International Raptor Conservation Conference
By gb on May 03, 2010 with Comments 0
Aububon Greenwich
613 Riversville Road
On International Migratory Bird Day Weekend
Friday & Saturday, May 7 – 8, 2010
“Monitoring and Managing Raptor Populations: Forging a Collaboration of Professional & Volunteer Conservationists”
Join people from across the hemisphere for a collaborative conference to identify raptor management priorities and opportunities to engage Citizen Scientists in these strategies. Events start on Friday night and continue all day on Saturday. This raptor conservation conference is open to the public. Event details follow. Registration can be completed online or by phone. To register online, please use the link below. To register by phone, please contact Audubon’s Events and Communications Manager, Jeff Cordulack at 203-869-5272 x239 to sign up. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/105389. The $30 registration fee includes Friday night’s reception, Saturday’s conference, and lunch on Saturday.
Friday, May 7
6:00 – 9:00 pm: Special Reception & Presentation:
Join Audubon’s guests and Dr. Chris Farmer, Senior Research Biologist for the Acopian Center for Conservation at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, when he discusses the status of the American Kestrel and highlights the struggles of this iconic species. Friday’s event is included with conference registration or $15 suggested donation is welcome at the door. If you do not plan on attending the conference on Saturday but would like to join the Friday reception, do so and RSVP by May 6. RSVPs can be left with Jeff at 203-869-5272 x239.
Saturday, May 8
6:30-8:00 am: Early Morning Bird Walk – Meet in the main parking lot at Audubon Greenwich. RSVP appreciated, leave a message at 203-869-5272 x221.
8:00-9:00 am: Annual Birders Breakfast – Join the annual tradition of a hearty breakfast in the Ketay-Asnes Barn at Audubon Greenwich. Park in main lot and follow the paved driveway and pathway to the red barn. RSVP required. Leave a message at 203-869-5272 x221 by May 6.
9:00 am – 5:00 pm: Raptor Science Conference
A full day of panel discussions, exhibits, and special presentations will feature Keynote Speaker, Laurie J. Goodrich, the Senior Monitoring Biologist, Acopian Center Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. She will present “From Counts to Conservation: Geography and Conservation of Migratory Raptors in the Americas”.
This special day will also feature international guests, Elisa Peres Barbosa & Eduardo Martinez from ProNatura in Veracruz, Mexico. They will present on “The River of Raptors Project in Veracruz, Mexico”. RSVP required by May 6. Follow the links below to sign up online.
6:00 – 9:00 pm: Post-Conference Dinner in the Ketay-Asnes Barn
Audubon Greenwich will also host a special dinner on Saturday night with many of the visiting scientists, Audubon supporters and other special guests in the Ketay-Asnes Barn. To sign up for this additional event and the conference at the same time, use the online registration site and select the ‘May 8′ option from the tickets menu when registering for the raptor conservation conference. Dinner: $30 per person. Space is limited. If you will only attend this dinner and not the conference events, please RSVP to Jeff by May 6 at 203-869-5272 x239.
More conference information and the list of speakers and co-sponsors, visit: http://greenwich.audubon.org/News.html.
FOR DIRECT ACCESS TO THE ONLINE REGISTRATION WEBSITE, CLICK HERE: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/105389.
RAPTOR CONFERENCE CO-SPONSORS:
* Hawk Migration Association of North America
* ProNatura Asociacion Civil
* Audubon Connecticut
* Connecticut Audubon Society
* Connecticut Ornithological Association
* Northeast Hawk Watch
* Birdlife International
* Audubon Vermont
* Audubon New York
MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT: Monitoring and Managing Raptor Populations: Forging a Collaboration of Professional & Volunteer Conservationists
People from across the hemisphere will join Audubon in Greenwich for a collaborative conference to discuss raptor management priorities and identify opportunities to engage volunteer Citizen Scientists in conservation. The conference is open to the public and begins at 6:00 pm on Friday night with a reception and opening presentation by Dr. Chris Farmer, Senior Research Biologist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and the Acopian Center for Conservation. He will discuss the status of the American Kestrel and highlight the struggles of this iconic species.
Saturday will begin with Audubon’s traditional International Migratory Bird Day events, including an early morning bird walk at 6:30 am and the Annual Birders Breakfast at 8:00 am in the Ketay-Asnes Barn at Audubon Greenwich. Advance registration is recommended for the breakfast event whereas it is likely sell out. Registration for the main conference will begin at 9:00 am in Kiernan Hall, with a full day of presentations and workshops beginning at 9:30 am.
Audubon is delighted to welcome the conference’s Keynote Speaker Laurie J. Goodrich, Senior Monitoring Biologist at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Her presentation, “From Counts to Conservation: Geography and Conservation of Migratory Raptors in the Americas,” will focus primarily on how two forest hawk species- Broad-winged Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk- highlight trends in eastern raptors, their conservation challenges, and the actions needed to protect them. In addition, Mark LaBarr, Conservation Program Manager, Audubon Vermont, will discuss “Habitat Management is for the Birds: Assisting Private Landowners in Bird-focused Land Management.” He will describe how effective land and habitat management is critical to protecting breeding and migratory habitat for birds.
