To get accurate estimates of the number of wild bee species, researchers say using observation data for completely different taxa could help. In a study published in PLOS One, scientists turned to bird observation data and land cover information to learn more about wild bees. “Our understanding of where bees occur is really hampered by insufficient data, and that limits conservation planning,” said Josée Rousseau, the lead author and postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. As part of the study, Rousseau and his colleagues combined data from the citizen science app eBird with publicly available land cover data across the eastern and central U.S. to predict the number of wild bee species. They also analyzed 476,584 bee records, including 792 bee species. “Birds and bees often respond similarly to habitat features and alterations, though at different scales,” Rodewald said. “Birds can indicate aspects of the environment that might not be visible in satellite imagery alone, such as the presence of flowering plants or specific management practices.” Their findings revealed that bee species richness was higher along the East Coast and Appalachian Mountains. It was lower in Midwestern agricultural regions, where there was a lot of corn and alfalfa.
The ballot for The Wildlife Society’s 2025 elections includes nominees for the positions of vice president and representatives for the North Central, Northwest and Western Sections.
Electronic ballots will be sent by June 1 to all members with an email address. Members without an email address will receive a paper ballot in the mail. Voting will close June 30. Mailed paper ballots must be postmarked on or before June 30. In accordance with TWS’ Bylaws, newly elected council members are scheduled to be installed at the next regular meeting of Council during the 32nd Annual Conference, from Oct. 5-9 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The candidates’ statements expressing their vision for The Wildlife Society and their interest in running for this council position are below.
Vice President
Mike Conner
My introduction to The Wildlife Society occurred when I was a senior at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Now, nearly three decades later, I remain actively involved, having benefited both professionally and personally from my engagement with TWS. My long-term involvement, including service as a Representative to Council, has prepared me for the role of Vice President, and I have two primary reasons for running. First, I look forward to working collaboratively with Council and TWS membership as we navigate the obstacles and opportunities that are sure to arise over the next few years. I strive to understand the perspectives of others, and I believe this trait and my prior experiences on Council will be an asset in this role. Second, I am keenly interested in working with Council and staff to improve membership recruitment and retention. Strengthening TWS in this area will have a long-lasting impact.
We currently have approximately 11,000 members, a number that has remained relatively flat in recent years. During my tenure on TWS Council, I found that about half of chapter members were not members of TWS. Conversations with attendees at chapter meetings revealed two common reasons for this gap. Some were unaware of the distinction between TWS and TWS chapters, assuming that being a member of a state or student chapter meant they were also members of TWS. This issue can be addressed through regular and purposeful communication at chapter meetings to clarify TWS structure. Others did not perceive the benefits of membership to justify the cost. I want to better understand this perspective so TWS can enhance its value and relevance at all levels of the organization.
I would like to explore strategies to showcase the value of TWS membership to the non-member wildlife professionals within TWS chapters. Specifically, I will encourage communication between TWS and its chapters to identify how TWS can better support activities that foster interactions among wildlife professionals from multiple yet geographically similar chapters, such as adjoining state chapters or within a TWS section. This approach would broaden individual member networks while increasing the relevance and value of TWS at more local scales.
My vision for TWS is directly related to my motivations for running for Vice President. I want TWS to be considered an essential professional resource for all wildlife professionals. A recent survey of TWS members (Urbanek et al. 2018, WSB 42:4-12) suggested that members are less active in TWS and consider TWS less important to their careers than reflected in the 1991 survey. This concerns me. Wildlife professionals enter the field with core professional values that guide their career paths. It is important to identify the common threads that unite all wildlife professionals and nurture them within TWS. I believe this effort would enhance TWS’s relevance for all wildlife professionals, regardless of their educational background or career stage.
Timothy (Tim) M. Green
TWS provides great value to its members, but you get so much more from volunteering or running for office. Being an active participant, to me, means giving my time and talent for the betterment of the organization. I’ve held many positions within the organization at the Chapter Level and Section Level. I was instrumental in forming the Renewable Energy Working Group. So, in the continued spirit of volunteerism and serving our membership, I am submitting my name for consideration for Vice-President of TWS.
