Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Information on survival rates and causes of mortality are important to understanding white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population dynamics and implementing appropriate management practices. We examined sex- and age-specific survival rates for three Missouri white-tailed deer populations that represented agricultural, forest, and urban landscapes. Except for males on Woods Farm (forest site), we observed no differences in age-specific or annual survival for male or female deer .6 months of age. For this exception, greater yearling than adult survival was attributed to deer harvest strategies that emphasized harvest of adult males. On the two rural study sites, hunting-related mortality accounted for 66% and 61% of female mortalities and 82% and 97% of male mortality.

Due to increased deer/vehicle collisions involving endangered Florida Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium), the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) planned to fence a stretch of U.S. Highway 1 that crosses Big Pine Key, Florida. Public access roads, which would allow deer to enter the fenced portion of the highway, posed public and wildlife-related hazards. Currently there are no structures (deer guards) that are effective in preventing deer from entering access roads. Our purpose was to design, construct, and test a deer guard that would allow normal passage of vehicles while preventing Key deer from crossing. Between September 1998 and December 1999, we constructed and tested deer-guard prototypes within a deer-holding facility at the Welder Wildlife Foundation Refuge near Sinton, Texas. Wild-trapped Texas white-tailed deer (O. v. texanus) were used as test animals.

While national boating accident statistics readily identify the abuse of alcoholic beverages as a contributing factor in a large number of our nation's boating accidents, the challenges of formulating and implementing effective methods of reducing the abuse of alcoholic beverages on our nation's waterways are often overwhelming. One challenge hinges on the fact that the consumption of alcoholic beverages while boating meets with both legal and societal approval. Another is due primarily to our society's perception of what the stereotypical “drunk” person looks, smells, and acts like.

In June 2002, investigators of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed a black market distributor of illegally obtained and protected wildlife species in South Florida. The suspect operated a black market taxidermist business in which he received money to mount the illegally obtained wildlife. Some of the animals were then sold to other customers in South Florida. A covert investigator infiltrated this enterprise called Taxidermy by Fried and identified the suppliers of the wildlife. The investigator became so trusted by the suspect that he accompanied the suspect on an illegal alligator hunt in South Florida. After four months of investigation, the take down phase of Taxidermy by Fried yielded arrests of seven suspects on 26 charges: 14 felonies and 12 misdemeanors. Intelligence gathered after interviewing showed this market had dealt in illegal saltwater fish, alligators, protected birds, illegal deer, and black bear.

Beginning in 1994 with a mandatory hunter education program, Alabama's Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries has continued to introduce, almost yearly, new outreach programs in both hunter and conservation education. Alabama Conservation Enforcement Officers (CEOs) are often required to participate in these programs. Some law enforcement personnel feel that the outreach programs take up a relatively large percentage of a CEO's time and have a detrimental effect on enforcement efforts. Surprisingly, this study shows that a CEO spends just over 5% of his time with outreach programs and much of this is before the opening of hunting seasons. In addition, enforcement data seems to be correlated with number of law enforcement officers on the job rather than time spent working on outreach programs.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) has become increasingly concerned about stagnant or declining fishing license sales and a 50% turnover rate among annual fishing license holders. Marketing campaigns were initiated in Oklahoma in an attempt to reverse the trend. During 2001, ODWC partnered with the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) to test the effect of supplementing the RBFF national campaign with local marketing efforts. Local fishing directories were produced, RBFF advertising images and messages were customized for advertising, and both were directed at two local test markets of anglers with a sporadic license buying history. The pre- and post-test evaluation revealed that the campaign was successful at increasing awareness of fishing and boating as recreational activities and that direct mail was the most effective delivery mechanism for campaign messages.

