Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

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Oaks (Quercus spp.) are one of the most widely distributed tree genera in North America and prevalent in most of the major forest type groups in the eastern United States. In spite of this prevalence, concern exists that oak forests are aging with an insufficient base of young stands to replace them. Using data from the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program collected in 1989 and 2000, I estimated the current distribution and abundance of select oak forest types and oak species within the red and white oak subgenera in 29 eastern states. I also examined trends in the distribution and abundance of the species and oak forest types over the past decade. In 1989, oak stems represented 32% of the intermediate forest canopy and 52% of dominant and co-dominant classes. These numbers declined to 21% and 47%, respectively, by 2000.

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The oak forest type in the Central Hardwoods Region (CHR) is the largest forest type in the United States. Mature forests (>80 yr) in the CHR are dominated by oaks (Quercus spp.) regardless of site, aspect or slope. However, without proper management, oaks on intermediate and mesic sites will be replaced by more mesophytic species, such as maples (Acer spp.) and tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera). In general, oaks will dominate xeric sites such as ridgetops because of their resistance to drought. The key to managing a sustainable oak forest is obtaining ample advanced oak regeneration: stems greater than 1.2 m (4 feet) in height. This is accomplished by managing light intensity. Currently, forests in the HR are 1.5-2 times as dense as the forests at the time of European settlement. In the past, fire was the ecosystem process that maintained the open woodland settings which provided the proper light conditions for oak forest sustainability.

Declines in the abundance of oak (Quercus spp.) and the failure of oak to regenerate after harvest are widespread problems in eastern North America. Sustaining oak forests will require large-scale and long-term effort. Most of the oak forest resource is owned by individuals, collectively referred to as non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners. Conservation on NIPF lands is inherently difficult because ownership objectives vary, land tenure is generally short, and land parcels are small. Few NIPF owners have technical training in forestry or wildlife management. Timber harvest is generally conducted without the help of natural resource professionals and silvicultural techniques that would maintain oak are rarely used. Technical advice and support is available for NIPF owners through both public agencies and private organizations. Public support is delivered through a network that involves the university extension service, the state forestry agency, and the U.S.

Hardwood forests in eastern North America have been important to the nation's economy from wildlife, timber, and recreational perspectives. Since colonial times, the existence, structure, and function of these forests have been subjected to many challenges. In the westward expansion of this country, forested land was often converted to agriculture. More recently, marginal bottomland sites were drained or harvested to create new opportunities for row cropping. Exotic forest pests, such as chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) and gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), have further impacted hardwood forests. Many hardwood forests contained significant populations of oak (Quercus spp.) species, which have diminished over time. Correspondingly, wildlife populations that depend on hard mast have been negatively impacted. Restoration of an oak component or enrichment of existing oak populations is a common goal for many wildlife organizations and agencies.

Fossil pollen records depict the forests of the Ozark Highland as being dominated by oaks (Quercus spp.) for the last 4,000 years. Early explorers and naturalists from Desoto to Schoolcraft left written records of forest conditions and the impact of anthropogenic influences such as fire and the use of forest products on the upland landscapes. Fire scar studies from Missouri and Arkansas confirm these influences and report average historical fire intervals of <15 years from the mid 1600s through the early 1800s. The turn of the 20th century spawned drastic changes in disturbance regimes including fire suppression. Oak dominated forests in the Ozarks and Boston Mountains by the 1970s had become three times as dense as a century before. Then in 1997, with insect populations at record levels and the occurrence of a minor drought, an oak decline event had devastating effects on an estimated 261,000 ha of the Ozark National Forest.

Multi-agency cooperative approaches have proven to be an effective, pragmatic, and often necessary means of achieving landscape-level wildlife conservation goals. The most compelling and historic examples involve bird conservation initiatives. Wildlife conservation agencies have collaborated in addressing broad scale population and habitat challenges. These collaborations began with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the advent of the Flyway management system. Efforts have increased with the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and the development of Joint Ventures and more recently with Partners in Flight and associated bird conservation initiatives. The challenges associated with sustaining eastern oak ecosystems are somewhat different than bird conservation issues because there is no focal species group, the problem is insidious, and existing management of private lands represent a major source of the problem.

