May Conservation Report

Message from Chair:

Regretfully, I am not able to be with you to share my parting thoughts as Chairman of the Conservation Committee. While I will remain chair until June 30, this report is my last opportunity to convey how proud I am of the work that has been accomplished during my tenure. I want to personally thank all of my fellow committee members for their hard work and dedication, as well as the staff of the Conservation Department.

Not only did my time on the committee increase my passion for conservation, it also allowed me to oversee many important programs across the globe. While we have reported on many of these programs before, some of the projects are worth repeating:

African Lions - The series of African Lion Workshops sponsored by SCIF not only kept lions off CITES Appendix I, which would have eliminated lion hunting, they also set the stage for lion conservation for the near future. The follow-up work necessary to implement the strategies to conserve lions has already begun. However, much work still remains and SCIF needs to be fully involved in these long-term conservation and management programs.

AWCF Meeting - This annual meeting of African wildlife management professionals has paid huge dividends for wildlife conservation and hunting opportunities in Africa. SCIF is the only hunting conservation organization assisting with the development of management programs at the highest levels of government. This strategy has worked so well that we are looking to implement it in other regions.

Wildlife Management in Russia and Asia - As most of you are aware, the hunting season in Russia was closed for a period during 2005. SCIF played a significant role in reopening hunting with our investment in both scientific studies and policy development. The 2006 season was similarly kept open because of SCIF's assistance in gathering data needed by the government authorities.

Predator Management in North America - Our investments in scientific studies of the impacts of predators on big game populations in the west, and looking for practical management options for both predators and prey has provided important information to states seeking to regain management authority for wolves and grizzly bears. With SCIF's assistance, the wildlife managers will be better equipped to handle these populations once the courts transfer the authority.

These projects, as well as many others, have served SCI's members by investing in long-term conservation upon which hunting programs are based. Without these investments, hunting opportunities would ultimately decline.

While I will no longer be the Chair of the Conservation Committee, I plan on lending my support and assistance to whoever takes on this important role. I wish them well and am envious of the exciting things that they, and the entire committee, will be involved in.

Lion Workshop Update

SCIF was the primary sponsor of two workshops on African Lion conservation. The October workshop was previously reported in the January 2006 Conservation report. The second workshop was held on January 7 - 13, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Seventy-one people from nineteen different countries met to discuss lion conservation and begin planning a conservation strategy for eastern and southern Africa. The sustainable use of all natural resources, including lions, was the underlying principle for all of the workshop's recommendations. A key point of the meeting came when Kate Nichols, the author of the Kenya proposal to place lions on CITES Appendix I, stated, "It is clear that the hunting community is doing more for lion conservation than anyone else." In fact, virtually all participants agreed that trophy hunting plays a prominent role in the long-term conservation of lions. SCIF will continue to be deeply involved with the workshop's follow up activities. The final report and strategy will be released later this summer.

Zambezi River Valley Lion Research Update

The Zambezi lion project began in 2001 to look at the status of lions in the mid-Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe, where lion hunting on quota is permitted. The initial project was funded by SCI's Alaskan chapters, who continue to be the primary sponsors. The researcher radio collars the cats to determine population dynamics, habitat use and the impact of various disturbances on lion behaviors. To date, a total of eighteen lions have been collared in the Mana Pools National Park, an area adjacent to the hunting grounds. Additional funds from SCIF have recently contributed to the project.

Recently, the Alaska chapters of SCI have assisted the project in a new way. Conservation Committee Chairman Ron Maddox arranged to have 60 limited edition art prints created as a fundraising tool. Interested SCI Chapters received the print for free; they then frame it and sell it at a chapter function. In order to participate, the chapter must agree to send at least half of the net proceeds back to Ron Maddox, to support the Zambezi Lion Project. The chapters may use the other half in a conservation project of their choosing. This opportunity guarantees future funding for conservation and allows the Zambezi Lion Project to gather important information to insure the future of lions and their sustainable use.

