Note: Pre-registration is required for all workshops.
All Day Workshops: Saturday, Oct. 5, 8 a.m – 5 p.m.
Half Day Workshops: Saturday, Oct. 5, 9 a.m. – Noon
Half Day Workshops: Saturday, Oct. 5, 1 – 5 p.m.
Round Table Discussion
All Day Workshops
Beginning Your Professional Journey
Organizer: Rebecca Christoffel, D.J. Case & Associates, Mishawaka, INJim Schneider, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Sponsors: TWS, North Central Section; AFS, North Central Region
Student Registration: $30
Fisheries and Wildlife (FW) undergraduates take many academic classes to prepare them for their first position in the field. A sentiment often expressed by academics and employers is that students are ill-informed regarding specific skills, prior experience, and personality traits deemed desirable in employees and graduate students. Seldom are undergraduates given opportunities to build networks with professionals and learn detailed information regarding their potential as a future employee or graduate student. Likewise, unwritten rules for interacting and corresponding with professionals are seldom discussed with students but are essential for their professional satisfaction and advancement. This workshop’s purpose is to address the needs of undergraduate FW students to prepare for their first post-baccalaureate position, whether as a graduate student or employee. We strive to demonstrate the workshop’s importance in the professional development of students to participating professionals at the workshop and conference attendees. We continue to hope this pre-conference workshop will become a regular tradition at future conferences.The workshop consists of four sections: Resumes and Professional Correspondence, Academic and Employer Panels, Networking, and Interviewing. Students and professionals sit and eat together during the workshop. Professional leaders facilitate small group exercises and provide individual input to students. The workshop includes some lecture, interactive discussion, small group exercises and individual work. We work to provide equal gender representation among workshop leaders and speakers, and equal representation from Fisheries and Wildlife professionals. Each participant receives a binder of resource materials for future use and business cards to distribute while networking at the conference.
Bat White-Nose Syndrome: Pathology, Epidemiology, Diagnostics, and Management
Organizers: Anne Ballmann, USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI; Michelle Verant, USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI
Sponsors: USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; TWS Wildlife Diseases Working Group
Student Registration: $50
Professional Registration: $70
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent disease of hibernating, insectivorous bats that has caused massive bat mortality in the northeastern United States. To date, WNS has been confirmed in 19 US states and 4 Canadian provinces and continues to spread west and north. Given the widespread distribution of G. destructans and the unprecedented declines in affected bat species thus far, national communication and cooperation is critical for monitoring and managing this disease. In response to the recent emergence of this previously unknown disease, many agencies, institutions, and scientists have become involved in disease investigation, research, surveillance, and management efforts. Coordination of these efforts and sharing of acquired information will facilitate greater understanding of this disease and its significance for bat populations and the ecosystem. In addition, this workshop will foster common understanding of techniques for diagnosis and interpretation. The format of the workshop will be didactic sessions (led by topic experts) followed by a laboratory session that will allow participants to practice various non-lethal sampling techniques and visualize microscope slides of histology sections of WNS infected wing skin. The topic experts will include representation from multiple institutions and agencies.
Analyses of Wildlife Spatial Behaviors & Habitat Use with ‘Adehabitat’ R Packages
Organizer: James Sheppard, San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, CAClément Calenge, Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage, France
Sponsor: Spatial Ecology & Telemetry Working Group
Student Registration: $70
Professional Registration: $100
This workshop teaches concepts and skills that will help to facilitate geospatial analysis and modeling. I will cover four main themes as they pertain to the four adehabitat packages for R:
- Spatial operations (adehabitatMA),
- Home-range estimation (adehabitatHR),
- Animal movements (adehabitatLT), and
- Habitat selection (adehabitatHS).
