WoRkinG GRoUP neWs
neotropical ecology Book donation
The International Wildlife Management Working Group recently
coordinated with the American Birding Association’s Birders’ Exchange program to donate six copies of the Spanish translation of A
Neotropical Companion by John Kricher to the Universidad Nacio-nal de Asunción in Paraguay. The book provides a comprehensive
overview of neotropical ecology and will be used as text in the university’s newly formed graduate program in conservation biology.
Since 2007 Birders’ Exchange has donated more than 11,000 copies
of A Neotropical Companion to biologists, universities, NGOs, and
other groups working to conserve wildlife in Latin America.
students on the Web
Leave it to the students to embrace technology. Late last year,
the Student Professional Development Working Group launched
a new website, using the template offered by TWS’s headquarters
office. The update came just in time to hold elections electronically through the site. Group Chair Jonathan Derbridge reports
that significantly more members voted in the recent elections
than in 2008, electing a new board that will serve until the
Annual Conference in Snowbird, when the next election will be
held. Congratulations to new officers: Chair-Elect Jerod Merkle,
Secretary Ashley Gramza, and Treasurer Mike Cove.
In 2010 the working group plans to expand its web presence.
Members hope to implement a message board on the site to keep
information flowing between the working group leadership and
its members, and make use of the student listserve to share information beyond the working group membership. “My hope is that
there will be a lot of dynamism in this group,” says Derbridge.
spreading the steady state Word
In December 2009, Brian Czech, a member of the Working Group
for the Steady State Economy and President of the Center for the
Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE), gave two
presentations—one to TWS staff, and a keynote address at the 68th
Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Springfield, Illinois—
about the trade-offs between a growing economy and wildlife
conservation. Specifically, Czech urged wildlifers to educate the
public and policymakers about the fundamental conflict between
economic growth and wildlife conservation, noting that wildlife
biologists are “de facto economists of nature.” He also asked for
their support of the CASSE position statement ( www.steadystate.
org), advocating the establishment of a a steady state economy for
the sake of global ecology, which has been signed by such notable
conservationists as E.O. Wilson, Gus Speth, Jane Goodall, various past-presidents of TWS, AFS, and ESA, and, recently, by Lynn
Greenwalt, a former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
14 properties valued at more than $5
million and totaling 61. 27 hectares. This
represents a substantial increase in
preserved habitat over a short period. In
addition, a parcel of land placed under
conservation easement early in Kiawah’s
development history puts the total
amount of land preserved for wildlife conservation on the island to 122 hectares.
Though Kiawah’s conservation success is
a result of innovative fundraising efforts
and the generosity of island residents and
corporate donors, it is very unlikely that
these efforts would have been as successful had they not integrated bobcat
research with education and outreach.
(Continued from page 44)
A Model to Emulate?
Kiawah Island’s experience may prove
instructive for other developing areas.
As the human population expands,
undeveloped landscapes will continue
being converted to wildland-urban interfaces, and the importance of these areas
as wildlife habitat will increase. It seems
clear that people have a strong desire to
attract and view wildlife, leading many
developers to incorporate green space
and the presence of wildlife into their
development and advertising strategies
(Adams et al. 2006). The number of
local and regional organizations focused
on preserving natural areas within
urban-wild interfaces is also growing
(Land Trust Alliance 2006).
The strategy of using a single “umbrella
species,” such as the bobcat, to promote
habitat conservation has come under
some scrutiny in the literature. Clearly
the habitat needs of an umbrella spe-
cies do not always encompass all habitat
requirements of the suite of species it
is meant to represent (Andelman and
Fagan 2000, Roberge and Angelstam
2004). We do not claim that the habitat
requirements of the bobcat are repre-
sentative of the island’s entire ecological
community. But we do believe that using
the bobcat as an icon for habitat preserva-
tion on Kiawah Island is the best option to
quickly fund the preservation of a variety
of habitats in the face of rapid develop-
ment. Through their efforts, Kiawah
islanders are proving the point.
To see the latest GPS locations
of collared bobcats on Kiawah
as well as photos and videos
about bobcat conservation
on the island, go to
www.wildlife.org.
