Nevada student chapter engages new members

This article originally appears in the Nevada Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s Fall 2018/Winter 2019 newsletter.

The University of Nevada, Reno Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society entered the fall semester with low membership and is consequently aiming to increase participation. Officers hosted a table at the university club fair. During that time, they had nearly 70 people sign up for the student chapter. They also had an excellent turnout at the Welcome Back BBQ and subsequently 30 students attended the first meeting. Throughout the semester, a loyal 10 members consistently attended meetings or extra events. 

The officers understand that school and work get in the way of many members being able to make it to regular meetings during the week, which is why they take pride in their weekend events and volunteer work. The student chapter participated in the following events during the fall semester: a field trip to Animal Ark, banding wood ducks with the Fallon Wood Duck Project, volunteering at the annual Truckee River cleanup and a field trip to Nevada’s newest state park on Walker River.

This fall, Carson Lake experienced an outbreak of avian botulism. The student chapter assisted with the emergency efforts led by the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). This provided valuable on-the-ground experience to members as they took part in a variety of chores: reinforcing fences, gathering and surveying waterbirds and waterfowl and assisting with medical supply inventories for wildlife veterinarians. 

With the help of TWS member Kevin Shoemaker, the Nevada Chapter of TWS and other members from UNR and NDOW, the student chapter organized a Program R workshop solely for undergraduates. The workshop was offered to all majors and a total of 30 students attended each event. All participants were very grateful for the opportunity. Due to the success of this first workshop, the student chapter hopes to host another one next fall.