I will alternate between lecture content and hands-on exercises, with opportunity for discussion of specific problems participants have encountered. The skills-based component of the workshop focuses on quantifying spatial relationships among objects, geometry manipulation and conversion, a wide range of sampling tools, characterizing data at multiple scales, movement modeling and space-use estimation, and habitat selection exploration. The workshop will be taught by Dr Clément Calenge, author of the adehabitat packages. Dr Calenge has extensive experience with analytical GIS and spatial modeling in ecology. This is not a statistics or modeling workshop, but will provide wildlife professionals with tools and skills that facilitate geospatial analysis of ecological data.Requirements: a laptop with the latest version of R installed, plus the four adehabitat packages (adehabitatMA, adehabitatLT, adehabitatHR, adehabitatHS) and their dependencies installed, as well as Administrative privileges to your laptop. You are encouraged to bring your data and problems. Basic understanding of spatial ecology concepts and some exposure to R are workshop prerequisites.
Animal Trapping Techniques for Researchers and Managers
Organizers: Pat Jackson, Utah State University, Logan, UT; Bryant White, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Columbia, MO; Cory Mosby, National Park Service, Grand Canyon, AZ
Student Registration: $30
Professional Registration: $60
Animal capture techniques have existed since the dawn of humankind. Today a wide range of methods exist, but many professionals are greatly in need of hands on experience with the range of devices available. Many subtle aspects of good trap deployment can come only with experience. Due to the large learning curve involved, many times management or research objectives are not met. This carefully constructed workshop can give everyone from entry-level technicians and students to chief administrators and university professors the background they need to implement the battery of techniques needed to study and/or control feral pigs, cats and other felids, canids, and other invasive large vertebrates or research animals requiring capture. To address this need our workshop will 1) demonstrate the full range of modern trapping equipment available including snares, cable restraints, cage traps, foot holds, and body-gripping traps; 2) impart techniques to maximize the capturing potential of each tool and show how to use each most humanely; 3) demonstrate how to modify, set, and properly use each trap and device type; 4) provide consultation to each participant to suit their individual needs. By familiarizing the participants with the various trapping techniques available we hope to provide managers and researchers with valuable knowledge that will improve success by increasing catch numbers, saving time, and conducting more humane trapping efforts. Workshop participants will learn how to set, bait, and camouflage traps in an actual field setting near the training site.
Behind the Scenes of Scientific Publication and Critical Review 2.0
Organizers: Kerry Nicholson, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Riddarhyttan, SE; Maggi Sliwinski, Early Career Professional Working Group, Lincoln, NE; Ashley Gramza, Student Development Working Group, Fort Collins, CO
Sponsors: Early Career Working Group, Student Professional Working Group
Student Registration: $12
A defining feature of scientific discourse is the integrity and consensus that is developed through the peer review process. This process forms the foundation of credible knowledge in each scientific field by exposing research to rigorous scrutiny. Surprisingly there is little direct training in graduate school on how to develop critical reviewing skills needed for participating in the peer-review process. Challenges for the novice reviewer include confusion in the varying publication guidelines of journals and the surprising lack of discussion regarding best practices to ensure a useful and thoughtful review. Nonetheless, the goals of peer review are crystal clear: to ensure the accuracy and improve the quality of published literature through constructive criticism. To make the peer review process as efficient and productive as possible, this workshop will provide useful approaches to tackling major steps throughout the review – from contemplating a review request, reading and assessing the manuscript, to writing the review and interacting with the journal’s editors. The workshop will also provide useful approaches to writing and submitting your own papers, particularly explaining how to address reviewers’ comments, and which journal to pick in the first place. Each attendee will be emailed manuscripts prior to the workshop, and they will be responsible for conducting their own peer reviews to the best of their ability. This workshop is particularly relevant for graduate students or other first-time reviewers seeking to enhance their ability to participate in the peer-review process of scientific publication. Participants will be expected to provide their own laptop or tablet device for this workshop.
Conservation Affairs & Subunit Leadership Workshop
Organizers: Terra Rentz, The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, MD; Laura Bies, The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, MD
Sponsor: The Wildlife Society
Student Registration: $25
Professional Registration: $25
This in-depth, hands-on training will provide tools for wildlife professionals to use while serving in their current and future capacity within The Wildlife Society. This workshop will enhance their awareness in all relevant TWS programs, resources, and opportunities pertinent to the functions of a TWS subunit. The workshop will also pay particular focus to gaining a better understanding about conservation affairs and advocacy, team building and management, and programmatic strategic planning. During the first part of the day we will review the various programs within TWS and mechanisms for how subunits can interact with those program, take a closer look at subunit officer benefits and responsibilities, engage in basic advocacy training. The afternoon will have a more in-depth focus on two core areas:
- Building and managing effective teams within your subunit, and
- Strategic planning at both the organization wide level and at a programmatic level.
