The Manitoba Chapter Wildlife Society Newsletter

Presidents Corner

  West Nile Virus, and Chronic Wasting Diseases T.B., Botulism, Giardia, "Beaver Fever" - they’ve all been in the news lately. And they all invoke animals. Whether a disease or parasite, some can affect humans and livestock or some are almost exclusively found in wildlife. But how much do you know about them? I’m sure, like many of you, family, friends, or colleagues ask about one these assuming that as a wildlife biologist you know all of the details. You can recall some limited information, maybe! Depending on the media "hype" we may not be able to support or relate what is reported based mainly in our recollection. My suggestion is to keep yourself informed, but also know who the best contacts are, as well. Fielding a question from a family member or a friend is ok but my best advice is to refer the media to the experts. Most agencies and departments have wisely designated who the contacts for the press or TV/radio are.

And speaking of media reports, it’s nice to see a couple of trained biologists taking up the pen (and/ or word processor) to develop regular articles in local print. I’m speaking of Bob Carmichael of Manitoba Conservation, who for some time now, has a regular column in the Manitoba Wildlife Federation portion of the Outdoor Edge Magazine. His articles cover varied subjects and are always thoughtful sometimes even thought provoking.

New to the print scene is Bob Sopuck, writing a regular column in Saturdays’ Winnipeg Free Press. Bob’s credentials run the gamut from fisheries biologist, environmental consultant, and university lecturer to his present position with Delta Waterfowl in the policy vein. Bob’s new to the Free Press but familiar with the many issues in Manitoba, and prairie Canada in general. He’ll be writing about wildlife and outdoor pursuits. I’m sure he’d welcome any thoughts on wildlife issues.

For those of you heading for the field, enjoy it while you can. For those mostly chained to a desk, enjoy the few days you may get a field. Hope to see many of you in Lead, South Dakota (CMPS Annual Meeting) or Bismarck, North Dakota for the TWS Annual Meeting.

Have a great summer! - Don Sexton
 

Back to Top...

The IBA program continues to fly on in Manitoba with a number of groups receiving project funding, project dedications taking place and work progressing towards conservation goals identified in the IBA community conservation plans.

Three community groups were recently awarded funding from the IBA Community Action Fund for projects to be carried out this summer. At Whitewater Lake, individuals from Boissevain and Deloraine received funding for education and awareness programs. Further north in the Alonsa country, the Kinosota-Leifur Shoreline IBA received funding for landowner education towards preserving Red-headed Woodpecker habitat. The Netley-Libau IBA also received funding to initiate a pilot waterbird survey using call-playback techniques.

The Douglas Marsh IBA working group continues to work towards protecting Yellow Rail habitat and held their official site dedication Saturday June 8th. A number of wildlife society chapter members are involved with the Douglas Marsh working group. The group has produced a brochure, created signage, contacted international ecotour groups regarding ethical birding on private lands and are taking steps to mitigate the impact of beavers on Yellow Rail sedge habitat.

The Manitoba Naturalists Society has begun to place information on the Manitoba IBA program on their website. A downloadable pdf file can be found at the web address above with more information coming at a later point. A number of other educational birding brochures had been completed by community groups in Melita (Southwestern Manitoba Mixed-grass Prairie IBA), Langruth (Langruth – RM of Lakeview IBA), and at the Douglas Marsh and will soon be added to the webpages.

Community groups have been diligently working towards completion of their IBA conservation goals. In Langruth, the students at the local high school have completed a website and large rocks were placed along the beach to prevent ATV and vehicle traffic from disturbing nesting birds. In Melita, new signage has been created and can be seen along the highway prior to Melita recognizing the area as the "Grassland Bird Capital of Manitoba". In keeping with that theme did you know that the folks up in Langruth have declared Langruth as the "Birding Capital of Manitoba" ?? A long time birder and project volunteer from Langruth, Mr Raymond O’Conner, was recognized in the latest issue of Ducks Unlimited Canada Flyway (Spring 2002) for his contribution towards bird conservation in the Langruth area.

The Manitoba IBA program has received funding from the Manitoba Rural Adaptations Council (MRAC) that will allow for production of a birding based document that will be available in late 2002. The folks up in Riverton working on the Sandy Bar IBA have recently received funds from the TD Bank and will be starting projects to improve habitat and increase Sandy Bar IBA awareness.