In the 30 years I’ve been involved with TWS I’ve seen significant changes that included both increases and decreases in our membership, a truly phenomenal effort by TWS members and leadership for inclusiveness and equity within our membership, and fund-raising efforts that help to secure our fiscal soundness and implement new programs. Through the recent efforts of Council, we have a strategic plan that is being implemented. The three strategic goals of Building Community, Supporting Professionals, and Exercising External Influence are critical for TWS. It is through community that we build and maintain our identity and support each other’s efforts; it allows us to speak as one. As community we must support each other as Professionals and support the profession. It is important that we support our profession as the impacts to wildlife and ecosystems only get greater as we face the major challenges of climate change. As the challenges of climate change manifest, we must be effective in exercising our influence at the local, state, federal levels, and where appropriate at the international level. If elected to serve I want to see TWS continue to grow membership and influence decisions that benefit wildlife while supporting our members’ efforts. We’ve come a long way and need to be continually improving. We need strong leaders at all levels of our organization to implement our strategic plan. This means encouraging members to take on leadership positions and providing the support and training necessary to be an effective leader at whatever level one decides to serve. Effective leadership development and training would be a key focus for my tenure if elected.
North Central Section
Jason Riddle
We moved to the North Central Section about 16 years ago. I am continually amazed at the work ethic, passion, and professionalism of Wildlifers in our Section. I’ve witnessed these qualities in our students as the Faculty Advisor to the Student Chapter at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, in our members at the state-level as President of The Wisconsin Chapter, and across our entire Region as President and Section Representative of the North Central Section.
I’ve served on the North Central Section Executive Board for approximately 6 years (3 years in the executive succession of President-Elect, President, and Past President, and ~2.5 years as Section Representative). I believe we’ve been incredibly productive and effective as a Board. We’ve provided online services (such as webinars) to our members, allocated over 70 travel grants to professional meetings, piloted free student membership programs to students in our Section regardless of their membership status in other TWS units, and invested funds wisely. Since being elected as Section Representative, I’ve served on the following Council committees: Awards, Fellows, Diversity, Position Statements, and Policy. I’m now the Chair of the Policy Committee. I also was able to participate in the Strategic Planning Process. I LOVE THIS WORK! I believe our Section has made positive contributions to TWS as a whole and our Section is one of the most active in bringing action items and recommendations to Council. I would be honored to be able to serve you in a second term in this position.
Tyler M. Harms
TWS has always felt like a large, extended family—a network of colleagues, mentors, and friends who share a passion for wildlife conservation. Through TWS, I have connected with professionals from across the nation, each bringing unique perspectives and experiences that have enriched my own journey. These relationships have provided not only professional collaboration but also a strong sense of community, where support and shared knowledge drive us all forward. I have been fortunate to learn from incredible mentors within TWS who have shaped my career and strengthened my commitment to applied science and conservation. Their guidance helped mold me into the wildlife professional I am today, instilling in me a deeper appreciation for the role of mentorship in our field. Now, I strive to pay that forward, mentoring students and early-career professionals. I truly value the support and sense of belonging that TWS fosters for all wildlifers. TWS fosters lifelong friendships and a shared dedication to science-based wildlife management. Whether at conferences, in the field, or through collaborations, the bonds formed within this society reinforce that we are all working toward a common goal. The Wildlife Society is more than an organization—it’s a community that continuously inspires, challenges, and supports one another, making our collective impact on conservation even greater. It’s my goal to make sure that our community, our family, continues to thrive and that all feel welcome and valued.
Northwest Section
Barbara Hill
When considering Section Representative to Council and committing to this critical position – I thought about my years of involvement with TWS and seeing first hand at the state, regional and national levels just how significant TWS advocacy and involvement has been for wildlife conservation, professionals and programs. Of particular importance for me is the NW Section and its States that are often at the crux or in leadership roles for wildlife conservation issues.