The focus of the afternoon will be specific towards empowering and advancing your subunit and its long term vision.
Introduction to Wildlife Education Programming
Organizers: Ron DeArmond, Pella Wildlife Company, Des Moines, IA; Kristie Burns, Pella Wildlife Company, Des Moines, IA
Sponsor: Pella Wildlife Company
Student Registration: $35
Professional Registration: $50
Introduction to Wildlife Education Programing is designed to give the wildlife management professional tools to aid in communicating to the general public what wildlife management is and the role the public will play in the success or failure of wildlife management programs that are relevant to them. Attendees will receive a 112 page workbook, that will include essential elements of a successful program, sample program outlines, program evaluation forms, and resources for wildlife educators and wildlife fact sheets. This is a modified version of an 8 week course attended by Natural Resource students at the high school level and wildlife ecology and animal science majors at the university level.Other wildlife professionals have attended this workshop at conferances like the Feline Conservation Federation. Attendees can expect to participate in a audio visual presentation that will include class participation and presentation and special considerations for using live animals. Those that complete the workshop will receive a certificate of achievement for an 8 hour educational course.
Milwaukee: Wildlife-Friendly City
Organizers: David Drake, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI; Chris Moorman, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Sponsors: TWS Urban Wildlife Working Group; University of Wisconsin-Madison, North Carolina State University
Student Registration: $60
Professional Registration: $75
Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a city of diverse neighborhoods set on the shore of Lake Michigan. A growing urban center, Milwaukee is balancing growth with responsible resource management and stewardship. This workshop will feature a few highlights of Milwaukee’s unique approach to managing wildlife in an urbanized center. The purpose of this workshop is to provide an opportunity for wildlife professionals attending the Annual Meeting, local citizens, and persons from local agencies and conservation organizations (e.g., City of Milwaukee airport authority, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) to exchange information about managing wildlife populations, protecting critical habitat, and responding to human-wildlife interactions in urban/suburban environments. The Urban Wildlife Working Group proposes to collaborate with representatives from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, USDA-Wildlife Services, and non-profits dedicated to urban wildlife to examine wildlife management issues in and around Milwaukee. Visiting wildlife professionals, local officials, and government and conservation organization representatives who attend the workshop will benefit by learning about approaches to urban wildlife management in the Milwaukee area as well as learning from each other as the exchanging of ideas from those representing other parts of the country occurs. Students who attend the workshop will benefit by better understanding the roles of wildlife professionals, regional planners, parks and recreation managers, and not-for-profit partners in urban wildlife management. TWS will benefit by raising members’ awareness of urban wildlife management issues and enhancing the Society’s links to non-traditional, urban organizations who are working toward wildlife conservation goals.
Monitoring Wildlife Populations: New Slants on Use of Existing Technology (Basic Biology Using Modern Technology)
Organizers: Robbir Knight, U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, Dugway, UT; Wendy Arjo, AGEISS Inc., Olympia, WA; Randy Larsen, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
Sponsors: Military Lands Working Group
Student Registration: $25
Professional Registration: $45
Radio tracking and remote cameras have been used in the wildlife field for several decades. However, as technology has improved, so have the applications and availability of a variety of models of both cameras and transmitters. The Department of Defense manages wildlife and natural resources on approximately 30 million acres of land at more than 400 military installations. This session will discuss three separate monitoring approaches currently being used on DoD land holdings, but applicable to other research areas, to include the use of radio telemetry, remote cameras, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Hands on experience will be integrated with study design, case studies, and current initiatives explained in detail. For the radio telemetry portion of the workshop, specific discussion topics will include: radio telemetry uses, triangulation methods, transmitter design, and how to use various telemetry equipment to best meet your research questions. The second portion of the workshop will include an introduction to remote cameras and discussion of monitoring design considerations. We will follow with discussion and demonstration of photo management and image processing as well as approaches to statistical analysis. Finally, we will conclude the workshop with a discussion of current uses of UAV technology in wildlife studies. Using a case study, we will highlight the challenges of flying UAV’s in commercial airspace, detail payload package options, and discuss technical requirements needed when considering the development of UAV based studies. This workshop offers wildlife biologists a chance to become familiar with the technology and uses of older technology coupled with current cutting edge approach to managing wildlife communities within the United States. We will introduce participants to the pros and cons of using each type of monitoring techniques as well as how to determine the best technique and equipment needed for elucidating their wildlife questions.
