2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

AUTHORS: Wesley Bollinger, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

ABSTRACT: As road development continues to fragment native landscapes and stifle wildlife movement, there has been increased attention towards maintaining and restoring ecosystem services and habitat connectivity around roadways. Increased use of native plants along roadways can reduce overall maintenance costs, bolster ecosystem services, and broaden migration corridors for numerous species, including birds and pollinators like the Monarch Butterfly.

State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) play a critical role in the balance between development and natural area conservation given their road creation efforts and maintenance of their sizeable land holdings. As most midwestern state DOTs employ native species in their roadside seeding specifications, I provide an overview of these seeding efforts, giving particular attention to states like Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois that include many diverse native seed mixes. I will also present preliminary results from surveys of Illinois and Indiana DOT native seed plots from the last 17 years. This presentation illustrates beneficial techniques for seeding in heavily disturbed, invaded landscapes and provides insight into which native species best establish and persist in these conditions.

AUTHORS: Alison Little, University of Illinois Chicago

ABSTRACT: The solar industry is responding to demand for a clean energy future. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) forecasts that the solar industry is expected to nearly triple cumulative solar deployment by 2028. At the same time, insect pollinators are in decline throughout North America. Species and habitat losses are resulting in listing consideration and petitions for once-common species like monarch butterflies and several bumble bee species. Co-located pollinator vegetation at solar facilities is recognized as an opportunity to support habitat needed by declining insect populations.

How can large-scale projects incorporate pollinator plantings at solar facilities? What ecological and performance benefits can be realized from pollinator plantings? How do developers and owners weigh the costs and challenges of maintaining pollinator vegetation and determine the effects it has on power generation, community acceptance, and operations? The Pollinator Habitat Aligned with Solar Energy (PHASE) project is a four-year research project that aims to answer these questions and better support the solar industry in successfully implementing co-located plantings. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office.

In collaboration with industry and technical professionals, the PHASE team has developed methodology to evaluate the impacts of plantings on both biodiversity and facility operations. This includes the diversity of plant and insect communities, pollinator services being provided by the site, and the effects of pollinator vegetation on panel temperature and efficiency. The PHASE team has used this data to develop a newly finalized toolset designed to support solar industry decision-making on pollinator vegetation. The four tools include a Pollinator Planting Implementation Manual, a Cost Comparison Tool, a Seed Selection Tool, and Habitat Assessment Module Guidance.

In this presentation, attendees will learn about brief research updates on solar pollinator plantings, learn where to access the PHASE toolset, and the tool applications.

AUTHORS: Jerod Huebner, Missouri Prairie Foundation

ABSTRACT: Highlight recent remnant prairie acquisitions by MPF. In the last 9 years, MPF has increased its landholdings from 21 sites ~2500 acres to 35 sites totaling over 4500 acres. Much of this is high quality remnant prairie with adjacent reconstructions and restorations. MPF has targeted rare prairie types most recently, acquiring one loess hill prairie and three sand prairies.

AUTHORS: Nathan J. Proudman, Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Maximilian L. Allen, Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

ABSTRACT: The ability of animals to plasticly adjust their diel activity has important implications for their persistence and the structure of food webs. While many studies have examined diel activity in mammals, few have compared multiple abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic variables to determine what factors have the strongest effects on sympatric species within a system. Understanding the bounds of variation in behavior is vital to accurately determine the effects of environmental stressors on the diel activity of wildlife. We quantified shifts in diel activity among nine sympatric mammal species using camera traps across Illinois. We found biotic variables to be responsible for the greatest average shifts in diel activity across all mammal species (Δ=16.8%). Domestic cats (Felis catus; Δ=25.7%), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes; Δ=25.2%), bobcats (Lynx rufus; Δ=20.7%), and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis; Δ=19.3%) exhibited the most behavioral plasticity of our focal species, suggesting contrasting behavioral strategies to the variables we tested. Decreased diurnal activity in more open habitat types by multiple species likely reflects the anthropogenic fear effects in the human-dominated landscape of Illinois, while urban environments may act as spatio-temporal refuges from coyotes (Canis latrans) for subordinate mesocarnivores. Our study shows that a broad range of factors contribute to variation in mammal diel activity, which can in turn affect the predatory and competitive pressures among sympatric species, with the potential for cascading effects across multiple trophic levels. Our study provides a robust baseline for the diel variation in mammal activity, allowing for more accurate assessments of their behavior.

AUTHORS: Ellen M. Audia, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Katherine M. Buckman, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Brent S. Pease, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Clayton K. Nielsen, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

