Safety

Wildlife damage management (WDM) is an exciting field with many opportunities to provide solutions to the complex issues involved in human-wildlife interactions. In addition, WDM wildlife control operators (WCO) face a variety of threats to their physical well-being. Injuries can result from misused, faulty, or poorly maintained equipment, inexperience, mishandled wildlife, harsh weather, and dangerous situations, such as electrical lines. The goals of this publication are to: Develop an awareness of safety issues and adopt a mindset of “Safety First”, Review the major safety threats that WCOs face, Provide basic information for WCOs to protect themselves, and List resources for further information and training. Work in WDM poses many safety risks to those involved. Awareness, planning, and deliberate action can eliminate or reduce many threats. As the industry continues to develop, WCOs must keep up with new threats and safety practices to maintain their well-being. Following safe work practices helps to ensure WCOs remain on-the-job and injury free.

Innovative Solutions to Human-Wildlife Conflicts: National Wildlife Research Center Accomplishments, 2016

The National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) is the research arm of Wildlife Services, a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). NWRC’s researchers are dedicated to finding biologically sound, practical, and effective solutions for resolving wildlife damage management issues. There are spotlights highlight the breadth and depth of NWRC’s research and support services expertise and its holistic approach to addressing today’s wildlife-related challenges.

Managing raptors to reduce wildlife strikes at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport

Nationally, wildlife-aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) have been increasing over the past 25 years; denoted in the National Wildlife Strike Database that has been maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) since 1990. Increasing wildlife populations and air traffic coupled with quieter, faster aircraft create a significant risk to aviation safety; the cost to the civil aviation industry is an estimated $937 million dollars annually. USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services (WS) provides technical and direct assistance to over 850 airports and airbases around the United States, including Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). At ORD, raptors are one of the most commonly struck bird guild and accounted for at least 25% of damaging strikes from 2010-2013. An Integrated Wildlife Damage Management (IWDM) program is implemented at ORD to reduce the presence of wildlife on the airfield, consequently lowering the risk of wildlife strikes. Professional airport wildlife biologists at ORD concentrate much of their efforts on raptor management due to the high strike risk these birds pose to aircraft on the airfield itself. A variety of techniques are currently used to manage raptor populations at ORD. Concurrently, research is being conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the Red-tailed Hawk relocation program at the airport, as well as to assess their movements within the airfield environment.

Managing raptors to reduce wildlife strikes at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport

Nationally, wildlife-aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) have been increasing over the past 25 years; denoted in the National Wildlife Strike Database that has been maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) since 1990. Increasing wildlife populations and air traffic coupled with quieter, faster aircraft create a significant risk to aviation safety; the cost to the civil aviation industry is an estimated $937 million dollars annually. USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services (WS) provides technical and direct assistance to over 850 airports and airbases around the United States, including Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). At ORD, raptors are one of the most commonly struck bird guild and accounted for at least 25% of damaging strikes from 2010-2013. An Integrated Wildlife Damage Management (IWDM) program is implemented at ORD to reduce the presence of wildlife on the airfield, consequently lowering the risk of wildlife strikes. Professional airport wildlife biologists at ORD concentrate much of their efforts on raptor management due to the high strike risk these birds pose to aircraft on the airfield itself. A variety of techniques are currently used to manage raptor populations at ORD. Concurrently, research is being conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the Red-tailed Hawk relocation program at the airport, as well as to assess their movements within the airfield environment.

Innovative Solutions to Human-Wildlife Conflicts: National Wildlife Research Center Accomplishments, 2015

The National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) is the research arm of Wildlife Services (WS), a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). NWRC’s researchers are dedicated to finding biologically sound, practical, and effective solutions to resolving wildlife damage management issues. The following spotlights highlight the breadth and depth of NWRC’s research and support services expertise and its holistic approach to addressing today’s wildlife-related challenges.

Innovative Solutions to Human-Wildlife Conflicts: National Wildlife Research Center Accomplishments, 2014

The National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) is the research arm of Wildlife Services (WS), a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). NWRC’s researchers are dedicated to finding biologically sound, practical, and effective solutions to resolving wildlife damage management issues. They seek these solutions using a multiyear, multidisciplinary project management system. NWRC identifies and prioritizes projects based on feedback from WS program leaders, managers, and stakeholders concerning their most pressing wildlife damage management needs. During 2014, five research projects reached the end of their 5-year life cycle. At the final project reviews, project leaders and their staff presented and discussed each project’s accomplishments, challenges, and findings.