The Center For Human Wildlife Conflict Resolution

Virginians are more and more often being faced with issues linked with too many wild animals, or lone animals found in areas where they are not wanted. These animals may include native, invasive, and/or exotic wildlife. As Virginia’s population grows and moves into rural areas, wildlife-related problems will become more widespread.

Wildlife can cause damage to property, other animals or the habitats they require. Although rare in Virginia, human deaths have also been caused by wildlife (e.g., car accidents, diseases such as rabies). Resolving wildlife problems can be a complex process, mainly because it is hard to reach agreement among all affected parties.

Property owners, businesses, and government agencies in Virginia have several options available to help them develop and use a nuisance wildlife management program. Privately-owned businesses can provide technical advice or remove problem animals for clients, but they almost never collect and study data, prepare management plans, or use education programs. Further, their services are often limited to towns or cities; private sector aid for rural residents can be hard to find. The Center for Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution (or The Center) is dedicated to helping people and organizations that are dealing with wildlife-related challenges by addressing research, education and coordination needs in Virginia.

  • The Center helps run a toll-free helpline that gives brief discussions with staff who are trained to help solve wildlife issues. If you would like to talk about a problem you are having, please call 1-855-571-9003.
  • Conversely, you can use our web-based tool to help learn more about how to resolve your problem, or browse our website to learn more about living with wildlife, human-wildlife conflict management in Virginia, The Center for Human Wildlife Conflict Resolution, and our research.
  • If you would like to report a wildlife violation, please call the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries report line, 1-800-237-5712, or you can email them at WildCrime@dgif.virginia.gov. 
    • The more specific the information you give the more likely it is that the offenders will be caught. Please be ready to provide information such as: when/where the event happened and who was involved (describe or name people, vehicles, or other witnesses).

For the Public/I have a problem

A key component of the mission of the Center for Human Wildlife Conflict Resolution (or The Center) is helping the public resolve their problems with wildlife. At The Center, we promote an integrated approach to vertebrate pest management for living with wildlife. To learn more about living with wildlife and integrated pest management, click here.

If you are currently experiencing an issue with wildlife or have an ongoing problem with wildlife we can assist you in several ways. We have developed an online tool that will help you understand more about your problem, who to contact, and potential solutions. The Center also helps maintain a toll free hotline to help you with your problems, if you would like to talk with someone about your wildlife-related issue, please call 1-855-571-9003.

The Center also maintains information that can help you learn more about wildlife and how to deal with conflicts, follow the links to learn more about the different aspects of human-wildlife conflict in Virginia:

About the Center

The Center for Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution (or The Center) was established at Virginia Tech in 2004 to provide needed services to Virginians. The Center relies upon the resources available to the Conservation Management Institute (CMI), a research center is housed in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation within the College of Natural Resources and the Environment at Virginia Tech, and is affiliated with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service to address these multi-discipline natural resource management challenges. The Center integrates science, information technology, and human dimensions research to help resolve difficult problems. CMI has conducted projects throughout North America that address landscape ecology, education, outreach, and the application of information technology. The Virginia Cooperative Extension Service has decades of service and experience in providing constituents with educational opportunities, resources, and unbiased information.

The Center is housed in the Conservation Management Institute a research center in Virginia Tech’s Cheatham Hall (pictured)

The Center is directed by Dr. Jim Parkhurst, Associate Professor of Wildlife Science and Wildlife Extension Specialist in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech. The Center is staffed by biologists, public affairs specialists, and students at Virginia Tech and is affiliated with many agencies and organizations.

The Center attempts to resolve human-wildlife conflicts by including a focus on factors related to human populations that contribute to problems associated with wildlife. Perceptions about a problem often drive the selection of management actions considered appropriate and thus define the possible outcomes. The Center emphasizes the need to base management decisions upon the concept of “cultural carrying capacity” (i.e., the number of animals in any one area that society can tolerate, as determined by a combination of biological factors in conjunction with economics and concerns about public safety) rather than biological factors alone to produce more realistic expectations among the public.  The Center is devoted to promoting and increasing the use of vertebrate integrated pest management in Virginia.

If you have questions or inquiries about The Center or management of human-wildlife conflicts, please contact us.

For Practitioners and Policy Makers

There is little question that nuisance wildlife problems exist in Virginia, and various agencies and businesses are trying to address them. However, there is a need for coordination among the various service providers. Animal control officers, game wardens, private nuisance wildlife control operators, and USDA Wildlife Services staff often lack effective communication and there are disagreements regarding interpretation of regulations and the selection and use of appropriate wildlife management methods. Further, outreach and education efforts often are not coordinated and research needed to find more efficient methods of dealing with problems in Virginia is scant.  The Center hopes to help resolve some of these issues by helping to focus and coordinate nuisance wildlife management efforts in Virginia among practitioners and policy makers.