The Bookshop

Investors in Habitat: Hunter Contributions to Wildlife Habitat Conservation in Canada

Canadian hunters make substantial contributions to the conservation of the country's habitat. Though this may not surprise hunters and conservationists, it may most members of the general public.

According to a national report released by Wildlife Habitat Canada (WHC), over the past 15 years Canadian hunters have contributed $335 million and 14 million hours of volunteer work to habitat conservation. That figure includes $28 million collected through the sale of WHC's Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp, which is made possible through a partnership with Environment Canada.

Titled Investors in Habitat: Hunter Contributions to Wildlife Habitat Conservation in Canada, the report outlines, for the first time, the results of a survey of national and provincial organizations and government departments that participate in habitat conservation activities using funds raised from hunter fees.

Despite the report's impressive figures, the contributions of Canadian sportsmen and sportswomen are still underestimated by well over $1 billion in license fees and other hunting expenses. It does, however, show that hunters have committed over $40 million to conservation programs designed specifically for non-game species over the study period.

This report helps to educate Canadians about hunter contributions to conservation. It concludes that, not only is hunting part of a unique tradition that links us to our ancestors, but it is also key to funding habitat initiatives that might otherwise never be completed. Without habitat, there is no wildlife. It is that simple.

For a free copy of the report or more information, contact Francois Blain, Wildlife Habitat Canada, 7 Hinton Avenue North, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4P1, (613) 722-2090, fblain@videotron.ca.

Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 1986 to 1997

The Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 requires the Service to report to Congress at 10-year intervals on the status and trends of the Nation's wetlands. Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 1986 to 1997 indicates that by 1997 the United States was losing approximately 58,500 acres of wetlands each year. The number represents an 80 percent reduction from the loss rate of about 290,000 acres a year experienced during the 1970s and 1980s. At the time of European settlement of what is now the lower 48 states, wetlands covered about 11 percent of the landscape. By 1997, less than 5 percent of the land area was wetlands.

The report shows that freshwater forested wetlands experienced the greatest decline of all wetland types, with a loss of 1.2 million acres (2.4 percent change). There are fewer than 50 million acres of forested wetlands remaining in the conterminous 48 states. Freshwater emergent wetlands declined by 1 million acres (4.6 percent change) during the study period. Estuarine wetlands declined slightly by 14,450 acres, mostly due to urban and other types of development in coastal areas. The status of other wetland types also is discussed.

Overall, this study attributes wetlands loss during the study period to urban development (30 percent), agriculture (26 percent), silviculture (23 percent), and rural development (21 percent).

Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 1986 to 1997 is online at www.fws.gov. A limited number of the printed version is available from Rich Young, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory Center, 9720 Executive Center Drive, Suite 101, Monroe Building, St. Petersburg, Florida 33702, (727) 570-5400 extension 231, rich_young@fws.gov. Soft cover, 8½x11, 82 pages, 61 color photographs, tables, charts. No charge.

Retriever Training: A Back-to-Basics Approach

If it seems like today's retrievers are becoming increasingly hyperactive and hard to train, they are—according to 30-year veteran dog-trainer Robert Milner in his book, Retriever Training: A Back-to-Basics Approach.

"The typical labrador retriever of 30 or 40 years ago was a gentle, calm dog," says Milner. "Today a large number of Labradors are hyperactive and difficult to train. The basic reason for this shift appears to be our field-trial system."

In his book, Milner takes issue with the predominant training and breeding methods of the last 40 years. With their emphasis on developing high-octane dogs for field training, these techniques have left the average hunter with a retriever that is too hot to handle.

To combat this trend, Milner offers a new training approach designed especially for hunters who want to train their own retrievers. His approach teaches techniques that are good for the trainer and the dog. Through gentle methods learned from Ray Hunt—the original "horse whisperer"—Milner shows the average hunter how to train a retriever by using its own natural tendencies.

This back-to-basics approach teaches how to pick a pup that will likely be calm and obedient, and then how to train that pup on the basics of steadiness and obedience to create the perfect hunting and at-home companion. Milner takes the latest scientific research into how dogs learn and combines it with his own common sense training methods. Milner has trained about 1,500 retrievers for hunting and field trials, drug and explosive detection, and search-and-rescue operations. He has taught obedience classes at the University of Memphis for 10 years and has judged retriever trials in both the United States and England.

Retriever Training can be purchased directly from the publisher by calling toll free (800) 45-DUCKS or by visiting www.ducks.org. Hardcover, 6x9, 208 pages, 70 black-and-white photographs. US$27.50, plus US$5.95 shipping, plus US$2.50 shipping for each additional book.

A Land Manager's Guide to Improving Habitat for Scarlet Tanagers and other Forest-interior Birds

The first in a forthcoming series of habitat management guides produced by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, A Land Manager's Guide to Improving Habitat for Scarlet Tanagers and Other Forest-interior Birds provides habitat guidelines for managers of large landscapes or of small blocks of forest. The guidelines offer a set of "management prescriptions"—descriptions of the kinds and amounts of habitat that are required to sustain healthy bird populations.

This guide is the result of a 3-year study developed by the Cornell Lab with support from several partners. From 1993 to 1996, Project Tanager employed a volunteer, citizen-scientist workforce to allow Cornell researchers to be "everywhere at once." Scientists trained more than 1,000 amateur birders who studied tanagers at more than 2,000 study sites across North America—amassing perhaps the largest dataset ever collected on forest fragmentation and birds.

This book offers regional and local forest conservation guidelines and a brief look at brood parasitism, nest predation, and effects of creating "edge" habitat. The guide provides do's and don't's when making management decisions considering forest area shape, isolation effects, forest structure and age, and reforestation. It also provides information about habitat requirements for the scarlet tanager, with specific profiles for four regions: Midwest, Atlantic Coast, Appalachian, and Northern Forest. Each profile describes the region's habitat condition, identifies forest types and tree species, gives minimum area requirements, and lists scarlet tanager associates.

Softcover, full-color, 8.5 x 11, photographs, maps, and tables, 23 pages. Order from Tanager Guidelines Booklet, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850-1999. Cost is US$5.00, includes shipping. Canada and Mexico add US$1.50 for shipping, all other countries add US$2.00 for shipping. Order online at http://birds.cornell.edu/conservation/tanager/tanagerorder.html. MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover are accepted. A PDF version of the guide may also be downloaded at http://birds.cornell.edu/conservation/tanager.