By Bee Frederick, Southeastern States Director
On April 15-18 the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) Southeastern States Director Bee Frederick attended the 2018 International Wild Pig Conference.
The International Wild Pig Conference is a unique forum that provides federal, state, and private stakeholders an opportunity to discuss the biological, financial, and social implications specific to wild pigs. The conference focused on wild pig biology and behavior, damage assessment, diseases, management techniques, and human dimensions of wild pig management for managers, researchers, and policy makers.
Wild pigs – or feral swine – cause significant damage to our natural resources and negatively impact agricultural production. Recent research highlights the growing negative impacts feral swine can have to our water, plants, wildlife communities (both game and non-game) and their habitat. The prolific reproductive capabilities of feral swine create an enormous challenge for effectively managing this invasive, exotic species and mitigating their damage. Many states have implemented transportation bans for feral swine as well as other measures to curb the spread of these animals.
Frederick serves on the Steering Committee for the National Wild Pig Task Force, which is organized to provide national leadership and a forum for information exchange for the science-based management of wild pigs.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
