Sergio Diaz bluefish release-Credit Sergio Diaz-800
Do you have any thoughts on this post?
In the Arena: Dr. Carolyn Mahan
TRCP’s “In the Arena” series highlights the individual voices of hunters and anglers who, as Theodore Roosevelt so famously said, strive valiantly in the worthy cause of conservation.
Dr. Carolyn Mahan
Hometown: State College, Pennsylvania
Occupation: Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, Penn State Altoona
Conservation credentials: Dr. Carolyn Mahan has spent her professional career researching topics to improve conservation across America and the world. Currently, Dr. Mahan’s research interests include wildlife use of human-modified landscapes, management of public lands, and squirrel ecology. Her research has been widely published and cited in top science journals, and she currently serves on Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro’s Advisory Council for Conservation.
Dr. Mahan has researched wildlife around the globe but loves the diverse world of the Appalachian Mountains she calls home. Her education and research combined with passions for hunting and fishing make her a fantastic educator in the Penn State University system, as well as an invaluable expert when working with the oil and gas industry on conservation. Dr. Mahan lives a life that takes active steps toward a future where humans and wildlife can coexist.
Here is her story.
TRCP: How were you introduced to hunting, fishing, and the outdoors? Who introduced you?
Dr. Mahan: I always loved nature, hiking, bird watching, and wildlife. However, my husband, Kurt Engstrom, introduced me to fishing and hunting while we were dating and both students at the University of Connecticut in the late 1980s. At first, I would just accompany him in the forest and watch wildlife. Gradually, I learned how to fish for bass and trout. Finally, once we moved to Pennsylvania, I began to hunt whitetail deer.
TRCP: Tell us about one of your most memorable outdoor adventures.
Dr. Mahan: I have had so many memorable experiences in nature locally, nationally, and internationally. However, a seemingly small natural event occurs every year on my back porch, and I treasure seeing it. In late March, a pair of Carolina wrens inevitably chooses my laundry apron, the pocket of my hunting coat, or my window box as a place to build their beautiful moss-covered, domed nest. This event is one of the first signs of spring for me and my family, and we watch the wren pair as they lay their four eggs, incubate them, and eventually fledge their babies. This annual event is an on-going sign that, perhaps, humans and wildlife can travel together into the future.
TRCP: If you could hunt or fish anywhere, where would it be and why?
Dr. Mahan: I would like to go on a pack trip on horses into the western backcountry to hunt for elk. I grew up riding horses, so this would combine things that I love. Fishing for Atlantic salmon in the UK or brook trout in Labrador would be amazing as well.
TRCP: How does conservation help enhance your outdoor life?
Dr. Mahan: My entire life is conservation. I am a professor who teaches courses in conservation to undergraduate students at Penn State, and I conduct research on conservation of all types of wildlife (native pollinators, breeding birds, carnivores, small mammals, and rare species) in human-modified landscapes such as oil and gas pipelines. So, every time that I am in the outdoors for work or play, I am thinking about conservation and how to create and restore landscapes where humans and wildlife can coexist.
TRCP: What are the major conservation challenges where you live?
Dr. Mahan: I used to think that habitat loss was the biggest threat to wildlife. Habitat loss is still a critical factor impacting wildlife, but we are learning to manage landscapes so that both humans and wildlife can occupy the landscape. In terms of drastic wildlife losses, the spread of infectious diseases caused, in part, by globalization, climate change, and human activities (e.g, game farming), is the biggest challenge. Infectious diseases and pathogens like Chronic Wasting Disease, White-nosed Syndrome, West Nile Virus, and Avian Malaria has caused sudden and drastic health threats to whitetail Deer, North American bats, ruffed grouse, and songbirds respectively. In addition, non-native species including Japanese knotweed, stilt grass, spotted lanternfly, hemlock woolly adelgid, and emerald ash borer have changed the species composition of Pennsylvania forests over the past few decades.
TRCP: Why is it important to you to be involved in conservation?
