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Welcome to the National
Wildlife Research Center (NWRC), a major facility within
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS)
program. The NWRC provides scientific information on wildlife,
its habitat, and its relationship to agriculture and public
safety. Here at the Center and in the field, specialists
conduct scientific inquiries into the problems of wildlife
damage and look for solutions to these problems.
The NWRC seeks to
protect wildlife from the adverse effects of human
activities while also reducing the damage and hazards
that wildlife causes to agriculture, forests, industry,
and other areas of human involvement. The reconciliation
of these two conflicting priorities is the challenge
that the NWRC faces today.
At the Center, we welcome
students, legislators, scientists, agricultural producers,
and other interested individuals. We encourage you to ask
our employees questions.
Mission
and Objectives
The National Wildlife
Research Center is the Federal institution devoted
to resolving problems caused by the interaction of
wild animals and society. The Center applies scientific
expertise to the development of practical methods
to resolve these problems and to maintain the quality
of the environments shared with wildlife.
NWRC's objective
is to increase the effective methods available for
wildlife damage management through:
Assessing damage and other problems
caused by wildlife to agriculture, the environment,
and human health and safety;
Investigating
the biology and behavior of problem animals;
Evaluating the
impact of wildlife management practices on wildlife
and the environment;
Developing and
improving technology to reduce wildlife problems;
Supporting registration
of chemicals and drugs used to manage wildlife;
and provide scientific consultation and specialized
technical training.
Transferring
scientific and technical information
Provide scientific
guidelines on wildlife damage for use by regulatory
agencies.
Keep abreast
of latest technologies and their potential applications
to wildlife damage.
Develop cooperative
research and training with other organizations.
Address priority
needs of user groups and the public.
The Problem
and the Solution
No wild animal is undesirable. Yet
almost any wild animal can cause damage to crops, be
hazardous to aviation, or become a threat to human safety.
Deer
and smaller mammals can consume newly planted tree
seedlings and other crops. Birds in large, high-density
flocks can decimate grain and sunflower fields.
Predators attack livestock and other domestic animals.
Wild animals can spread diseases such as lyme disease,
rabies, plague, and histoplasmosis.
The Center
evaluates damage situations and develops methods and tools
to reduce or eliminate damage and resolve land-use conflicts.
NWRC scientists study birds, mammalian predators, rodents,
and other wildlife that cause serious but localized damage
problems. The Center designs studies to ensure that the
methods developed to alleviate animal damage are biologically
sound, effective, safe, economical, and acceptable to
the public. NWRC scientists produce the appropriate methods,
technology, and materials for reducing damage caused by
animals. Through the publication of results and the exchange
of technical information, the Center provides valuable
data and expertise to the public and the scientific community,
as well as to APHIS’s Wildlife Services (WS) program.
The modern day NWRC originated as part
of the USDA Bureau of Biological Survey (BBS) in the late
1800s. The BBS Control Methods and the Food Habits Laboratories
combined to form the Denver Wildlife Research Laboratory under
the newly created Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of
the Interior. 1986 saw another reorganization as Congress
transferred the Denver wildlife Research Center to the USDA's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Wildlife
Services program. The Center employs more than 160 scientists,
technicians, and support personnel at its Fort Collins headquarters
and at field stations in several other States.
Scientific and support staff, all
focused on particular wildlife damage issues, specialize
in the following disciplines:
Animal
behavior/psychology
Animal care
Archives management
Biology
Chemistry
Computer science
Ecology
Electronics
Immunology
Information Transfer
Pharmacology
Physiology
Quality assurance
Statistics
Toxicology
Veterinary medicine
Wildlife biology
Zoology
The Center relies on the services
of people with additional specialties through extensive cooperative
ties with universities, not-for-profit research facilities,
and other public and private research entities. The NWRC has
achieved an integrated, multidisciplinary research agenda
that is uniquely suited to provide scientific information
and solutions to wildlife damage problems.
Research
Activities
With the diverse scientific
expertise of its staff, the Center assembles teams
that are devoted to finding specific solutions
to pest problems caused by vertebrates. Examples
of the diversity of research projects currently
under way at the Center include:
Management strategies to control
blackbird damage in the United States
New solutions for wildlife problems
through biotechnology and immunocontraceptive vaccines
Development and evaluation of
new techniques for evolving predator depredation problems
Ecology of coyote depredation
Reduction of mammal damage to
forest resources
Integrated pest management strategies
for rodent damage to crops and rangeland.
Development of management strategies
to reduce bird predation at aquaculture facilities
Registration of vertebrate pesticides
for use as wildlife damage control agents
Analysis of taste and olfaction
in selected wildlife species and development of nonlethal
chemical repellents for birds and mammals.
Management of wildlife that pose
hazards to aviation.
Development of chemical control
methods to manage the brown tree snake on Guam.
Cooperative
Activities
To extend its capabilities for research
and training, the Center has established or is developing
a number of formal or informal cooperative programs
with U.S. universities. These include:
Colorado State University
Cornell University
Mississippi State University
North Dakota State University
Ohio State University
Rutgers University
Texas A&M University--Kingsville
University of California--Berkeley
University of Florida
University of
Nebraska--Lincoln
University of Pennsylvania
Utah State University
Washington State University
International
Cooperation
To facilitate international exchange
of information, the Center cooperates with the U.S.
Agency for International Development and other international
organizations.
In
these cooperative efforts, NWRC scientists develop
and test new techniques of wildlife damage management
and transfer the wildlife damage control technology
to scientists and technicians in host countries.
Center scientists develop methods for reducing severe
agricultural damage caused by a variety of rodents,
birds, and other vertebrate pests in Latin America,
Africa, and Asia.
Conclusion
The NWRC is committed to:
Being responsive to the concerns
and values of the public.
Providing valid, objective information
of the highest quality.
Promoting the welfare of animals
and the quality of the environment.
Encouraging employees’ high
morale and growth and development.
Maintaining a quality work environment.
Providing equal opportunity for
employment and advancement.
Studies conducted at the National
Wildlife Research Center will continue to provide new
information needed to protect American agriculture from
wildlife-related problems. These studies will help America
manage its wildlife resources wisely and effectively
into the future.
