April 15, 2026 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm CDT
In this webinar, Michael Marlow, the Assistant Program Manager for the USDA’s National Feral Swine Damage Management Program (NFSP) will provide an overview of the challenges associated with invasive wild pigs and describe how the NFSP is supporting efforts across the US to control wild pig populations. Megan Cross and Keith Carlisle, researchers with the USDA, will then present findings from a recent qualitative study that investigated how government agencies and organizations from the nongovernmental sector achieved notable progress in their efforts to eliminate wild pig populations in the state of Missouri. They spoke with agency leaders, managers, and field staff to understand the policies that were implemented and the strategies and management methods that were used to successfully eliminate wild pigs in many of the state’s watersheds. Key policies included prohibiting transport and release of wild pigs and restricting recreational wild pig hunting on public lands. Key management strategies included the use of presence/absence models, systematic baiting, and the innovative use of new technology (e.g., drones). In addition, the agencies adopted the Incident Command System (ICS), forming a unified response team to improve accountability, efficiency, and interagency coordination. The goal in sharing this research is to highlight successful policies and strategies that could help natural resource managers in other states facing similar challenges.
Michael Marlow, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services
Michael Marlow is a Wildlife Biologist and serves as the Assistant Program Manager for the APHIS Wildlife Services’ National Feral Swine Damage Management Program (NFSP). Michael began his Wildlife Services career in Oklahoma in 1996, where he served as a Wildlife Specialist performing duties to resolve wildlife damage; as a Wildlife Biologist combating pecan depredation by crows; as a Wildlife Disease Biologist, conducting surveillance on a wide variety of wildlife including coyotes, beaver, feral swine, and a number of avian species. Prior to becoming a member of the NFSP he served as the Resource Management Specialist with WS’ Operational Support Staff, where his duties focused primarily on addressing livestock industry needs relative to Integrated Wildlife Damage Management and livestock protection. Michael received an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology and a graduate degree in International Agriculture, both from Oklahoma State University.
Megan Cross, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services
Megan Cross is a Social Scientist at the USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services-National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. Her research focuses on human-wildlife conflict, with an emphasis on wild pig governance and large predator management, including nonlethal livestock protection strategies. Megan brings expertise in both qualitative and quantitative social science methods to address complex wildlife management challenges, and she holds a Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University and an MS in Natural Resource Science and Management from the University of Minnesota.
Keith Carlisle, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services
Keith Carlisle is a social scientist and Human Dimensions Unit Leader at the USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services-National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. Broadly, his research focuses on human-wildlife conflict and coexistence and natural resources governance through an interdisciplinary lens that includes social psychology, economics, law, and political science. Keith holds a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, an M.E.M. from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, and a Ph.D. in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University.