We evaluated the accomplishments of the past 50 years of the Southern Division American Fisheries Society (SDAFS). We used minutes from the Southern Division annual meetings and various records to view past issues addressed by the division and activities of the SDAFS technical committees and chapters, and the evolution of the SDAFS annual meeting. Since its formation in 1952, the SDAFS has grown to about 2,000 members with 8 active technical committees, 20 chapters, and 8 student units. Issues addressed by the SDAFS have included a diversity of conservation and management issues including support for some concepts that would likely not be popular today such as intentional introduction of exotic fishes and proposing the sale of game fishes. The technical committees were the primary source of interstate coordination within the SDAFS with work including large-scale field projects, published symposia, and many compilations of data and reports.

Radio telemetry was used to determine home ranges of 38 largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) from the tidal upper Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Bass from opposite shores (Susquehanna = west, Northeast = east) were tagged from 1991-1993 and tracked for 4-15 months (1991-1995) depending on battery life. Mean home range of Susquehanna bass (246 ha, N = 16) was larger than non-migratory Northeast bass (119 ha, N = 18) but the difference was not significant. Mean home range (2140 ha) of 4 migratory Northeast bass that made an annual spawning migration across the Bay was significantly different than the mean home ranges for the Northeast, Susquehanna, and pooled groups (178 ha). Mean home range for all groups (119-2140 ha) was much higher than home range sizes reported in the literature for freshwater lakes and impoundments (0.01-21 ha).

One hundred and seventy-six trophy-size (?3.6 kg) largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), entered into a privately-sponsored catch-and-release program at Caddo Lake, Texas/Louisiana, were tagged and monitored to assess angler recapture rates, genetic composition, and their distribution within the lake. All largemouth bass program entries were scanned for tags to determine angler recapture rates over a 4-year period. Blood samples were obtained from initial entries and used to determine genetic composition using random amplified polymorphic DNA testing. Genetic data were used to evaluate the success of past stocking activities. Angler-reported catch locations were used to examine temporal and spatial distribution of initial and recaptured largemouth bass entries. Most (77.2%) of the largemouth bass entries were caught during March (46.9%) and April (30.3%). Twenty-three (13.1%) of the 176 largemouth bass were recaptured at least once and 4 (2.3%) were recaptured twice.

We conducted 2 short-term experiments to address Floy anchor tag (model FD-68B) retention in stream-dwelling smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) over 3 to 4 months. One experiment used stream-dwelling smallmouth bass held in an experimental pond, and the other was conducted on smallmouth bass in a northeastern Oklahoma stream. Tag retention in the pond over a period of 3 months was 100%, while tag retention in the field was 76% through 1.5 months and dropped to 48% through 4 months. Mean lengths were similar between smallmouth bass that lost and retained tags at both time periods. Increased structural complexity of the stream environment or density related problems caused by low water conditions may have contributed to lower tag retention in stream-dwelling smallmouth bass. Estimating tag retention in a pond environment may overestimate actual tag retention by stream-dwelling smallmouth bass and should be used with caution.

We compared catfish catch per unit effort (CPUE), species composition, and size distribution data collected by a Smith-Root 7.5 GPP boat-mounted electrofishing unit, a Smith-Root 7.5 GPP boat-mounted electrofishing unit used in conjunction with the Smith-Root “Catfish Zapper,” and with the micro-electronic device known as the “Skoal Box.” A combined 1,175 catfish were collected from 6 sites within the Cape Fear and Lumber rivers in the summers of 2000 and 2001. The Smith-Root 7.5 GPP (GPP) collected 549 catfish (46.7%) during the 2-year period while the Smith-Root 7.5 GPP used with the Catfish Zapper (GPP and Zapper) collected 466 catfish (39.7%). The Skoal Box collected 160 catfish (13.6%). ANOVA revealed no significant difference (P = 0.88) in catch rates of the GPP and the GPP and Zapper. However, the Skoal Box captured significantly fewer catfish compared to the GPP (P = 0.02) and to the GPP and Zapper (P = 0.03).

