Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Damage to agricultural crops by black bears (Ursus americanus) is a widespread problem in coastal North Carolina. We examined extent and duration of damage to 1,802 ha of corn crops using aerial surveys conducted during summer 1993. Additionally, we obtained 1993 crop damage estimates and attitudes towards bears using a mail survey of farm operators on the Neuse-Pamlico peninsula in 1994. Greatest corn damage occurred in middle to late July during early stages of kernel ripeness. Aerial survey results showed that bears damaged approximately 0.6% of the corn crop compared to 1.2% estimated by farm operators. Most farm operators (77.8%) enjoyed seeing bears on their farms, but 45.4% worried about crop damage. Farm operators who had received crop damage were more likely to view bears as nuisances. Corn was the major crop damaged with estimated losses exceeding $27,000.

Published methods for aging and sexing ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) have not been tested on a large sample of birds from the Southeast. We evaluated several methods in a hunter-donated sample of 268 birds from eastern Tennessee. Age and sex determined by individual techniques were compared to necropsy findings. Results of aging techniques ranged from 3.3% to 39% error. Sexing error ranged from 1.3% to 24%. Results were generally not as accurate as those reported from the northern United States due largely to juveniles with adult traits and females with male traits. Use of most traditional methods may lead to underestimates of juveniles and females. The sample was classified 39% juvenile and 45% female.

The failure to recognize heterogeneity in band-recovery and survival rates can lead to biased estimates and spurious inferences regarding population status. We examined band-recovery data for sources of variation in recovery and survival rates of mottled ducks (Anas fuhigula) in Florida. Distances between banding and recovery sites were small (median = 38 km), suggesting that mottled ducks live much of their lives within the same drainage basin. Recovery rates varied among regions of banding, perhaps because of spatial heterogeneity in bandreporting rates. Cohort-specific survival rates also may have varied by region, but data were inadequate to test these hypotheses. Fledged and unfledged young had similar recovery distributions and rates. Young of both sexes had higher recovery rates than adults, but age-specific survival differed only among males.

Since 1970, over 40% of all American black ducks (Anas rubripes) observed during mid-winter waterfowl surveys in the Mississippi flyway occurred in Tennessee. Local differences in distribution, migration chronology, and annual variation in abundance have not been investigated within the state. We used Tennessee recovery records from 1970-1987 to evaluate breeding locations of black ducks wintering in Tennessee and waterfowl survey data collected by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1955-1992 to evaluate trends in geographic distribution and abundance, migration chronology, and influence of winter temperature on numbers of black ducks wintering in Tennessee. The inland subpopulation of black ducks is primarily confined to the Mississippi flyway. The primary breeding areas of black ducks recovered in Tennessee were within the Mississippi flyway, especially Michigan, Wisconsin, and Manitoba, Canada.

Previous work by LeMaster and Trost (1994) and Otis (1994) developed and evaluated statistical models for incorporating wood ducks (Aix sponsa) banded between 15 April and 30 June into band recovery analyses to estimate survival and recovery rates. In this study, we analyzed wood duck band recovery data from 1982-1992 in the proposed mid-Atlantic wood duck management unit and evaluated the impact of past early season banding on precision of the estimates. Based on statistics compiled from the wood duck nest box program in South Carolina, we then used computer simulation to evaluate potential impact of state and regional scale banding of adult females in nest box programs. Additional early season banding in the mid-Atlantic region could slightly improve estimates of annual and summer survival rates for adults, but replacement of preseason banding with early season banding to achieve banding quotas can result in substantial decreases in precision of some parameters.

Nesting ecology of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) has been extensively studied in southwestern Louisiana, but little data exist from other parts of the state. Nesting ecology was investigated in an intermediate salinity marsh in southeastern Louisiana during 1987 and 1988. We located and examined 53 nests. Nesting habitat included spoilbanks, bulltongue (Sagittaria lancifolia) and wiregrass (Spartina patens) marshes. Floating marsh was not used. Mean clutch size was 29.4 ±1.7 eggs and mean egg mass was 64.1 ± 0.3 g. Nest temperatures were within the optimal range of 31 to 32 C. In 1987, 3 (75%) nests on spoilbanks and 4 (36.6%) nests in bulltongue marsh were successful. Remaining nests were destroyed by raccoons or flooding. Nest predation was not observed in 1988, but all nests were lost to flooding from tropical storm Beryl on 9 August.

In American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), sex determination is dependent upon incubation temperature of the egg prior to hatching. Information about hatchling alligator sex ratios is equivocal, however. Moreover, numerous surveys of juveniles and adults show a male-biased ratio, although a female-biased ratio has been reported for hatchlings from Louisiana. We outline a technique for estimating sex ratios in naturally-incubated alligator nests, and present the initial results from impoundment habitats in South Carolina. In 1994, we located 33 nests and sexed and released 778 hatchlings from 25 nests. The observed sex ratio was 1M:3.8F. Hatchling sex ratios are likely to vary temporally and spatially; therefore, long-term studies in representative habitats are required.

