TWS Member Honored for Invasive Species Management

Wildlife biologist Steve Kendrot, a member of The Wildlife Society since 1993, recently received the 2015 Leadership/Aquatics Award during National Invasive Species Awareness Week. Currently the deputy director of the operational support staff of USDA Wildlife Services, Kendrot was recognized for his 12 years as project leader on the Chesapeake Bay Nutria Eradication Project, a collaborative public/private partnership to eradicate the invasive nutria (Myocastor coypus), in the Delmarva peninsula.

Image Credit: USDA, Wildlife Services

Under his leadership, the Wildlife Services staff accomplished the successful removal of all known breeding nutria populations from approximately one-quarter million acres of threatened wetland habitat across three states. The Project was known for trying novel methods, including Judas nutria, a detection raft with hair snares, and implementation of GIS and GPS technologies. He recognized the importance of outreach and was accomplished in telling the story of nutria damage to local and international audiences including landowners, sportsmen, students and citizens. (Read the full story in the spring Wildlife Professional.)

Kendrot, a Certified Wildlife Biologist ®, is a member of the Maryland-Delaware Chapter and the Wildlife Damage Management and the Invasive Species working groups.

In 2011, the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF), the National Invasive Species Council (NISC) and the Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds (FICMNEW) developed this nonmonetary awards program to recognize the leadership and accomplishments of important partners, and increase awareness and understanding about invasive species issues.  The NISAW Awards Program features three award categories which include an aquatic and terrestrial component.

Other 2015 winners include:  Lifetime Achievement/ Aquatic Award to Al Cofrancesco, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, MS and Robert McMahon, University of Texas at Arlington, TX; Lifetime Achievement/Terrestrial Award to Gordon Brown, retired National Invasive Species Council, DC; Leadership/ Terrestrial Award to Cathy Lucero, Clallam County Noxious Weed Control Board, WA; Outreach/Aquatic Award to Bob Wiltshire, Invasive Species Action Network, WI; Outreach/Terrestrial Award to Christy Martin, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, HI; Volunteer/ Aquatic Award to The Volunteers, NH LAKES Lake Host Program, NH; and Volunteer/Terrestrial Award to Mark Imlay, Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council, MD.

Wildlife Services is a Strategic Partner of The Wildlife Society.