9:00-10:30 | | Monitoring for Bird Conservation in Michigan: How do we know we are doing the right things for the right birds in the right places?
9:00-9:20: Monitoring to conserve Midwestern birds: Michigan's role in addressing monitoring priorities within a regional partnership, Katie Koch (USFWS Midwest Bird Monitoring Coordinator)
9:20-9:40: Bird monitoring for decision making in a changing climate, Bradly Potter (USFWS Upper Mississippi River-Great Lakes Joint Venture Science Office)
Ecological systems are inherently complex; consequently conservation and management decisions are made in the face of uncertainty. Adaptive management, specifically the monitoring component, is used to reduce uncertainty, increase knowledge about the system, and improve future management decisions. Data collected from targeted monitoring is used to predict how the system will function into the future, creating the ability to make informed management decisions. Monitoring over time allows scientists to describe system dynamics (i.e., variability) and hone in on the path or direction of the system, improving future projections. A rapidly changing climate has the potential to alter that path and move the system into a state that has never been described before (no analog) further exacerbating uncertainty. For example, rapid changes in precipitation and temperature patterns can cause shifts in bird migration phenology and distribution and cause resource asynchrony. This can impact the four types of uncertainty affecting decision making: partial observability, partial controllability, environmental variation, and structural uncertainty. An understanding of each type of uncertainty, the potential impact of climate change to each, and recommendations on how monitoring can be used to improve our ability to manage uncertainty, within an adaptive management framework, will emphasize the need for coordinated bird monitoring.
9:40-10:00: Best data management practices: Key considerations to make bird monitoring data useful, Katie Koch (USFWS Midwest Bird Monitoring Coordinator)
10:00-10:20: Monitoring Michigan's waterfowl populations through the annual cycle, Barbara Avers (Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment Waterfowl and Wetlands Specialist)
| 10:30-11:00 | | BREAK | 11:00-12:00 | | Monitoring for Bird Conservation in Michigan: How do we know we are doing the right things for the right birds in the right places? (cont.)
11:00-11:20: The Great Lakes Colonial Waterbird Decadal Survey: A Michigan perspective, Nancy Seefelt (Central Michigan University Assistant Professor of Biology)
The distribution and abundance of colonial waterbirds in the Great Lakes, including connecting waterways, have been documented by bi-national decadal surveys in 1976-77, 1989-90, 1997-1999, and currently, 2007-2010. Target species of these surveys include gulls, terns, cormorants, pelicans and several species of heron. Because these colonial waterbirds are a significant biological resource in the Great Lakes, decadal surveys are of utmost importance in tracking the locations and population trends. Michigan’s placement within the basin, as well as its jurisdiction over a large area of these waters, showcases its importance to Great Lakes’ waterbird populations and thus, the decadal surveys. This presentation will describe the standardized protocols and methodologies used in these surveys, provide information on population trends of the different species over the decades, and explain the importance of these surveys in guiding conservation and management of waterbird species in the Great Lakes region.
11:20-11:40: How monitoring Michigan's American Woodcock informs conservation of early successional forest birds, Al Stewart (Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment Upland Gamebird Specialist)
| 12:00-1:00 | | LUNCH (in the cafeteria) | 1:00-3:00 | | eBird inputs and outputs, Chris Wood (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
| 3:00-3:30 | | BREAK | 3:30-5:00 | | Coordinating Council meeting | 5:00-7:00 | | DINNER (in the cafeteria)
Catered by the Jordan Inn | 7:00-9:00 | | Poster session (in the cafeteria) | dusk | | Owl Prowl (in the natural area) |
9:00-10:30 | | Michigan Chapter of The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting - Grassland Management Symposium
9:00 - The historic distribution and ecology of grasslands in Michigan, Mike Kost (MNFI)
9:30 - Savannahs and their management in Michigan, John Lerg (MI DNRE)
10:00 - Native grassland restoration techniques and strategies, Vern Stephens (MI DNRE) | 10:30-11:00 | | BREAK | 11:00-12:00 | | Michigan Chapter of The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting - Grassland Management Symposium
11:00 - DNRE's private lands grassland management and restoration projects, Sue Tangora (MI DNRE)
11:30 - Opportunities in grassland conservation in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill), Brian Thomas (NRCS) | 12:00-1:00 | | LUNCH (in the cafeteria) | 1:00-3:00 | | Short topics:
1:00 – Native prairie installation in Leelanau County, Kay Charter (Saving Birds Thru Habitat)
1:20 – Keweenaw raptor survey, Skye Christopher G. Haas (Keweenaw Raptor Survey)
1:40 – Bird friendly coffee as a program prop, Kara Haas (MSU Kellogg Bird Sanctuary)
2:00 – Toward understanding stakeholder attitudes and risk perceptions associated with double-crested cormorants in northern Lake Huron, Bret Muter (MSU)
| 3:00-3:30 | | BREAK | 3:30-5:00 | | Short topics:
3:30 – U.S. Geological Survey information resources for conservation and environmental decision-making, Sheridan K. Haack (USGS Michigan Water Sciences Center)
3:50 – What insects are inside firewood confiscated at Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge and where is it coming from?, Robert A. Haack (USFS)
4:10 – Impacts of offshore wind farms. What we know and what we need to learn, Joelle Gehring (MNFI)
4:30 – The Michigan Important Bird Areas Program: Implementation of the IBA network, Caleb Putnam (MI IBA Program)
| 5:00-7:00 | | DINNER (in the cafeteria)
Catered by the Jordan Inn | 7:00-9:00 | | Poster session (in the cafeteria) | dusk | | Owl prowl |
9:30-11:30 | | Michigan Cooperative Pest Cadre (MCPC) pest survey training, David Dehn, Jr. (US Department of Agriculture/APHIS/Plant Health, Plant Protection and Quarantine)
| 12:00-1:00 | | LUNCH (in the cafeteria) | 1:00-3:00 | | MiBCI Bird Survey Training Workshops
Michigan Marsh Bird Surveys – What are they and how can I get involved? Michael J. Monfils (Michigan Natural Features Inventory)
We will give an overview of this new marsh bird survey, including the need for and intended uses of the data. We will explain the survey protocol, equipment needs, and reporting requirements, and distribute detailed information. Background information about target species will also be presented. We will ask interested participants to provide their contact information and the region(s) where they would be willing to conduct surveys. Our goal is to provide volunteers the training they need to “get their feet wet” in this important program.
| 3:00-3:30 | | BREAK | 3:30-5:00 | | MiBCI Bird Survey Training Workshops (cont.)
Michigan Nocturnal Bird Surveys – What are they and how can I get involved? David L. Cuthrell (Michigan Natural Features Inventory)
An overview of nocturnal bird surveys will be provided. We will also familiarize participants with the survey protocol and reporting requirements, distribute materials needed to carry out the surveys, and assign routes to volunteers. There should be plenty of time for all your questions. Our goal is to provide the necessary training so folks will be able to hit the ground running on these important citizen science programs.
| 5:00-7:00 | | DINNER (in the cafeteria)
Catered by the Jordan Inn | 7:00-9:00 | | Poster session (in the cafeteria) | dusk | | Owl Prowl (in the natural area) |
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