ABSTRACT: Bobcats (Lynx rufus) in the midwestern U.S. experienced dramatic population declines throughout the 1900s due to overharvest and agricultural expansion. Increased protection allowed bobcats to recolonize the agriculturally dominated, fragmented landscape of north-central Illinois, where they are likely using and selecting habitat differently than bobcats in less fragmented landscapes. We evaluated home range size, second order (i.e., home range) habitat selection, and dispersal of 28 bobcats in north-central Illinois during 2022-2024. Mean annual home range size of males was 166.1 ± 99.2 km2 (SD throughout, n = 11) and larger (P = 0.01) than that of females (89.5 ± 119.4 km2, n = 8). Mean annual home range size of juveniles was 273.5 ± 125.3 km2 (n = 4) and larger (P < 0.01) than that of adults (96.6 ± 75.3 km2, n = 15). Home range sizes were similar (P = 0.4) between the kitten-rearing (138.1 ± 155.1 km2, n = 14) and breeding seasons (111.0 ± 102.5 km2, n = 18). Consistent with previous research, bobcats selected for forest cover over other land cover types; locations closer to forest edges, streams, and waterbodies; and locations farther from roads. Mean dispersal distance of 7 juveniles was 65.9 ± 42.4 km and similar to other midwestern populations, with 4 males and 1 female dispersing north, and 2 males dispersing southeast. Home range size differences between sexes, ages, and seasons were generally consistent with other studies; however, home ranges were larger than those of other populations suggesting bobcat space requirements may be greater in this fragmented landscape. The selection of forest cover and locations closer to forest edges and streams indicates that riparian forests along the Illinois river provide important habitat for bobcats and may have helped facilitate their recolonization of this region.

AUTHORS: Nadine Pershyn, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Clay Nielsen, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Nicole Gorman, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Abby Weber, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; and Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

ABSTRACT: Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) populations have declined throughout the midwestern U.S. without clear causation. Despite this decline, until recently minimal research has been conducted in the region to gain insight into the ecological needs of a vulnerable population. We evaluated gray fox second order habitat selection to determine which habitats are best suited to supporting gray foxes in southern Illinois and similar landscapes throughout the region. Gray foxes were trapped during November-March 2022-2024 using padded foothold traps and fitted with GPS collars programmed to take locations every 2 hr. Using more than 11,000 GPS locations from 10 gray foxes (5 ad F, 4 ad M, 1 ju M), we used a 2nd order resource selection function (RSF) to analyze habitat selection relative to vegetation cover (e.g., forest, grassland, crop, shrub, barren), distance to forest-grassland edges, distance to forest-crop edges, human development, distance to secondary roads, and elevation. We also investigated the impact of relative probability of use (RPU) across the landscape of coyotes (Canis latrans) and bobcats (Lynx rufus), using GPS locations also collected across southern Illinois. Gray foxes selected most strongly for developed areas, grasslands, and forest, and preferred areas closer to forest-grassland edge and farther from forest-crop edges and secondary roads. Our results support previous research that shows interspersed forest and grassland is important gray fox habitat. Gray foxes avoided areas with high coyote RPU but were not impacted by bobcat RPU. Coyotes are intraguild predators of gray foxes, and may contribute to mortality, which could be why gray foxes avoided them. Bobcats have similar habitat requirements and prey as gray foxes, which could explain the lack of response. Our study provides novel insight into habitat selection of a species of concern and sheds light on intraguild carnivore interactions.

AUTHORS: Michael E. Egan, Southern Illinois University; Abigail M. Weber, Southern Illinois University; Nicole T. Gorman, Southern Illinois University; Michael W. Eichholz, Southern Illinois University; Daniel Skinner, Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Peter E. Schlichting, Illinois Department of Natural Resources; and Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Southern Illinois University

ABSTRACT: Behavioral responses of prey to predation risk have ecological impacts that can be as great as the direct mortality mediated through behaviors including behavioral state changes and spatial avoidance. Theory suggests that prey choose between these behaviors by pairing responses to risks based on the hunting mode of the prey (hunting mode hypothesis), but prey may ignore hunting mode to prioritize responding to the most lethal predators (lethality hypothesis). Furthermore, prey may respond to the spatial distribution of these risks (risky places hypothesis) or respond only during the periods of highest risk (risky times hypothesis).We test these hypotheses using data from 40 female and 29 male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and two mesopredators (coyotes, Canis latrans and bobcats, Lynx rufus) fitted with GPS collars and human sources of mortality (hunting, roads, human modification).We used hidden Markov models (HMM) to determine whether each covariate impacted the probability of transitioning between behavioral states and step selection functions (SSF) to determine whether deer spatially avoided each covariate. Additionally, we evaluated whether these patterns varied daily and seasonally. Generally, deer changed behavioral state in response to both mesopredators, consistently shifting to slower movement states, but avoided human modification. Spatial responses to human modification varied depending on the time of day. Deer selected for human modification during daylight hours but avoided human modification during the crepuscular and nighttime periods. Space use was most strongly related to more lethal humans, providing support for the lethality hypothesis. Despite prioritizing humans, mesopredators impacted deer behavioral state, suggesting that mesopredators still have important impacts on prey behavior. Finally, temporal patterns of avoidance align with other studies that indicate avoidance of predators is time-dependent while further highlighting the complex push-pull relationship of human modified areas on wildlife.

