U.S. and Russia Pledge Continued Cooperation for Wildlife Conservation
OutdoorHub Reporters 02.23.12
Russian and U.S. combined wildlife conservation efforts date back to 1911 when the two countries were signatories to an international treaty to manage the commercial harvest of seals and other fur-bearing mammals.
Since 1972, federal natural resources agencies from the two countries have been cooperating in the conservation of wildlife and its habitat under a signed U.S.-Russia agreement. Now, in 2012, the countries have announced that they will continue participation in this agreement for joint conservation of each other’s resources.
One specific effort undertaken by the countries include the study of conservation of cranes, raptors and other rare birds. According to the Area V Work Plan for 2011-2012 document on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services website, as part of the ongoing agreement, the two sides will continue to implement Project Hope. The project is a five-year program developed to strengthen conservation of western Siberian cranes, improving hunting regulations and management of the population.
Original press release issued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on February 23rd, 2012:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the completion of a work plan for cooperation on wildlife conservation activities with the Russian Federation through 2012. The work plan will guide bilateral conservation efforts throughout the year.
“I am thrilled to see our long-standing cooperation with Russia moving forward,” said Teiko Saito, Assistant Director for International Affairs. “This new work plan will advance cooperation to conserve a wide array of shared species, including migratory birds, marine mammals and unique shared ecosystems.”
As neighboring countries, the U.S. and Russia share populations of wildlife, many of which have economic, cultural and subsistence importance in addition to their ecosystem role and intrinsic value. Biologists engage in a number of cooperative conservation activities, including information sharing; joint scientific studies on the ground, in the air, on and below the sea; and the use of satellite technology.
Russians and Americans have long maintained a dialogue on wildlife issues. The very first international treaty to address wildlife conservation was the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911. A more recent example is the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission, which met for the first time in 2009, and includes both governmental and Native representatives.
“In maintaining a robust dialogue with Russian wildlife managers the Service’s Wildlife Without Borders program, which provides crucial assistance to key species and regions around the world, is helping us in our efforts to manage wild populations of polar bears, migratory birds and walruses,” said Geoff Haskett, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director for Alaska.
To learn more about the U.S.-Russia Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection and to read the 2011-2012 “Area V” Work Plan, visit the Wildlife Without Borders, Russia program webpage, http://www.fws.gov/international/dic/regionalprograms/russia/usrussia.html.
Wildlife Without Borders also provides support through grant funding for the conservation of tigers, saiga antelope and other species and habitats in Russia.