Audubon will also feature a special presentation by Elisa Peresbarbosa Rojas & Eduardo Martinez, two scientists from the highly regarded conservation organization in Mexico, ProNatura Veracruz. They will introduce participants to the amazing “Veracruz River of Raptors Project: Threats, Opportunities, and Long-term Conservation Strategies.” This is a unique opportunity to hear from our international partners. The conference will conclude with three panel discussions highlighting “Hawk Watch Practices & Protocols,” “Opportunities for Cross Border Collaborations,” and “Putting Science to Work: Projects That Need You.”
Throughout the weekend, conference participants will have an opportunity to gain better insight into the conservation challenges facing raptor populations and to develop the collaborative strategies needed to maintain stable populations. Audubon looks forward to welcoming all those concerned about raptors to the “Monitoring and Managing Raptor Populations” conference and working together to create new conservation solutions.
This raptor conservation conference is open to all members of the public. The $30 registration fee includes Friday night’s reception, Saturday’s conference, and lunch on Saturday. More information can be found at http://greenwich.audubon.org/News.html. Registration can be completed online or by phone. To register by phone, please contact Audubon’s Events and Communications Manager, Jeff Cordulack at 203-869-5272 x239 to sign up. To register online, please use the link below.
NOTE: Audubon Greenwich will also host a special dinner on Saturday night with many of the visiting scientists, Audubon supporters and other special guests in the Ketay-Asnes Barn. To sign up for that additional event, use the online registration site and select that option from the tickets menu when registering for the raptor conservation conference.
FOR DIRECT ACCESS TO THE ONLINE REGISTRATION WEBSITE, CLICK HERE: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/105389
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Chris Farmer: Dr. Farmer is the Senior Research Biologist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, Pennsylvania. He coordinates the Sanctuary’s long-term research program on the breeding biology of the American Kestrel. He is also the statistical analyst for the Raptor Population Index, a collaborative program of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, The Hawk Migration Association of North America, HawkWatch International, and Bird Studies Canada to use migration counts as a means to monitor North American Populations of Raptors. He is primarily a population ecologist, and performed his doctoral research on the population responses of Sitka Black-tailed deer to habitat alteration and predation pressure. Dr. Farmer is a member of the Ecological Society of America, The Society for Conservation Biology, the Raptor Research Foundation, and the American Ornithologists’ Union, which he represents on the board of directors of the Ornithological Council.
Laurie J. Goodrich, Senior Monitoring Biologist, has worked at Hawk Mountain since 1984. Her work includes supervising Hawk Mountain’s raptor migration counts and database management, acting as liaison with North American raptor migration sites, and the Veracruz (Mexico) River of Raptors program, research on raptor migration behavior and ecology, and research on the effects of forest fragmentation on nesting birds. She also assists on data management for Raptor Population Index initiative and is involved with on-going sanctuary monitoring and land conservation efforts. Laurie received her M.S. in Ecology from Rutgers University, NJ, in 1982 studying the impacts of disturbance on nesting Least Terns, a state-endangered species. Her B.S. (1977) in Biology is from Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY. She is currently enrolled at Pennsylvania State University pursuing a Ph.D. in Ecology with research on habitat use by migrating raptors. Prior to Hawk Mountain, Laurie worked with the NJ Department of Fish, Game and Wildlife conducting piping plover and least tern surveys, and research on raptor migrant behavior in Cape May. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Raptor Research Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Ornithological Technical Committee, and the Berks Conservancy natural resource committee. She is working with Audubon Pennsylvania on the Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Planning initiative, and publishes regularly in both scientific and popular venues.
Mark LaBarr, Conservation Program Manager for Audubon Vermont. He oversees the Champlain Valley Bird Initiative which, along with Audubon Vermont’s Forest Bird Initiative, works directly with private landowners for avian habitat conservation. Mark chairs the Vermont Endangered Species Committee’s Scientific Advisory Group on Birds as well as the Vermont Grassland Bird Working Group. His other work includes the Vermont Common Tern Recovery Project and running the Green Mountain Audubon Center’s bird-banding station.
Eduardo Martinez Leyva is the Bird Projects Coordinator for ProNatura Veracruz. He has a Degree in Biology from the University of Veracruz and from 1998 to 2005, he has coordinated many different projects including the use of landscape for birds in fragmented rainforest in south Veracruz, bird breeding and survivorship studies in cloud forest, similar studies in coffee plantations in central Veracruz for the Institute of Ecology of Xalapa and in pine-oak forest in southwest Arizona for the University of Arizona. He has also coordinated raptor migration counts and banding stations in central Veracruz through the years and in 2006, he joined ProNatura Veracruz to manage the Veracruz River of Raptors Project, the passerine banding program, and all other bird monitoring projects for ProNatura Veracruz.
Elisa Peresbarbosa Rojas, the Conservation Sub-Director for ProNatura Veracruz, has a Biologist Degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and has an Masters Degree in Marine Ecology from the Ensenada Center of Scientific Research and Education, where she studied breeding colonies of marine birds in the High Gulf of California. She worked in the National Secretariat for the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries from 1997 to 2001 and has worked in Cooperative Programs with the USA and Canada for the conservation of migratory birds. She helped develop the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and updated the management plan for North American Water birds. She has worked for ProNatura Veracruz for the past six years, coordinating and supervising conservation projects in the coastal area of Veracruz. One of her current priorities is to promote international alliances and collaboration in an effort to more effectively achieve the conservation of migratory birds in North America.
