Linking science and management at this year’s Annual Conference

While The Wildlife Society includes a wide variety of professionals and students who are focused on wildlife science, management and conservation, under the leadership of TWS President Gary Potts the organization has been increasing engagement with wildlife management professionals, agencies and businesses with a focus on creating a stronger link between science and management.

So when planning this year’s Education & Training Program for the Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, the E&T Steering Committee expanded the list of topics that were included in the Society’s “calls” for presentations and posters to make the conference more relevant to wildlife management professionals and increase face-to-face collaboration with researchers and educators.

“We added topics such as invasive species, fire science and management, natural resources management, as well as public engagement and management,” said Ed Thompson, chief operating officer for TWS. “The Steering Committee also saw an opportunity to add a call for topics related to wildlife education, training and certification.”

The move paid off, generating the second-highest number of submissions in the past ten years, second only to the Hawaii conference—which may have been boosted by the unique destination. As a result, this year’s conference will offer attendees more than 600 education and training opportunities across a wider range of topics than ever before.

The complete list of titles, excluding Student Research in Progress posters, is already available to members as a pdf download here so that they can find the topics relevant to their areas of focus and assist them with justification they may need to get funding support for their attendance. SRIP posters will be added to the list in the next few weeks.

The Annual Conference includes a slate of a dozen workshops that will be conducted on Saturday, Oct. 15, with compelling topics such as An Introduction to Spatial Capture-Recapture, Animal Trapping Techniques for Researchers and Managers, Quantitative Analysis of Satellite-Derived Data for Animal Ecology and Conservation, and Essentials of Managing Conflict in Environmental Disputes.

New to this year’s conference is a daily plenary or keynote session to kick off each day’s vast opportunities for education, training, networking and engagement:

• Sunday, Oct. 16: Partnerships Across the Spectrum of Wildlife Governance
• Monday, Oct. 17: The Past, Present and Future of Invasive Species Control in North America: Achieving Success Through Innovation
• Tuesday, Oct. 18: Is Sustainable Use of Wildlife Sustainable?
• Wednesday, Oct. 19: Public-Private Partnerships for Conservation

“There’s something very energizing about starting each day with a room filled with other wildlife professionals and the students who represent the next generation of professionals, hearing from experts on topics that are important to our collective efforts to ensure that wildlife and wild places thrive for generations to come,” Thompson said.

After two consecutive years of attendance exceeding 1,500, TWS anticipates this year’s gathering will draw nearly 2,000 professionals and students based on early trend indicators. As a result, the Society’s reserved room blocks are likely to sell out quickly, so members are encouraged to register early to secure a $50 pre-registration discount on top of their $200 members-only discount and book their hotel accommodations right away. Both discounted room-block hotels are less than a three-minute walk from the convention center.

Click here to visit the Annual Conference website, or here to go directly to the registration page. Hotel information can be accessed through this link.