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Show Subject Of Conference North America's smallest native wild cat, the bobcat, will be the subject of a research conference cosponsored by the National Wildlife Federation and the Endangered Species Scientific Authority (ESSA), October 16 through ' 18, at the Smithsonian research center in Front Royal, Va. More than 40 experts will meet to discuss methods and techniques for assessing the population status and management of the bobcat. "The bobcat has become a very controversial cat," explained Claudia Kendrew, resource specialist with NWF. "Because its pelt has become so valuable, the fur industry would like to see more of the cats being trapped. But some biologists question how long the bobcat population could sustain heavy trapping. We hope at the conference to come up with some answers, so we can make intelligent Miss Janet Kathy Ott 5SSSSSSS&SSSSSSSSS decisions about how the cat should be managed." The bobcat was not always such a' con troversial cat. A small animal, weighing up to 25 pounds, the stealthy bobcat is found in nearly all of the lower 48 states. It is capable of killing an animal 10 times its own weight, such as an antelope or deer. Although the bobcat's usual fare is mice, rats, squirrels, birds, and rabbits, it may attack farm animals. This tendency led some states to classify the cat as a varmint, with a bounty on its scalp. Then, in 1975, an international treaty the Convention on International Trade and Endangered. Species (CITES) banned all commercial trade in the furs of big spotted cats. With their old supply cut off, the once-scorned bobcat pelt, which is tan to reddish brown, looked quite attractive to European furriers. Prices soared one pelt sold for as much as $400 and in the 1976-77 trapping season, more than 100,000 bobcats were taken. Some biologists began to worry about the bobcat population, but information was scarce. In 1977, ESSA, which was established to direct U.S. compliance with CITES, proposed that all exports of bobcat fur be banned. In the face of loud protests from some state and game agencies, ESSA backed down, but did place the cat on Appendix II of CITES. This means ESSA must review the bobcat population and management status for each state before exports of pelts are allowed. Some states have gone so far as to ban bobcat hunting and trapping altogether, but many officials argue that this is a mistake. "Most of our bobcat informatipn is derived from hunting and trapping," Chat McCord of the Massachusetts fisheries and wildlife division recently told National Wildlife magazine. "Without this information, wc can't manage the animals." But Maurice Hor-nocker, of Idaho, one of the country's best-known wildlife biologists, doesn't entirely agree. "Trapping information has its place," he explained to National Wildlife, "but too. many states use it as a crutch an easy way to manage bobcats without doing the necessary in-depth studies." Kendrew hopes the research conference can help settle these arguments. Among the issues to be discussed at the conference are survey techniques, harvest reports, pelt trade and utilization, factors affecting harvest level, response of population to harvest, and the relationship of habitat- |