Dr. Mahan: Aldo Leopold wrote that “one of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” I feel that quote everyday as I see the changes in wildlife populations and forest composition that I previously mentioned, and sadly, many of these negative changes are unnoticed by the general public. People can make a difference, however, through their actions. Actions may include removing non-native species, planting a native tree, growing native forbs, teaching others to cherish nature, being conscientious about what you purchase, and assisting in wildlife management.
TRCP: Why should conservation matter to the next generation of hunters and anglers?
Dr. Mahan: In the United States, conservation is funded at the governmental level primarily by taxes on hunting and fishing equipment and hunting/fishing license sales. If you are a hunter or an angler, your money is used for conservation. Newcomers to these past times should learn about ways that their funds are used and assist state officials in explaining the importance of hunters and anglers in their role as conservationists. I also hope that hunters and anglers will focus on more than just the species that they harvest. Conservationists should care about all species of native wildlife because healthy, functioning ecosystems are critical for sustainable hunting and fishing.
Photo credits: Dr. Carolyn Mahan
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.
TRCP and Conservation Coalition Rally Support for WaterSMART Investments Critical to Western Watersheds
Together, we’re urging Congress to fully fund WaterSMART Programs to advance smart, proven solutions to safeguard water, wildlife, economies, and outdoor traditions
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), along with more than 100 partner organizations, is urging congressional appropriators to support programs that are essential to sustaining critical fish and wildlife habitat and enhancing resilience to prolonged drought conditions in Western watersheds.
It’s difficult to overstate the ecological and economic importance of the Southwest’s major river systems, such as the Colorado and Rio Grande. These rivers are a lifeline for the region – they supply drinking water and power to tens of millions of Americans, irrigate crops that are distributed nationwide, and support fish and wildlife habitats that sustain thriving hunting and fishing opportunities as well as the 1.2 trillion-dollar outdoor recreation industry. However, as heat, drought, and weather extremes intensify across the West, the health of these rivers, and the communities, economies, and ecosystems that depend on them, are increasingly at risk.
For this reason, it is crucial that Congress fully fund the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART programs before these lifelines reach a breaking point.
Click HERE to urge your elected officials to support the WaterSMART program.
While Congress finalizes appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year, TRCP is uniting and amplifying the voices of hunting, angling, and conservation minded stakeholders to advocate for continued investment in these vital programs. In a letter submitted this month, TRCP and 103 national, regional, state, and local organizations, representing a wide range of stakeholders across the Colorado and Rio Grande basins, urged Congress to fully fund the WaterSMART program.
The popular WaterSMART program provides cost-shared funding for projects that protect fish and wildlife habitat while building ecological and community resilience to drought. Since 2010, it has supported 2,364 projects and studies in the West, resulting in an estimated 1.7 million acre-feet of freshwater savings per year, enough to supply 4.6 million people annually. Additionally, the program has helped leverage $8.75 billion in non-federal investments, significantly expanding the reach and impact of water conservation projects.
WaterSMART funds have advanced proven water-saving solutions, such as upgraded irrigation systems, groundwater storage, and water reuse – all critical tools for communities across the West. These investments also support nature-based solutions that work to mitigate drought and wildfire impacts while enhancing fish and wildlife habitat. Many of the program’s projects offer the dual benefit of water conservation and habitat restoration, providing high returns on investment and helping to prevent emergency water crises, particularly in the Colorado and Rio Grande River basins.
Highlighted WaterSMART Programs and On-the-Ground Impact
$15.017 million for Basin Studies
The Basin Studies Program supports collaborative planning to help partners address imbalances in water supply and demand. For example, the Rio Grande Basin Study, supported by more than 36 signatories, focuses on developing strategies to increase water management resilience under climate change scenarios.
$8 million for the Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP)
CWMP helps communities form watershed groups to plan and implement projects that improve watershed health and fish and wildlife habitat. One such example is the Santa Cruz Watershed Collaborative in Tucson, Arizona, who used CWMP funding to strengthen local drought response efforts and increase water resilience while protecting habitat for numerous species such as quail and javelina.
