Upcoming Western Section symposia: February 5-6

The Western Section of The Wildlife Society will be holding two workshops at their upcoming annual meeting in Santa Rosa, California on February 5 and February 6. For more information and to register please view the Section’s symposia flyer.

4C’s: Cannabis Culture and Compliance in California

Tuesday, February 6, 2018: 8:30am – 5:00pm
Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country: Santa Rosa, CA

Organized by Josh Meisel, Department of Sociology and Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research, Humboldt State University.

Register here

The cannabis policy landscape in California has changed dramatically over the past 22 years with the hope that environmentally destructive cultivation practices would disappear as growers come into compliance with state regulations. The purpose of this workshop is to address the extent to which cultivation practices and cultural values are aligned with state cannabis regulations. Morning presentations will explore the variable dimensions of cannabis culture and cultivation practices as well as include updates from the field on what is being seen in terms of environmental impacts from cannabis agriculture. Afternoon presentations will include grower perspectives on environmental regulations as well as resource agency strategies for promoting regulatory compliance. The workshop will conclude with a facilitated discussion involving all presenters.

Extinction or management of owls: the dilemma of the barred owl invasion in California

Monday, February 5, 2018:  8:00am – 5:30pm
Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country:  Santa Rosa, CA

Organizer: R. J. Gutiérrez, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Register here

The barred owl (Strix varia) invaded the range of the spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) many years ago and now occupies all parts of the northern spotted owl’s range. During this invasion process, no management actions have been taken such that complete extirpation of northern spotted owl (S. o. caurina) may be the ultimate outcome of this invasion. The barred owl invasion and the interactions of the barred and spotted owl were the subject of a symposium at the last Western Section meeting held in Santa Rosa, California in 2015. The papers presented at that meeting focused on the situation within in the range of the northern spotted.

In contrast to the northern spotted owl situation, the barred owl has only more recently invaded the range of the California spotted owl (S. o. occidentalis) in the Southern Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada of California. Densities of barred owls are currently low and their distribution disjunct in these ranges, reflecting a situation that existed in the early 1980s in the range of the northern spotted owl. It has been proposed that the time to manage this invasion is now – not when the situation verges on hopelessness. Therefore, the purpose of this symposium is to provide updates on new research and management of the barred owl and northern spotted owl since the last Santa Rosa meeting as well as on research now beginning in the range of the California spotted owl. Presentations of this new research will be followed by a panel discussion among experts about potential issues and management options for the barred owl invasion in the Sierra Nevada.