Assess the attitudes and impacts to society associated with voluntary use of non-toxic ammunition for hunting programs on National Wildlife Refuges

Conversion from lead to non-toxic ammunition and tackle is controversial and contentious despite scientific evidence of harmful environmental effects (e.g., TWS Technical Report). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Research Units Program will pilot and assess a voluntary approach to non-toxic conversion on targeted National Wildlife Refuges. We will design a study that will examine the human dimensions associated with transferring to non-toxic ammunition. Key stakeholders (managers, hunters, local conservationists, refuge associations) will be engaged in these surveys. Specifically, we will (1) identify specific refuge pilot locations and approach (modeled after the work being...

Modeling Effects of Climate Change on Spruce-Fir Forest Ecosystems and Associated Priority Bird Populations

Spruce-fir forests and associated bird species are recognized as some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and species to the impacts of climate change. This work capitalized on a rich suite of long-term data from these ecosystems to document recent trends in these forests and their associated bird species and developed tools for predicting their future abundance under climate change. Findings from this work indicate declining trends in the abundance of spruce-fir obligate birds, including Bicknell’s Thrush, across the Lake States and New England. In contrast, montane spruce-fir forests in the White and Green Mountains of New England exhibited patterns of increasing abundance, potentially due to their recovery from...

Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2013, Birds, Birds, CASC, Completed, All tags... Forests, Forests, Landscapes, Landscapes, Northeast, Northeast CASC, Projects by Region, Wildlife and Plants, Wildlife and Plants, Fewer tags