for decline. New Jersey's Division of Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Nongame Species Program supported research by Kathleen LoGiudice. She developed a drug to be distributed through bait that raccoons could eat. The drug would disrupt the growth and shedding of the roundworm parasite for about three weeks, curtailing deposition of roundworm eggs by raccoons near woodrat nesting sites. The anticipated result would be a reduction in the threat of the parasite to woodrats. Pennsylvania is conducting a three-year study partially funded by a Game Commission State Wildlife Grant and being led by Indiana University of Pennsylvania in an attempt to shed light on the daily and seasonal movements of woodrats, identify high-quality woodrat habitat and learn whether providing food caches can boost a population. Their work will include radiotelemetry, DNA profiling and mark-recapture trapping. Maryland's Department of Natural Resources has conducted trappings and surveys to study the woodrat's habitat. Researchers at the University of Georgia have studied Allegheny woodrats in Virginia since 1990. Currently, they are investigating DNA relationships of Allegheny woodrats under a grant from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. They are comparing modern DNA to historic DNA from museum specimens as a way to characterize remnant genetic diversity in the species. References Neotoma Woodrat, Allegheny Woodrat, Allegheny Woodrat, Allegheny Woodrat, Allegheny Mammals described in 1857