Carlina Croston
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TRCP Welcomes Restoration and Habitat Focus in Proposed BLM Rule
Group encourages public engagement to ensure a successful outcome
Today, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership responded to the Bureau of Land Management’s announcement of a proposed Conservation and Landscape Health Rule. The rule intends to clarify and support the agency’s multiple use and sustained yield authority provided through the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, with a focus on restoration, protection, and balanced development.
“The TRCP supports the restoration and conservation of fish and wildlife habitat on BLM lands as part of the agency’s multiple use and sustained yield mission, and we appreciate the opportunity to engage in this process,” said Joel Webster, VP of western conservation at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “BLM public lands and habitat are under increased pressure from drought, severe wildfires, and invasive species, and the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule has the potential to improve the BLM’s ability to address those challenges.”
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres, primarily in the American West, and the agency is tasked with balancing a multitude of uses, including conservation, recreation, and resource development. The proposed rule is open for a 75-day public comment period.
“We plan to roll up our sleeves to ensure that the BLM’s Conservation and Landscape Health Rule improves management of our public lands to benefit sportsmen and sportswomen,” continued Webster. “TRCP encourages the BLM to engage with a range of stakeholder groups when refining the rule to make sure it is workable, durable, and successfully implemented.”
TRCP Applauds Montana Bill to Fund Wildlife Crossings
Group lauds committee action and encourages lawmakers to pass bill that would reduce collisions on Montana roadways
Today, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership praised a bill—HB 877—sponsored by Representative Katie Zolnikov of Billings currently under consideration in the Montana legislature. This legislation would establish a Wildlife Accommodations and Crossings Fund of $1 million to match federal dollars for the construction of fencing and crossings on Montana roadways to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife. The bill passed out of the House Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Committee with a bipartisan 13-6 vote on Tuesday, March 28th. HB 887 is expected to be considered by the full House later this week.
“Montana has one of the highest rates of wildlife-vehicle collisions in the nation, and that’s something we need to change,” said Scott Laird, Montana field representative with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “The TRCP greatly appreciates Representative Zolnikov’s leadership to propose and advance legislation that will help reduce vehicle and wildlife accidents on Montana roadways.”
According to a recent report from State Farm Insurance Company, Montana has the second highest number of wildlife-vehicle collisions in the United States, with 17,000 incidents reported annually. These collisions not only threaten public safety—53 people died on Montana roadways because of wildlife-vehicle collisions between 2011 and 2020—but they are expensive, with each collision costing an average of $6,617. Wildlife accommodations on public roadways (fencing and under/over passes) have been shown to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife, saving lives and helping to prevent costly repairs.
“HB 877 would enable the Montana Department of Transportation to take full advantage of significant federal dollars,” continued Laird. “Doing so would not only reduce vehicle and wildlife accidents in Montana—it would support and conserve the migration of popular big game species valued by hunters.”
In 2021, the U.S. Congress passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes a $350 million Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, a grant program that requires no less than 60% of funds be used in rural areas. On March 1, 2023, the Montana Department of Transportation announced a Montana Wildlife & Transportation Partnership Planning Tool, which will help the agency plan future projects aimed at reducing vehicle collisions with wildlife on Montana roadways.
“If the Wildlife Accommodations and Crossings Fund is created, MDT will have resources to implement projects that make our roads safer,” concluded Laird. “We encourage the legislature to build on the momentum of the recent committee action and move this bill swiftly forward for the people and wildlife of Montana.”
Photo Credit: CSKT & MDT
It’s Time to Build on Recent Commitments to Addressing Drought in the Colorado River Basin
Once-in-a-generation investments have just been made, but it’s only a down payment on the long-term effort needed to ensure the future of hunting and fishing in this critically important watershed
The Colorado River has the well-deserved nickname of the hardest working river in America. The river’s usage is as diverse as the people and species it serves.
Thirty different Tribes and a third of the U.S. Latino population depend on the Colorado River, which flows through two countries and provides drinking water to 40 million people across seven states. Its waters provide us with power for our homes and businesses, irrigate crops that are sent all over the country, and support critical fish and wildlife habitat that power our hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities.
Currently, the Colorado River Basin is in a 23-year drought—the worst dry period in 1,200 years. With above average snowfall so far this year in portions of the basin, some have indicated that the drought is over. The truth is that we need several years of above average snow across the basin to make a substantial dent in the drought.