Just as noteworthy I want to support the career development and professional development opportunities TWS provides to a wide array of university, early and mid-career biologists. Thereby TWS helps to ensure the future of our profession, biologists and wildlife conservation.
I also personally want to continue to “give back” to the organization that has enhanced and broadened my experiences throughout my professional life. TWS was as important to my career development and contacts as my federal agency professional career. I hope many members take advantage of the unique opportunities TWS provides.
The Section Representative on Council is a critical position for guiding and furthering TWS program and initiatives. Wildlife conservation and programs and biologist career opportunities and positions are facing challenge and change. However TWS, staff and its members have proven we are able to deal with these demands and succeed. My considerable and diverse TWS experiences have well prepared me for TWS Council. I would like to be in an active and instrumental role in meeting these challenges and future success.
Chad Bishop
I am motivated to run for the Northwest Section Representative to TWS Council as a way to give back to the Society that has been instrumental in my professional development as a student and professional. I believe I am now in a position where I can effectively represent TWS members across the Northwest Section as a member on Council, having accumulated leadership experience through service on the Executive Boards of both Montana and Colorado Chapters of TWS and through service on various TWS committees over the past 25 years. I have also gained valuable insights from holding leadership positions at both a university (University of Montana) and state wildlife agency (Colorado Parks and Wildlife).
If elected, I would be committed to representing the voices of professionals and students across the Northwest Section on TWS Council. Additionally, I would make a point to work in concert with the NW Section Executive Board to help strengthen member involvement at the section level, which is challenging given the large, complex geography.
More broadly, I believe The Wildlife Society is as important now as ever given the threats to species conservation in North America, especially as science has become increasingly politicized. I believe wildlife conservation and management must continually be informed by strong science (both biological and social) and implemented through meaningful collaboration and partnership. I further believe TWS must continue to exercise leadership in concert with academia and employers to promote a more diverse workforce that is representative of the society we serve.
Western Section
Jim Sedinger
I believe science is fundamental to effective management but science is often not effectively communicated from scientists to managers, policy makers, and the public. The Wildlife Society is the premier professional organization for both scientists and managers. As such TWS and its members are in a unique position to improve the flow of information, as recognized by recent articles in the Journal of Wildlife Management. Increasing human population and increasing demand for natural resources, however, are placing increasing stress on many wildlife populations. Additionally, increasing urbanization is reducing the experience of citizens with nature. These changes are placing additional pressure on the state and federal agencies responsible of conservation and management of wildlife and their habitats. These changes have immediate practical effects, such as reduced numbers of hunters and associated declining budgets for state and federal agencies responsible for management and conservation. But the declining exposure of the public to our wildlands also has less direct impacts. For example, a significant segment of the public has unrealistic expectations about the ability of public lands to support the exploding populations of free-roaming horses without negative impacts on native species. Our country is rapidly becoming increasingly diverse, yet the wildlife profession has not been particularly successful at increasing the diversity within its ranks. Improving diversity is critical to the success of our profession as we move forward. The Wildlife Society is in a unique position to address these challenges, which is essential to the effective conservation of our wildlife resources.
Avian flu has devastated a colony of southern elephant seals in Argentina—so much that it may take a century for the marine mammals to recover. High Pathogenic Avian Influenza ripped through the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) colony on the Valdés Peninsula in Argentina in 2023, killing almost all newborn pups and many adults. In a study published recently in Marine Mammal Science, researchers predicted how long it would take the population to recover. Estimates revealed it may take a century before numbers return to 2022 levels. “Avian influenza has starkly demonstrated the devastating impact that infectious diseases can have on wildlife populations,” said Marcela Uhart, director of the Latin America program at the University of California, Davis, and co-author of the study, in a press release. “These effects are likely to intensify under current and projected climate change conditions. It is imperative that we significantly strengthen our upstream prevention efforts to mitigate future risks.”
