The following clips reflect recent wildlife-related news coverage in the media. The Wildlife Society does not independently verify any statements or assertions in these articles. The statements expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official TWS policy unless so stated. Likewise, products mentioned herein are not endorsed by The Wildlife Society unless so stated.
A lionfish (Pterois spp.) in the Red Sea. Native to the Pacific and Indian oceans, the invasive species now resides in Caribbean waters and all the way up the East coast to Rhode Island. (Credit: Michael Aston)
Lionfish Ban Takes Effect Aug. 1
(Florida Today)
Starting Friday, the invasive lionfish can no longer be imported in Florida. Several other lionfish management changes take effect Aug. 1 to help beat back the spiny, venomous predator and make sure more don’t get here. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also will allow lionfish to be harvested by spearfishing when diving with a rebreather, a device that recycles air and enables divers to remain in the water longer. More
U.S. NEWS
US Wildlife Authorities Join State in Investigation of Owl Deaths at Oil Field Site
(Public Radio Tulsa)
Officials found several dead birds in this open saltwater tank at an oilfield site in northwest Oklahoma. Federal authorities have joined state officials in an investigation of bird deaths at a neglected oil field site in northwestern Oklahoma. Two oil-covered barn owls were found along with several other dead birds. The owls were taken in by a Fairview caretaker licensed to handle non-migratory birds, but both owls later died, the Enid News & Eagle and Associated Press report. More
Groups Press New York State to Ban Poisons that Kill Wildlife
(The New York Times)
For years, wildlife and conservation groups have raised alarms that a class of poisons used to kill rats in New York has been indiscriminately killing wildlife in places like New York City’s Central Park. Now, relying on fresh evidence from post-mortem examinations conducted by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, six such groups are pressing for a statewide ban in New York on those types of poisons. More
US Bans GMOs, Bee-Killing Pesticides in All Wildlife Refuges
(Takepart.com via Yahoo)
The U.S. government is creating a safe place for bees on national wildlife refuges by phasing out the use of genetically modified crops and an agricultural pesticide implicated in the mass die-off of pollinators. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System manages 150 million acres across the country. By January 2016, the agency will ban the use of neonicotinoids. More
Florida Wildlife Officials Ready to Round Up Menacing Tegu Lizards
(Tampa Bay Times)
Its name sounds exotic and cool. But the tegu lizard, with its forked tongue and fierce appetite for native species, is a growing pest that might be on the verge of rivaling the python as the state’s menace of the moment. A roundup of the invasive lizards, which can grow to just over 4 feet, is scheduled in Hillsborough, Florida, where they are thriving in sparsely populated areas. More
Biological Fallout of Shale-Gas Production Still Largely Unknown
(Smithsonian Science)
In the United States, natural-gas production from shale rock has increased by more than 700 percent since 2007. Yet scientists still do not fully understand the industry’s effects on nature and wildlife, according to a report in a scientific journal. As gas extraction continues to vastly outpace scientific examination, a team of eight conservation biologists concluded that determining the environmental impact of gas-drilling sites must be a top research priority. More
NEWS FROM CANADA
Study: Oil Spills in Canada’s Arctic Likely to Spread Across Borders
(The Canadian Press via CTV News)
New research suggests that any type of significant oil spill in Canada’s western Arctic would likely spread quickly and foul oceans around Alaska and possibly as far west as Russia. “Spills originating from the Canadian Beaufort and resulting coastal oiling could be an international issue,” says the report from RPS Applied Science Associates, a global environmental consultancy. More
Conservationists Give Province’s Land-Use Plan a Failing Grade
(Calgary Herald)
A long awaited land-use plan that will guide future decisions on development, recreation and conservation in southern Alberta fails to protect critical headwaters and misses the mark when it comes to preserving the Castle wilderness area, according to several conservation groups. Robin Campbell, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, released the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan in Calgary. More
Rare Lichen in Need of Recovery
(The Telegram)
It was only in 2006 that the presence of a rare lichen was first detected in Newfoundland and Labrador. Less than a decade later, biologists are trying to find a way to protect the small population that remains. Vole ears lichen is a large and leafy variety of lichen found on trees. It has a felty and greyish-brown upper surface that turns grey-green when it becomes moist. More
WILDLIFE HEALTH AND DISEASE NEWS
Yellowstone Considers Quarantine Program for Bison
(The Associated Press via News & Observer)
Yellowstone National Park is seeking public comment on a proposal to capture and quarantine wild bison so disease-free animals can be relocated to create new herds outside the park, Yellowstone officials said. The announcement comes after the Department of Interior last month identified 20 parcels of public lands in 10 states that could be suitable for relocated Yellowstone bison. More
A Bird’s Eye-View on Dwindling Numbers
(Gulf-Times)
The bird-counters stood in the windy bow chattering into headsets and scanning the Strait of Juan de Fuca with binoculars. “Scoters,” Sherman Anderson said. “Three of them. At 11 o’clock. Look like surfs.” “Marbled murrelets,” he added seconds later. “I see two.” Inside the boat’s cabin, another Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife worker listened through a headset of his own so he could record the tally on a computer. More
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Pangolins are ‘Being Eaten Out of Existence,’ Conservation Group Says
(The New York Times)
Pangolins, the scaly anteaters prized in China and Vietnam for their culinary and medicinal uses, are “being eaten out of existence,” a conservation group warned. Consumer demand, which has already pushed the pangolin to the edge of extinction in Asia, is now driving poaching in Africa, threatening the indigenous species there, according to the Pangolin Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, an environmental organization, in a statement. More
