Held March 24 to 28, 2000 in Rosemont, Illinois

Contents

Opening Session. Hindsight and Foresight in Conservation

Opening Statement, Rollin D. Sparrowe

Ecosystem Management: From Rhetoric to Reality, Jonathan B. Haufler

The Forest Service's Roads Policy: Assuring Wildlife Habitat Quality, Michael Dombeck

War on Weeds: Winning It for Wildlife, Jerry Asher

1999 National 4-H Wildlife and Fisheries Volunteer Leader Recognition Awards

Session One. Wildlife Harvest Regulations: Lesson Learned, Current Challenges and Prospects for the Future

Perspectives on Regulation of the Sport Harvest of Wildlife, Byron K. Williams

Evolution of Harvest Management for North American Waterfowl: Selective Pressures and Preadaptations for Adaptive Harvest Management, James D. Nichols

Adaptive Harvest Management: Has Anything Really Changed?, Dale D. Humburg, Thomas W. Aldrich, Scott Baker, Gary Costanzo, James H Gammonley, Michael A. Johnson, Bryan Swift, Dan Yparraguirre

Adaptive Regulation of Waterfowl Harvests: Lessons Learned and Prospects for the Future, Fred A. Johnson and David J. Case

Review of Archery Equipment Regulations for Big Game Hunting in the United States, Kenneth E. Mayer, Robert C. Lund, Lonnie P. Hansen, Robert J. Warren and H. Lee Gladfelter

A Review of Regulation-setting Processes Among State Wildlife Agencies, Peter Bull and R. Ben Peyton

Review of Criteria and Procedures and Recommendations for Tightening Regulation Setting in State Wildlife Agencies, Herman J. Griese, Dwight E. Guynn and R. Ben Peyton

The Political Realities of Regulation Setting, Jay B. McAninch, Saxby Chambliss and Collin Peterson

Session Two. Central Forests: A Sleeping Giant

Current Conditions and Trends in Composition and Structure of Midwestern Forests, Thomas L. Schmidt

Sustaining Oak Ecosystems in the Central Hardwood Region: Lessons from the Past-Continuing the History of Disturbance, Daniel C. Dey and Richard P. Guyette

Enhanced Avian Diversity in Wisconsin Pine Barrens through Aggregated Timber Harvest, Neal D. Niemuth and Mark S. Boyce

How to Reduce Gypsy Moth Effects on Central Hardwood Forests, Kurt W. Gottschalk and Andrew M. Liebhold

Should Bat Conservation Issues Alone Dictate Forest Management Policy?, Richard L. Clawson and Ronald D. Drobney

The Challenges and Opportunities of Restoring Ecosystems in Urban-influenced Areas: Insights from Northeastern Illinois, Susan C. Barro and John F. Dwyer

Fragmented Midwestern Forests and Songbird Populations: Where Do We Go From Here?, Frank R. Thompson III

Session Three. Managing Wildlife-related Conflicts

Issue Management and Communicating Effectively: "Why Biologists Need Help", Stephanie Kenyon and Carol l,fynne

Co-management: An Evolving Process for the Future of Wildlife Management?, Daniel J. Decker, Tania M. Schuster, Tommy L. Brown and George F. Mattfeld

Beyond Release: Incorporating Diverse Publics in Setting Research Priorities for the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, Bruce C. Thompson, Julie S. Prior-Magee, Melody L. Munson-McGee, Wendy Brown, David Parsons and Lucy Moore

Balancing Public Opinion in Managing River Otters in Missouri, David Hamilton, Daniel J. Witter and Theresa L. Goedeke

Managing Overabundance in the Face of Social Conflict: The Case of the Lesser Snow Goose, Craig A. Miller

A Sportsmen's Task Force for Establishing Waterfowl Seasons, David E. Odell

Session Four. Hostile Takeovers in America: Invasive Species in Wild/ands and Waterways

Biological Invasions: Global Swarming is Heating Up, Bruce E. Coblentz

The Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus): Another Unwelcome Invader in the Mississippi River Basin, Mark T. Steingraeber and Pamella A. Thiel

Saltcedar Invasion of Western Riparian Areas: Impacts and New Prospects for Control, Tom L. Dudley, C. Jack DeLoach, Jeffrey E. Levich and Raymond I. Carruthers

The Silvio 0. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Invasive Plant Control Initiative, Beth Goettel

C ALFED Nonnative Invasive Species Program, S. Kim Webb

Nutria: A Nonnative Nemesis, Dixie Bounds and Glenn A. Carowan, Jr.

Invasive Species and the Conservation Community, Bob Devine, Sara Vickerman and Mike Phillips

Session Five. NEPA After Thirty Years: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Opening Statement, Thomas Wray III

Analyzing the Indirect and Cumulative Impacts of Federal Agency Permitting Actions and Approval Decisions: A Common Sense Approach to Improve the NEPA Process, Fred R. Wagner and Brenda Mallory

Process Improvement: A New Focus for NEPA Programs in the Department of Defense, Ronald D. Webster, Len Richeson, and Katherine M Bragdon

The Public and the Commenting Process For The Proposed Grand Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Jean C. Mangun, Daniel E. Bray and William R. Mangun

Integrating NEPA with Other Environmental Laws: Road Map for Success, Ron Bass and John Forren

Is There Integration of Natural and Cultural Resources in the NEPA Process?, Erwin Roemer

NEPA Ratings: What Have We Learned?, Kelly Tzoumis and Linda Finegold

Unprecedented Decision Involving NEPA on Controversial Reservoir Project, Regina Poeske

Session Six. Young Wildlife Professionals: Do They Fulfill The Needs of Management in Today's Resource Agency?

Great Books, Great Thinkers, Great Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Ronald J Regan

Does Today's Wildlife Management Agency Know What to Expect From Young Wildlife Professionals, James E. Miller

Preparing and Hiring for the Future: Are We Playing for the Short or Long Term?, James A. Baker

The Preparedness of Entry-level Natural Resource Professionals in the Forest Service, Phil Janik and Dave Radloff

Evolving State Agencies, University Curricula and Wildlife Students, Alan Woolf

Educating Today's Students for Tomorrow's Challenges in Natural Resource Management: A Student's Perspective, Joe N. Caudell

Academic Response to the Needs of Natural Resource Agencies: A Case Study Involving Human/Wildlife Conflicts, Terry A. Messmer and Michael R. Conover

Published annually since 1915, the Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference provide a unique and informative record of the direction and momentum of professional natural resource management. Tracking current research and management emphases and the perspectives and approaches to meeting the challenges to sustaining and conserving North America's wildlife and their habitats, the Transactions is a valuable reference for all who deal with the complexities and intricacies of natural resource issues, policies and programs.