Random active surveillance for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in free-ranging populations of cervids is challenging due to low prevalence and heterogeneous distribution of the disease. Furthermore, geographic areas are at different levels of risk for exposure to CWD depending on the presence of various risk factors. Based on the assumption that areas of Virginia in proximity to concentrations of farmed or captive deer or elk are at the highest risk for the introduction of CWD into the free-ranging white-tailed deer population (Odocoileus virginianus), the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) conducted a qualitative risk assessment that resulted in the stratification of the state into three risk categories (high, medium, and low risk) and the application of different surveillance strategies in each region.

Population reconstruction is a technique that uses harvest-at-age data and backward addition of cohorts to estimate minimum population size over time. Management agencies use population reconstruction because it uses data that are commonly collected for managed species, particularly for bear and deer populations. However, this technique had not been rigorously evaluated for accuracy or precision. We used computer simulations to evaluate the impact of life history parameters, harvest rate, sampling error, and violated assumptions on Downing population reconstruction estimates. This technique was robust to collapsing age classes if harvest rates for the oldest two age classes in the reconstruction were similar. Harvest and natural mortality rates were the driving factors in the accuracy of population reconstruction estimates. The technique was most accurate when harvest rate was high and natural mortality was low.

We investigated population densities and genetic structure of black bears at three national wildlife refuges (Great Dismal Swamp [GDSNWR], Pocosin Lakes [PLNWR], and Alligator River [ARNWR]). We derived density estimates from DNA samples collected noninvasively at each refuge for two consecutive summers. Hair samples were analyzed for individual identification using 6-7 microsatellite markers. Estimated densities were some of the highest reported in the literature and ranged from 0.56-0.63 bears/km2 at GDSNWR to 0.65-1.12 bears/km2 at ARNWR to 1.23-1.66 bears/km2 at PLNWR. Sex ratios were male-biased at all refuges. We also assessed genetic variability of bear populations at these refuges using 16 microsatellite markers for 40 bears at each refuge. Genetic variability was substantially high at all refuges compared to other bear populations in North America, with observed heterozygosities ranging from 0.6729 at GDSNWR to 0.7219 at ARNWR.

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Managing for quality sport fishing is becoming more difficult as natural resources dwindle. This trend also creates additional problems with endangered species. Benefits accrued from land and water conservation programs pay dividends to both. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has embarked upon an aggressive approach to resolving species and habitat conflicts through cooperative programs with local governments and especially private landowners.

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) were first introduced into inland waters of Texas in 1967. Since that initial introduction, 44 inland waters within the state have been stocked with over 120,000,000 striped bass and the species has become the fourth most popular sport fish among anglers. Although successful striped bass fisheries have been established in numerous Texas reservoirs, there are few self-sustaining populations, and maintenance of the fisheries is dependent upon hatchery stocking programs. The high fecundity of striped bass renders the species vulnerable to genetic drift and inbreeding since hatcheries may meet production quotas with relatively few brood fish. Even when large numbers of brood fish are used, offspring typically are reared and distributed in a manner that may limit the effective population size (Ne) of fisheries created and maintained through hatchery stockings.

Invasive species, diseases and parasites often move from place to place as undetected hitchhiker contaminates contained within pathways. Natural resource agencies could inadvertantly provide pathways for invasions through their work unless protocols are developed to prevent and remove hitchhikers. Strategic planning which identifies and removes contamination risks is necessary to craft effective protocols or best management practices (BMPs). HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is a strategic planning tool developed by Pillsbury Foods in the 1960s to ensure product safety in food produced for the space program. Its straightforward planning logic has been modified slightly to serve as a pathway management tool. Sequential steps in HACCP guide planners to ask the right questions to identify hazards and define effective BMPs to prevent, remove or reduce pathway contamination.

No paper was submitted with this abstract. Abstract was too long so please refer to pdf.

No paper was submitted with this abstract. Abstract was too long so please refer to pdf.

In April 2005 a newly formed panel of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF) held its first meeting. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Panel on aquatic invasive species (MARP) is authorized under Section 1203 of the Non-Indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Protection and Control Act of 1990 (NANPCA). The MARP consists of individuals representing Federal and state agencies, regional and academic entities, non-profit environmental groups, and commercial interests from Delaware, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Challenges and exciting opportunities for management of aquatic invasive species are framing an action-oriented agenda for this newly-formed panel.

