Center, Internet, Wildlife Damage Management
Human–Wildlife Interactions
Wildlife Damage Management: Prevention, Problem-solving, and Conflict Resolution
Date of this Version
Fall 2014
Document Type
Article
Citation
Human–Wildlife Interactions (Fall 2014) 8(2): article 19
doi: 10.26077/wwtf-gy20
Abstract
Wildlife damage management (WDM) is more challenging than it might seem to the uninitiated. As any reader of Human–Wildlife Interactions knows, there is much more to WDM than trapping nuisance raccoons from attics and applying chemicals to ward off deer from ornamental plants. Although these issues are important (especially if it is your attic or landscaping), WDM also encompasses global problems, such as invasive species, wildlife diseases and zoonoses, wildlife–vehicle collisions, and conservation of rare species in human-dominated landscapes. Further, WDM rests on principles from ecology, physiology, animal behavior, human psychology, and economics, all of which must be understood and integrated to maximize potential for resolution of human–wildlife conflicts. Given the complex nature of WDM, the task of writing and organizing a textbook that adequately covers the necessary techniques, applications, and human dimensions is a difficult one. Fortunately, authors Russell F. Reidinger Jr. and James E. Miller have done a commendable job with Wildlife Damage Management: Prevention, Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution. This textbook is a welcome addition to the WDM literature, a subject that increases in importance every year as many human and wildlife populations around the world increase and interact more frequently.
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I believe that the authors accomplished their goals with this book. Wildlife Damage Management: Prevention, Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution should become a well-used and standard text for WDM students and practitioners. I learned a great deal by reading it, and I suspect even those who have been in the business for many decades will be able to say the same.