The Western Section of
The Wildlife Society
Meetings and Workshops
Upcoming Western Section and TWS-sponsored Meetings and Workshops
Workshops for 2008 and Beyond
The co-chair of our Professional Development Committee is Rhys Evans (sirsnave "at" verizon.net) If you would like more information or if you would like to be a part of the planning of any of these workshops/symposia, contact the individual workshop's organizer, as listed below. If you would like to see a workshop offered on a particular topic or if you have an idea for a workshop that you would like to facilitate or chair, please contact Rhys.
Past Western Section-sponsored Meetings and Workshops
Over the past several years the Section has sponsored many workshops on current topics which have been both educational and applicable to professional development hours for many organizations. Some of the most popular workshops or seminars have been:
- Bat Ecology and Field Techniques Workshop
- Lyme Disease
- Bat Ecology
- California Red-Legged Frog Workshop
- Diseases of California Wildlife Workshop
- Ecology and Identification of Sensitive Amphibians and Reptiles of Southern California
- Ecology and Management of Dead Wood in Western Forests
- GPS
- Population Viability Analysis
- Vernal Pool Ecology
- Watershed Symposium
- Western Pond Turtle Ecology
Abstracts, Minutes and Programs from Past Meetings and Workshops
- Evaluation Summary and Responses from the 2008 Western Section TWS Annual Conference
- Program and Abstracts from the 2008 Western Section TWS Annual Conference
- Evaluation Summary and Responses from the 2006 Endangered Species Permitting: Strategies and Successful Negotiations Workshop
- Program and Abstracts from the 2006 Western Section TWS Annual Conference
- Abstracts from the 2006 Symposium "Fisher and Marten in California: Moving Science and Management Forward"
- Program for the 2005 Status, Regulations and Survey Methodology for the Willow Flycatcher in North Coast California Workshop
- Program from the 2005 Statistics Workshop on Capture-Recapture Analysis: Frequentist Statistical Analysis using MARK and Bayesian Statistical Analysis Using MARK and WinBUGS
- Program from the 2005 Aspen and Meadow Restoration Workshop
- Flyer from the 2005 Certification Workshop
- Evaluations from the 2005 Mohave Ground Squirrel Workshop
- Program from the 2005 Mohave Ground Squirrel Workshop
- Program from the 2005 Wetlands and Wildlife: Making the Connection Conference
- Program from the 2005 Tracking and Nature Awareness Workshop
- Program from the 2005 Western Pond Turtle Workshop
- Evaluations from the 2004 Western Section TWS Annual Conference
- Program from the 2004 Bat Ecology and Field Techniques Workshop
- Evaluations from the 2003 Burrowing Owl Workshop
- Evaluations from the 2003 California Tiger Salamander Workshop
- Evaluations from the 2003 Invasive-Species Symposium
- Supporting Materials: California Tiger Salamander: Ecology and Survey Techniques Workshop, October 4 and 5, 2003
- Identification and Ecology of Sensitive Amphibians and Reptiles of Southern California, May 8 -10, 2003, Riverside, California
- Proceedings: Wetland Management in the Hawaiian Islands Workshop October 31 - November 1, 2002
- Photos: Identification and Ecology of Sensitive Amphibians and Reptiles of the Central and Southern Sierra Nevada - June 14-15, 2001, Fresno, California
- Abstracts: TWS Western Section 2001 Annual Conference - February 22-24, 2001; Organized by Barry Garrison
- Abstracts: Ecology and Management of Dead Wood in Western Forests - November 2-3, 1999; Organized by Brad Valentine and Bill Laudenslayer
- Abstracts: Population Viability Analysis - March 15-16, 1999, San Diego, California; Organized by Steven R. Beissinger and Dale R. McCullough
- Minutes of Executive Board Meetings, Annual Membership Business Meetings, etc.*
* Password Protected - Western Section members can obtain the password from any Board member.
TWS-sponsored Meetings and Workshops:
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Other Upcoming Meetings and Workshops
23rd Vertebrate Pest Conference
March 17-20, 2008
San Diego, California
Pre-registration for the 23rd Vertebrate Pest Conference is now open. You can register on-line by following the link on the Conference's home page (www.vpconference.org), or you can go directly to the pre-registration site at www.regonline.com/08VPC
The Conference is scheduled to be held March 17-20, 2008 in beautiful downtown San Diego, California. The Preliminary Program was mailed in late December. Updated versions of this booklet, which contains the list of confirmed topics and speakers, can be viewed at either of the above-mentioned websites.
Full-time undergraduate or graduate students who wish to present a poster or an oral presentation may apply for a travel grant of up to $500 to defray costs of conference participation. This application must be made by February 1. For additional details, see the Conference website or email Dr. Terry Salmon at tpsalmon@ucdavis.edu.
Please note that the deadline for pre-registration is February 29. After this date, an additional $100 fee applies for full conference registration.
Rare Pond Species Survey Techniques Workshop
Friday, March 28 - Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California
This workshop is designed to provide practical training on aquatic survey techniques for the California tiger salamander, California red-legged frog, and western pond turtle. The workshop will be held on March 28-30, 2008 at Sonoma State University, California. The range of these three rare and protected species overlap and they often occur in similar pond habitats.