We use a case study to illustrate how challenging it can be to apply rigorous evaluation procedures of environmental education programs in a real world setting. We report here our experiences in conducting 2 major evaluations. In Case Number 1, the identity of the client is not disclosed for reasons that will become obvious. This client was a national, non-profit conservation organization that requested an independent evaluation of an educational program designed for volunteer use. Case Number 2 reviews the evaluation of the Virginia Hunter Education program conducted in the early 1980s.

U.S. agriculture has become so efficient in modern times that <1.6% Americans gather our food and fiber. As society moves farther from the land, it understands less and less about land management. This has resulted in a protectionist attitude, instead of a "use—but use wisely" philosophy. Agriculturists, foresters, and fish and wildlife managers are all affected by society's land management ignorance. Instead of fighting with each other, or with extreme anti- groups, we should combine resources to attack the real target enemy—land management ignorance. I believe the most effective audience to address are 4th-6th grade school children. The most effective weapons are volunteer-led programs, such as Ag-inthe- Classroom, Project Wild, Project Learning Tree, etc.; children-oriented programs on prime-time television; paid advertisements using children's cartoons and role models; top quality music videos; and high quality demonstrations and exhibits.

Wildlife education is an important component of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division's mission. Funding for educational positions and programs are difficult to obtain. A partnership between local school systems and the Game Management Section at its Region I headquarters near Rome, Georgia, successfully initiated a wildlife education center. The Game Management Section provided facilities such as a nature trail, classroom, and lab. The school systems jointly funded a coordinator/teacher position. The center reaches 3 school systems through a combination of on-site and outreach programs.

Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics, and Sportsmanship (JAKES) is a National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) youth program designed to help pass on the tradition of hunting, teach the principles of turkey population and habitat management, hunting ethics, and safe and responsible hunting principles, and to instill land and resource conservation ethics. The USDA Forest Service often cooperates with the NWTF in co-sponsoring JAKES Events on National Forest lands. The NWTF and Forest Service recognize the number of turkey hunters is growing yearly, and increasing numbers of young people are learning to hunt without the benefits of an older mentor. Since there is no standard format for conducting a JAKES event, organizers can be creative in making the event fun and entertaining for kids. This outdoor conservation program has been well received across the country.

The Florida Ocala National Forest's sand pine scrub supports 26 species of endangered, threatened, or sensitive wildlife and plants as well as a thriving population of white-tailed deer. Scrub is adapted to a cycle of burning and regrowth, and scrub wildlife benefits from clearcutting and fire. Clearcutting in sand pine scrub is a successful and profitable method for ecosystem management because it simulates the effects of fire. Disturbances are negatively perceived by many in the general public. This perception is a challenge in management of ecological communities which are adapted to disturbance. An open forum including interested people from federal agencies, universities, and conservation groups was held to review management practices with a view to improvement of scrub habitat while sustaining an economically viable forestry program in the Ocala National Forest.

Women have typically been underrepresented in the numbers of hunters and anglers. A 1990 workshop, "Breaking Down the Barriers to Participation of Women in Angling and Hunting," held at the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, identified 21 reasons for their low participation in these activities. These barriers, ranging from childhood conditioning to ill-fitting equipment and clothing, have kept women from enjoying outdoor activities as fully as do men. Fourteen barriers related to lack of information. To address that problem, Dr. Christine Thomas of UW-Stevens Point developed "Becoming an Outdoors Woman" (BOW), a skills workshop focusing on outdoor skills usually associated with hunting and fishing, but including other activities as well. The weekend clinics provide education in a non-threatening, supportive atmosphere. A research project sponsored by national sports/conservation organizations surveyed the first 800 participants.

Thousands of multimedia titles are being developed for education purposes, many on environmental topics. Learning potential is very high, because if a program is engaging and interesting, people will spend many hours with it. Ariel Training Design and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formed a partnership with 28 local, state, and federal agencies to develop an interactive multimedia educational program on wetlands in coastal North Carolina. The project is in progress. The goal is to develop a high-quality program based on solid educational principles to teach people the ecology and value of wetlands in coastal North Carolina. Existing resources, such as video, will be incorporated where possible. The final product will complement other education programs, including workshops, print materials, and traditional video. Multimedia is a challenging endeavor because of the complexity of the various components and the infinite number of ways to present any piece of information.

Covert, or undercover, investigations have been utilized by various state and federal law enforcement agencies for decades to detect and prosecute surreptitious and organized forms of criminal activity. Historically, wildlife law enforcement divisions have relied almost exclusively on overt, or uniformed modes of enforcement, both as a means of effecting voluntary compliance, and to detect and prosecute instances of noncompliance. Modern technological advances coupled with increased commercial value of many wildlife species has generated clandestine and organized illegal commercial activities which can severely impact natural resources. Recent covert operations by state and federal wildlife agencies have proven effective in combating these types of violations. Some illustrative case examples are presented.

