Canada geese
Canada geese are a very
important resource in the Mississippi Flyway. To improve management
of this goose population, Professor Craven has worked with the Wisconsin
DNR, USFWS and the Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit on a long-term
study of the survival, migration, and distribution of MVP Canada geese
from their nesting grounds in northern Canada to their winter range in
the mid-Mississippi Valley. He and his students have worked to quantify
goose damage in the Horicon area and develop techniques to reduce goose
damage and thus increase the number of geese the area can support. More
recently he and his students have studied control of rapidly expanding urban
goose populations thru research on contraceptive technologies and public
education.
White-tailed deer
damage
The white-tailed deer
is the number one big game animal in Wisconsin, and the deer herd benefits
the state in excess of $400 million. Crop damage has been estimated
at some $35 million. Professor Craven and his students have evaluated
farmer attitudes toward deer, quantified statewide damage, and assisted
with the development and implementation of wildlife damage control legislation.
Research focuses on the abatement of damage in row crops, deer behavior
in response to abatement techniques, the efficacy of deer shooting permits
as an abatement technique, and the impacts of deer on natural plant communities.
Urban wildlife
Thousands of nuisance
wild animals (raccoons, opossum, squirrels, etc.) are relocated from urban
areas each year with little concern for the potential transmission of disease,
their survival, or their impacts at release sites. Professor Craven
has been working with the National Pest Control Association, the National
Animal Damage Control Association, and The Wildlife Society's Wildlife
Damage Working Group to evaluate the problem of urban wildlife translocation.
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