Migratory stocks of river herring, alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis) have declined as a result of overfishing, poor water quality, and loss of spawning and nursery habitat. To provide access to previously blocked spawning and nursery areas, fish passage facilities have been installed at stream blockages. In 1997, a fish ladder was installed on Unicorn Lake, a tributary of the Chester River in Maryland. In 1998 and 1999, we evaluated the effectiveness of the fish ladder for passing adult river herring and surveyed the upstream habitat for juvenile recruitment. In 1998, 18 alewife and 3,800 blueback herring used the fishway. Temporary modifications made to the fishway in 1999 substantially increased passage to 1,270 alewife and 13,400 blueback herring when densities below the dam appeared to be similar between years. Besides using the fishway, an additional 3,375 alewife were manually passed into Unicorn Lake 1999.

Sub-adult channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were marked with fin clips and stocked into 5 Virginia small (13- to 65-ha) impoundments from 1993-1996 to determine optimum stocking size and population dynamics. Four years of treatment stockings were compared to 4 years of standard (fingerling) stockings using gill net and creel surveys. Gill net catch per unit effort (CPUE) was higher (P = 0.04) during the treatment phase, and percentage of marked fish within populations steadily increased and reached a high of 91% in 1997. No evidence of natural reproduction was observed. Overall, abundance and stocking size were directly related (r2 = 0.57, P = 0.01), but there was no significant difference among the 4 treatment cohorts, suggesting that catfish 254-315 mm total length were equally abundant the year following stocking. Harvest was higher (P = 0.05) during and immediately following treatment stockings. Total annual mortality (A) based on cohort analysis ranged from 34%-51%.

Phase I striped bass hauled in varying levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) had significantly higher survival than fish hauled in varying levels of calcium chloride (CaCl2), regardless if the fish came from a hard water or soft water hatchery. The addition of MS-222 to the transport water did not have a beneficial effect on phase I striped bass survival.

Smith Mountain Lake is a 8,337-ha reservoir formed by the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers in Virginia. This lake maintains suitable habitat for striped bass (Morone saxatilis) but does not contain adequate spawning habitat for natural reproduction. Consequently, it requires annual stockings of this species to maintain the fishery. We examined how recruitment of striped bass to age-1 was affected by increasing the number of stocking locations at Smith Mountain Lake. Prior to 1996, striped bass were stocked at 2 sites. Four sites were stocked in 1996-1997 and 10 to 14 sites were stocked from 1998-2000. Approximately 118,000-170,000 striped bass were stocked at each site prior to 1996 but the number of striped bass stocked at each site in 1996-2000 was reduced to 17,000-78,000. Some of the new stocking sites were in areas of the lake that had greater nutrient concentrations and prey densities. Reduced stocking densities at each site increased recruitment to age-1.

Atlantic tarpon Megalops atlanticus is an important recreational fisheries resource in the 6 brackish water lagoons located in Puerto Rico's Humacao Natural Reserve. The lagoons, which formed on the reserve after Hurricane David and Tropical Storm Frederick flooded the area in August 1979, are arranged in series and connect to the sea during periods of substantial precipitation. Subsequently, they reflect environmental gradients from essentially marine to low-salinity brackish water conditions. From March 2000 to April 2001, experimental mesh gill nets (N = 228) were utilized to conduct stock assessments of tarpon in the lagoons. Relative abundances of tarpon were greater as isolation (i.e., distance) from the system's confluence with the sea increased. Salinity decreased and water clarity increased as the distance from the Caribbean Sea increased. Tarpon relative abundances in the lagoons tended to be related more to water clarity than to salinity.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Service, is charged with stewardship of coastal and inland fishery resources and management of fishermen who fish in our waters. Maryland's involvement in fishery management is not restricted only to state waters. We also have been actively involved in influencing national and international fisheries policy for Atlantic white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus), particularly in 2002. The effort is two-fold; it utilizes traditional methods of fishery management through an advisory process and, in later years, has included non-traditional processes including partnerships with fishing organizations and environmental advocacy groups. In the future, state fishery managers could consider additional non-traditional strategies such as requesting protection for white marlin under the Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species and through information exchange programs with small developing coastal nations.