Pablo Jusim was living the dream in Tierra del Fuego. From 2015 to 2018, he spent his days trekking through the jagged landscapes of the Martial Mountains, walking along rivers through the wild forests and steppes of the southern tip of the Americas.
The experience was idyllic—until he encountered the invasion and its consequences. “The first area where I saw beavers was a tree cemetery,” he said. “It’s sad to see in a sector a very beautiful forest, then near the rivers, a dead forest,” said Jusim, a biologist with Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET).
Jusim was checking beaver (Castor canadensis) traps set out as part of a pilot project to get a sense of whether managers could eradicate the invasive animals from the Argentine part of Tierra del Fuego’s biggest island, a 28,400-square-mile piece of land bigger than West Virginia that sits south of mainland Chile and Argentina. His findings revealed pathways to potential success as well as mountain-sized obstacles in an effort that’s just getting off the ground.
“Technically, it’s viable to eradicate beavers from South America—one of the biggest eradications in the world if we achieve it,” Jusim said.
Credit: Pablo Jusim
Creating a trapper’s paradise
Wildlife managers introduced just 20 beavers from Canada to Tierra del Fuego and other parts of Patagonia in 1946 to bolster the fur trading industry. They reasoned that the climate was similar to parts of Canada and the northern United States, where beavers thrive in their native range. For the first three decades, beaver hunting was banned so the population could grow—and did it ever. Numbers took off, but changes in fashion over the next 30 years led to a reduction in pelt prices. In addition, the environment in much of Tierra del Fuego is so rugged that prospective hunters had a hard time accessing the beavers in the first place. Interest in hunting beavers plummeted.
Their numbers continued to increase, though, and by the 1990s, they had even made the jump from the island of Tierra del Fuego to Chile’s Brunswick Peninsula on the mainland. In the following decade, the governments of Chile and Argentina began to think about solutions, such as paying hunters to cull the invaders.
Credit: Pablo Jusim
Invasive engineering
When beavers dam waterways in Canada or the U.S., their ecosystem engineering may change the landscape, but it isn’t as destructive to native species, many of which are adapted to taking advantage of the slow-moving water and wetlands that beavers create.
But in Patagonia, species aren’t adapted to take advantage of these alterations and face challenges when the critters are around. Patagonian trees, for example, will get drowned out and die—the reason Jusim could tell he was approaching a dam well before he would actually see it or any other signs of beavers.
Credit: Pablo Jusim
While beavers are likely to cause downstream—and upstream—ecological effects, research on these impacts is limited in Tierra del Fuego. Anecdotally, Jusim said that the wetlands open up some foraging habitat for ducks and waterbirds, while the drowned-out beech trees may provide some nesting or foraging habitat for woodpeckers. But dams are likely to impede aquatic life.
Credit: Pablo Jusim
Stopping the Patagonian beaver invasion
In 2014, the Argentine government started an eradication pilot project. Jusim, conducting his PhD work at the University of Buenos Aires at the time, analyzed the results of this project in a study published recently in the Journal of Wildlife Management.
The project occurred between October 2015 and June 2018, and researchers focused on seven test areas. Ten trappers used a variety of techniques, including lethal traps and body grip traps, or snares, in different ecosystems on the Argentine side of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. When trappers were unsuccessful using these techniques, they would sometimes shoot them.
Credit: Pablo Jusim
Jusim traveled with the trappers, setting up trail cameras in six of the seven pilot test areas. Beavers aren’t picky about where they settle in Tierra del Fuego—they are found in nearly every ecosystem there, and a study in the 1990s found beavers had colonized 93-94% of rivers in the archipelago. As a result, Jusim had to hike mountains, along rivers and through Patagonian steppe, sleeping at ranches or camping in natural reserves along the way. “It was marvelous for me,” he said. “It’s really a dream to walk here.”
Altogether, the trappers worked in 505 beaver colonies and trapped or killed more than 1,000 beavers. Analysis of the different traps revealed that body-grip traps were the most effective, especially as they allowed eradication in several colonies simultaneously, and daily trap monitoring in remote areas isn’t necessary. They found that, ideally, traps should be set right on dams. They also found that dams should only be broken open after trappers capture the first beavers. Trappers also got better over time.