Pollutants and Wildlife Management: Ecotoxicology for Biologists and Land Managers
Organizers: Joe Sullivan; Brian Hiller; Tim Bargar
Sponsor: Wildlife Toxicology Working Group
Student Registration: $10
Professional Registration: $50
Contaminants can be important environmental stressors. Widely publicized are effects from hazardous chemical spills such as the Exxon Valdez or Deepwater Horizon oil spills. But what about long-term, low-level exposure to pesticides from agriculture – should you be concerned? Not all pollution presents wildlife management problems. How can you tell if it is a problem? Are you worried about pollution on managed properties? Have you ever wondered how pollution-related problems are managed? We will answer these questions and more in a half-day workshop for wildlife biologists and land managers who want to have a basic understanding of approaches, methods and data interpretation of potential pollution issues. We will explain basic pollution risk assessment concepts such as exposure (how much pollution is at my site?) and effect (how do I know how much is OK, or how much is bad?) levels. We’ll also discuss contaminant types and their effects, safety considerations, and techniques/tools to provide a better understanding of pollution risk assessments. Throughout, we will use case studies to illustrate concepts and provide real-world examples that other wildlife biologists and land managers have faced. Workshop participants will receive a CD with important papers related to case studies discussed in class. The workshop will count as credit toward contact hours for TWS certification or certification renewal.
Principles of Modeling for Conservation and Wildlife Management: A Primer
Organizers: Dr. Tony Starfield, University of Minnesota (retired), Dallas, TX; Bridgette Flanders-Wanner, USFWS Pacific Region Branch of Refuge Biology, Vancouver, WA; Donna Brewer, USFWS National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV
Sponsor: USFWS National Conservation Training Center
Student Registration: $100
Professional Registration: $150
This workshop is geared for natural resource professionals that need to understand how to utilize developed models and communicate appropriately with model developers as an informed collaborator in the model development process. Through this workshop, participants will:
- Be empowered to create and use simple models for decision-making;
- Know how to use models in planning for conservation and wildlife management with defensible results (avoid the trap of obligating a large investment in money or effort without understanding how effective the investment will be);
- Learn to use models to reduce risk and anticipate results;
- Be able to demonstrate how to use straight thinking rather than high-powered mathematics to develop simple but effective modeling tools at the interface of science and management; and
- Understand how to communicate about models with others and leverage models as a communication device. Simple modeling is used with spreadsheets; participants need not be skilled in mathematics or computing.
Participants will begin with a simple problem that iteratively takes on increasing nuance and complexity. In this interactive environment, participants will have the opportunity to explore sensitivity analysis, assumption analysis, age-structured Models, deterministic and stochastic models, and individual versus population models. Learn from the renowned Dr. Tony Starfield, who has extensive experience in modeling, rapid prototyping, and real-life decision analysis for conservation world-wide. Tony’s reputation precedes him; he has given 40-50 modeling workshops for federal agencies, reaching as many as 1,000 employees of the FWS, BLM, and USFS over the past 20 years.
