WILDLIFE DAMAGE MANAGEMENT: POLICY AND PROFESSIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

I am honored by the opportunity to be part of this conference and to participate with such a distinguished panel this morning. Today I have been asked to address policy and professional considerations as they relate to wildlife damage management. As an advocate of professional wildlife management, I will share with you some of the problems and issues that confront, frustrate, and confound us; some sense of the problems that lie ahead; and some thoughts on what we need to do to ensure the wildlife profession remains relevant in the future. The Wildlife Society endorses the management of wildlife to sustain and enhance populations, species, habitats, and ecosystems for human benefit, while responsibly protecting property and other resources, and preventing health and safety hazards. Let me say right up front, that ecologically-sound wildlife damage management is an important and integral part of wildlife management and the wildlife profession. It is necessary and increasingly important because of expanding human populations and their associated impacts on wildlife habitats. I know there have been, and continue to be, individuals within both wildlife damage management and wildlife biology who share less than full acceptance of the attitudes, capabilities, and activities of each otter. Diversity of opinion and open debate are healthy signs in any profession; divisiveness and isolation are not. Wildlife damage management is part of the wildlife profession and I will address it in that context