AUTHORS: Justin J. Remmers, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Sarah Mayhew, Michigan Department of Natural Resources; Kirk Stodola, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Maximilian L. Allen, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

ABSTRACT: Furbearer management plans often rely on population models to estimate the abundance and demographic trends of managed species. Fishers (Pekania pennanti), a medium-sized carnivore distributed across Canada and the northern United States, experienced population declines, extirpations, and range contractions in the early 1900s due to habitat loss, predator control, and overharvest by trappers. After being granted legal protections, fisher populations have expanded and recolonized parts of their historic range, enabling some states to allow limited harvest of the species. In particular, Michigan has had limited harvest of fishers in the Upper Peninsula for 30 years; however, the current abundance of fishers is unknown. To address this, we are developing a state-space model using age-at-harvest data to assess the current population status of fishers in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (93,600 km2). We are investigating the influence of different sex- and age-specific life history traits (i.e., harvest season survival, non-harvest season, mean litter size) to determine how these traits affect the overall population size and where effort should be placed to increase precision of estimates. This work will be useful in predicting population changes and informing future harvest management of fishers. Based on preliminary analysis of current age-at-harvest data, juvenile fishers appear to be more susceptible to harvest and exhibit lower annual survival rates compared to adults. Given that female fishers undergo delayed implantation and will not give birth until their second year, high levels of juvenile and yearling harvest may be more impactful on fisher demographics, especially when compared to other furbearing species.

AUTHORS:  Tadao Kishimoto, Southern Illinois University; Michael Egan, Southern Illinois University; Michael Eichholz, Southern Illinois University; Peter Schlichting, Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Daniel Skinner, Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Southern Illinois University

ABSTRACT:  Human activity can impact wildlife behavior by altering habitat conditions, increasing stress or predation risk, and disrupting natural patterns of movement, foraging, and reproduction. We investigated the impact of non-consumptive recreational activities, specifically mountain biking, on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) space-use in an exurban forest setting in southern Illinois. Using GPS collar data from 37 individual deer collected before and after trail installation, we assessed whether newly introduced mountain bike trails altered key movement metrics: home range size, core area size, and speed.
Home range and core area sizes were estimated using autocorrelated kernel density estimation (AKDE), and scale-insensitive speed estimates were calculated using a continuous-time speed and distance (CTSD) method. Home range size, core area size, and speed estimates were fit to linear mixed-effects models with sex as a covariate and individuals as random intercepts. We found no significant change in home range or core area size following trail installation. We found significant changes in speed for both males and females after trail installation, however, changes were independent of their overlap status with the trails, suggesting the changes were not due to trail installation.
These findings contrast with existing literature suggesting human disturbance typically affects wildlife movement. The low frequency of recreational activity and partial habituation to humans may explain the lack of significant behavioral change. This study demonstrates the value of long-term monitoring and underscores the need for further research in areas with heavier recreational use to inform management practices that mitigate the impact of outdoor recreation on wildlife populations.

AUTHORS:  Max R. Larreur, Southern Illinois University; Clayton K. Nielsen, Southern Illinois University; Damon B. Lesmeister, USDA Forest Service, Oregon State University; Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Southern Illinois University

ABSTRACT:  Broad ecological changes can alter species' temporal activity, thereby impacting interspecific interactions. Temporal niche separation promotes coexistence, causing species to adjust activity patterns to avoid direct competition. Although studying carnivore species offers a unique perspective into the stability of their temporal activity and niche, few analyses have been conducted over long-term periods in areas experiencing conspecific population changes. We quantified species-specific and pairwise temporal activity patterns, using kernel density analysis overlap, for 6 native (i.e., bobcat, coyote, gray fox, red fox, striped skunk, and raccoon) and 2 non-native (i.e., domestic dog and cat) carnivore species along with their diel niche between decades. We used camera trap data collected January – April 2008 – 2010 (n = 1,118 camera locations) and January – April 2022 – 2024 (n = 1,325 camera locations) across 16,058-km2 of southern Illinois to identify potential changes in temporal overlap or niche separation between decades. Species-specific activity overlap was high (range = 0.81 - 0.95) between decades, however, activity patterns of striped skunk, raccoon, and domestic dogs were different. Both past and contemporary pairwise comparisons had 6 activity patterns indicating potential avoidance between larger-bodied and smaller-bodied guild members, and 7 activity patterns indicating potential avoidance between native and non-native carnivore species. However, 7 novel pairwise activity patterns have experienced significant changes from the past, 3 between natives and 4 between natives and non-natives. The diel niche of bobcat, gray fox, red fox, and striped skunk indicated minor changes in their diel activity potentially in response to larger-bodied coyote and domestic dog spatial presence throughout the study area. Larger-bodied carnivore species may be altering activity patterns of smaller-bodied members, thereby decreasing competition and negative interspecific interactions. Our results emphasize the importance of considering alterations to activity overlap and potential niche separation amongst carnivores with high resource overlap and propensity for interspecific interactions.

AUTHORS:  Katherine M. Buckman, Ellen M. Audia, Brent S. Pease, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, and Clayton K. Nielsen

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

ABSTRACT:  Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are a focal species for carnivore management and research. Although bobcat survival has been studied extensively throughout much of their North-American range, it can be difficult to identify the broader conclusions of such studies based on study-specific factors, such as sample size, harvest status, and study length. We conducted a meta-analysis to estimate mean bobcat survival across the U.S. to document trends, identify knowledge gaps, and inform future study designs. We identified 18 studies across 15 U.S. states conducted during 1985–2023 that reported a single estimate of annual bobcat survival (i.e., effect size) and a corresponding variance (i.e., weight). We assigned an “exploitation level” to each study based on whether the study area and/or adjacent lands were open to bobcat harvest (i.e., zero = no harvest permitted within or outside the study area; indirect = no harvest permitted within the study area but permitted outside the study area; direct = harvest permitted within and outside the study area). Bobcat survival estimates ranged from 0.19–0.93, with a mean annual survival of 0.75 (95% CI = 0.69–0.81). Heterogeneity in reported survival rates was not significantly different across years (Q = 3.29, P = 0.06), however survival rates appeared to increase slightly between 1985–2000 and reported estimates after 2001 were >0.68 (n = 9 studies). The mean number of days monitoring individual survival (range = 188–870 days, n = 12 studies), and the relative exploitation level accounted for 99.98% of heterogeneity in survival rates across studies (Q = 27.13, P

