March 18-20, 2004 

Please complete registration form and mail to:  ASU Wildlife Society, Dept. of Biological Science, P.O. Box 599, State University, AR 72467-0599.

Payment of registration fee should be made when registration form is mailed. To receive the reduced registration rate, you must mail this form and payment by the early registration date of March 1, 2004.  Walk-in (late) registration fee must be paid upon arrival.

Deadline for mail-in registration of Conclave is March 10, 2004:

Print out the following registration form and mail in with payment; make checks payable to: ASU Wildlife Society.

Student Chapter: ________________________________________________

Name: _________________________________________________________ 

Name you want on your badge: ____________________________________

 Address: ______________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

 Phone: _____________________     Email: ___________________________

 School Year (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, M.S., Ph.D.):  ____________________________________

Shirt Size:                 S                   M                     L                      XL                  2XL

Field Trips

Please rank the following field trips in the order of your preference (i.e. 1=first choice).  Field trips are tentative and subject to change.  Every attempt will be made to schedule you for your top rated field trip.  Descriptions of the field trips are on page 2.

____ Falconry                                      ____Mammal trapping & marking

____ Ecotoxicology Facility             ____Radiotelemetry

____ MAPS mist netting                    ____Nature Center: Education & Information

____Wetland restoration                  ____Strawberry River Fish Field Trip

____Wildlife Law Enforcement

FIELD TRIP DESCRIPTIONS

Wetland Restoration—Nelson Childers, Natural Resource Conservation Service biologist, will lead a tour of a 120-acre tract of land that was restored from agricultural fields back to its original wetland status.  The tour will demonstrate the processes that must be done to restore important wetlands and will also provide information on wetland mitigation processes in Arkansas.

Bird Mist Netting and MAPS Workshop – This workshop will be a hands-on opportunity to capture, handle, and band songbirds. Emphasis will be on the proper and safe handling procedures for using mist nets to capture birds and banding passerines. Also, we will introduce participants to standard methodology for the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program, which is a continental-wide program sponsored by the Institute for Bird Populations. Limit 25 persons.

Falconry – Heath Garner, master falconer, Nate Bickford, general falconer, and Sonja Bickford, apprentice falconer will lead a workshop on this ancient hunting practice.  Participants will attend a seminar on history, legal issues, and role in conservation of falconry.  After the seminar, participants will take part in an actual hunt with a redtail hawk, goshawk, ferruginous hawk, and a gyr/peregrine falcon. Limit 12 persons.

Arkansas Mammalogy –  The Mammal Crew. This workshop will be a hands-on opportunity to capture, handle, and mark up to nine different species of small rodents.  Emphasis will be on introducing new field techniques including the use of Total Body Electro-Conductivity (TOBEC) to measure body fat. This workshop also places emphasis on the current undergraduate research at Arkansas State University.  Limit 30 persons.

Radiotelemetry workshop – Shane Prescott and Troy Bader, ASU MS students, will lead this hands on workshop.  Radiotelemetry equipment will be introduced and ASU projects that incorporate telemetry will be discussed.  Participants will be able to use equipment to locate hidden transmitters and learn the proper techniques of this valuable research tool.

Ecotoxicology Facility field trip – The facility’s emphasis is on the development of scientific means to resolve conflicts between natural resource utilization and the fate and effects of contaminants in the environment. Dr. Jerry Farris, Director of the facility, will lead a tour of the facility and discuss current research being performed by ASU students and faculty.

Nature Center field trip – Jodi Morris, Director of the Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center.  Mrs. Morris will lead a tour of the soon to be opened Nature Center.  The Nature Center will be the hub of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s public education in Northeast Arkansas.  Participants will witness the Commission’s commitment to public education and information, as well as take part in a friendly competition in public education.  No points will be awarded toward Conclave placement. 

Strawberry River Fish Field Trip – Dr. Alan D. Christian, Aquatic Ecologist.  The upper Strawberry River, near Poughkeepsie, AR (located ~ 71 miles; 1.5 hrs one way from Jonesboro, AR), is an Extraordinary Resource Water stream in the Ozarks region of Arkansas. It has known for its high fish and mussel richness and is the type locality of a subspecies of the Orange Throat Darter, Etheostoma spectabile fragi. We are likely to see 30+ species including darters (likely to be in breeding colors), suckers, minnows, catfish/madtoms, killifishes, sunfishes/ basses and possibly a lamprey or two. So bring your cameras and waders (not necessary, just a reminder if you want to bring them). Departure time: 6:30 am.  Limit 25 Participants.

Wildlife Law Enforcement – Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  This field trip will consist of a question/answer and discussion of what a Wildlife Officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission does on a day-to-day basis. Topics to be discussed will include qualifications and requirements, salary, training, benefits and hazards. Different types of equipment will be shown and uses will be discussed. An actual violation scenario will be staged and students will be asked to lead an investigation into the case. Enforcement techniques and ideas will be discussed throughout the scenario.