United States
Department of USDA Wildlife Services Protects Property
Agriculture
Animal and Protecting Property, Infrastructure and
Plant Health
Inspection Transportation in Rural to Urban Settings
Service
FY 2006
Overview
Wildlife Services (WS), a program
within the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service, provides
Federal leadership and expertise to
resolve wildlife conflicts that threaten
public and private resources. WS
works in every State to prevent wild-
life damage to property, roads and
bridges, aircraft, and other important
man-made resources.
Protecting Property in
Urban and Suburban Areas
Each year, wildlife cost property
owners millions of dollars in damage,
underscoring the need for respon-
sible wildlife damage management.
WS protects homes, lawns, land- efforts. When the conflict is more roosting birds or bats is not only foul,
scaping, golf courses, parks, pets, significant, however, WS specialists but also can corrode machinery and
equipment and machinery, industrial employ direct assistance, using their vehicle paint, and can create a slip-
facilities, and other property against knowledge and expertise to disperse, ping hazard on walkways. Hungry
wildlife damage. remove, or relocate problem wildlife, wildlife, such as geese, deer and feral
In fiscal year (FY) 2005, WS such as vultures, raccoons, and bears. pigs, can destroy golf course greens,
conducted more than 14,000 techni- WS expended more than $12.5 fruiting plants, lawns, and other
cal assistance projects to reduce million to protect property from landscaped areas.
wildlife damage to property in urban, wildlife damage in FY05 and $13.6 In addition to causing damage,
suburban, and rural locations as well million in FY06. Damage may be overabundant wildlife populations
as at airports across the country. relatively minor or it may result in can create quite a nuisance. The
Technical assistance enables prop- significant economic loss and incon- excrement and noise from a roost of
erty owners to work on their own venience. Wildlife can damage foun- vultures or crows can be so severe
to resolve wildlife conflicts. WS dations, structures, and even internal that backyard swing sets, grills,
provides critical information, guid- wiring as it attempts to gain entry lawn furniture, and outdoor business
ance, and, sometimes, equipment into a property. The excrement from property become useless.
to assist property owners in their
Protecting Infrastructure in removed from areas experiencing
Urban and Rural Areas high levels of damage. WS has
identified multiple research needs
Roads, bridges, airport runways,
relevant to beaver damage manage-
dams, water drainage systems, and
ment: information on attractants,
utilities are also vulnerable to wild-
search dogs, electronic frighten-
life damage. WS is frequently called
ing and detection devices, habitat
upon to relocate or remove wildlife
modification, mechanical barriers,
that threaten vital urban and rural
“natural/home-made” remedies,
infrastructure. Aquatic and burrow-
non-target concerns, repellants,
ing animals, such as beavers, ground
toxicants, trap development, and
hogs, gophers, ground squirrels, and
basic biology. WS’ National Wild-
armadillos, often weaken founda-
life Research Center (NWRC) is
tions and accelerate erosion damage,
currently conducting research on a
causing structures to crack or even
number of methods that could be
collapse. Birds and other wildlife
used to prevent beaver damage.
frequently are responsible for electri-
cal power outages that can result in damage reports. In Mississippi and
thousands of dollars in damage and North Carolina, the problem’s sever- Protecting Transportation
lost revenue. Monk parakeets, hawks, ity led State agencies to provide Increased wildlife populations in
and vultures are well known for major funding for WS to conduct the last decade have coincided with
causing damage to urban infrastruc- statewide beaver damage manage- increasing numbers of wildlife
ture when they nest, roost, and perch ment programs. WS also provides collisions with airplanes, trains, and
on telephone poles and electrical and large-scale programs in more than automobiles. High-speed or mid-air
communication towers. a dozen additional States, and collisions not only result in serious
Brown tree snakes in Guam responds to individual requests for damage, they can be deadly. WS
regularly cause electrical shortages assistance on a case-by-case basis. plays a significant role in helping
and power outages that result in more For years, WS has collected to prevent birds, deer, coyotes,
than more than $1 million in damage. beaver damage data reported by feral hogs, and other wildlife from
WS engages in a successful damage private individuals and state agen- causing such accidents. Collisions,
management program to prevent cies; the economic damage caused however, are not the only threat
large scale outages with cost savings by beavers in the southeastern posed to transportation. Rats, mice,
of more than $500,000 annually to United States alone is estimated and other rodents can also chew
the local power authority. to have exceeded $4 billion over a through engine wiring, creating
40-year period. In 1999, WS began potentially dangerous consequences.
