| A unit of Lasting Forests
evolving since March 30, 1999 |
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A Total Forest Management Plan
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In some situations, wild fauna may become a pest. There are various definitions of "pest" but herein the emphasis is on costs of money, time, equipment, future tree growth, and quality of recreational and outdoor experiences. The emphasis is on the lost benefits, the damage, not the animal.
There are poisonous snakes. Gardens or crops are eaten by deer. Woodchucks get into gardens; bears destroy hives sheep and in some areas signs and tree saplings, birds eat grain; raccoons get into young corn; poultry are killed ... and bats frighten some people. Reducing real, significant loss within a total production system ( the total land enterprise) is an objective of modern wildlife management. Managing damage, not necessarily an animal population, only its perceived negative effects, is the work ahead.
There are various social views and attitudes toward the control of wildlife damage and the techniques used add some controversy. Here a few options are provided. Often an effective strategy is available to control the damage and it does not involve the animal or the population itself. "Sanitation" or "cleaning up" will prevent much damage and often reduce it after it is detected. Fencing or exclusion is useful. Repellents may work. The extent of loss or displeasure, the timing (how immediate is the need for control?) and the actual costs are all combined questions for people deciding about controls. Lethal control, habitat manipulation, substituting crops, scare devices, reproductive inhibitors .. are some options. There are others. Willingness to engage these and their costs or to suffer losses and costs are one of the difficult decisions of the land owner(s).
Vertebrate damage management is addressed in Chapter 11 of Forest Faunal Systems.
A concept of a damage management group within the wildland enterprise is available. Some of these thoughts are based on the" futures" speech of Giles before a national vertebrate pest damage management conference in 1997(?).
A book on archery-control of deer and related pests is :Contact Kelly at the Archery Manufacturers and Merchants Organization (kelly@amoarchery.com ; 866-266-2776, ext. 3) for information on ordering a copy. Single copies are $20 (postage-paid).
If you are interested in obtaining "Trapping and Furbearer Management in
the United States", please call (574) 258-0100
Samara Trusso,
International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
444 North Capitol St., NW,
Suite 544
Washington, DC 20001
phone: 202.624.5363
fax: 202.624.7891
General Pest Policy Background and Recommendations
With increased genetic uniformity of modern crops and trees, extreme vulnerability to pests and diseases is widely recognized. Using mixtures is one strategy against this condition. Plant populations that arise from small inputs almost ilways show less genetic variation that in natural populations. Species that have been introduced on many occasions from a variety of sites as garden plants and have become weeds display greater control problems because of the range of genetic variation.
The biological control of sexually reproducing genetically variable species will usually be more costly and involved process than control of asexually reproducing and genetically uniform weeds. The weedy nature of newly introduced plants needs to be recognized and control started soon thereafter.
References
Burdon, J.J. and D.R. Marshall. 1981. Biological control and the reproductive mode of weeds. J. Applied Ecol 18:649-658.
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Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.