The Marten
Volume 7 Number 2 — Winter 2003
Wildlife Students Visit Vermont
by Katie Moriarty
In early September a group of Humboldt State wildlife students traveled to Burlington, Vermont. They didn’t fly across the country merely to enjoy the rolling hills of deciduous forests or to sit upon the shores of Lake Champlain. Nineteen students left a week of school behind to attend and compete at the 10th Annual Wildlife Society Conference. The Conference itself was five days long. It consisted of an array of speakers presenting almost nonstop in six different symposia from 8am to 5pm in addition to poster displays, field trips, and selective meetings. The conference also featured a traditional event; the student quiz bowl. Humboldt State has a strong reputation of placing well in this event, and in this particular occasion the team won first place for the third time in a row. To be more descriptive, the quiz bowl is an event that is similar to “wildlife jeopardy”. The hosts will compile a list of questions ranging from evaluations of life tables to characteristics of fish marking techniques. If a team is able to answer a question, a “bonus” round is given where the team typically gets a four part lab question that could include feathers, skulls, skins, plants, or any other assortment of items found within the wide range of wildlife topics. Humboldt’s team was able to prevail over school they competed against by 85 points or more. Not only were they able to show a wonderful demonstration of general knowledge, but the team identified four eastern deciduous plant samples to genus, were aware of nation-wide wildlife issues, and showed a balance within all realms of the wildlife spectrum.
Although they excelled within the quiz bowl, the students participated on a variety of levels. For the first time a group of three students submitted a scientific poster at the national level. It featured the results from a hands-on salamander cover object study within the Arcata Community Forest. Three separate students each entered a poster for a TWS promotional contest, and these may (and will) be used in future advertisements from the national chapter. The national chapter was gracious enough to involve students in field trips, within a student/professional mixer, and with a student breakfast. The opportunity to attend a conference of this magnitude was both enlightening and well appreciated. The next trek the Humboldt students will make will be to Student Regionals this coming spring, and of course, how could we possibly miss the next Annual Conference that is scheduled for Calgary, Alberta.
President’s Message
by David Juliano
Declining membership at TWS
The California North Coast Chapter is fortunate to have a large membership base. We have maintained our numbers through all of the budget cuts and layoffs of the past few years. At higher levels, however, the story is not so good. I recently received a mailing from the membership committee of TWS. They have seen three consecutive years of declining membership are pushing for more involvement. I know that times and budgets are tight, but please consider joining the national society and the Western Section if you haven’t already. We are living under the most hatefully anti-environmental administration in history, and an unknown commodity in Sacramento. Now more than ever we need to stand united and speak up for the wildlife resources we treasure.
Where did we go?
As many of you know, the chapter’s website and email system were down for awhile. Though it is back up at the original location, we will soon be introducing a brand-new website with a new provider. The new site will be more user-friendly, have more information, and allow for better communication to chapter members. This change will be taking place over the coming months, and we will email chapter members the new address. One major change of note is that The Marten will no longer be a print publication. When the new website is up and running, we will email a link to you when a new issue has been posted. For this reason, it is very important that we have a current email address for you. If you haven’t been receiving regular email from me (workshop info, program meeting, etc.), please contact us and update your address. The new website will have a link for members to update their information, in the meantime, you can send it to Joel Thompson ([email protected]).
Workshop news
The Fire Ecology and Resource Management workshop was held November 5-7 at the North Coast Inn. This was a different approach for us, with a much broader, multi-disciplinary focus than previous workshops. The feedback from attendees and speakers was overwhelmingly positive, and the information presented was enlightening and timely. I would like to thank the steering committee for all of the hard work they put in over the past year. In the coming year, we plan to concentrate on a series of less formal, one-day workshops covering a range of topics. We will also begin planning for a large-scale workshop to take place in 2005. If anyone has ideas for needed workshops or would like to serve on a steering committee, please contact the chapter.
Chapter Elections
Candidate Statements
Joel Thompson – President Elect
My name is Joel Thompson. I graduated with a BS degree in wildlife from Humboldt State in1995. I have been working as a biologist for Simpson Resource Company for the past 10 years with a focus on spotted owl ecology in a managed forest environment. In addition, I have worked with a variety of small mammals, herps and forest raptors. Currently I am working on a M.Sc. degree at Humboldt State under Dr. Rick Golightly. My research is focused on estimating the density of Fisher (Martes pennanti) on managed timberlands in north coastal California. I have been the Membership Committee chair for the Northcoast Chapter for a number of years and believe that it is time to get even more involved. What better way than to be your new President Elect. After all, board meetings seem more enjoyable if you have the right to vote.
Dave Nielsen – Treasurer
I have over thirty years of experience working and teaching in the field of natural resources. IÕve worked for three public agencies in three western states and, most recently, IÕve been the Senior Biologist at Pacific NorthWestern Biological for the last thirteen years. I have a BA and MA in Biology from HSU and I have 23 years of administrative and supervisory experience, including budgeting and accounting. I feel very fortunate to have been a member of the most successful Chapter on the west coast these past years and IÕd like to have an opportunity to contribute some time and effort to the Chapter as your treasurer.
Vanessa Loverti – Secretary
My name is Vanessa Loverti. I currently work for the Department of Fish and Game (Wildlife function). I have been on the Steering Committee for the past three Wildlife Society workshops here on the North Coast. This has prompted me to run for secretary of the North Coast Chapter. I would like to further my involvement in the Wildlife Society and chapter functions. Please consider my submission for the position.
Gary Falxa – Chapter Representative
I have worked as an endangered species biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Arcata field office for the past 4 years, after 7 years in the USFWS’ Sacramento office. During my career as a biologist, I have also pursued my interests in vertebrate ecology, conservation biology and resource management through field research and teaching. Since coming to the north coast area 4 years ago, my pursuits have included population monitoring for marbled murrelets, conservation of forest amphibians and listed butterflies, and sleuthing for yellow-billed cuckoos in local riparian habitats. I helped organize the North Coast Chapter’s wildlife and cavities workshop in 2002, and look forward to further involvement in and service to the chapter, as its representative to the Western Section. I received a Ph.D. in zoology from UC Davis, and a BA from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.
Jeremy Todoroff – Student Representative
My name is Jeremy Todoroff and I’m running for student representative. I am a senior wildlife student at Humboldt State University. I am very active in various aspects of wildlife. I have attended two Western Section and one National Wildlife Society meeting the past two years. At these meetings, I have been highly successful on the quiz bowl team. In addition, I recently attended the 3rd North American Duck Symposium in Sacramento, where I received a $100 travel grant from the North Coast Chapter. My goals as student representative are to get more students involved with TWS, coordinate events with the student body and local professionals, and to add a different perspective during meetings and workshops.