Jusim said they found it’s important to eradicate an entire colony to be effective. “If you leave even one beaver behind, the eradication fails,” he said. “You need to hunt all beavers in a place.”
Meanwhile, a companion paper published recently in Integrative Zoology and examining the same seven pilot projects found that a management strategy that focused first on adult removal, then on younger beavers, was likely to be the most effective.
At the same time, wildlife managers in Chile conducted a similar project, though Jusim and his colleagues only analyzed the Argentine part of the project in this study.
Beaver eradication in Tierra del Fuego
Overall, Jusim and his colleagues estimated that it would cost about $31 million to eradicate the beavers from Argentine Tierra del Fuego over 17 years.
Credit: Pablo Jusim
They found that the removal effort becomes a lot harder in certain ecosystems. For example, in the mountain zone, specialists had to put out an average of 23 traps per kilometer of waterway to catch one beaver. This was unfortunate because the beaver density was higher in mountain zones compared to other ecosystem types.
Meanwhile, the cost was so prohibitive that the team couldn’t work in a peat bog zone in the west of Argentine Tierra del Fuego due to its remoteness and inaccessibility.
The work was easier to conduct in the steppe areas, which are flatter and have ranch areas that make beaver wetlands easier to access, Jusim said.
Credit: Pablo Jusim
Analysis of the trap types revealed some potential issues with unwanted bycatch as well. For example, Jusim said that the traps had to be small enough not to capture native species like cougars (Puma concolor). Also, in areas with southern river otters (Lontra provocax), wildlife managers could only use nonlethal traps and would have to visit them every day, as the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the otters endangered. In general, this overlap between beavers and otters is only a problem in areas in river mouths near the sea, though, Jusim said.
Overall, the study revealed that eradication is technically feasible—though costly. “We only need a political decision to activate it for 20 or 30 years,” Jusim said.
This photo essay is part of an occasional series from The Wildlife Society featuring photos and video images of wildlife taken with camera traps and other equipment. Check out other entries in the series here. If you’re working on an interesting camera trap research project or one that has a series of good photos you’d like to share, email Joshua at jlearn@wildlife.org.
This article features research that was published in a TWS peer-reviewed journal. Individual online access to all TWS journal articles is a benefit of membership. Join TWS now to read the latest in wildlife research.
Wildlife researchers often tap into citizen science platforms like iNaturalist and eBird to gather large-scale data to answer their study questions. But how accurate is the data on these platforms? In a study published in Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, researchers set out to answer that question. The team of researchers looked at observation data from iNaturalist and eBird on 254 bird species in Northern California and Nevada in 2019 and 2022. They found that both platforms showed similar seasonal patterns for more than 97% of the species. To take it a step further, the researchers teamed up with an expert, Rob Furrow, an assistant professor at the University of California, Davis and an avid birdwatcher. Furrow’s expertise confirmed many known bird seasonality patterns in the region, suggesting there wasn’t observation bias on the citizen science platforms. “We were really pleasantly surprised that we could still get reliable data, despite the differences between eBird and iNaturalist,” Furrow said. “Even when you’re relying on casual hobbyists who are taking photos of what they like, when they like, you’re still getting a reliable representation of the birds in that area at that time.” The researchers said the study’s findings suggest iNaturalist and eBird can successfully help scientists answer their study questions. “This project shows that data from participatory science projects with different goals, observers and structure can be combined into reliable and robust datasets to address broad scientific questions,” said senior author Laci Gerhart, associate professor of teaching in the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology. “Contributors to multiple, smaller projects can help make real discoveries about bigger issues.”
Think of the last time you indulged in a comfort food. Perhaps you were celebrating an accomplishment. Maybe you were sad or anxious. Regardless of the reason, almost all of us can relate to the satisfaction of enjoying our favorite comfort foods.
