Trapping Reform in Wyoming

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To Better Conserve Wildlife, Consider All Kinds of Animals, Not Just The Ones We Hunt

For close to a century, the dominant method of conserving wildlife in the United States has been to protect and manage the areas where animals live. Millions of acres of public and private land across the United States are managed at least partly to serve as wildlife habitat. But land managers’ top responsibility is typically to increase populations of animals that people like to hunt.

Humans have altered natural areas to benefit hunted species, such as deer and elk, for centuries. These practices, known as game management, are widespread around the globe. For example, in U.S. forests, land managers remove trees to promote the growth of grasses and shrubs that deer and elk prefer to eat. In Scotland, gamekeepers burn cover vegetation on moorlands to increase open areas for game birds such as red grouse.
But how do these practices affect other animals that live in the same area? In a study I recently coauthored, we found little support for the widely held belief that “what is good for game is good for all wildlife.”

To read full article:  To Better Conserve Wildlife.

To read full study by Gallo and Pejchar 2016.

Travis Gallo:  Ph.D. in Conservation Science, Colorado State University

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