AUTHORS:  Samantha Dennis, Stephen Blake, Saint Louis University; Stella Uiterwaal, Elizabeth Carlen, Washington University; Zachary Reyes, Saint Louis University, Sabrina Hardy, Purdue University

ABSTRACT:  Urban expansion in the Midwest poses significant challenges to wildlife habitats vital to supporting biodiversity. As cities grow, green spaces within urban environments can become important habitat refugia for numerous species. Urban parks often provide mosaics of semi-natural habitats in a matrix of high human use areas within which some native wildlife species may persist. In the midwestern US, the conservation value of urban parks for small mammal communities is poorly understood. We studied the abundance and diversity of small rodent populations in iconic Forest Park, St. Louis, in which habitat restoration has been underway for a decade. We hypothesized that small mammal abundance and diversity would be correlated with restoration effort. Over three months in summer 2024, we used live trapping methods to capture rodents and survey tree and understory vegetation across the restoration gradient of the park. We identified captured mammals to species and sex, collected morphometric data and collected hair and scat samples to characterize diets through stable isotope analysis. We completed 1,646 traps nights capturing 94 individuals. Rodent diversity was extremely low; ninety of the individuals captured were Peromyscus spp. (Deer mice), two Sciurus carolinensis (Eastern gray squirrel), one Tamias striatus (Eastern chipmunk), and 1 Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum). Our results showed that older restoration sections with the highest plant density and diversity supported a greater abundance of rodents than younger restoration sections with correspondingly lower plant density and diversity. While restoration duration was correlated with the abundance of small native rodents, it had no effect on rodent diversity. We speculate this may be due to dispersal limitation through the cityscape. Effective restoration management is essential to ensure that the wildlife inhabiting these areas is not only surviving but thriving, providing insights for enhancing biodiversity a long-term sustainability in urban green spaces.

AUTHORS:  Stephen Blake, Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, WildCare Institute, Saint Louis Zoo.

Sharon L. Deem, Institute for Conservation Medicine, Saint Louis Zoo.

Jamie Palmer, Institute for Conservation Medicine, Saint Louis Zoo.

Jeff Meshach, World Bird Sanctuary.

Stanton Braude, Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis.

Amy Witt, Forest Park Forever.

August Wise, Saint Louis University.

Anthony I. Dell, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center.

Stella F. Uiterwaal, Living Earth Collaborative, Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, Institute for Conservation Medicine, Saint Louis Zoo, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center.


ABSTRACT:  Catastrophic native ecosystem degradation is usually a consequence of urban expansion. However, urban areas can support some elements of native biodiversity with benefits for conservation and human health. Understanding the ecology of urban biodiversity is increasingly important in a rapidly urbanizing world. Species responses to urbanization vary enormously from rapid local extinction to population expansion, with responses often strongly correlated with life history traits. Among animals, “urban adapters” often have r selected traits, such as small body size, high fecundity, and generalist niches. Long lived, large-bodied organisms with low fecundity tend to experience population declines and high local extinction probability under urbanization. Mobility can govern animals’ ability to exploit high-quality habitats and disperse out of poor-quality habitats. City parks are often mosaics of intense human use and semi-natural areas. They can function as urban biodiversity hotspots, which provides opportunities to understand the movement ecology of animals within urban communities. Over the last three years, we have fitted GPS and radio tracking tags to individuals from 15 species of animals in Forest Park, St. Louis. Additionally, we have acquired human mobility data from anonymous smart phone tracking within the park. We mapped habitat characteristics including vegetation and human footprint metrics across the city. We characterized animal movement strategies and habitat use using net squared displacement and resource selection functions. Forest Park wildlife displays all major movement strategies including residence, dispersal, nomadism and migration. Species’ responses to the human footprint varied dramatically from strongly negative, mostly among low mobility terrestrial omnivores, to strongly positive among highly mobile terrestrial and avian predators. Mortality was high among these species. This first quantitative window into the movement ecology of an urban animal community provokes myriad research and management questions and implications, demanding more extensive applied research to influence urban planning policy.

AUTHORS:  Derek Whipkey, Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab, Southern Illinois University; Charlotte Narr, Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University; Brent Pease, School of Forestry and Horticulture, Southern Illinois University; Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab, Southern Illinois University