For something so ubiquitous, I am fascinated by the highly individual nature of this eating habit. We are all unique when it comes to our specific comfort foods and when we crave them. This is because comfort foods are deeply tied to our life experiences, memories and cultural backgrounds. Some stressor or change in our lives drives us to seek something familiar. Something that we know we like. Something that brings us comfort.
So, is it logical to assume that the same behavioral drivers behind comfort food apply more broadly to other decisions we make throughout the day? During times of stress, uncertainty or change, are we as individuals more prone to make familiar decisions or ones that bring us comfort? It makes sense. If we’re feeling vulnerable, why abandon what we know or step outside of our comfort zone?
Comfort zone bias
As it turns out, comfort zone bias is a natural human inclination that influences almost everyone to some degree. It innately leads us to prefer situations, environments or activities that are familiar and comfortable rather than to explore new or challenging experiences. In many ways, this bias—much like comfort foods—enhances an individual’s sense of peace, stability and security. Being in your comfort zone is not a bad thing. In fact, it has a legitimate evolutionary basis. Sticking to familiar environments increases the likelihood of survival and often results in positive, short-term outcomes.
However, too much reliance on what makes us comfortable can lead to unintended consequences. Not recognizing or taking necessary risks can limit growth, suppress innovation and contribute to suboptimal long-term outcomes. Knowing that familiarity is informed by our life experiences, what happens when a common stressor is applied to a group of individuals who share similar backgrounds, interests or experiences? Each individual’s perspective will be unique, but will the depth of perspectives represented be enough to overcome the group’s reliance on ease over opportunity?
As identified in TWS’ Position Statement on Workforce Diversity within the Wildlife Profession, “participation in our profession must be broadened if we are to include the rich palette of perspectives and approaches needed to meet current and emerging challenges.” The Wildlife Society has long recognized the need for broader perspectives in the wildlife profession, but where do we start, and how do we know what perspectives are missing? As with most forms of unconscious bias, individuals have a conscious tendency to disassociate from the idea of bias influencing their decisions. That makes recognizing the gaps in perspectives a challenge in and of itself. To return to the comfort food analogy, tteokbokki may one day be your favorite comfort food, but if you don’t know it exists or haven’t tried it yet, how will you ever know? Exploration leads to discovery but also opens the door to discomfort (tteokbokki is spicy).
So, how do we balance the positive elements of comfort zone bias with the need to expand our horizons? To answer that question, I will refer back to a 1908 Harvard study that serves as a foundation for the concept of comfort zone bias. In the study, scientists removed mice from the comfort of their nest boxes and provided them with two paths to return—a black passage or a white passage. The black passage was fitted with various levels of electric stimulus or discomfort. The researchers then measured whether the strength of the electric stimulus influenced the speed with which the mice developed a habit of avoiding the black passage.
The study revealed that up until a certain point, the strength of the electric stimulus increased the speed of learning or habit forming for the mice. After a certain point, though, the electric stimulus reached a harmful intensity, and the speed of learning began to decrease. From this study came the Yerkes-Dodson Law, or the idea that optimal performance is tied to moderate levels of stress, or exposure to stimuli just outside the comfort zone. Push too hard, and the outcome will be the same as not pushing hard enough.
From mice to the profession
I bring this 117-year-old study to the surface because, like the mice in the study, it looks like policy changes in the U.S. will move the wildlife profession outside of its comfort zone, and the journey back to a place of peace, stability and security will inevitably expose us to some discomfort. The question then becomes, will the intensity of the shock be so overpowering that the profession is harmed, or will we collectively find the right balance of stimuli through new perspectives and ideas to rapidly adapt to the challenges ahead?
The Wildlife Society started our Wildlife Vocalization series in 2020 to spotlight the unique perspectives and challenges our members have faced in their careers and to show the common threads that connect us all. These stories are a small but steady spark of new ideas for TWS and beyond. Recently, we expanded that series to include the perspectives of those who lost their federal jobs in what we called Wildlife Vocalizations Lost. Their voices are important, and TWS does not want to lose them. I encourage all members to read these stories and reflect on their own habits and decisions. To quote Auriel Fournier’s Wildlife Vocalization: “I would like to see us critically think about the lessons we take from those that taught us before we pass them on to those we teach.”
