JOINT MiBCI Ornithological Congress/MI TWS Annual Meeting 2010

Location: North Central Michigan College, Petoskey
N 45° 21.744'
W 84° 57.168
(directions)
Date: 7-10 April 2010

MiBCI will once again be meeting jointly with the Michigan Chapter of The Wildlife Society. You can attend any symposia, workshops, talks, and events hosted by either organization on the days for which you register. There is a $15 registration discount for members of the Michigan Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Regular annual membership in the chapter costs $10 (student and retiree memberships are $5), and a membership form may be downloaded on the chapter's web site. Membership forms and fees may be submitted with conference/annual meeting registration forms.

In an effort to keep costs down and to reduce generation of waste, we will not be making "free stuff" (e.g. tote bags, notepads, pens, water bottles, t-shirts, etc.) for registrants.

There is no formal dress code for the Congress; everything from flannel and jeans to suits and ties is acceptable and welcome.

SCHEDULE
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Schedule At A Glance (DRAFT!)

Registration
Silent Auction
Call for Papers
Scholarships
Sponsorship Opportunities

Registration

Full registration (7-10 April, all meals)		$75
Daytripper registration (7-10 April, NO MEALS)		$35

Wednesday ONLY (includes meals)		$30
Thursday ONLY (includes meals)		$30
Friday ONLY (includes meals)		$30

Saturday eBird workshop		FREE
Saturday volunteer coordinator workshop		FREE

Additional meals (lunch or dinner)		$10/each

Late registration fee (postmarked after 12 March)		$10

Symposia and Workshops

Wednesday

The decline in hunting and angling during the latter half of the 20th century is well documented. Many private conservation organizations are tightening their budgets and looking for ways to turn around declining membership rates. For conservation to succeed in the 21st century, conservation organizations and agencies have to change the way they recruit and communicate to draw in new individuals from under-represented communities. Join us for informative discussions of ways to reach out to new audiences and engage them in meaningful ways so that the face of conservation in Michigan reflects all facets of the state's demographics.

Wednesday's program is made possible by the generous support of The Wildlife Society.

Thursday

The well being of bird populations is intimately tied to the habitats that these birds depend on. A panel of experts monitoring and dealing with current threats to the health of our forests will share their insights on insects, diseases, and other issues that affect forest health. Members of the Michigan Hawking Club (including some feathered ones!) will be in attendance to share their insights on the sport of falconry and discuss raptor conservation issues.

Friday

Monitoring for bird conservation varies from status and trend measurement to setting population and conservation goals for species, determining the causes of population changes and ultimately informing management to make conservation decisions. Coordinated bird monitoring isn't just about the monitoring itself, but rather placing that information in a conservation context such that the information can INFORM management decisions. With our guest speakers, we will demonstrate how we are employing consistent monitoring methodology, focusing our monitoring on traditionally under-sampled species (e.g., secretive marshbirds), increasing our capacity for data sharing, storage and management, monitoring to inform priority conservation issues (e.g., wind power and climate change) and evaluating the effectiveness of our conservation and management activities using birds as indicators.

Saturday

Join us for a couple of interesting and interactive workshops. We'll be showing you how to keep track of the birds you see using the online eBird tool developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and teaching you how to help the Michigan Audubon Society monitor rare birds to aid in their conservation. These workshops are free and open to the public, but you need to preregister.

eBird workshop flyer 1/eBird workshop flyer 2

Meals

Lunch and dinner for 7-9 April will be available on-site at the college. Meals are included in the cost of a full conference registration or a one day registration. For the second year, chef Joe Krumholz and the staff of the Jordan Inn will be catering all dinners and providing attendees at the congress with a gourmet dining experience. Plan on joining us for a taste of the best that northern Michigan has to offer.

Lodging

A limited number of rooms are available at the nearby Days Inn Petoskey at a special reduced rate. Rooms are $50.11 or $55.21 per night (depending on the room type), are non-smoking, and have either 2 double beds ($50.11), 1 queen bed ($55.21), or 1 king bed ($50.11). The Days Inn also has free WiFi access in all rooms and a complimentary 24 hour self service cafe. To qualify for the discount rate, call 877-247-4682 and reference the group "Michigan Bird Conservation Initiative"; you must make your reservation by 6 March to get the group rate.

Check the web site of the Petoskey Chamber of Commerce for discounts at this and other hotels in the area.