$6.5 million for the Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Program
The Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Program provides cost-shared funding to states, Tribes, and stakeholders for large-scale aquatic restoration projects. In Nevada, the Southern Nevada Water Authority used funding to build erosion control structures and in-stream habitat in the Lower Las Vegas Wash within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This project benefits multiple species, including the federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, the Yuma Ridgway’s rail, and the threatened, yellow-billed cuckoo, while improving spawning habitat for the razorback sucker.
$54 million for WaterSMART Grants
WaterSMART Grants fund a variety of water supply solutions, including the Environmental Water Resources Program (EWRP), which supports nature-based projects that deliver sustained water savings and ecosystem benefits. For example, the Chama Peak Land Alliance used EWRP funding to thin approximately 2,150 acres of forest to protect key source watersheds for the San Juan-Chama Project and the headwaters of the Rio Chama and Rio Brazos—efforts that also mitigate future wildfire impacts.
As drought conditions in the West grow more severe, consistent annual funding for WaterSMART programs is more important than ever. TRCP and its partners across the Western U.S. are urging Congress to make this critical investment in our water future, for the health of our communities, ecosystems, and economies.
Take action below and urge your elected officials to support the WaterSMART program.
2024 Gulf Menhaden Bycatch Study Offers Insights into Number of Fish Killed
Data suggest 22,000 or more mature redfish and a host of other sportfish, forage fish killed annually by pogy boats off Louisiana
(BATON ROUGE, La.)— A 2024 study on bycatch in the industrial Gulf menhaden fishery indicates that approximately 22,000 breeding-size redfish, tens of millions of non-target forage fish, and scores of other species were killed by the industry off Louisiana’s coast last season. The study findings, presented by researchers today to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, revealed that 45 or more species, including black drum, seatrout, and cownose rays, were observed and counted in pogy boat nets.
Also of note, the study estimated approximately 81 million croaker and 25 million sand seatrout, known by local anglers as “white trout,” were killed and retained by the Gulf menhaden reduction industry in 2024. Both species are targeted by recreational anglers and serve as important “forage,” or a food source, for a host of sportfish and other wildlife.
Recreational angling in Louisiana provides $3.7 billion annually in economic contributions. A large portion of that is due to redfish, as one of the most targeted recreational species in the state and its only saltwater gamefish.
“This very thorough examination of the pogy industry is the best science gathered to date on the effects of the extensive industrial fishing on fish like redfish, black drum, white trout, croaker, and many other important gamefish and sportfish and the food they eat,” said Chris Macaluso, director of the Center for Fisheries and Mississippi River Programs for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and a life-long, avid Louisiana angler. “The results are concerning, especially given the efforts underway for the last year to make Louisiana’s redfish population healthier by ending the recreational harvest of large, breeding size redfish. Louisiana’s sportsmen and other conservation advocates applaud the Louisiana legislators, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries staff, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the researchers who conducted the study for ensuring it was a rigorous and thorough effort and for being transparent with the results.”
The study, funded by the Louisiana Legislature in 2022, administered by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, and conducted by LGL Ecological Research Associates, Inc., during the 2024 fishing season, was designed to determine the scale of impacts that the Gulf menhaden fishery has on non-targeted species that eat and live in the same waters as menhaden – a small, abundant baitfish also known as pogies – such as redfish and speckled trout. Specifically, researchers assessed how many non-target species, known as bycatch, were killed after they were netted while feeding on menhaden schools or simply due to swimming among pogy schools.
The study focused on the 2024 menhaden fishing season, during which the reduction industry made 13,144 nets sets, a relatively low number when compared to the average number of sets made by the industry in recent years. Researchers gathered samples from just over 3 percent of sets made (418 of the 13,144 sets). They also used a combination of direct observation and cameras to view the entire pogy fishing process. They counted the number of predator and other species caught as bycatch in nets and recorded which of those continued through the harvesting process, which includes suctioning fish out of the net, through a chute, and into the ship’s hold. The team determined bycatch mortality rates by holding experiments and dart-tagging surviving fish that were released alive from the nets.
