| FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT and CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Society of Wetland Scientists South Central Chapter Fall Meeting
USGS National Wetlands Research Center (view map)
October 20-22, 2011, Lafayette, LA
We encourage you to register online, however if you prefer, Click here to download the registration form (Microsoft Word is required).
Meeting Agenda
The conference theme is "Challenges to Achieving a Resilient Gulf of Mexico Coast."
Student Travel Awards
This year, SCC is giving away six student travel awards of $100 each to help with travel costs for attending the chapter meeting. Preference will be given to students presenting at the meeting. Students from the same school or lab group can apply and are welcome to pool requests. Interested students should submit a mini-CV (one page), a short statement of future wetland interest, and budget justification to Carol Thompson at cthompson@tarleton.edu by September 10, 2011. Receipt of travel award applications will be confirmed via email. If you do not receive a response that your application was received, please follow up with an email to Carol.
Best Student Presentation Awards
SCC will give away two awards for best student presentations. The best two papers will receive travel awards ($800 for first place and $400 for second place) to attend the joint INTECOL-Wetlands and SWS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida June 3-8, 2012.
Workshops
(there will be an additional charge for the workshops, see registration form)
Wetland Functional Assessments: Practical Application for Determining Wetland Mitigation on the Gulf Coast
- Matt Stahman, SWCA Environmental Consultants, Houston, TX
- This workshop will be held at the Estuarine Habitat and Coastal Fisheries Center (view map)
**Only 4 seats left, email cthompson@tarleton.edu or call 254-968-2029 before you register to make sure there is room.
This workshop will focus on the practical application of current wetland functional assessments used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg, New Orleans, Fort Worth, and Galveston Districts. This full day workshop will teach Charleston Method, Modified Charleston Method, TXRAM, and HGM using real-world project examples. Results from each method will then be compared to available mitigation bank credits using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on-line RIBITS mitigation database. Workshop attendees will be taught how to calculate projected wetland mitigation costs for projects requiring Clean Water Act permitting through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
An Overview of Field Identification of Louisiana's Coastal Wetland Plants Larry Allain, Botanist, USGS National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, LA
This one day class includes a discussion of field identification characters of common wetland plants and hands on identification of herbarium and freshly collected plant specimens. During the afternoon session the class will visit a wetland to practice identification skills.
This workshop will be held at the USGS Wetlands Center (view map)
Field Trips
(depart Friday at 12:45pm from NWRC, return in time for social)
Shereburne WMA
The Sherburne WMA is operated by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. This WMA lies in the floodplain of the Atchafalaya River, which is the 5th largest river in North America in terms of discharge. Most of the Sherburne WMA is classified as bottomland hardwood forests; it has been isolated from normal spring floods since the mid-1900s but often is flooded by backwater flooding from the Atchafalaya River. In 2011 it received a direct spring flood from the Mississippi River for the first time since the mid-1900s when the Morganza Spillway was opened for the first time since its construction in the 1950s. Attendees will visit Moist Soil Management Units to learn about artificial wetlands managed for shorebirds and waterfowl learn more (pdf). Attendees also will visit thinned and un-thinned forests to learn about forest structure and habitat quality for migratory song birds learn more (pdf). Finally, attendees might return to Lafayette via Krotz Springs and visit Billy's MiniMart to learn about craklins, boudin, and boudin balls.
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge is one of the most biologically diverse wildlife areas in the nation. Historically, Rockefeller wintered as many as 400,000-plus waterfowl annually, but severe declines in the continental duck population due to drought and poor habitat quality on the breeding grounds have altered Louisiana's wintering population. In addition to ducks, geese, and coots, numerous shorebirds and wading birds either migrate through or overwinter in Louisiana's coastal marshes. Neotropical migrant passerines also use the shrubs and trees on levees and other "upland" areas of the refuge as a rest stop on their trans-Gulf journeys to and from Central and South America. Common resident animals include mottled ducks, nutria, muskrat, rails, raccoon, mink, otter, opossum, white-tailed deer, and alligators. An abundant fisheries population provides recreational opportunities to fishermen seeking shrimp, redfish, speckled trout, black drum, and largemouth bass, among others.
Since 1954 Rockefeller Refuge has been a test site for various marsh management strategies, including levees, weirs, and several types of water control structures utilized to enhance marsh health and waterfowl food production.Eleven impoundments are currently in place with some manner of water control. The basic management scenario utilized on Rockefeller is to stabilize water levels and reduce salinities to encourage growth of submerged aquatics and, in the fresher units, spring and summer draw-downs encourage production of annual emergents. Rockefeller staff are involved in a wide range of research projects. Rockefeller Refuge is probably best known for pioneering research into alligator ranching, physiology, and life-history. Statewide brown pelican and bald eagle restoration and monitoring are also conducted from Rockefeller. Applied marsh management, waterfowl habitat management, and mottled duck population dynamics are other research topics ongoing at the refuge.
Social and Supper
UL Alumni Center (view map)
corner St. Mary Boulevard and Girard Park Drive
5 to 8 pm Friday
For this event we are partnering with the UL Department of Communication for their 12th Annual Fish and Game Fiest (view last years menu). We will be treated to choices of numerous dishes cooked by local chefs and alumni, a taste of the bounty provided by Louisiana's wetlands (shrimp, oyster, trout, redfish, turtle, alligator, duck, goose, deer, nutria, etc.). Beer and wine will be provided at no additional cost, and live traditional Cajun music will be provided by world renowned Les Freres Michot, featuring our own Tommy Michot and his brothers.
ACCOMMODATIONS
20 rooms have been reserved at Hilton Garden Inn, for $89/night.
Use group code SWS when registering.
Rooms will be held until 10/5/11.
2350 West Congress Street
Lafayette, Louisiana
Tel: 1-337-291-1977
website
Contact Information
Dr. Carol Thompson
SWS South Central Chapter President
Tel: (254) 968-9739
cthompson@tarleton.edu
Dr. Thomas C. Michot
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Tel: (337) 482-1799
tcmichot@louisiana.edu
Dr. Ken Krauss
USGS National Wetlands Research Center
Tel: (337) 266-8882
kkrauss@usgs.gov |