ABSTRACT:  Semi-aquatic mammals play important roles in aquatic ecosystems, particularly in the transfer of nutrients between aquatic and terrestrial environments. However, detecting and estimating the occurrence of these species can be difficult due to their elusive nature. Additionally, most occupancy studies have focused on a single type of waterbody (e.g. lentic or lotic systems), limiting a broader understanding of factors impacting these species distribution. To estimate occupancy of semi-aquatic mammals, we surveyed 67 sites across four counties in southern Illinois from March – May 2023 for American beaver (Castor canadensis), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), river otter (Lontra canadensis), and American mink (Neovison vison). Sites were distributed evenly between waterbody type and size. Given the elusive nature of these species, we combined two detection methods, sign surveys and camera traps, to increase detection. We applied a Bayesian multi-method occupancy model that incorporates both detection methods to estimate a single occupancy probability for each target species. To evaluate the relative importance of aquatic and terrestrial factors on occupancy, we built candidate models of aquatic and terrestrial covariates separately to identify the top model of each category. Aquatic covariates were consistently more important in predicting occupancy for all species. However, a combined additive model of the top aquatic and terrestrial models provided the best overall predictions. Beaver, otter, and mink occupancy showed positive associations with large waterbodies, while muskrat occupancy was positively linked to lotic systems. Additionally, muskrat and mink occupancy were positively related to increasing distance from roads. Our results suggest that while aquatic structure is more influential for predicting semi-aquatic mammal occupancy, considering both aquatic and terrestrial factors yields the most accurate results. All four semi-aquatic mammal species we studied were impacted by aquatic type, highlighting the importance of considering both waterbody types to better understand their distribution.

AUTHORS:  Abigail G Blake-Bradshaw, Forbes Biological Station; Therin M Bradshaw, Forbes Biological Station; Andrew D Gilbert, Forbes Biological Station; Joshua M Osborn, Forbes Biological Station; Elizabeth A Beilke, Forbes Biological Station; Chelsea S Kross, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Auriel MV Fournier, Forbes Biological Station

ABSTRACT:  Hunting pressure and associated disturbance influences many aspects of wildlife behavior. Disturbance by hunters influences the timing of relocation movements of waterfowl and could drive departures from stopover locations during autumn. Additionally, environmental conditions, including short-term changes in weather or habitat availability, may necessitate shifts in activity patterns, alter departure decisions, or impact individual susceptibility to harvest. Thus, wildlife professionals are interested in understanding what drives autumn-winter movements and migration events of waterfowl; therefore, we evaluated the extent to which hunting pressure and environmental conditions influenced daily flights and departure from an autumn stopover location. Our study took place in of the La Grange Reach of the Illinois River Valley, IL, USA. To evaluate the influence of “hunting pressure” on waterfowl behavior and departure from a stopover location, we placed 20 Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs) across our study area to quantify daily shotgun volleys. We then captured 38 mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and 26 green-winged teal (A. crecca; hereafter teal) at Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, IL, USA. We deployed GPS-GSM transmitters on both age (i.e., juveniles and adults) and sex classes (i.e., males and females) and tracked both species during autumn and winter 2022–2024. We quantified the number of daily local-scale flights and related it to local environmental conditions and hunting pressure as indexed by ARUs. The median number of local-scale flights was 3 (range: 0–18) and was similar between species. Additionally, we identified the day individuals departed the Illinois River Valley stopover area by quantifying when they passed 40°N southwards, which marked the southern extent of our study area. In total, 24 teal and 8 mallards departed the study area, and as hunting pressure increased, teal were more likely to depart southwards. Preliminary results indicate mallards and teal responded to environmental conditions and hunting pressure disparately.

AUTHORS:  Jeffrey Edwards, Missouri Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri; Dr. Lisa Webb, U.S. Geological Survey, Missouri Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit; Dr. Drew Fowler, U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit; Paul Link, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries; Dr. Chris Nicolai, Delta Waterfowl

ABSTRACT:  Migration is an important life history strategy that many waterbirds employ to exploit seasonally available resources and maximize fitness. However, migratory events are energetically demanding, and waterbirds use stopover sites during migration to rebuild energetic reserves. During spring migration, habitat quality at available stopover sites has the potential to exert cross-seasonal effects on breeding season population demographics. Wetland availability during the migratory period can be temporally dynamic within and across years as well as spatially variable throughout the migration corridor. Only recently has quantifying the spatial and temporal extent of available wetlands at broad scales become possible with remote sensing technologies. However, little is known about how temporally and spatially dynamic wetland availability may influence waterfowl resource selection during the non-breeding season. In this study, we collected movement data from 350 blue-winged teal (Spatula discors) marked with GPS-GSM transmitters to assess the effects of inundated wetland availability on blue-winged teal resource selection during the autumn and spring migrations (2019 – 2024). We used the Dynamic World dataset to quantify temporally and spatially dynamic inundated wetlands and intersected this data layer with landcover types from the National Land Cover Database. Combining these data sources, we will use an integrated step selection function to evaluate how blue-winged teal resource selection varies with inundated wetland availability at two-week intervals. The spatial extent of each two-week interval will be based on sample wide kernel density estimates of use. Results from this study can help inform wetland conservation and management practices for early autumn and late spring migrating waterbirds such as blue-winged teal. Specifically, these results can inform how early autumn wetland inundation and maintaining water into spring may support waterbirds whose life history strategies include this migration phenology.