Redfish bycatch data have been of particular interest to recreational angling and charter boat operators due to restrictions in place for the past year. Anglers have been prohibited from harvesting bull redfish, or individuals over 27 inches in length, since June of 2024 to help rebuild declining redfish populations. Louisiana’s redfish slot limit was tightened and the creel limit reduced from five to four fish as well.
“This close examination of industrial menhaden fishing has been desperately needed to help understand the full extent of redfish and forage fish mortality,” said Richard Fischer, CEO for the Louisiana Charter Boat Association. “Charter captains’ conflicts with the menhaden purse seining boats aren’t just about places to fish but also the redfish and other sportfish and forage fish being killed, which our members, unfortunately, often see firsthand. The number of redfish killed annually is especially concerning since recreational fishermen have seen limits reduced and have ended the harvest of breeding-sized redfish in Louisiana to help strengthen redfish populations. The Louisiana Charter Boat Association thanks the Louisiana Legislature, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, and LGL Ecological Research Associates for supporting and conducting this thorough study.”
Of the 3.2 percent of total sets that were observed throughout the 2024 season, 865 redfish were caught as bycatch but remained inside the net and were later released, or “rolled over” with approximately 17 percent of them dying as a result of being trapped in the net. An additional 671 redfish were extracted from the water during the suctioning process and ran through a chute designed to separate larger bycatch. Approximately 98 percent of these “chute bycatch” fish did not survive.
For reference, “rollover bycatch” refers to non-target fish that remain in the water in the seine net after the main catch is pumped out, and before the net is opened for them to swim away. Generally, these fish are too large to be sucked into the hose. “Chute bycatch” refers to non-target fish that have been extracted from the net via a suction hose, sent up a chute and are then separated from the main catch by a large grate and released back into the water before they would end up in the hold. Generally, these fish are too large to pass through the grate. “Retained bycatch” refers to non-target fish that pass through the grate and end up in the hold along with the main catch; these fish experience 100 percent mortality.
An overview of the bycatch study findings can be viewed here. More information about the ecological and recreational importance of Gulf menhaden is available on TRCP’s Forage Fish Recovery Page.
Banner image courtesy David Mangum
TRCP Applauds Order Establishing Make America Beautiful Again Commission
Make American Beautiful Again Commission will seek to advance initiatives that are key priorities for hunters and anglers
On Thursday, July 3, President Donald J. Trump announced the creation of the Make America Beautiful Again Commission by Executive Order. The commission aims to implement a strategic approach to conservation and recreation while seeking to ensure that federal agencies take action to revitalize America’s lands and waters.
“By aligning efforts across agencies, states, conservation organizations, and private partners, we can better deliver outcomes that benefit fish and wildlife habitat, recreational access, working forests, water quality, and our public lands,” said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “We thank President Trump for recognizing that land and water priorities are vital to sustaining outdoor traditions for future generations. We look forward to working with the administration to ensure its implementation.”
The Commission will be chaired by the Secretary of the Interior with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy serving as Executive Director and include the following officials or their designees: the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and other members of the Administration invited to participate, at the discretion of the Chair and the Executive Director.
Among other directives, the Make American Beautiful Again Commission will seek to advance initiatives that are key priorities for hunters and anglers, such as protecting water resources, restoring forests and natural habitats, recovering America’s wildlife, enhancing hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation on public lands.
As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation, TRCP is encouraged to see this administration recognize that conservation and management of our public lands and natural resources remain one of the greatest American privileges.
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
TRCP has partnered with Afuera Coffee Co. to further our commitment to conservation. $4 from each bag is donated to the TRCP, to help continue our efforts of safeguarding critical habitats, productive hunting grounds, and favorite fishing holes for future generations.
Learn More
You have Successfully Subscribed!