Jaguar Project

For the past two years, SCIF has funded jaguar studies in cooperation with United for Conservation. The initial study, located in Mexico, was moved to the Laguna del Tigre National Park in Guatemala. The first field season at the new location experienced some difficulties; however, the program is now proceeding well. The goal of the three year project is to determine jaguar use of protected and unprotected areas, dispersion corridors and the impacts of habitat changes on the exotic cats. Diet analysis, through SCAT collection, and camera-trapping of prey species have also been conducted. All of this information will be used to support the development of an international conservation strategy for jaguar. Currently, six cats have been radio collared. An additional six collars were purchased in order to collect more information. Thus far, the program has determined that these elusive animals are extremely sensitive to human disturbances, including subsistence hunting of prey species, slash and burn agriculture, and cattle farming.

White Mountain Apache Tribe

SCIF is assisting the White Mountain Apache Tribe's (WMAT) conservation program through a unique cooperative funding agreement. The agreement provides financial support from SCIF for conservation projects on WMAT's reservation--a one million six hundred seventy thousand acre property in east-central Arizona. The program funds originated from a hunt donated by the WMAT, which was auctioned-off at SCI's annual convention. As part of the agreement, a percentage of the funds generated by the sale are returned to the tribe as a conservation grant. The remaining money becomes part of SCIF's North American conservation program budget. One project funded by the SCIF grant is winter helicopter surveys for big game, specifically elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and Coues deer. The aerial study collects data on population size, sex and age ratios, adult male survival rates, and habitat usage. This data is used to develop management plans to maintain and enhance big game populations, map wildlife habitat utilization, and establish hunter harvest rates and annual license quotas.

Past projects include radio collaring mule deer, in cooperation with Arizona Department of Game and Fish, to determine year-round adult male habitat use, survival rates and migratory pathways. The data collected was used to develop tribal, as well as statewide, mule deer management plans.

A new project, initiated this year, will utilize trail-cameras to monitor wildlife movements, and provide baseline population information on enigmatic animals, such as black bears and mountain lions. Camera "trapping" is now widely used in remote areas all around the country to obtain population information that was previously very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain.

Chapter Projects Database Update

Recently, SCI field coordinators have been instructing the chapter presidents on the importance and accessibility of the online project database. In addition, articles about the database have been published in various issues of the Safari Times to update and remind all members. The database can be viewed at www.sciprojects.org. To date, over 45 projects have been submitted by more than 40 chapters. A number of these projects are available for viewing on the web. Currently, SCIF's staff is reviewing additional projects before posting them. In addition, SCI has made the Chapter's annual report submissions web-based to increase ease and efficiency.

Conservation Planning Meeting

On March 17th and 18th, members of the SCIF Conservation Committee, SCI leadership and SCI staff met at the Washington, DC office to continue long-term planning for the Conservation Department. In-depth discussions regarding the current and future goals of the African, Asian, North American and Kenya programs were held. In addition, administrative aspects, budgeting and the chapter projects database were also discussed. The group reaffirmed the overall direction and focus of the program but expressed a desire to improve and develop new communication initiatives that highlight the various elements of the programs.

European Trophy Importation

EU Scientific Authorities (Ute Grimm) contacted Andre Subbotin asking him for information on Brown Bear, Grey Wolf and Lynx populations in Russia after their request to the Russia CITES Scientific Authority went unanswered. The EU was in the process of banning importation of these animals because they had not received any population information since 1995. Andre's prompt response with accurate and timely information prevented the ban.

Russia Hunting Program

Currently, SCIF's Andre Subbotin continues to work with the Ministry of Agriculture to improve the management of hunting in Russia. Andre has met with the new deputy minister in charge of hunting and has provided him with information on developing a model hunting program. These interactions will allow SCIF to be a major contributor to the future of hunting in Russia. One of the difficulties in managing the Russian hunting program is collecting accurate, systematic information on wildlife populations. To over come this difficulty, Andre assisted the Academy of Sciences in organizing an International symposium entitled "Methods of Managing and Census of Game Resources." The symposium was held on April 17-19 in Moscow and was attended by scientists from Russian institutions as well government representatives from Latvia, Estonia, and Kazakhstan.