nwrc

Come this October, Katie Clonan is looking forward to seeing the fruits of her labor all over Fort Collins, Colorado. That’s because Katie is the winner of the 2015 Rabies in the Americas (RITA) logo contest.  Her logo will be showcased on t-shirts, banners, and other paraphernalia shared with more than 300 attendees of the 26^th annual RITA conference from October 4-8 in Fort Collins.

“This is the first time the international Rabies in the Americas conference has been held in Colorado,” notes Dr. Stephanie Shwiff, one of several USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) scientists helping to plan the event. “We’re excited to host the conference with our colleagues in the Wildlife Services National Rabies Management Program and other members of the RITA planning committee. One of my favorite tasks so far has been partnering with Colorado State University’s (CSU) Department of Art and Art History to sponsor a logo contest.”

Earlier this year (see July 31 blog), the USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center’s (NWRC) field station in Millville, Utah, agreed to house two orphaned black bear cubs as part of a collaborative rehabilitation effort with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (Division).

The bears did well in captivity gaining enough weight to be re-released into the wild in early November. The young bears arrived at the facility weighing approximately 30 pounds and left weighing over 120 pounds. The two young male bears were fed bear chow (similar to dog food), fish, nuts, and fresh fruits and vegetables donated from a local grocery store and farmers. In addition to being well-fed, the bears had plenty of enrichment opportunities in their pen including a tire swing, climbing trees and logs, and a mini swimming pool.

USDA plays an important and vital role in supporting rural communities throughout the country.  On my recent trip to Montana, I saw firsthand how the work, services and programs provided by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) directly impact stakeholder day-to-day operations.

After a listening session in Cut Bank, I was invited to the Rockport Colony, by Ben Hofer, the Secretary for the Hutterite community near Pendroy, Montana.  This impressive communal farming/ranching operation includes sheep, cattle, hog and poultry production, a dairy, and meat-processing facility, as well as fruit, vegetable, and grain production.  I quickly learned USDA is an important partner, providing support for water lines, fencing, and wildlife damage management.

Feral swine are an invasive species well known for their ability to degrade native habitats, damage agricultural interests, and spread disease. However, until now, little was known about their impacts to archaeological sites.

USDA-APHIS scientists at the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) and colleagues from the Avon Park Air Force Range (Avon Park) recently measured the potential for feral swine to disturb and destroy archaeological sites in south-central Florida. The study was conducted at Avon Park, a base comprising more than 98,000 acres and containing hundreds of archaeological sites.

On August 7, 2012, USDA-APHIS National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) experts and representatives from other Federal research laboratories in northern Colorado will host a free, 1-day technology transfer fair for individuals interested in learning more about northern Colorado’s Federal research laboratories, their expertise, and potential products, tools and techniques available for transfer to the private sector.  The event will be held from 9:00am-4:30pm MST at the Drake Centre in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Northern Colorado is home to many Federal research laboratories.  In addition to supporting their various agency missions, these labs generate business opportunities for the private sector through their basic and applied research that leads to the development of new products, tools, and techniques.  These synergistic relationships with the private sector not only improve the quality and impact of our research, but also promote growth for our nation’s economy.

Most people are familiar with the weekly summer ritual of mowing the lawn.  At best, the smell of fresh cut grass is appealing, but often the task is considered time consuming, tiring and expensive.  What if your “lawn” was actually hundreds of acres in size, and how often you mowed it, what type of grass you had, and if you used pesticides greatly impacted the safety of nearby residents?  “Mowing the lawn” is just one of the tasks airport managers and biologists confront as they work to keep wildlife away from runways and aircraft.

Recently, USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) scientists at the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) tested two new scare devices developed by private companies that include species recognition technologies─the Sonic Dissuader® and the Goose Guardian. The devices focus on pileated woodpeckers and Canada geese, aiming to prevent the damages caused by these two bird species.

Just like a page out of a detective novel or the next episode of CSI, USDA-APHIS researchers at the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) are using forensic science to help unravel the mystery behind bird-strikes. Between 1990 and 2008, more than 87,000 bird-aircraft collisions involving 381 different bird species were reported to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The most common species struck by aircraft were gulls, doves and pigeons.

APHIS' National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) recently received the 2010 Colorado Governor’s Award for High-Impact Research for its development of the GonaCon^TM Immunocontraceptive Vaccine (GonaCon).  The award was one of four given to Colorado-based labs for their cutting-edge research with global impact. The Colorado state Chief Operating Officer Don Elliman presented the award to NWRC’s Dr. Lowell Miller during a banquet hosted by CO-LABS. CO-LABS is a consortium of research universities, businesses, state and local governments and economic development councils with a mission to educate the public about the value of Colorado's 24 federal research labs.