Traditional wildlife law enforcement epitomizes the concept of community oriented policing. Many problems of supervision, performance tracking, evaluation, and uniformity in front line law enforcement operations arise because the nature of conservation law enforcement is remote in terms of territory, communication, and routine operations. The successful implementation of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission's Five Point Plan is bringing about a paradigm shift. Supervisory training, performance evaluation, and law enforcement ethics receive top priority under the plan. Communication and professionalism are top concerns for the law enforcement programs. The present agency standards exemplify management of community oriented policing.

Hunters shooting white-tailed deer from roadways, illegal in Tennessee, is a problem that, among other things, creates a bad image and publicity for sport hunting. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has used decoy deer to help apprehend violators and combat this problem. We evaluated the use of this technique by designing and distributing survey forms to TWRA wildlife officers. We collected survey forms (N = 100) from 21 different counties. Only 17.8% of 734 vehicles that passed decoy deer during the survey periods stopped, but violations were committed by occupants of 46.6% of stopped vehicles. Violations occurred more often from slow moving (<16 km/hour) vehicles than from vehicles that were traveling at 16-48 km/hour (P < 0.001), and more often from vehicles that stopped suddenly than those that came to a gradual stop (P = 0.016). Violations occurred most often from pickup trucks with 2 male occupants of mixed ages.

In spring 1994 the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the state agency charged with the conservation of Florida's freshwater fish and wildlife resources, recognized the need to better involve the community with solutions to current environmental problems: more specifically, community involvement in resolving with littering problems on public lands and waters. Toward that end, the Division of Law Enforcement developed Project EAGLE (Enhancing a Great Living Environment), a half-day voluntary cleanup of some of Florida's most sensitive public lands and waterways. The initial pilot program met with overwhelming success, in terms of both removing litter from the environment and community participation. Utilizing the momentum generated by the pilot program, Project EAGLE was expanded to a statewide effort in 1995. This effort paid off with massive amounts of litter being removed from critical areas and a greater sense of community awareness and support.

Ross' goose and snow goose populations have increased in the last 20 years and now show extensive range overlap. Winter population surveys conducted by state and federal resource agencies in Texas do not distinguish between the 2 species, and their distribution and population trends are assumed to be similar. We examined the relative distributions of Ross' geese and snow geese in the riceprairie and coastal marsh regions of southeast Texas. Our results indicate that both proportion and abundance of Ross' geese in the rice-prairie have increased in the last 20 years, and that white goose flocks in the coastal marsh region are comprised of relatively fewer Ross' geese than snow geese. We suggest that aerial winter population surveys should incorporate ground surveys to address speciesspecific differences in distribution.

Flooded bottomland hardwood forests are critical habitat for mallards (Anasplatyrhynchos) and wood ducks (Aix sponsa) during winter. How these species allocate their time in such habitats is unknown, however. Therefore, diurnal time budgets of 48 mallards and 330 wood ducks wintering in such a forest were examined during a 554-hour sampling period from 19 January through 31 March 1991. Time budgets of the species differed (P<0.001). Mallards spent more time feeding, resting, and alert, and less time locomoting and perching than wood ducks. Intraspecific time budgets of mallard and wood duck drakes, hens, and pairs differed (P<0.001) as did those for early morning, mid-day, and late afternoon time blocks (P<0.001). Both species spent much more time locomoting and less time feeding than did ducks in other habitats. To compensate, mallards reduced resting time; wood ducks swam as they fed, thus locomoting and feeding behaviors were often indistinguishable.

Rice (Oryza sativa) fields are managed wetlands that have high potential value to wildlife, especially waterbirds. To better understand factors influencing use of rice fields by breeding waterbirds, we compared nest densities in waterand dry-seeded rice fields in southwestern Louisiana, May-July 1993. Densities of waterbird nests in dry- and water-seeded plots were similar (paired t = 0.69, df = 13, P = 0.505). Minimum density of waterbird nests surveyed in Louisiana rice fields averaged (±SE) 37.2 ± 4.4 nests/km2 (N = 28, range = 0-92.7). Nests of king rails (Rallus elegans, 15.9 ±3.1 nests/km2), fulvous whistling ducks (Dendrocygna bicolor, 15.1 ± 3.3 nests/km2), and purple gallinules (Porphymla martinica, 5.1 ± 1.4 nests/km2) were common, but common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) nests were rare (< 1 nest/km2).

Emphasis on use of moist-soil management for waterfowl has increased in recent years. One component of this form of management which is not well documented are seed yields of many native plants produced. Seed yields of 4 moistsoil plant species were measured during the growing season of 1985 and 1986 on the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi. Seed yields of 3 species, Polygonum hydropiperoides (Michaux), Polygonum densiflorum (Meissner), and Rhyncospora corniculata (Gray), were measured using a specially designed seed trap. The fourth species, Ludwigia glandulosa (Walter), was measured by clipping plants from 0.31-m2 quadrats, then removing their capsules. Of the 4 species measured, P. densiflorum and R. corniculata appeared to be the best overall seed producers, producing an average of 430 kg/ha and 661 kg/ha in 1985, respectively, and 576 kg/ha and 1,091 kg/ha in 1986, respectively. P. hydropiperoides produced much less seed than P.