A Wildlife Website Worth Checking Out

One relatively new website which is of tremendous value to pest management professionals everywhere is the Internet Center For Wildlife Damage Management (ICWDM), which can be accessed at www.ianr.unl.edu/wildlife/.

This site is a USDA-funded, university-sponsored effort, and the collaborating universities are a regionally diverse group of schools: Cornell University (Northeastern Region), Utah State University (Western Region), Clemson University (Southern Region), and University of Nebraska (North Central Region).

The project was funded by the USDA-CREES Integrated Pest Management Grants Program and the University of Nebraska. I bother to point out these institutions because sometimes we all tend to find ourselves questioning how our tax dollars are being spent. Here, your tax dollars have been spent wisely and should provide you with years of service, convenience and savings.

The site is maintained at the University of Nebraska, under the direction of Dr. Scott Hygnstrom, whose name you may recognize as senior editor of the latest edition of the Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage Handbook (available through PCT).

From the broad perspective, the ICWDM provides current and humane solutions for managing virtually any wildlife damage from crayfish to bears. The site also offers articles and links to other related websites, as well as access to government, public and private organizations that can provide additional, specific guidance. Once you reach the site, there are seven avenues, or pages, you can pursue. Each provides quick and valuable access to critical information. Here is a brief description of each.

Search.. By simply typing in keywords, e.g. roof rats, traps, gulls, etc., you are linked to the species or topic-specific management information you need. Among the first choice offered is a copy of the pertinent chapter out of the popular Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage Handbook. But other extension fact sheets from various states programs are available as well.

Common problems and solutions. This section offers you several electronic libraries for many wildlife-related publications from local or regional libraries. Entire wildlife publication lists from universities or government agencies may be available to you at the click of a button.

Find an expert. Without a doubt, this page is one of the most powerful components of the site. You can link directly to other web sites containing powerful information most pest management professionals use regularly. A link is available to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) home page, from which you can get the latest updates on all types of arthropod- or rodent-borne disease outbreaks or current status. You can access the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or link to your local DNR for information regarding trapping regulations and licenses. Agencies and organizations from across the country provide answers to a multitude of questions relative to wildlife, rodents or bird pests.

Find equipment. The goal of this page is to provide a selection of manufacturers or distributors of traps, repellents, exclusion materials, and other materials needed for performing wildlife damage control work. Currently, the page only offers a few product manufacturers. No doubt many more will be added. For more information on product specialists and manufacturers, you’d be better served to access the chapter titled “Supplies and Materials” within the Prevention and Control Handbook. (Go to the Search page and type in “materials and supplies.”)

Find services. Here, the user can locate public and private organizations dedicated to solving specific wildlife damage problems. Similar to the Equipment page, the choices thus far are few, but the future potential is outstanding.

Reference library. Professionals can explore the latest research on wildlife damage management via this page. The table of contents of recent volumes of the Journal of Wildlife Management are posted, as are the topic listings from the proceedings of the most recent Vertebrate Pest Management Conference. Various other publications from several universities’ wildlife extension series (as can be accessed via the Search page) are also here. Over time, this page should offer quick access to a wide range of valuable research.

Forum. If you are a professional who performs a significant amount of wildlife damage control work and/or is involved in the various associations or research efforts in this field, the Forum page can connect you to an electronic hub in which to participate in discussions and information exchanges with other wildlife damage control professionals.

Finally, for suggestions, comments and general questions, each page also provides a direct link to the University of Nebraska for e-mail correspondance with the specialists involved in the Center’s development and maintenance. Most new websites are not without some inconveniences or glitches, and the ICWDM is no exception. Some parts of the site are much stronger than others. Additionally, not all the information may be compatible with all computer browsers and servers, and you may receive inconsistent responses to your requests. I ran into a few electronic roadblocks using AOL, for instance.

But this site is in its infancy. Overall, it is extremely well-done and should be of significant value to everyone — especially pest management professionals. Definitely worth bookmarking.

Dr. Robert Corrigan is president of RMC Pest Management Consulting, 5114 Turner Road, Richmond IN 47374, 317/939-2829.