The lecture session will include a review of the biology and ecology of these species, identification of life stages, state and federal regulations, and approved survey protocols. There will be five field trips to differing habitats. The field trip sessions will provide field training in aquatic survey techniques, including dip net sampling for CTS larvae, evening spotlighting for frogs, and turtle visual encounter and trapping. Also, seining (netting) and snorkel survey techniques will be demonstrated, if weather conditions permit.
Details of the workshop are available at www.lagunafoundation.org under "News and Events". For a registration form, download this PDF. For registration questions, please contact Maggie (707) 527-9277 x107.
Rare Pond Species: California tiger salamander, California red-legged frog and western pond turtle: The two amphibians are federally listed as threatened or endangered and all are State Species of Concern.
About the Instructors: Dave Cook and Jeff Alvarez. Both are experts on amphibian and reptile ecology and conservation, conduct herpetological research, and hold state and federal permits for the three pond species.
Workshop: Advanced Ageing and Sexing of Passerines with Peter Pyle
May 19 – 23, 2008
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Please join the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) and Ventana
Wildlife Society (VWS) in cooperation with the Institute for Bird
Populations (IBP) for an advanced ageing and sexing of passerines workshop
on May 19-23, Monday – Friday, 2008. Peter Pyle, IBP Biologist and author
of The Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part I, will be the
primary instructor. The action-packed week will consist of presentations,
field mist-netting, banding, and processing at multiple locations on the
central coast of California, and field trips to renowned birding locations.
Participants will be trained in a synthesis of methods pertaining to
identification, ageing, and sexing of landbirds in the hand and in the
field. Participants should already be familiar with bird handling and basic
mist-netting and banding techniques. Cost is $750 ($650 early registration,
by April 7th). Breakfasts and lunches are included; lodging not provided.
For more information and a registration form please see our website at
http://www.sfbbo.org/activities/education.php or contact Jessica Griffiths
at the Ventana Wildlife Society (jessicagriffiths@ventanaws.org).
Bat Conservation International
2008 Bat Conservation and Management Workshops
Each year, Bat Conservation International (BCI) offers a series of comprehensive, introductory field workshops to train serious students of bat conservation in current research and management techniques for the study of bats. Following an intensive 6-day, 5-night agenda, BCI biologists and professional colleagues will present a combination of lectures and discussions, field trips to view bat habitat resources and hands-on training to catch and identify bats. Learn species identification, netting, radio-tracking, night-vision observation and habitat assessment while working in extraordinary settings.
Arizona: Two sessions: May 20-25 and May 25-30, 2008. Each session limited to 16 people. Departure city: Tucson, AZ. Cost: $1,395
California: One session: July 19-24, 2008. Limited to 20 people. Departure city: Medford, OR. Cost: $1,395
Pennsylvania: One session: August 17-22, 2008. Limited to 20 people. Departure city: Harrisburg, PA. Cost: $1,395
For additional information, registration forms and scholarship applications, visit: http://www.batcon.org/home/index.asp?idPage=30 or contact Kari Gaukler, BCI, PO Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716; 512-327-9721; kgaukler@batcon.org
Call for Papers for the 33rd Annual Meeting of Western Field Ornithologists
9–12 October 2008
San Mateo, California
Abstracts are now being accepted for presentations at the 33rd annual meeting of Western Field Ornithologists, to be held 9–12 October 2008 in San Mateo, California.
Oral presentations should reflect original research or summarize existing unpublished information and should be presented in a manner that will be of interest to serious amateur and professional field ornithologists. Papers presented at other conferences will be considered provided that the material has not already been published.
Talks relating to the following themes are solicited:
- Status, distribution, migration, and population dynamics of birds
- Systematics and biogeography of birds
- Ecology, behavior, and evolution of birds
- New information on avian field identification problems
- Descriptive field identification
- Science-based conservation and management of birds
- Techniques for field study of birds, including censusing, monitoring, and other methods; and results of studies applying such techniques
Research described should apply to birds of the WFO region: western North America (from Alaska through Mexico, and the Great Plains to the Pacific coast) and the eastern Pacific Ocean. All talks should identify study objectives, describe methods and data analysis, present results, discuss the significance of the research, and propose future research directions.
We expect to allot 15 minutes per oral presentation, including 3 minutes for questions and discussion. Dialogue between presenters and audience is a hallmark of WFO meetings.
An abstract of your presentation should be submitted electronically to Debbie Van Dooremolen(Debbie.VanDooremolen@snwa.com) no later than 15 June 2008. All queries and submissions must be via e-mail, and all abstracts must be submitted in exactly the following format:
YOUR LAST NAME, YOUR FIRST NAME, CO-AUTHOR NAMES (Times, 10-point type, all caps). Title of your talk (Times, 10-point type, bold). Your affiliation and/or sponsoring organization(s), if any, complete mailing address (Times, 10-point type, in italics), e-mail address (Arial, 9-point type).
Brief (300-word maximum) summary of the objectives, methods, results, significance, and generality of your study (Times, 10-point type, normal).
Submissions should include a brief (60-word maximum) bio for the primary author.
For more information about the meeting, visit the WFO web site at www.wfo-cbrc.org. We look forward to seeing you in San Mateo!
If you are involved with the organization of such activities and would like an announcement posted here, please submit the information to "announcements" at "tws-west" dot "org"