 United
States Department of Agriculture -
Forest Service |
 Southern Research Station200 W.T. Weaver Boulevard Asheville, NC 28804 |
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Forest Service Hosts International Rusty Blackbird Workshop
Asheville,NC -- The U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station's Center for Bottomland Hardwoods, is hosting the Rusty Blackbird Workshop on behalf of the International Rusty Blackbird Technical Group. The workshop will be held April 12-13, 2007, at the Delta Research and Extension Center (B.F. Smith Building) in Stoneville. The two-day planning session will bring together experts to assess current and future research needs in response to the rusty blackbird's population decline.
The International Rusty Blackbird Technical Group is an ad hoc group of biologists from Canada, Germany, and the USA interested in understanding the biology and status of the rusty blackbird population. The bird, which has declined by about 95 percent since the 1960s, depends on wetland habitats in Alaska, Canada, and the northeastern lower 48 states for breeding, with winters primarily in bottomland hardwood forests.
"We hope to proactively develop methods to clarify and address threats to the rusty blackbird's existence," says Paul Hamel, Center for Bottomland Hardwoods research wildlife biologist and technical group member. "Addressing these threats now is critical, before the population is so low that it will be difficult and expensive to restore".
The workshop's first day will include information sharing about 1) current and historical population status, 2) trends in population, 3) ecology and natural history, 4) changes in habitat, 5) relationships of rusty blackbirds to climate change, environmental contaminants, and control efforts for other blackbirds, and 6) techniques for studying the population. The second day will feature discussions to determine concrete approaches for bridging the information gap as well as management and other conservation activities to reverse population decline.
The meeting is open to all interested in contributing to constructive discussions about understanding the decline of the rusty blackbird. For additional information, please contact Paul Hamel at (662) 686-3167 or by email at phamel@fs.fed.us.
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