Wildlife Scientists Urged to Focus

By Scott Sonner
Associated Press Writer
Sept. 27, 2001

RENO, Nev. –– More than 1,800 scientists attending a national wildlife conference were urged to remain vigilant in protecting the environment as the nation focuses on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"With the events of the last two weeks, many of you might be thinking our natural resources will be taking a back seat while all the attention is placed on national security," Terry Crawforth, director of the Nevada Division of Wildlife, said Wednesday at the Wildlife Society's eighth-annual conference.

"It's especially important for us at this point in time to do a good job of safeguarding our natural resources and making sure we do what we can to ensure for their peace and solitude."

The society, founded in 1937 and based in Bethesda, Md., is made up of scientific professionals representing private companies, special interest groups and government agencies.

The group's five-day conference began Wednesday, with much of the focus on the effects of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Greg Schildwachter, a conservation policy adviser to Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, said periods of war have often been followed by "incredible gains in wildlife conservation." It was in the aftermath of the War of 1812 that American hunting clubs became primarily conservation organizations, he said.

"After World War I, between the world wars, was another growth spurt where we saw many of today's major mainstream conservation groups formed in the 1930s," he said.

The wildlife conference features panels and workshops on such topics as endangered species protection, conservation education, the effect of intentionally set fires on wildlife and ways to "manage human wildlife conflicts in the West."