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Wildlife management

Certain wildlife populations could rise significantly, leading to more conflicts between people and animals, if wildlife professionals are prevented from using a wide range of management techniques that might include hunting and trapping, according to a new report.

The report, “Bears in the Backyard, Deer in the Driveway,” compiles information from studies by the Berryman Institute at Utah State University and economic research firm Southwick Associates of Alexandria, Va.

With people and wildlife coming in closer contact with each other, problems are escalating nationwide, including deer-auto collisions, the spread of diseases contracted both by animals and people, and destruction of habitat, the report shows.

While many wildlife populations are currently at healthy levels, others have exceeded reasonable limits and are causing problems across the country. Sterilization and fencing are examined in the report with explanations about why these may or may not be the best management techniques in every situation.

“Think of it this way,” said David Waller, president of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in Washington, D.C., “if you took a scalpel away from a doctor and told him to save lives in the operating room without the use of that instrument, he couldn’t possibly do as good a job. If you took hunting and trapping away from wildlife professionals, they couldn’t possibly manage wildlife populations as well as they do now.”