U. S. drainage basins, the Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint and Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa, both located primarily in the states of Georgia and Alabama. Data were used to generate regression models relating fish reproductive success to hydrologic variables. Results were used to define relationships between reservoir operations and abundance of young fishes. Of the 25 major mainstream and storage reservoirs in the 2 systems, 4 had sufficient historical data for fisheries and hydrologic variables to allow statistical analyses. Species of concern were black bass (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides and spotted bass, M. punctulatus), as they were abundant in both systems and have served as indicator species in similar studies in other basins.

The management objective at Caney Creek Reservoir, a Louisiana lake impounded in 1986, was to produce trophy-size largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Management actions included introduction of Florida bass (M s. floridanus), supplemental forage stocking, and initiation of length limit regulations. Prior to impoundment, the reservoir basin contained northern largemouth bass (M. s. salmoides) and intergrades between the northern and Florida subspecies. Eight years after the initial stocking of Florida bass in 1986, 49% of the population were northern bass, 23% were Florida bass, and 28% were intergrades. Relative abundance of bass fry and fingerlings was higher during the first 4 years of impoundment than reported for similar new lakes in Louisiana. Forage availability declined for bass <305 mm by 1988, 2 years after impoundment. Mean relative weight (Wr) of bass 203-305 mm declined to 86 by 1989; bass >305 mm had a mean Wr of 96.

One component in evaluating the need for or the result of a fishing regulation is an angler survey. In recent years, efforts have advanced the way an individual survey is designed, conducted, and analyzed. However, managing approximately 30-40 on-site angler surveys each year led Missouri to develop and implement stringent data processing guidelines. These guidelines ensure survey objectives are addressed; appropriate survey methodologies are used; clerks are properly trained; survey forms, questions, and coding are standardized; and data entry and analysis results are completed in a timely manner. The standardization techniques used in Missouri and the improvements generated as a result of these guidelines are discussed.

Percent return, survival, and harvest rates of stocked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were evaluated in 3 Tennessee streams from 1991 through 1994. Harvestable-size trout were stocked 2-4 times during spring at densities of 29-188/km. Subharvestable (fingerling) trout were stocked only during fall at densities of 69-286/km. Mean annual returns ranged from 13% to 29% over the 4 years of the study and averaged 23% for all 3 streams. Returns for fall-stocked trout were negligible. Survival of spring-stocked (March-May) trout was low, ranging from 2% to 7% by July of each year. Similarly, survival of fall-stocked trout was also low and ranged from 1% to 3% by the following March. No significant relationship (P > 0.05) was detected between stocking densities and mean harvest rates or percent returns of individual stockings. Thus, altering stocking densities and periods did not achieve a greater return to the angler in these streams.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is often used to induce spawning offish. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved HCG for use in fish because they claim additional efficacy data are required. Efficacy of HCG for spawning striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and white bass (M. chrysops) was evaluated at 15 hatcheries in 10 states. For strip spawning of females, a single dose of HCG was effective for 90.2% of striped bass (N = 428) and 89.4% of white bass (N = 660). After strip spawning, hatching rates were 39.5% for striped bass and 26.1% for white bass. Of 90 striped bass and 70 white bass females injected with saline, none ovulated. Milt was obtained from all striped bass males (N = 325) and from 98.8% of white bass (TV = 862) males injected with HCG. Of 47 striped bass and 24 white bass males injected with saline as controls for the stripping technique, only 63.8% of striped bass and 37.5% of white bass produced milt.

White bass (Morone chrysops) were reared to maturity and spawned in 2 consecutive years to evaluate their hatchery performance and potential for reuse. Egg production and hatching could not be statistically compared between 2- and 3-year-old fish due to estimation of size data and pooling of hatch data in 1994. Three-year-old virgin females had a mean production of 81,413 larvae/kg body weight and an egg hatching level of 62.9%. No statistical differences (P ≤ 0.05) in latency, egg and fry production, or hatching were detected between 3-year-old virgin and previously strip-spawned fish. Hatchery performance data for domesticated white bass were similar or greater than the information available on similarsize wild white bass. Our results suggest that domesticated white bass may be a suitable substitute for wild fish currently used in hatchery operations.