AUTHORS:  Presenter: Ryan McGinty (SUNY Brockport, Brockport, NY)

Co-Authors: Kristen Malone (SUNY Brockport, Brockport, NY), Lisa Webb (USGS, Columbia, MO), Arianne Messerman (Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia, MO), Janet Haslerig (Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, MO), and Doreen Mengel (University of Missouri, Columbia, MO)


ABSTRACT:  Several species of secretive Marsh are facing population declines in the U.S., including the King Rail which is listed as endangered in several U.S. states. Wetland management practices commonly used on public properties in Missouri and elsewhere have been developed to produce vegetation and water conditions that benefit waterfowl. However, the effects of waterfowl-focused wetland management on secretive marsh birds are not well known. The purpose of this project is to determine the current distribution of King Rail in Missouri and to evaluate the effects of habitat characteristics and wetland management practices on breeding secretive marsh birds. In 2023, we conducted call-playback surveys at 84 survey points across 14 publicly managed properties in Missouri. We detected King Rail at 4 survey points across 3 wetland pools. Two of these wetland pools were permanently inundated with water and the other as drawn down in the month of May. Due to few detections of King Rail, we used Least Bittern as a surrogate in occupancy analyses. We detected Least Bittern at 18 survey points. Their site occupancy was positively associated with percent cover of both tall emergent vegetation (β = 4.616, 85% CI = 1.901 – 7.931), percent cover of water (3.696, 1.596 – 6.496), and water depth (2.329, 0.449 – 4.720). Points with greater interspersion were more likely to be occupied by Least Bittern (4.496, 0.852 – 10.088). Wetland pools that were drawn down annually were less likely to be occupied by Least Bittern than sites that were permanently inundated with water (-7.117, -13.886 – -1.551). Least Bittern occupancy was also positively associated with a later initiation of spring drawdowns (6.555, 2.457 – 12.645). Our results represent an important first step for moving forward King Rail conservation in Missouri and for testing the assumption that waterfowl habitat management produces habitat for secretive marsh birds.

AUTHORS:  Josh Williams, Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; Lisa Webb, U.S. Geological Survey, Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; Jonathan Spurgeon, U.S. Geological Survey, Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA

ABSTRACT:  During the 20th century, extensive flood control infrastructure was built along many US rivers, separating mainstem river channels from floodplains and altering floodplain wetland structure and function. Wetland restoration often occurs in locations where levees have disconnected the floodplain from the mainstem river channel. Disconnected wetlands can experience reduced nutrient exchange, habitat heterogeneity, biodiversity, and hazard mitigation compared to wetlands in connected floodplains. Understanding the effects of river-floodplain connectivity on wetland restoration efforts has been limited—in part—by brief time periods between restoration and evaluation. The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Wetland Reserve Easements (ACEP-WRE) program, established in 1990, is a voluntary program that provides landowners with technical assistance and financial incentives to restore marginal farmland to historic wetland conditions. Our objective is to compare abiotic and biotic metrics in ACEP-WRE wetlands along a gradient of restoration age (6 to 29 years) and degree of connectivity between the Missouri River and the adjacent floodplain. Hydrological connectivity was categorized based on wetland proximity to an adjacent levee system (landward or riverward) and quantified using continuous temperature logging units, level of local mainstem channel incision, and historical river stage data. At each ACEP-WRE site (riverward sites n = 26, landward sites n = 24), water, soil, and algae samples were collected along with surveys of vegetation, macroinvertebrate, fish, amphibian, and bird assemblages. We compare metrics for riverward and landward sites with six reference and six control sites to elucidate whether river-floodplain connectivity affects the time needed to achieve ACEP-WRE restoration goals.

AUTHORS:  Lou Cornicelli, PhD, Southwick Associates

ABSTRACT:  Effective fish and wildlife management requires meaningful interaction with all segments of society, not just the people who buy hunting and fishing licenses. States’ mission statements often reflect their broad responsibilities on behalf of all residents; however, significant segments of the public who do not hunt, fish, or enjoy wildlife may not be aware of their state fish and wildlife agency at all, much less its responsibilities, services, and benefits provided. This hinders states’ abilities to effectively communicate and engage with the public and deliver programs relevant to each state’s diverse range of communities. Through a grant awarded to MAFWA through the R3 committees and funded by a multi-state conservation grant program, midwestern states were surveyed to capture the opinions and perceptions of: 1) residents not engaged in traditional state-managed activities (fishing, hunting, boating and similar), 2) residents who do not engage in any outdoor activity, 3) residents who identify as traditional stakeholders. The results will help states better understand how the broader public perceives their conservation agency and how to implement efforts to increase public awareness, engagement, and support for conservation.

AUTHORS:  Cynthia Longmire, DJ Case & Associates
Hiro Hayashi, DJ Case & Associates
Eric Edwards, Missouri Department of Conservation

ABSTRACT:  Across the country, agencies and their partners have implemented countless R3 programs, workshops, trainings, and other efforts. At the core, these efforts are concerned with motivating program participants to start or increase participation in outdoor activities. People are often motivated by external factors, yet just as often, they are motivated from within. This interaction between external forces and intrinsic motives drives behavior. Self-Determination Theory is a well-known theory of human motivation based on the idea that people have three basic psychological needs that drive their behavior. 1) The need to feel they have a choice in the decision to do an activity (autonomy); 2) the need to feel they have the skills to do the activity and be effective at it (competence); and 3) the need to feel a sense of belonging (relatedness). The better these needs are met, the more likely an individual will participate in the activity.