As we navigate this period of heightened uncertainty, it’s not enough that we bring in new perspectives. We must also understand why those perspectives are important. That will require each of us to step outside of our comfort zone. The Wildlife Society’s collection of Wildlife Vocalizations provides a good starting point. However, the intensity of the stimuli must increase if the profession is to achieve optimal performance, and that will require all members to embrace an action-oriented outlook. To quote Eleanor Roosevelt, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” The world is an endless matrix of possibilities, and through expanding our awareness and understanding of different perspectives, we may just find the answer in a question we didn’t know to ask. You might even discover a new comfort food along the way.
Climate change is the largest threat to ESA-listed species, surpassing other drivers like land use change, pollution and others. In a study published in BioScience, researchers set out to determine what threat was most pervasive for U.S. species. They examined hazards listed in the Endangered Species Act, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and other climate sensitivity assessments, including climate change, land and sea use change, species overexploitation, pollution and invasive species. After studying 2766 imperiled species in the U.S. and its territories, researchers found that climate change affects 91% of species listed under the ESA. Most of the species faced multiple hazards at once, and corals, bivalves and amphibians faced the most threats.
In the Cree or Nehiyaw language, the name for Edmonton is amiskwaciwâskahikan, which means beaver hills house. The logo for this year’s TWS Annual Conference, which will take place in Edmonton in October, features the animal that gave Edmonton its Cree name.
“To honor the name we use for Edmonton, I chose the animal representation to be our cousin Beaver,” said Dusty LeGrande, a Cree artist and founder of the Edmonton-based streetwear brand Mobilize.
In LeGrande’s design, the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is filled with syllabics from the Cree language called spirit markers. Meanwhile, the letters in the text part of the logo spell amiskwaciwâskahikan. “We are taught that our people and our language originate in the stars and that we are ever connected to the celestial realm through our spirits and our ancestors,” LeGrande said.
Dusty LeGrande has lived in Edmonton since he was a teenager. His favorite part of the city is the North Saskatchewan River, which flows through downtown Edmonton.
The logo for TWS’ 2025 Annual Conference will be screen-printed live on t-shirts by the artist, Dusty LeGrande, in Edmonton in October. Credit: Dusty LeGrande
“Historically, that river was the meeting point for Indigenous people,” he said. The Cree, Saulteaux, Soto, Dene, Anishinaabe and Blackfeet people all shared the land. The river was an annual gathering place for ceremonies, meetings and celebrations. The beaver also ties in with the significance of the river as an ecosystem engineer. “It is a teaching we have that the natural world knows how to take care of itself, and we, as humans, have a lot to learn,” he said. The color choice and layout were also significant. Red, yellow, blue and white represent the four directions for the Cree, and the arched text represents the “hills house.”
Dusty LeGrande is a Cree artist based in Edmonton. Courtesy of Dusty LeGrande
LeGrande refers to himself as a “baby speaker” of the Cree language and learns from his mother, who is a native Cree speaker and musician who LeGrande often collaborates with. Although LeGrande didn’t grow up speaking Cree, his mother—and every generation before hers—learned Cree as their first language. “I was in the generation where the trickle-down of the residential schooling system was very intentional in taking our culture and language,” he said.
Revitalization of the Cree language is an important part of LeGrande’s relearning of, and engagement with, his culture. Each spirit maker portrays a unique sound. “All of the words in Cree are description words,” LeGrande said. “So, when you’re learning the language, you’re not just learning sounds; you’re learning stories and teachings along with it.”
At the 2025 TWS Annual Conference in Edmonton, LeGrande will be on-site for a screen-printing experience so that he can share the story behind the conference logo as well as the importance of sustainable fashion. Instead of mass-producing T-shirts for the conference, each piece will be created on an as-needed basis, which LeGrande said will give the items more meaning.
