SEAFWA News

The Large Carnivore Working Group (LCWG) recently went public with the BearWise website (http://bearwise.org/).  The purpose of the website is to provide a forum to communicate central messages supported by SEAFWA states regarding technical information on how to avoid and address bear issues.  The expanding black bear population in the southeast necessitates helping people learn to live with bears.  The LCWG operates as a working group of SEAFWA’s Wildlife Resources Committee. 

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As a group, our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the people who have lost homes, livelihoods, and loved ones. Recovering from such events takes a long time. However, in darkest of days there are lights that shine brightly, and the conservation law enforcement officers of SEAFWA states are some of the brightest. Southeastern state fish and wildlife officers are very active as first responders, and states assist each other in such efforts.

When natural disasters strike, the highly trained and dedicated state agency wildlife law enforcement officers are some of the most...

Clemson University in South Carolina is excited to announce a new delivery option for its non-thesis masters in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology degree. This online program offered through the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation is for students with experience in natural resources who wish to enhance their professional degree skills. Students potentially include Federal and State Agency wildlife and fisheries employees, educators who wish to increase their knowledge about wildlife and fisheries biology, private industry professionals, and...

Annually, SEAFWA’s Law Enforcement Chief’s Scholarships are awarded to students who advocate for wildlife conservation. There are three scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each available to deserving students. This award is intended for students with a passion for the outdoors and an interest in the management and protection of fish and wildlife resources. The scholarship will assist students who are currently studying wildlife, fisheries or law enforcement.

To apply, submit the...

The Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences recognized James Earl Kennamer, a 1964 game management graduate and former faculty member, as the 2017 Outstanding Alumni Award recipient during a presentation at its advisory council meeting March 1 in Auburn.

Kennamer, who later earned a Master’s and Ph.D. from Mississippi State University, is part of a multi-generational family of Auburn wildlife alumni and faculty. The son of Earl Kennamer, Auburn’s first Wildlife Extension Specialist, Kennamer’s own son, Lee, is also a wildlife graduate of Auburn.

It...

We are fortunate to have Marcella Kelly of Virginia Tech and David Miller of Penn State University lead our Camera Trap Survey Design and Analysis Workshop.  Camera traps are increasingly being used as a method for monitoring wildlife species, and they allow managers to document a wide-range of relevant biological variables such as occurrence, distribution, phenology and activity patterns, co-occurrence and species interactions, and abundance. In the morning the workshop will focus on the design of camera trap studies, including...

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that State Representative Jack Montoucet will serve as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries effective Jan. 16, 2017. 

“Jack Montoucet is a friend and a true Louisianan,” said Gov. Edwards.  “As a businessman, he understands the complex nature of running an organization such as Wildlife and Fisheries, and as an alligator farmer in Acadiana, he shares my belief that nothing should get in the way of Louisiana remaining the Sportsman’s Paradise.  This single agency represents so much about our culture...

The Missouri Conservation Commission has selected Sara Parker Pauley as the ninth director of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), effective Nov. 1, 2016.

“As a lifelong conservationist, hunter, and outdoorswoman, Sara Parker Pauley appreciates and understands the value of Missouri’s fish, forest, and wildlife resources,” said Conservation Commission Chair Dave Murphy. “Sara has a breadth of experience and a proven track record of success to lead the Department.”

“I look forward to this opportunity the Commission has entrusted me with,” Pauley said. “I began...

The MINRC Committee is pleased to announce the 2016 SEAFWA Diversity and Inclusion Awards winners in the categories of workforce diversity and diversity outreach.  The winners, chosen by a small group of volunteers with the SEAFWA MINRC Committee, were judged on their commitment to diversity and inclusion, the effectiveness of their programs, and any partnership developed and used to support their diversity and inclusion goals.

The winner of the workforce diversity and inclusion award is the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), for their outstanding...