Since largemouth bass virus (LMBV) was implicated in 1998 and 1999 as responsible for fish kills in some of Texas' most prestigious bass fisheries (Fork, Sam Rayburn, Conroe and Toledo Bend lakes), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has taken an active role to better understand this emerging pathogen. An extensive statewide survey of 49 water bodies conducted in 2000 coupled with continued monitoring of bass fisheries has detected LMBV in 23 water bodies within nine of 13 water basins in the state. The virus has also been detected at TPWD freshwater hatcheries and procedures intended to minimize the incidental spread of this pathogen have been implemented. These measures include routine testing of hatchery-produced fingerlings and available brood stock, limiting stockings from LMBV-positive hatcheries to LMBV-influenced waters, disinfection of fish hauling units, and fish health inspection requirement for fish imported to the state.

Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is well-known for its commercial and ecological importance and has been historically declining in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, one of its principal nursery habitats along the eastern coast. Utilizing data from the Striped Bass Seine Survey of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, we evaluated how the distribution of over 1 million Atlantic menhaden had changed from 1966 to 2004 for 12 river drainages. We observed significant or marginally significant declines in 42% of the drainages, with drainages of the northern Bay showing the majority of those declines. Continued recruitment to several drainages of the Bay may partly explain why the adult spawning population is not putatively declining. We determined if temporal changes in abundance were related to changes in salinity or water quality for five major drainages of the watershed.

No paper was submitted with this abstract. Abstract was too long so please refer to pdf.

Significant declines in American shad (Alosa sapidissima) populations have warranted restoration efforts by natural resource agencies along the Atlantic coast. In 1998, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission developed a restoration plan for declining stocks of American shad in the Roanoke River. One strategy in the plan was to supplement wild American shad reproduction with annual stockings of hatchery-reared American shad fry. The fry were marked with a discrete oxytetracycline (OTC) mark specific to the stocking year and stocking location in the upper Roanoke River basin. Total numbers of American shad fry stocked ranged from 481,000 in 1998 to 2.5 million in 2005. To evaluate the contribution of stocked American shad fry to the portion of juvenile American shad that outmigrate, we checked for OTC marks on processed otoliths of American shad juveniles collected at night during weekly fall (September-November) samples in the lower Roanoke River.

The following presentation examines the costs which fishermen holding commercial permits in the south Atlantic snapper-grouper and mackerel fisheries incurred to participate in those fisheries for calendar years 2002 and 2003. The two types of data collected to conduct an economic analysis were the variable costs data for each individual fishing trip and the fixed annual expenses data for operating in the fisheries. This evaluation has been undertaken to gain a better understanding of the economic ramifications, which different changes in management and regulation of the fisheries might have on the individual fisherman as well as the industry as a whole. To achieve this goal, regulation history is described, methodology is explained, and results are presented through correlations between vessel lengths, gear types, fishing locations, and crew size.

We performed a literature review on alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula). It revealed that habitat loss and over-harvest has caused this species to decline throughout the southern United States. The literature contained information about range, status, growth, sex determination, ecological roles in various habitats, and the public's perception of this fish. This information leads us to believe that alligator gar could be successfully reintroduced at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. A fish community sample will be conducted prior to releasing alligator gar into Mingo NWR. We will employ a multi-gear approach to assess fish species richness and community structure. Sampling will include enough effort to detect changes in fish population size structure for selected species of interest (e.g., crappies, shad, buffalo, and carp) which may be affected by alligator gar predation. Stocking is planned for summer 2007.

Effective conservation and restoration of endangered mussels requires community support. Numerous studies have been made of the aquatic resources in the upper Clinch River, Tazewell County, Virginia, but prior to this effort, no study has assessed what the human community that lives in this biodiversity hotspot knows and thinks about their community's natural resources. We surveyed community leaders and residents of Tazewell County, Virginia, to assess baseline knowledge of the upper Clinch River watershed, endangered mussels, aquatic conservation, and water quality issues. The survey response rate is 40%. We compared total knowledge scores of the community to attitude and opinion data to assess if knowledge and understanding of endangered mussels are correlated with attitudes and opinions of the resource. According to preliminary results, residents are aware mussels occur in the community, but are not as aware of their status or their ecosystem services.