Private Work with Wildlife and People in the United States
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This digital collection includes presentations given at the 8th International Wildlife Ranching Symposium held in 2014 for the symposium theme: Private Work with Wildlife and People in the United States.
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- ItemOpen AccessAn overview of private lands programs, past and present(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Morgan, Ken, speaker; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherSince the inception of the Colorado Division of Wildlife over 100 years ago (now Colorado Parks and Wildlife), wildlife managers have depended on developing and maintaining working relationships with private landowners to assist with the management of the state's wildlife resources. Over the past 50 years, there has been an exponential increase in population in the state, which has created more demand on the resources, Additionally, Congress has created more regulations through various legislative initiatives i.e. the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, etc. These factors have hampered the ability of state wildlife managers to work cooperatively with private landowners. In many cases these issues became very contentious. It was evident that programmatic approaches to working with private landowners needed to be addressed and changed. This session will give a brief overview of some of the more successful initiatives as well as serving as a basis of the presentations which will follow.
- ItemOpen AccessColorado habitat exchange(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Fankhauser, Terry, speaker; Morgan, Ken, moderator; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerThe Colorado Habitat Exchange gives ranchers a new return on investment for stewarding wildlife and land resources. To address the issue of moving toward energy security without doing irreparable damage to wildlife and the landscapes on which they depend, the Colorado Habitat Exchange will create the incentives needed for all parties to act now and avoid the need to list wildlife species. The program enables those who impact habitat to create financial opportunities for those who can provide or improve habitat. The Colorado Habitat Exchange establishes a structured, transparent infrastructure for those types of habitat exchanges to work. The objectives are to provide a standardized set of tools and protocols to quantify habitat and species benefits from restoration activities provide a registry that tracks benefits and reports on progress towards achieving permit requirements and conservation goals, establish a trading platform for credits and to provide regulatory assurances for participating private landowners and development interests.
- ItemOpen AccessUsing bird populations to evaluate activities, promote ecological awareness, and prompt action on private lands(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Ramsey, Philip, speaker; Stone, Kate, speaker; Mummey, Dan, speaker; Morgan, Ken, moderator; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerPrivate landowners allocate significant resources towards restoration activities, yet have few ways to demonstrate the ecological effectiveness of their actions. As a group, birds are well suited to serve as response variables to management actions due to their abundance, relatively small territories, association with specific vegetative features, and our ability to passively monitor them. The MPG Ranch studies bird populations using a variety of methods, including: point counts, direct observations of target species, fine-scale mapping of bird occurrence, and tracking devices. The information gathered allows us to evaluate the success of restoration projects, including large-scale activities such as landscape conversion and small-scale activities such as building enclosures and shrubby draw enhancement. Our studies also allow us to document basic distribution and life history information on little-known species. We share data with local conservation groups, our state's Natural Heritage Program, and national bird monitoring efforts such as "eBird", "HawkCount", and "Hummingbirds at Home." Though our main goal is to apply data towards our own on-the-ground restoration activities, collaborative and community outreach efforts broaden its application to larger topics, including regional land-use planning efforts and setting management guidelines for species of concern. Our hope is that our research will prompt other private landowners to invest in formal and/or informal bird monitoring efforts on their properties.
- ItemOpen AccessThree Rivers Alliance(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Andrews, Don, speaker; Schneider, Troy, speaker; Morgan, Ken, moderator; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerThe Three Rivers Alliance (TRA) was formed on July 9, 2008 as a Colorado non-profit corporation by landowners in the Republican River basin of Colorado. The goal of the organization is to preserve and strengthen the local ecosystems and the agricultural viability of their community. TRA advocates for landowners on the Republican River basin to help them gain access to resources to remove invasive species, replant vegetation, and protect wildlife on riparian and range land areas. In addition, TRA is demonstrating its ability to convene important discussions and to get people to pull together in the same direction on the same issues: to agree on problems and to seek ways to pursue constructive solutions; to find common ground; and to proceed to solve difficult issues facing the Republican River system.
- ItemOpen AccessBuilding connections to wild places with remote viewing technologies(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Ramsey, Alan, speaker; Stone, Kate, speaker; Ramsey, Phil, speaker; Larkin, Beau, speaker; Morgan, Ken, moderator; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerRemote viewing technologies allow new ways to maintain connections between people and wild places. In this presentation we will discuss a suite of technologies that enable viewers to learn about conservation efforts and research underway at MPG Ranch, near Florence, Montana. MPG Ranch is a conservation philanthropy devoted to improving restoration practice and developing ecological knowledge. Web interfaces, live view cameras, and motion sensing cameras are used to share the information we learn and gain insights into the habits of wildlife.