History and Organization of the NWRC 



Established in 1940 under the U.S. 

 Bureau of Biological Survey — the 

 forerunner of the Department of 

 the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service — the Center was trans- 

 ferred in 1986 to APHIS as part of 

 the Department of Agriculture's WS 

 program. The Center employs more 

 than 160 scientists, technicians, 

 and support personnel at its head- 

 quarters in Fort Collins. CO. 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 



DNA forensics 



Ecology 



Electronics 



Economics 



Immunology 



Information transfer 



Pharmacology 



Physiology 



Quality assurance 



Statistics 



Toxicology 



Veterinary medicine 



Wildlife biology 



Zoology 



The Center relies on the services 

 of people with additional special- 

 ties through extensive cooperative 

 ties with universities, not-for-profit 

 research facilities, and other pub- 

 lic and private research entities. 

 NWRC has achieved an integrated, 

 multidisciplinary research agenda 

 that is uniquely suited to provide 

 scientific information and solutions 

 to wildlife damage problems. 



Blackbirds annually damage $5 

 million to $8 million worth of ripen- 

 ing sunflower in the northern Great 

 Plains. (APHIS photo by George 

 Linz.) 



Research Activities 



With the diverse scientific expertise 

 of its staff and collaborators, NWRC 

 assembles teams that are devoted 

 to finding innovative, cutting-edge 

 solutions to wildlife damage issues. 

 Examples of the diversity of re- 

 search currently under way at the 

 Center include the following: 



• Development and 

 implementation of strategies to 

 manage blackbird damage to 

 agricultural crops in the United 

 States; 



• Development of new solutions to 

 control overabundant wildlife 

 populations through biotechnol- 

 ogy and immunocontraceptive 

 vaccines; 



• Development and evaluation of 

 new techniques to resolve 

 predator depredation on 

 endangered and threatened 

 wildlife, as well as domestic 

 animals; 



• Studies of the ecology of coyote 

 depredation; 



• Identification of techniques to 

 reduce mammal damage to 

 forest resources; 



Development of integrated pest 

 management strategies to 

 reduce rodent damage to crops 

 and rangeland; 



Development of management 

 strategies to reduce bird 

 predation at aquaculture 

 facilities; 



Registration of chemicals and 

 drugs for use as wildlife damage 

 management agents; 



Analysis of taste and olfaction 

 in selected wildlife species and 

 development of nonlethal 

 chemical repellants for birds and 

 mammals; 



Development of techniques to 

 manage wildlife that pose 

 hazards to aviation; 



Development of chemical control 

 methods to manage the invasive 

 brown treesnake on Guam: and 



Identification of the role of 

 wildlife in disease transmission 

 and development of a variety of 

 techniques to combat the spread 

 of wildlife diseases to livestock, 

 wildlife, and humans. 



