Brown Tree Snake (BTS) Control Program 
During FY 1996, the Department of Defense (DoD) allocated 
$1 million to help fund the BTS program at nine military 
locations in Guam and Hawaii. Since the program first 
began in 1993, the BTS control program on Guam has 
nearly doubled the size of its field staff. The program 
currently has 1 ADC district supervisor, 1 support wildlife 
biologist, and 21 ADC specialists. ADC personnel in Guam 
are assisted in their BTS control efforts by 10 Jack Russell 
terriers, which are used to detect and control the snakes in 
military and civilian cargo at transportation facilities. During 
1996, ADC personnel removed 5,240 brown tree snakes 
from high-risk areas on Guam. The Commonwealth of the 
Northern Marianas and ADC are currently negotiating to 
establish an operational BTS control program on the island 
of Saipan to control an burgeoning population of the snakes 
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BTS control methods at present include traps, glue boards, 
fencing, electrical barriers, detection dogs, habitat 
modification, and prey-base removal. With funding from 
DoD, scientists at the National Wildlife Research Center 
(NWRC) in Ft. Collins, CO have been working to develop 
toxicants and fumigants for BTS control. Several toxicants 
and fumigants have proved to be effective. 
Public Information 
ADC continued its “Living With Wildlife” public information 
campaign during 1996. ADC began this outreach program 
in January 1994 to better inform the general public and 
future generations about wildlife, wildlife damage, and the 
goals, mission, and objectives of the ADC program. During 
1996, more than 100 positive news items were placed in 
national and regional publications. There were articles on 
the BTS program in Guam, the Texas and New England 
rabies programs, guarding dogs, aquaculture, urban wildlife 
problems, and new research techniques. 
An active campaign to place ADC educational materials in 
classrooms has also continued. Since January 1995, more 
than 5,000 teachers nationwide have received “Living With 
Wildlife” posters, activity sheets, factsheets, brochures, 
pens, pencils, and rulers. In addition, ADC is conducting 
outreach efforts through Project Wild and Ag in the 
Classroom. Specific information regarding ADC's “Living 
With Wildlife” campaign can be found on the ADC home 
page. Point your Web browser to 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/adce 
to access it. On a per-week basis during 1996, ADC 
received between 25 and 30 requests tor further information 
through the tnternet. 
ADC cohosted the Seventh Eastern Wildlife Damage 
Management Conference held in Jackson, MS, in November 
1995. The conference was attended by about 180 Federal 
and State officials and various private interests. A highlight 
of the conference was a field trip to a large catfish farm 
where ADC personnel from Mississippi and NWRC 
demonstrated equipment for bird depredation management 
and strategies for muskrat and beaver damage abatement. 
Several informational materials were developed in 1996, 
including the “Animal Damage Control Program Highlights, 
1995,” a new factsheet entitled “The Rabies 
Management Challenge,” and a new NWRC video. The 
video describes the mission and research program of the 
NWRC and how the center provides scientific information 
and methods for wildlife damage management. 
ADC Program Highlights, 1996/5 
