You're not likely to hear about it in the news media. It's already become routine. You will search the Ohio Division of Wildlife site in vain for many updates on their projects involving birds, but prominently absent is any mention whatsoever that ODW continues to shoot double-crested cormorants off nests, more than 3500 of them this spring. They killed--excuse me, culled--more than 5800 nesters in 2006. Does this year's reduced number represent success for the project? I doubt it, but finding out is tough. Helpful Federal employees tell me the recommended way to get information from Fish & Wildlife or the Department of Agriculture (both agencies are involved) on this topic is to file a Freedom of Information Act request---the same thing you'd use to compel them to give you a copy of your FBI file with all those blacked-out sections. Why don't they just put this stuff on the Web? Would they run out of space? You tell me. The lead agency involved, APHIS, was able to send me their report on last year's activities, but a report on 2007 will not be out until next April. One of its conclusions (p. 3) is that "CDM [Cormorant Damage Management] activities in Ohio did not have a cumulative adverse impact on the DCCO [double-crested cormorant] population." The ODW is quoted in last year's Environmental Assessment that Ohio hosted between 5000 and 6000 cormorant nests in 2005 (p. 19). If 5800 nesters were shot last year, it's hard to imagine anything but an adverse impact. Perhaps equal numbers returned in 2007, despite drastically curtailed reproduction on Ohio sites. In this case, one wonders why continued culling was approved, since it obviously failed to control the numbers of cormorants nesting in the state. Aren't they shooting for an adverse impact on Ohio DCCO populations? If anyone has more reliable information, or a suggestion on how to get some without twisting bureaucratic arms, let us know. In the meantime, it seems this effort to control nesting cormorants in Ohio by simply shooting them every time they show up is likely to go on for a long long time. Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]