The First Annual Patuxent Wildlife Festival, a joint venture between the FWS Patuxent Research Refuge and the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center held on 14 October was a huge success. Public Use Specialists of the Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Visitor Center estimate over 1500 visitors attended the event. There were many displays detailing some of the Center's on-going research as well as hands-on science activities for children of all ages. Topping the list of events were FWS tram tours; USGS bus tours of the Central Tract and Captive Propagation Facility; Maryland DNR's Scales and Tails; live animal displays including Canada geese, wild turkey, wood ducks, and sandhill cranes; and a Chesapeake Bay research display which allowed visitors to board a work boat, examine sampling equipment, and talk with researchers.

Spendelow to Attend the Annual Waterbird Society Meeting in Plymouth, MA

Dr Jeff Spendelow will attend the Waterbird Society annual meeting on 1-5 November 2000 at the Plymouth Sheraton Conference Center, Plymouth, MA and present the paper, "Development and application of new multisite recruitment models for species with delayed maturity and staggered entry into the breeding population: a case study of Roseate Terns" authored by J.A. Spendelow, J.-D. Lebreton, J.E. Hines, R. Pradel, J.D. Nichols, I.C.T. Nisbet, G. Cormons, H. Hays, and J.J. Hatch. Dr Spendelow will also present the paper, "Crime does pay: kleptoparasitic Roseate Terns are high-quality parents" authored by D.A. Shealer and J.A. Spendelow.

Contact: Jeff Spendelow Jeff_Spendelow@usgs.gov 

Denny Fenn, USGS Associate Director for Biology, has announced that the ICEBIRG Workshop - "Science for Avian Conservation: Understanding, Modeling, and Applying Ecological Relationships" will be held on October 31 - November 2, 2000 at the National Wildlife Visitor Center associated with the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland. The workshop will bring together USGS scientists and representatives from management agencies to assess USGS capabilities and develop future science directions for meeting avian conservation needs defined in the recently developed North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI). USGS must play a critical role in providing the science needed to meet the regionally-based, biologically driven-and landscape-oriented goals of NABCI. This workshop will identify the value of current USGS science activities, envision new means of integrating information across disciplines and scales, and challenge USGS scientists to actively begin to address new issues for bird conservation.

See Previous HiLites:
August 31, 2000
September 21, 2000
September 28, 2000
October 5, 2000