Blog — Furbearer Conservation

wildlife ecology

War on coyote management wages on in New England politics

The knee-jerk cliché “they were here first” argument may very well be a valid one, but it detracts from the core issue; how do we continue to live among what has become, for lack of a better term, an evolutionary unprecedented apex predator?

Maine’s predator management plan showing positive results

For over a decade, conservationists in Maine have anxiously referenced low deer populations in the Maine Northwoods. According to local hunters, the troubled deer herd appears to be on a slow, but gradual rebound.

Chicago's raccoon distemper woes (We built the cities... Part Deux)

City officials in the Riverside neighborhood of Chicago have announced warnings of distemper outbreak in the area’s raccoon population - and the hazards posed to residents, as well as non-vaccinated pets.

We built the cities, but we don't necessarily rule them.

I’ve always been personally fascinated with the adaptability of fur bearers such as skunks and raccoons. In the aftermath of the raccoon’s “great migration” to man’s urban meccas, it’s almost hard to believe they ever inhabited the wildernesses of rural America at all - man was once a rural beast as well.

Last year’s rodent “bumper crop” means predator boom this spring

Just as the acorn mast abundance of two years ago drove a rodent explosion last year, I’m confident the expansion in rodent presence will drive a “cyclical boom” in New England’s predatory species this year.