Annual Meeting
2024 ICTWS Joint Annual Meeting Re-cap!
The ICTWS/WATWS joint annual meeting in Coeur d’Alene wrapped up over a month ago, but it’s never too late to reminisce about all the great things and laugh at the hiccoughs. The registration table got off to a rocky start, but was quickly forgotten when attendees learned they would be receiving a personal pie from Birdy’s Pie shop out of Hayden, ID. The gluten-free chocolate cream pie was the talk of the meeting.
Between all-day workshops and the opening reception on Tuesday, The Washington Chapter TWS hosted an all-inclusive gathering to make everyone feel welcomed. The opening reception was combined with the poster session. This was a great way to kick off a meeting with over 25 posters presented by mostly students. Riley Robenstein, an undergraduate at the University of Idaho won the award for best student poster for her poster titled “Stick to the Moose: Assessing Spatiotemporal Patterns of Winter Ticks and the Potential Influence of Climate on Variation in Relative Tick Loads.” This is her second year in a row winning. Congratulations Riley!
The meeting theme was “Restoration Works”, which was meant to be a positive message about restoring systems for wildlife and people that were previously altered. The plenary panelists told stories about restoring a delta, returning buffalo to tribal lands, eliminating conifers to improve sagebrush habitat, and removing a dam to restore an ecosystem.
Genomics, Beaver Believers, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Microclimate Change, and Fur Fangs and Fear were special sessions offered Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Fur, Fangs, and Fear was one of the more popular sessions with a standing room only crowd even after 40 additional chairs were brought in. Thursday afternoon was dedicated to broader topics like Landscape Ecology, Habitat Use and Management, and Methodologies, Modelling, and Sampling. Brianna Lubenau, a student at the University of Idaho won “Best Student Presentation” with her talk “New Boot Scootin’: the Migratory Plasticity of Southern Mountain Caribou”. Congratulations Brianna!
There was ample opportunity throughout the conference to network, mingle, and mentor students. On Wednesday night, students enjoyed a Quiz Bowl and mingled with professionals. On Thursday morning “Breakfast with a Biologist” allowed for one-on-one interactions between students and professionals in a more intimate setting.
The Thursday evening Banquet/Fund Raiser was enjoyed by all, even those who had to stand to eat (thankfully, there was more than enough food!). Congratulations Janet Rachlow from the University of Idaho for winning the “Charles E. Harris Professional Wildlifer Award”, Scott Bergen of Idaho Department of Fish and Game for winning the “Special Recognition Award” and to Jessica Patterson of Idaho Department of Fish and Game for winning the “Randall B. Smith Emerging Leader Award.”
This meeting would not have happened without the Boards from Washington TWS (WATWS), The Society for Northwest Vertebrate Biology (SNVB), Northwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) and Idaho TWS (ICTWS). A special shout-out to George Ritchotte and Alex Pavlinovic of WATWS, Laura Sprague from NW PARC, and Aimee McIntyre of SNVB for their assistance in making this meeting happen. ICTWS board would especially like to thank ICTWS Committee chairs Maria Pacioretty, Ryan Long, Laura Wolf, Jason Beck, and Robert Akins for everything they did behind the scenes to pull this meeting off.
A huge shout out to Seth Harju, who stepped back into Morgan Pfander’s shoes as Past President to cover the Business lunch that The President typically covers, and to Ryan Walker, recently retired Treasurer who kicked off the first 2 in-person meetings since COVID-19 shut us down. These 2 gentlemen will be missed, but both will continue to be involved in the chapter by serving on Committees. Finally, thank you all for attending the meeting!
Looking forward to seeing everyone in Moscow, ID the week of 17 March 2025!
Sponsorship
Supporting our annual meeting is a great opportunity to network and gain brand recognition and exposure among a diversity of wildlife professionals in Idaho. Your support reinforces your commitment to addressing regionally important conservation challenges and creates opportunities for future partnerships with professionals across the Idaho.
Sponsors enjoy a variety of benefits including printed logos in the meeting program, logos displayed during breaks, and recognition of support during the meeting, as well as table display space, and complimentary registrations. All donations are used to ensure attendance affordability, especially for students, particularly considering the increased costs of hosting a joint meeting. Any level of sponsorship is welcomed and greatly appreciated.
Click here for this year’s Pledge Form.
Feel free to reach to the Sponsorship Committee if you have any questions!
ICTWS Student Travel Awards
ICTWS has funds set aside to support up to 5 students ($300/ea) to offset costs associated with attending the Annual Meeting! You must be a current student at an Idaho college or university pursuing a degree related to wildlife or natural resources AND have or obtain an ICTWS student membership.
Application forms can be found here.
Deadline for applications is February 16th and submitted to Laura Wolf (laura.wolf@idfg.idaho.gov).
Past Meetings
2024 Joint ICTWS, WA-TWS, SNVB, and NW PARC Program
2024 Joint ICTWS, WA-TWS, SNVB, and NW PARC Abstracts
2022 ICTWS Meeting Program
2021 Executed Schedule of Events
2020 ICTWS Meeting Program
2020 ICTWS Meeting Abstracts
2019 ICTWS Meeting Program
2019 ICTWS Meeting Abstracts
2018 ICTWS Meeting Program
2018 ICTWS Meeting Abstracts
2017 Joint ICTWS and ICAFS Meeting Program
2017 Joint ICTWS and ICAFS Meeting Abstracts
History of Annual Meetings with Dates and Locations
2016 Joint ICTWS, WCTWS, SNVB, and NW PARC Meeting Program
2016 Joint ICTWS, WCTWS, SNVB, and NW PARC Meeting Abstracts