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Russ Mason

Appealing to the better angles of our nature

Featured, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nature Page & Night Sky, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Genetically speaking, humans have roughly 10,000 differences from other mammals – mostly related to brain development. This might sound like a lot, but the human genome is about 3 billion base pairs, so we’re only 0.003% different from other members of Class Mammalia. 
For this reason, it shouldn’t be surprising that chimps and humans are 99% alike, house cats and humans are 90% alike, mice and humans are 85% alike, and cattle and humans are 80% alike. 

Appealing to the better angles of our nature Read More »

Commentary: eDNA technologies are worth exploring in fish and wildlife management

Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Fishing, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Fish and wildlife conservation depends on management to maintain healthy and resilient habitats and species.
Management, in turn, depends on cost-effective surveillance. While this sounds simple enough, “cost-effective” and “surveillance” are oxymorons for most of contemporary conservation.

Commentary: eDNA technologies are worth exploring in fish and wildlife management Read More »

Changing seasonal temperatures are affecting game and fish

Featured, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Fishing, National Hunting, National News, New York, News, News, News, News, News, News, News, News, News, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Systematic changes to average seasonal temperatures and precipitation are already affecting Midwest fish and wildlife populations. Unfortunately, more dramatic change is on the way.
Because future natural resources managers will no longer be able to use past conditions to predict the future, fish and wildlife scientists and Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency (MAFWA) are exploring what can be done using a resist-accept-direct (RAD) framework.

Changing seasonal temperatures are affecting game and fish Read More »

International symposium sheds light on CWD findings

Featured, Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, National News, New York, News, News, News, News, News, News, News, News, News, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

In early June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Geological Survey sponsored the 4th International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium in Denver, Colo. Presentations by leading prion scientists, geneticists, human dimensions specialists, and agency managers focused on the biological, ecological, and sociological barriers to effective control.
Russ Mason attended the conference, and here are a few key learnings and takeaways that he found most intriguing.

International symposium sheds light on CWD findings Read More »

Wildlife management: balancing short-term requests with long-term goals

Featured, Featured, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Fishing, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Almost 20 years ago, Shawn Riley wrote: “decision-making is the core work of wildlife managers.”

Wildlife management: balancing short-term requests with long-term goals Read More »

Is the popularity of game meat declining?

Featured, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Arguably, one of the reasons that hunting is so deeply embedded in American culture is that, once upon a time, everyone ate wildlife and most people hunted as a matter of course. Writers from Mark Twain to Ernest Hemingway reported that hunted species were mainstays and highlights of American cuisine. But times change.

Is the popularity of game meat declining? Read More »

Does Evolution favor the lazy and sluggish?

Featured, Home Page News, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nature Page & Night Sky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Most of us have been told that evolution “favors the survival of the fittest” and also that the “fittest” are the biggest, strongest, fastest, smartest, or most colorful.
Now, a new line of investigation has emerged suggesting that for some species, the “fittest” individuals are the slowest or “laziest” members of the population.

Does Evolution favor the lazy and sluggish? Read More »

When it comes to hunting cultures and beliefs, change comes slowly

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

No one disagrees that conservation should be “science-based.”
That’s the most important reason the concept is included as one of the seven fundamental pillars of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
At the same time, decision-making by agencies and hunter attitudes and behavior often seem to be driven by something else.

When it comes to hunting cultures and beliefs, change comes slowly Read More »

Bird flu continues to be a growing concern

Featured, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Most waterfowl hunters are aware that a new variant of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), commonly called bird flu, emerged in late 2021. Since then, it has caused outbreaks around the world. More than 200 million birds have died or been culled, most of them in the United States or Europe.
The bottom line is that bird flu is a growing concern, and although it seems to have subsided over the past month or two, the worst of it almost certainly has not passed.

Bird flu continues to be a growing concern Read More »

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