Résumé and Interview Strategies for the Early Career Professional
Organizer: Heather Bernier, BLM Lakeview District, Klamath Falls, OR
Sponsor: Early Career Professional Working Group
Student Registration: $10
Professional Registration: $25
Learn how to take a resume from average to outstanding! This session will cover successful techniques to format your resume and provide effective detail in your accomplishments that a potential employer can review in 30 seconds. Methods to develop a logical progression of complexity to demonstrate your depth and breadth of work experience will be taught. A comprehensive strategy for writing cover letters that highlights your skills specific to the job you are applying to that ends with confidence will be covered. The combination of this kind of cover letter and resume will get you an interview. Then learn a simple strategy to make the most out of any interview in which you can handle any question asked and differentiate yourself from your peers so you can ace your next job interview!
Understanding and Leveraging Differences in the Workplace
Organizers: Selma Glasscock, Welder Wildlife Foundation, TX; Tom Kalous, Ph.D. Organizational and Leadership Development, CO; Tabitha Graves, Colorado State University, CO
Sponsors: Women of Wildlife Organizational Committee; Ethnic and Gender Diversity Working Group
Student Registration: $25
Professional Registration: $40
This full day workshop presented by Dr. Tom Kalous provides participants with the latest research findings in Social Neuroscience and Emotional Intelligence as a backdrop for understanding the differences that naturally exist between the genders. By first understanding the biology of being male and female (and the resulting differences in our respective emotional worlds) we can set the stage for improving the way we communicate at work and better understand the differences in how we perceive the work world. This workshop is not just a how-to seminar. Instead it provides valuable insights into human behavior in general and into the role of that gender plays in our interactions and effectiveness at work. This workshop is the first of a 3-part series, composed of a workshop, symposium session, and panel discussion, that sets the groundwork for understanding the challenges that the wildlife profession faces as we become increasingly diverse, especially in regard to the increasing representation of women.
Half Day Workshops
Saturday, October 5, 8 a.m. – Noon
Decision Support for Using Climate-Change Decision-Support Tools
Organizers: William Kanapaux, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; Chadwick Rittenhouse, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Sponsor: Climate Change and Wildlife Working Group
Student Registration: $25
Professional Registration: $50
Researchers, conservationists and resource managers are increasingly confronted with the need to understand and use climate data. Much of this data is available in user-friendly formats for viewing, but analyzing the data in a format relevant to most research and policy questions requires the development of additional technical skills. This half-day workshop will guide participants through the universe of climate change data and the tools used to analyze that data. Workshop participants will gain an understanding of the data and tools available based on individual research objectives and methods. The workshop will focus on four climate-change topics: Climate Change Vulnerability/Risk Assessment, Downscaling Climate Change Projections, Ecological Response Models, and Water Management / Sea Level Rise. For each topic, the workshop will provide an introduction to the various tools and data sources available, with links and information for those who wish to go deeper. Each topic will also include one or two case studies provided by workshop participants based on the climate-change issues they are facing. These case studies will be used to provide examples for determining data needs and the means for getting that data. This workshop also will provide an online resource for participants and TWS members looking to use climate-change data in a meaningful way.
Estimating Fatality of Rare Species at Wind-Power Facilities
Organizers: Manuela Huso, US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science CenterCorvallis, OR; Dan Dalthorp, US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR
Sponsor: USGS/FWS
Student Registration: $10
Professional Registration: $25
Current protocol for estimating bird and bat fatality at wind power facilities calls for searching designated plot areas below turbines to find carcasses of birds and bats killed by the turbines. To account for imperfect detection, trials are conducted to estimate the proportion of carcasses that will remain unscavenged between searches and the proportion of those likely to be detected by a searcher. If only a fraction of the total turbines at a site is searched and if detection probabilities are much less than 1, then the overall probability of missing a carcass can be high. Current site monitoring protocol and statistical tools are inadequate for estimating fatality from observed carcasses when no (or few) carcasses are found. When the target population is small, as might be expected for endangered species, the likelihood of finding no carcasses of the target population may be high, yet observing no carcasses cannot necessarily be interpreted to mean no or even low numbers of dead individuals. USGS Researchers, Manuela Huso and Dan Dalthorp, have developed publicly-available software to address this issue. We present a Bayesian approach that uses information about the search process and estimated detection probabilities to provide posterior probabilities of the actual fatality being 0, 1, 2, … This approach can be used both to inform post-construction monitoring design as well as to estimate the potential that actual fatality of a rare species exceeded a pre-set limit.