On a sad note, Mr. W. Earl Godfrey, Dean of Canadian Ornithologists, died recently at the age of 91 in Ottawa. Earl Godfrey became Curator of Ornithology at the National Museum of Canada in 1947, retiring in 1976. Earl was author of The Birds of Canada with over 200,000 copies sold. Earl was the first recipient of the Ontario Field Ornithologist's "Distinguished Ornithologist Award" in 1997, and the American Birding Association's "Ludlow Griscom Award" in 2000.

  Manitoba Chapter AGM 2002

The annual general meeting of the Manitoba Chapter of the Wildlife Society was held March 22nd 2002 at Fort Whyte Center. The evening was well attended with between 30 to 40 chapter members on hand. James Froese , the recipient of the 2001 Richard C. Goulden Memorial Bursary, provided an excellent slide presentation. The title of his research is "Determining Effective Aspen Management Strategies in Manitoba's Interlake". The primary objective of his research is to identify in an experimental setting the most biologically and cost effective method to restrict aspen spread onto former grassland areas with limited aspen regeneration. The research is being conducted near Chatfield Manitoba in the Narcisse Wildlife Management Area. Great work James and thanks for the presentation.

As in previous years, there were numerous items donated for the silent auction event and a huge thank-you goes out to all organizations and members who donated silent auction items. Chapter members, being true biologists, polished off several boxes of pizza during the silent auction. Alex Miller was awarded the 2002 Richard C. Goulden Memorial Scholarship. Congratulations Alex, the membership will look forward to hearing how your research is progressing at the 2003 AGM.

The evening was concluded with Dr. Golla's talk on the natural history of spotted hyaenas, Crocuta crocuta, and her field research conducted in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. From 1992 to 1995, Dr. Golla lived in the National Park and collected data for her PhD on the aggressive behaviour between siblings of a litter. Dr Golla discussed how spotted hyaenas live in a female dominated society and that they are the most numerous of the Serengeti large predators. Dr Golla completed her undergraduate, Masters and PhD at the University of Munich and now lives in Winnipeg. Thank-you Dr. Golla for your presentation.

Don Sexton awards Alex Miller the 2002 Scholarship.

Rick Riewe - President Elect

Rick Riewe is a Professor of Zoology at the University of Manitoba where he has taught Wildlife Management, Ecology, Boreal Ecology, Resource Management, and Biology since 1973. His fields of interest include northern wildlife management, impacts of industrial development upon native hunters and trappers, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, native land use, native land claims, and the domestic economy of northern hunters. He co-ordinated the Land Identification Project for the Nunavut land claim. He and his wife, Jill Oakes have lived and studied with the Aboriginal peoples of northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia, Fennoscandia, and Greenland. For years he and Jill have taught courses in Arctic Survival which they have learned from the Circumpolar peoples.

Alex Miller - Student Representative

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to say that I am looking foreword to what appears to be an exciting year for TWS. Currently, I am a second year masters student at the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) working on Piping Plover stewardship initiatives within Manitoba. My project involves the production of a provincial Piping Plover management plan and the implementation of select stewardship actions at identified priority sites. The main goals are to maximize nesting and fledging success rates and to increase public awareness and participation at priority sites.

My previous work experience includes working for Manitoba Parks as an interpreter at Grand Beach and Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Parks and for CWS as a Piping Plover Guardian Coordinator at Grand Beach Provincial Park. My interests lie in wildlife and protected areas management and I hope to pursue a career along those ventures. I am an avid outdoors person who enjoys hiking, backcountry canoeing and nature photography.

As your student rep, I hope to continue to strengthen the link between students and professionals, and encourage all of you to remain active members and to become involved when the opportunity exists.

Back to Top...
 

TWS in BISMARCK- Should I attend?

Although the announcement regarding the Bismarck meeting can be found further down in the Newsletter, some of you may be debating whether to attend. A quick glance at the program, and considering the location makes me ask–why not ? First off there are 39 sessions of Symposia, Workshops and Contributed Papers . Add to this the depthe of information you will gain any one of the 7 workshops. Most workshops sre free or have a very small fee and run one half or all day with topics ranging from GIS, to Statistical Design for Field Studies, to Media Self Defense! For those considering TWS Certification , you can pick up as many as 32.5 contact hours towards certification. And for those few of you who are not TWS members, there is a deal where you can get the member Registration discount IF you buy your 2003 membership when you register.