Paramoeba perniciosa is a parasite that has been found in blue crabs Callinectes sapidus from coastal embayments from Florida to Connecticut and has been associated with mortalities in crab shedding facilities in coastal bays of Maryland and Virginia. Hemolymph samples from more than 7300 crabs over a 9-year period from the Gulf (N = 228) and Atlantic (N = 7167) coasts of the United States revealed 0.5% of crabs assayed to be infected by P. perniciosa. Infections were limited to crabs collected from Virginia to New Jersey; Rehoboth Bay, Delaware, had a considerably higher prevalence than other sites sampled. Infections were not present or detected in Gulf coast crabs. Areas reported with P. perniciosa in blue crabs overlap areas reported with paramoeba-like infections in the American lobster Homarus americanus and rock crabs Cancer irroratus. One lesser blue crab Callinectes similis sampled from a Maryland coastal bay was infected by a Paramoeba sp. morphologically similar to P.

Georgia, like much of the Southeast, is faced with increasing pressures on its natural resources including forests. The predominant forces being imposed on Georgia's forests are development due to human population expansion and increasing demand for forest products. In 1996, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, began working with 14 corporate forest owners operating in Georgia to develop a partnership program that would recognize companies for their efforts in natural resources conservation. The Forestry for Wildlife Partnership Program has been functional for 3 years and has facilitated improvements in communication, operations, training, and resource conservation by participating companies. After 5 years of implementation, the partnership program provides a model from which many lessons can be learned relative to the role of private corporations, especially the forest industry, in conserving natural resources.

Small game populations, including northern bobwhite, have shown precipitous declines in North Carolina. To address these declines and trends in habitat loss, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission implemented the Cooperative Upland habitat Restoration and Enhancement (CURE) program in August 2000. The CURE program has 6 objectives related directly to habitat enhancement. This is a cooperative, multi-phase project, the success of which depends upon collaboration with numerous private landowners and other agencies and organizations. The CURE program has been designed to minimize expense to landowners while maximizing habitat quality and quantity in specific geographical areas. As we enter the 21st Century, the CURE program is the Commission's attempt to address declines in small game.

Conflicts between humans and bears have escalated in central Florida over the past 5 years. The scope and magnitude of these conflicts extend beyond the responsibilities and capabilities of any 1 agency; therefore, handling these problems requires cooperation among multiple agencies and organizations. We used partnerships to accomplish the following large-scale efforts: 1) a study of movements, habitat use, and population dynamics of bears relative to a highway; 2) creation and implementation of an annual bear festival; 3) creation and distribution of, and training for, an educator's curriculum guide; 4) establishment of a specialty license tag; 5) formation and execution of a broad educational campaign, and 6) support of educational efforts of individual organizations in the partnerships. These examples highlight benefits of collaborative efforts by agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and local communities to resolve large-scale problems between people and bears.

In recent years, conflicting viewpoints on natural resource management in Mississippi have existed between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) and forest industry. The continuing success of commercial forestry as a leading economic activity in Mississippi depends, in part, on a successful communication and education program by the forestry community (e.g., large private corporations, smaller firms, public agencies and organizations, non-governmental organizations, and universities) targeted to constituency groups such as MDWFP and the general public. Our study developed a foundation for this task. Our objective was to determine the values, attitudes, and perceptions of MDWFP's administration, technical staff, and conservation officers regarding Mississippi's forest industry.

In August 2000, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission approved and funded the Cooperative Upland habitat Restoration and Enhancement (CURE) Program, an initiative to create and maintain early-successional upland habitat for the enhancement of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations and associated early-successional species in North Carolina. As a part of the initial implementation of the CURE Program, our objectives were to identify specific geographic areas in North Carolina (focal areas) where the potential to restore and enhance bobwhite habitat and increase bobwhite populations on private lands was greatest. We used a Geographic Information System and remotely-sensed satellite imagery to examine current land use and the spatial arrangement of bobwhite habitat to develop a model of landscape suitability for bobwhite habitat restoration and enhancement in North Carolina.