Half Day Workshops
Saturday, Oct. 5, 1 – 5 p.m.
Building Successful Transferable Skills for Students and Early Career Wildlife Educators
Organizers: Kelly Millenbah, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; Henry (Rique) Campa, III, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Sponsor: College and University Education Working Group
Student Registration: $10
Professional Registration: $25
Being successful in any career path requires that individuals have a diversity of professional skills and knowledge to execute their position responsibilities with adeptness, quality, and efficiency. While academic institutions provide exceptional training in content-based knowledge, many young wildlife professionals are often underprepared or lack a solid understanding of how they can successfully advance in their career of choice. This workshop will provide graduate students and early career wildlife professionals with interests in academic positions guidance about strategies they can adopt to enhance their professional development. Participants will learn about best practices for professional development when seeking academic careers as well as how they might be transferable to non-academic positions. Similarly, participants will have an opportunity to review and plan for their own professional development.
Analyzing and Transforming Stakeholder Conflict to Create Sustainable Solutions for People and Wildlife: An Introductory Course
Organizer: Francine Madden, Human-Wildlife Conflict Collaboration (HWCC), Washington, DC
Sponsor: Human Dimensions Working Group
Student Registration: $60
Professional Registration: $75
This introductory course will help build your capacity to analyze and transform the human conflicts that underpin and exacerbate wildlife conflicts, facilitate efforts to work more effectively with diverse stakeholders to build trust and reach sustainable solutions, and to create a receptive atmosphere to promote positive, sustainable change and successful integration of scientific research in policy decisions. HWCC’s collaborative learning process addresses the theory, principles and practice of transforming complex conflicts into sustainable, positive change. Participants draw on highly effective best practices from deep-rooted conflict transformation, and as such will improve their capacity to analyze complex conflict dynamics, anticipate and address conflicts as they arise, and address long-standing conflicts that may impede new progress. Accurately analyzing conflicts and facilitating appropriate processes for addressing them will afford participants a more effective way of working with stakeholders. They will be able to better determine root causes of conflict, build a foundation for trust and respect, and unearth fertile ground for sowing and cultivating innovative and sustainable actions.
“AWESOME training!” — Mike Mitchell, Deputy Project Manager, USFWS
“This was the BEST training I have ever experienced — HANDS DOWN!” — Jacqueline Kozak Thiel, Hawaii Invasive Species Council
“This was terrific. I wish I had this training thirty years ago!” — Marshall Jones, Senior Advisor, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and former Deputy Director of the USFWS
“You don’t realize how much you need this training until you’ve taken it!” — Nancy Gloman, VP Field Operations, Defenders of Wildlife
Round Table Discussion
Moving from Complication to Collaboration: How Federal Scientists can Build Relationships with Non-Federal Scientists and Managers to Tackle Emerging Natural Resource Issues
Organizer: Lianne Ball, U.S. Geological Survey; Reston, VA
Sponsor: U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife: Terrestrial and Endangered Resources Program
Registration: $25
Questions about climate change and land use require that we increase the scale at which we conduct research and management. Despite the creation of novel multi-jurisdictional structures (e.g., Climate Science Centers, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives), collaboration across federal and state boundaries has been uneven. Institutional barriers and cultural differences are often cited for the failure of cooperative endeavors such as Adaptive Management. Many federal and non-federal wildlife researchers and managers don’t have a history of collaboration which is sometimes attributed to differences in culture, agency mission, and funding models. Further, responsibilities for complex management problems are often poorly developed, especially for emerging issues (e.g., large-scale energy corridors, management of WNS). As the scale and complexity of our research and management questions grow, how do we develop the kinds of relationships that can work productively on these issues? The Breakfast Roundtable will consist of a panel of federal scientists and managers who have participated in multi-agency projects interspersed with participants interested in developing multi-agency relationships. The group will discuss a set of questions about the preconceptions and realities of developing cross-agency collaborations to develop a framework that can be used as a starting point for developing relationships with new colleagues.