In 2022, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) fielded nearly 300 R3 programs. With this project, MDC, working with DJ Case & Associates, evaluated these programs to understand better how well they recruit, retain, or reactive hunters, anglers, and shooting sports participants. R3 program participants were cross-referenced with permit sales data to determine how these programs helped achieve the Department’s R3 goals. Permit sales are a critical metric but fail to account for the important role that programs can play in helping individuals along their journey to becoming hunters, anglers, or sport shooters. In addition to evaluating traditional R3 outcomes, the project uses R3 program participant interviews to explore the programs’ impact on participants' perceived competence, relatedness, and autonomy.

AUTHORS:  Matt Harlow, DJ Case & Associates; Holly Mauslein, DJ Case & Associates; Megan Wisecup, Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Keith Warnke, Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

ABSTRACT:  Youth shooting sports programs are among the fastest growing youth sports programs in the country, but little is known about participation of underrepresented groups. By understanding the barriers these populations face, coaches and other practitioners can develop strategies to increase their participation and representation in the shooting sports. The goal of this project was to understand how to increase and improve efforts to recruit more diverse participants into youth shooting sports such as archery and trap shooting.
The DJ Case team conducted 19 focus groups with shooting sports coaches and participants as well as with students who do not participate in shooting sports. Findings include insights into:
•Why students do/don’t participate in high school sports, in general
•Why students do/don’t participate in high school archery teams
•Why students do/don’t participate in high school shooting sports teams
These findings, combined with the findings of past studies, were used to develop recommendations for how high school shooting sports teams could best attract more diverse participants. These recommendations include the use of:
•Diversified imagery and representation to showcase different genders, ethnicities, and physical abilities
•Strategic messaging and imagery to address perceived barriers
•Specialized new shooter events to bridge first-time to competition-style learning
This project was the first phase of a two-phase project, with Phase One (2023) focusing on data collection, research, and analysis. Phase Two (2024) will use the results from Phase One to develop specific marketing and communication tools and strategies and make them available to shooting sports team coaches.
This presentation summarizes the findings of the Phase One focus groups conducted by DJ Case & Associates to help inform the development of recruitment tools and efforts. We will also present an initial sample of the communications and marketing tools currently being developed in Phase Two of this ongoing project.

AUTHORS:  Matt Harlow, DJ Case & Associates; Holly Mauslein, DJ Case & Associates; Hiro Hayashi, DJ Case & Associates; Matt Dunfee, Wildlife Management Institute; Rob Southwick, Southwick Associates

ABSTRACT:  The R3 community has invested heavily in reversing the downward trend in hunting participation by expanding its understanding of prospective hunters. A critical part of this expansion has been understanding and engaging so-called “adult-onset hunters”—people who did not grow up in hunting families but whose interest in the activity is rooted in complex values.
This presentation is an amalgam of three Multi State Conservation Grant projects that used qualitative & quantitative research and monitored media placement to build an understanding of the messages that motivate potential new hunters to consider the activity and the media channels that successfully reach them.
The MSCG’s include:
•YouTube to Attract Hunters
•LearnHunting.org Pilot Marketing
•New Hunter Ads for Target Audience
The research team on these projects included the Wildlife Management Institute, International Hunter Education Association, DJ Case & Associates, and Southwick Associates.
These projects resulted in a large collection of high-performing, publicly available ads and media strategies that are being shared with the R3 Community in the New Hunter Ad Toolkit. This toolkit is in development and will be available to access from the R3 Clearinghouse.
This presentation provides attendees with information about the New Hunter Ad Toolkit, the ideal media mix, and the recommended combinations of the ads featured in this project.

AUTHORS:  Lou Cornicelli, Ph.D., Southwick Associates

ABSTRACT:  According to the Multistate Grant-funded license sales dashboard, license sales only achieved a net 1% increase from 2016 through 2021. For nearly all age groups, license sales fell. Sales to 18-24- and 25–34-year-olds fell 4% and 3% respectively, while 45-54-year-olds purchased 5% fewer licenses. The real surprise is 35-44-year-olds, whose license purchases grew 9%. This growth is organic as very few R3 efforts are systematically targeting the 35-44-year-old age group. Why are sales growing among this Gen Y/Millennial age group? Is this growth related to factors faced by 35-44-year-olds today or were they exposed to the outdoors in their youth and now finally have the opportunity to go on their own? Can any reasons driving this growth be harnessed by R3 professionals to further expand participation? This project connected with license buyers using qualitative and quantitative methods to identify reasons for this spike. Investigators developed recommendations for actions and strategies R3 professionals can implement to fuel further growth within this demographic.

AUTHORS:  Southwick Associates

ABSTRACT:  Many current R3 and hunter education efforts incorporate the five “stages” or “phases” that describe hunter evolution and their “lifetimes” as participants in the sport. However, these phases are based on a single study published 38 years ago (Jackson et al, 1984) that focused on male Wisconsin duck hunters. Hunting has undergone significant cultural, participatory, and communications shifts since 1984, and today these phases are likely quite different for women and other critical demographics, as well as other types of hunting. Basing today’s R3 efforts on the experiences of localized duck hunters nearly 40 years ago is likely misleading. Led by subject experts, this project examined people’s motivations to hunt and participate in recreational shooting. Statistical consumer segmentation techniques were employed to scientifically separate hunters and recreational shooters into unique personas based on their participation motivations and preferences and to then identify how people’s motivations shift over their lifetime as a hunter and/or target shooter. The results can significantly improve the effectiveness of R3 and marketing efforts within the hunting and recreational communities.