Resolving Beaver Damage—
Beaver, one of the most destructive collecting data on damage prevented Deer Collisions with Automo-
wildlife species, cause millions of by its management efforts. In FY05, biles—As wildlife populations
dollars in damage to roads, bridges, 14 Eastern States sought to quantify increase and adapt to more urban
dikes and dams, sewer and water how much additional damage was settings, wildlife-vehicle collisions
treatment facilities, and landscape prevented, using very conservative also increase. Deer are the large wild
plants. Many experts believe the models. In total, WS specialists animal most often involved in such
cost of beaver damage is greater estimated an additional $29 million accidents; other wildlife associated
than that caused by any other U.S. in beaver damage was prevented. with vehicular collisions are elk,
wildlife species. WS personnel To prevent beaver damage, WS antelope, bear, feral hogs and moose.
across the contiguous States, from specialists break apart beaver dams The United States deer popula-
Maine to Arizona and from Florida that clog water-ways and flood roads tion is at an all time high. Overabun-
to Washington, respond to beaver and timber resources. Beavers are dant deer populations, urban and
suburban, lead to countless collisions tionally for its scientific expertise
each year. Although difficult to in reducing such hazards at airports
quantify because many accidents go and military bases across the Nation
unreported, one study estimates more and around the world. Assistance
than 1.5 million deer collisions with was offered at 20% more airports
vehicles occur annually, resulting in and air-bases in FY06 than in FY03.
repair costs of more than $1.1 billion. WS works at more than half of all
Auto insurance claim statistics show U.S. airports certified for passenger
eight of the top 10 states for the most traffic. (See the separate report “Pro-
deer/automobile accidents are east tecting Commercial and Military
of the Mississippi River. WS works Aircraft and Passengers.”)
to reduce deer populations in heavily
populated areas in order to increase Wildlife Population and Property Protection
public safety. WS conducts research on deer contraceptive vaccines,
removes animals in over-populated and strike-probable
WS’ research arm, the NWRC,
locations, donating meat as appropriate
has given high priority to research
on the reproductive management of • A recent study suggested more than a million collisions annu-
deer. NWRC researchers have suc- ally between vehicles and deer, the large wild animal most often
cessfully tested contraceptive vac- involved in such accidents.
cines on white-tailed deer. Research • A recent study estimated the total costs associated with such
data shows the contraceptive is safe collisions were $7,870 for deer, $17,100 for elk, and $28,100
for the vaccinated animals with no for moose. The direct cost of a deer-vehicle strike ranges from
associated danger to humans or wild- $22,800 per collision in insurance claims
life eating vaccinated animals. Not • Pennsylvania, the top ranked state for deer-vehicle collisions,
intended to replace other manage- estimates between 12,000 and 40,000 collisions, annually.
ment tools, the contraceptive vaccine Numbers are difficult to assess due to the non-reporting of less
is a tool for use in conjunction with serious crashes.
other management methods. The WS conducts beaver damage management programs in
vaccine can be used to help manage more than 14 states and researches control of beaver popu-
overabundant deer herds in urban lations and damage.
and residential areas where other • A current study suggests for every $1 spent in managing beaver
methods, such as hunting, are not damage by WS, $6.30 in resources was saved to roads, bridges,
always an option. dikes and dams, sewer and water treatment facilities, and
landscapes.
Wildlife/Aircraft Collisions—
Wildlife can pose a serious threat • WS currently has 85 trained explosive experts operating in 22
at airports across the United States. states to handle beaver damage.
The majority of wildlife strikes WS provided wildlife damage management assistance to
are caused by birds, although approximately 674 airports in FY06.
large mammals are also involved. • Highly successful conservation and environmental programs
Through a balanced effort involv- have resulted in population increases for almost all species
ing research and wildlife manage- of large flocking birds in recent decades. In all, 330 different
ment, WS is reducing the incidence species of birds have been reported struck by civil aircraft from
of damage to aviation caused by 1990-2005.
wildlife. WS is recognized interna- • Wildlife strikes annually cost U.S. civil aviation more than $550
million and cause more than 500,000 hours of downtime.
USDA is an equal employment provider and employer.