The best reason to attend, however, is the professional development. The quality and variety of presentations and posters means you will be better informed about as many topics and areas of wildlife management as you would care to investigate. And it is incumbent on all of us to keep current, and learn more as well as new aspects of our chosen profession. Please plan to make it to Bismarck – I’ll see you there . - D. Sexton

Manitoba Government Announces Improvements Regarding Narcisse Snake Dens

Although almost absent from the media amongst all of the other press releases in late May, the Province has announced measures to further protect the garter snake hibernacula and also encourage ecotourism at the Narcisse site. The internationally renowned site attracts both researchers and as many as 25,000 visitors per year. The proposed developments will protect the ‘dens‘ from the effects of tourist traffic, while making the site more attractive and accessible to visitors through improved viewing areas, informational signage and other facilities. Details can be found in the www.gov.mb.ca/cgi-bin/press/release

 

9th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society Bismarck, North Dakota September 24-28, 2002 Deadline: February 15, 2002

Preliminary Program Highlights

Plenary

Feeding the World: A Food Policy for All Species

Symposia

Management of North American Blackbirds - Sponsor: TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group
North American Grasslands: Building a Conservation Strategy
Restoration of Wildlife and their Habitats - Sponsor: TWS Restoration Working Group
Prairie Grouse: Managing Imperiled Species and Habitats - Sponsor: TWS Sustainable Use of Ecosystem Resources Working Group
Public Wildlife - Private Land Programs: Conservation or Commercialization of Wildlife? - Sponsor: TWS Economics Working Group and TWS
Conservation Education and Extension Working Group
Influence of Invasive Species on Biological Diversity - Sponsor: TWS Biological Diversity Working Group
Sampling Rare and/or Elusive Species: Challenges and Choices - Sponsor: TWS Biometrics Working Group
Science and Large-Scale Conservation Planning for Northern Prairie Birds
Conservation in Ricelands: Current Knowledge and Future Research and Education
Role of Certification to the Wildlife Profession in the 21st Century - Sponsor: TWS Professional Development Committee
Diversity: Not Just for Wildlife Anymore - Sponsor: TWS Ethnic and Gender Diversity Committee
Diseases of Wild Birds: Ecology, Management and Effects on Populations
Toxicological Effects on Wildlife Related to Agriculture - Sponsor: TWS Wildlife Toxicology Working Group
Modern Regression Methods: New Tools for Wildlifers - Sponsor: TWS Biometrics Working Group

Workshops

Performance Measures for Ecosystem Management and Ecological Sustainability - Sponsor: TWS Biological Diversity Working Group
Media Self Defense: Skills and Strategies for Wildlife Professionals - Sponsor: TWS Urban Wildlife Working Group
Wildlife Study Design: An Introduction to Basic Design Principles for Field Studies - Sponsor: TWS Biometrics Working Group
GIS in the Management of Natural Resources - Sponsor: TWS GIS, Remote Sensing, and Telemetry Working Group
Learning Theory, Motivation, and Today's Wildlife Students - Sponsor: TWS College and University Wildlife Education Working Group
Resource Selection Functions: Statistical Design and Analysis for Field Studies - Sponsor: TWS Biometrics Working Group
Wildlife Investigator Series: Instructional Packages for K-12 Presentations

Special Poster Session

Wildlife Toxicology: Contaminant Issues in the Northern Great Plains - Sponsor: TWS Wildlife Toxicology Working Group
Contributed Papers and Posters
Ecology and Conservation of Birds
Ecology and Conservation of Mammals & Other Wildlife
Conservation of Communities, Ecosystems, & Landscapes
Wildlife-Habitat Relationships
Wildlife Population Dynamics, Estimation & Modeling
Human Dimensions, Conservation Education & Conservation Policy
Wildlife Damage Management
Environmental Contaminants & Wildlife Diseases

Back to Top...

.Back to Top..

Back to top of this document...
Back to Newsletter Index...