AUTHORS:  Keith Warnke, Midwestern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies;
Lou Cornicelli, Southwick Associates;
Luke Boehm, Southwick Associates

ABSTRACT:  Since the COVID-19 pandemic attendance at most state parks has increased, in some cases dramatically. This has placed a strain on park personnel and financial resources. A similar pandemic bump in hunting and fishing license sales was also observed. However, the boost in hunting and fishing sales has since subsided, and the trend of decreasing license sales across the United States dating back to the early 2000s has continued. Because state park visitors are interested in the outdoors, there may be potential for greater recruitment from this population. To better understand the recruitment potential into hunting, fishing, and target shooting, a panel of people who’ve taken at least one trip to a Midwestern state park in the past two years were surveyed. In this survey, trends in state park visitors hunting, fishing, and target shooting participation rates as well as their interest in continuing or starting these activities were identified. Additionally, visitors were surveyed to determine the communication channels, programs, and incentives that would make them more likely to participate in the future. The results of this survey can be used to help inform states on how to increase hunting, fishing, and target shooting recruitment from state park visitors.

AUTHORS:  Grace Milanowski, University of Minnesota Extension; Ellen Candler, University of Alaska; Amy Rager, University of Minnesota Extension; Joseph Bump, University of Minnesota

ABSTRACT:  The Offal Wildlife Watching project is a participatory science project that engages the deer hunting community in wildlife research. The goal of the project is to better understand the ecology of scavenger species that visit deer gut piles across Minnesota and to create a novel and meaningful program for hunter participation in research. We recruit and invite hunters to deploy remote cameras at white-tailed deer gut piles that resulted from their freshly killed deer. Thus far over 180 hunters have contributed images and recorded at least 60 different scavenger species over 6 seasons. We will present results of scavenger community biodiversity at hunter provided carrion, and visit/use dynamics across biomes. We will share successes and challenges from creating collaborations across sectors such as citizen hunting groups, the public, and researchers and recommendations for how this project can be adapted to other hunted species, biomes, and states. The results from this research will not only inform policy makers regarding protection and preservation of scavengers, but also contribute to the growing field of carrion ecology and establish data needed to clarify the impact that an anthropogenic, consolidated, and large pulse of carrion has on scavenger species.

AUTHORS:  Matt Harlow, DJ Case & Associates; Holly Mauslein, DJ Case & Associates; Alex Baer, International Hunter Education Association

ABSTRACT:  Research shows that many new hunters are interested in having mentors who can help introduce them to hunting. LearnHunting.org is a website designed to broker relationships between new adult hunters and experienced hunters who can offer one-on-one guidance and social support. The website’s roster of mentors has been prepopulated with state-certified hunter education instructors who are willing to provide guidance and support through this non-traditional medium.
The International Hunter Education Association-USA (IHEA-USA), eight pilot state agencies, and DJ Case & Associates (DJ Case) focused on creating and testing marketing campaigns in eight pilot states. These campaigns directed new and potential hunters to LearnHunting.org and encouraged them to select a hunting mentor through the platform.
Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Texas, and Washington participated in this marketing effort for LearnHunting.org. Unique digital ads were created for each state, linking to state-specific landing pages where a new adult hunter could select a mentor who met their needs, such as location, gender preference, etc.. Media where ads were tested included Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Pilot test results show that social media can provide a high number of impressions, but often at a higher cost. Paid search ads generate the next largest number of impressions but at a much lower cost per conversion and with a higher conversion rate. Simply stated, in this test, social media ads got agencies in front of the largest volume of people, while paid search ads got agencies in front of the right people at the right time. Key recommendations include using state logos in ads, performing social media burst campaigns that run prior to and overlap with an upcoming hunting season, and funding ongoing paid search campaigns to connect with new adult hunters during the right time in their hunting journey.

AUTHORS:  Rob Southwick, Southwick Associates;
Lou Cornicelli, Ph.D., Southwick Associates

ABSTRACT:  Knowing where to apply R3 efforts and when to make improvements requires monitoring participation trends in a timely manner. Likewise, understanding participation trends helps states and NGOs better identify and explain the issues needing attention. To better identify participation trends, state fish and wildlife agencies, industry, and NGO partners created the R3 dashboard that summarizes license sales and participation trends at the state, regional, and national levels. The work is funded by a Multistate Conservation grant. Using this resource augmented with other data sources, this presentation will report trends regarding hunting and fishing license sales by day/month/year, recruitment trends, and churn rates with insights provided by age, gender, and residency. The purpose is to help inform state and regional R3 planning efforts by showing where growth is happening, and where assistance may be needed.

AUTHORS:  Amy Bousman, Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks; Susan Steffan, Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks

ABSTRACT:  Participant feedback is critical to understand the impact R3 programs are having on participants; therefore, the greater goal of recruiting, retaining, or reactivating participants. We typically collect this feedback through formal, quantitative surveys. However, it is increasingly difficult to get participant feedback due to survey fatigue and program logistics (e.g., outdoor setting, language barriers, working with children, etc.). We will discuss the pragmatic, often qualitative, methods we used to collect participant feedback for programs that targeted underserved and nontraditional communities such as refugees and Indigenous peoples. We hope you can learn from our successful (and not-so-successful) efforts to maintain and strengthen these positive relationships while still capturing the much-needed participant feedback.