North Central Section happenings – Part 2

This article originally appears in the North Central Section of The Wildlife Society’s Fall 2018 newsletter. The newsletter includes updates from the Ball State University, Purdue University and Southern Illinois University student chapters of The Wildlife Society. Photos of student chapter activities are included in the newsletter.

Ball State University Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society

Submitted by Andrew Jamison, Student Chapter President

The Ball State Student Chapter has been active with encouraging students to get involved and providing them with hands-on experiences. The student chapter held workshops dealing with telemetry and mist-netting and encouraged members to attend the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Cleveland during the spring semester. The chapter has been in close contact with the Red-Tail Land Conservancy, an organization that preserves natural areas near Ball State, and looks forward to providing volunteer opportunities for members to work alongside a local land conservancy. The student chapter had several speakers covering a wide array of subjects, including two Ball State alumni. Members also participated in a camping trip. Every week there were new volunteer opportunities announced, such as saw-whet owl banding and small mammal trapping. The student chapter is excited to host its annual pet night to kick off next semester.

Purdue University Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society

Submitted by Landon Neumann, Student Chapter President

The Purdue Student Chapter was very active this fall and hosted biweekly meetings. A representative from the International Crane Foundation discussed the continued conservation of the whooping crane at one meeting, which was a great opportunity for students to learn more about the conservation of a species and network with a professional. At another meeting, students participated in a trash cleanup at a local Purdue property. This was the student chapter’s way to give back to the department and help restore a part of one of its properties. In addition, the student chapter hosted several workshops. Members collaborated with the Indiana DNR and participated at white-tailed deer check-in stations in order to look for chronic wasting disease. They had a great time and were able to learn a lot about ongoing work that the DNR is doing on CWD. In addition, students were able to get hands-on experience with taking lymph nodes out of deer. Finally, the student chapter continues to provide opportunities for members to learn how to manage invasive plant species. It hosted two invasive plant workdays this past fall where students learned how to cut down Amur honeysuckle.

Southern Illinois University Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society

Submitted by Nate Hooven, Student Chapter President

SIU’s student chapter had a busy year full of events and professional development opportunities. During the spring semester, the student chapter sponsored a trip to Champaign for the Illinois Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s annual meeting, Students had the opportunity to network and learn from students and professionals from around the state. The student chapter also helped to organize a graduate school panel featuring students from SIU’s Department of Zoology and the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, which was a great success and introduced many students to the ins and outs of the wildlife profession and what it means to conduct research at the graduate level. During the fall semester, the student chapter invited speakers from SIU’s wildlife lab and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and members took an annual trip to southern Illinois’ famed Snake Road in the Shawnee National Forest, volunteered with Carbondale’s local natural areas organization, visited the St. Louis Zoo and took a night hike to look for wildlife in the snow.