Posted On December 22, 2020
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources invites artists to create and submit an original piece of art (not photography) for the 2021 Restore the Wild Artwork Competition. The focus is turtles.
A release said the work should reflect Restore the Wild’s mission “to restore and create natural habitats vital to the survival of Virginia’s wildlife.”
The winning artwork, highlighting a species with habitat needs, will be used throughout 2021 to help promote the mission. Past years’ artwork has featured the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and rusty patched bumble bee, DWR said. The focus of 2021’s artwork is imperiled terrestrial, freshwater and estuarine turtles. These include bog turtle, eastern box turtle, northern diamondback terrapin, spotted turtle, or wood turtle, the release said, listed as species of “greatest conservation need.”
Arlington Regional Master Naturalists is expanding its public-education efforts on controlling the deer population, and is pressing the Arlington and Alexandria governments to join another local jurisdiction in culling herds within their borders.
âWe need human intervention,â said Marion Jordan, head of the Master Naturalists organization, at a Dec. 11 program sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension.
The organizationâs outreach efforts have reached more than 700 people, and its conclusions are sound, she said.
âWeâve done a lot of research,â Jordan said.
At the same time, she acknowledged the situation was both a âlarge and complexâ one and a âserious topicâ that could provoke community division.
Elk winter feeding grounds near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
A female elk harvested as part of Grand Teton National Park s elk reduction program was confirmed positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) on Dec 16, reports the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD). This is the first elk to test positive near the area s 23 winter elk feeding grounds, raising concern over the escalation of future transmissions. This is not going to be good, that s my gut feeling, WGFD Supervisor Hank Edwards told the
Jackson Hole News & Guide. How bad it s going to be? I don t know.
In 2018, a mule deer tested positive for CWD in the Grand Tetons, and other mule deer infections were reported near Pinedale (2016), Star Valley (2017), and in the Wyoming Range (2018), says the WGFD. Prior to this case, the farthest west an elk infection had been reported in Wyoming was in hunt unit 66, east of Cody, according to an Associated Press article.
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WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced the award of $3.1 million in grants through Walmart s Acres for America program to six land conservation projects aimed at permanently protecting more than 113,500 acres of vital wildlife habitat. Healthy societies, resilient economies, and thriving businesses rely on nature to provide food, products and services, says Hunter Hart, Vice President, Realty, Walmart U.S. Over the past 16 years, Walmart s Acres for America program has helped conserve more than 1.6 million acres, protecting critical wildlife habit and offering local communities Walmart serves every day increased public access to enjoy the outdoors.
By Tom Blackburn
Virginiaâs outdoor heritage is vitally important. Our Virginia congressional delegation joined a bipartisan majority in recently enacting legislation to shore up our nationâs threatened natural resources by fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
We urge them to take the additional step of joining U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, in co-sponsoring the Recovering Americaâs Wildlife Act (H.R. 3742). Support for this legislation is vitally important to protecting and supporting wildlife.
Whether itâs the squirrel in your backyard or a black bear in Virginiaâs Blue Ridge Mountains, wildlife plays a critical role in our shared environment. Diversity in animal life helps to maintain natureâs equilibrium.