“As an artist, it’s not just about making money, but it’s about the stories that are being told,” LeGrande said. “The work that I do artistically and the work that TWS does are in line in that way,” he said.
A songbird usually found in the southwestern U.S. is expanding its range northward. Lesser goldfinches (Spinus psaltria), a small songbird recognizable by its strikingly yellow feathers, face challenges from a warming climate, urban development and other factors in the Southwest, where they live. But recently, scientists noted lesser goldfinches showing up in the Northwest. In a study published in Ornithology, a team of researchers tapped into birdwatching data from Project FeederWatch and eBird to analyze the species’ movement. They found that from 2012 to 2022, the songbird’s populations increased dramatically in Washington, Idaho and Oregon. The team also discovered the main factors associated with the birds moving northward were maximum annual temperature, annual rainfall, urban development and proximity to major rivers. “What’s fascinating is how these birds are adapting to human-modified landscapes,” said Mason Maron, lead author of the study and a graduate from Washington State University. “They’re not just moving north randomly—they’re following specific corridors, particularly along rivers and through urban areas where temperatures are warmer and where both native and non-native plants provide food.” The team said that while it’s good news the species can adapt to environmental change, not all bird species will be able to survive and thrive.
When vehicles flatten frogs on the road, the remaining amphibian pancakes can persist on the pavement for quite some time. This presents a conundrum for researchers trying to get an average count of wildlife strikes.
But a better understanding of the factors affecting decomposition and general persistence of carcasses can help improve amphibian population estimates and the understanding of the threats they face from road crossings.
“Both temperature and precipitation had a pretty big impact on how long the carcass would stay on the road,” said Sean Boyle, an assistant professor of conservation biology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador-Grenfell Campus.
Park managers wanted to resurface a road that runs through Presqu’ile Provincial Park, an area that encompasses a peninsula in Lake Ontario. Other researchers quantified mammal strikes on the road before its reconstruction, but no one had examined amphibian or reptile strikes.
As part of a side project during Boyle’s PhD at Laurentian University in Ontario, he decided to look at quantifying road mortality in amphibians, focusing on factors like vehicle-strike hot spots and how many individuals were being killed and when.
Part of understanding amphibian road mortality meant being able to quantify how long a carcass has been around. Boyle published a study in the Journal of Wildlife Management looking at what drove the persistence of amphibian carcasses on the Presqu’ile Provincial Park road.
Northern leopard frogs were found flattened most often among frog and toad species. Credit: Sean Boyle
In 2015, Boyle and his colleagues surveyed the road from May to the end of August. They examined 91 carcasses until they disappeared, mostly American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus), green frogs (L. clamitans), American toads (Anaxyrus americanus), gray treefrogs (Dryophytes versicolor), wood frogs (L. sylvaticus) and northern leopard frogs (L. pipiens)—the latter was the most common.
They found that on average, frog carcasses stayed on the road for 5.4 days. They eventually disappeared due to other vehicles constantly flattening them or flipping them off the road. Scavengers likely got others, and some gradually deteriorated over time. Sometimes, carcasses disappeared from a combination of these factors.
The longest carcass stayed on the road for 30 days.
Why do frog carcasses disappear from roads?
The team found that weather—temperature and precipitation—affected carcass persistence the most.
Carcasses stayed on the road longest during cold, dry periods. In contrast, carcasses disappeared the most quickly under wet and hot conditions.
These results suggest that researchers studying the threat of vehicle strikes on amphibians—and possibly other animals—should consider weather conditions during their study period and possibly work calculations accounting for the weather into their modeling.
Ultimately, the road was resurfaced in 2016, and mitigation measures like fencing and culverts for wildlife crossing were installed at wildlife collision hot spots. In another paper published earlier examining vehicle strikes before and after the road was redone, Boyle and his colleagues found that these measures reduced turtle and amphibian strikes by an estimated 70%.
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