The news is not all bleak for the Colorado River. Recently, $4 billion in federal funds were made available to address drought impacts and support habitat restoration in the West, with the vast majority of these funds going to address the Colorado River crisis. The Bureau of Reclamation and seven states, with input from Tribes and other critical stakeholders, are also in the process of developing new strategies to manage the Colorado River system in ways that address the concerns of agricultural producers, sustain drinking water supplies, and benefit the environment.
We commend the Biden-Harris Administration for its leadership and the substantial investments it has made to tackle drought in the West, and specifically the Colorado River Basin. In February of this year, for example, the Bureau of Reclamation announced that $728 million would be spent to address Western drought and improve climate resilience.
This new funding, made possible by legislation passed in the last two years, supplements unprecedented investments to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System now and into the future. Additionally, the Department of Interior recently announced an additional $120 million to rebuild and restore units of the National wildlife Refuge system and partnering State wildlife Management Areas.
But there is more to be done. These federal investments are only a down payment on the longer-term need to address the challenges facing the Colorado River Basin. Sustained, durable investments in a broad range of adaptation strategies will be necessary.
The challenges in the Colorado River Basin serve as a reminder that we need to live as part of nature and not separate from it. If you agree, help us advocate for additional long-term solutions that will ensure the future of hunting and fishing in the Colorado River Basin. Tell Congress and Interior Secretary Haaland to build on recent commitments to conservation in the Colorado River Basin.
Learn more about what is at stake for the Colorado River here.
CWD-Sniffing Dogs and Other Promising New Disease Detection Methods
Studies are ongoing, but these tests could bring us closer to identifying chronic wasting disease in live deer
Hunters are still celebrating the recent passage of the Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act, which authorized a total of $70 million per year through 2028 to be split evenly between disease research and state response. But even before these dollars have hit the ground, studies on new disease detection methods are advancing.
Our partners at the National Deer Association have just highlighted three such studies that show we may soon be able to detect CWD-causing prions outside of animal tissue—including in scrapes, at feeders, and in deer feces—just a reliably as we can with tests on the lymph nodes of harvested deer.
The testing technology in all three studies is known as RT-QuIC (pronounced “R.T. Quick”), and it is different than the two laboratory methods that could be used on samples from your deer.
In the first study, a researcher from the Mississippi State University Deer Lab sampled 99 scrapes in a CWD zone in southwest Tennessee, and 55% of them tested positive for CWD prions using RT-QuIC. This is the first study to confirm CWD prions in scrapes.
The second, an ongoing study out of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Prion Research and Outreach, makes use of previous evidence that prions are effectively held by stainless steel and glass. Researchers positioned “sentinels” made of these materials around feeders in a way that deer would touch them with their noses or mouths, then swabbed the surfaces and tested the swabs using RT-QuIC.
They’re seeing preliminary success: After running tests in three states on CWD-positive captive deer herds, CWD-positive wild populations, and a healthy captive herd as a control, RT-QuIC testing found CWD prions at approximately the same prevalence rate as the known CWD-positive rate in those populations.
Finally, researchers with the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Vet Working Dog Center and the Wildlife Futures Program have recently made the first-ever attempt to train dogs to sniff out the difference between the feces of healthy and CWD-positive deer.
Two Labrador retrievers and a Finnish spitz scent-trained in a controlled setting using samples of feces from deer in both the early and late stages of CWD infection, and in field testing these dogs alerted on eight out of 11 positive samples. They falsely alerted to negative samples, as well, but significantly more frequently on CWD-positive samples.
The CWD status of the samples was known in this case, but if dogs were to be employed in surveillance efforts in the future, RT-QuIC could be used to confirm the presence of CWD prions when a dog alerts.
This science and its implications are extremely cool, so we thought you should know about it. As NDA’s Lindsay Thomas Jr. says in his article, “Good news is scarce in the fight against chronic wasting disease,” so it’s nice to have some to share. Check out the full story at deerassociation.com.
Click here to learn more about chronic wasting disease and what hunters can do about it.
Photo by Laura Roberts via Unsplash
HOW YOU CAN HELP
CHEERS TO CONSERVATION
Theodore Roosevelt’s experiences hunting and fishing certainly fueled his passion for conservation, but it seems that a passion for coffee may have powered his mornings. In fact, Roosevelt’s son once said that his father’s coffee cup was “more in the nature of a bathtub.” TRCP has partnered with Afuera Coffee Co. to bring together his two loves: a strong morning brew and a dedication to conservation. With your purchase, you’ll not only enjoy waking up to the rich aroma of this bolder roast—you’ll be supporting the important work of preserving hunting and fishing opportunities for all.
$4 from each bag is donated to the TRCP, to help continue their efforts of safeguarding critical habitats, productive hunting grounds, and favorite fishing holes for future generations.
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