TWS-MB Newsletter - March 2015

President’s Corner

Hello Chapter Members, 

My me as President of the Chapter is drawing to a close with the AGM scheduled in late March. It has been a great opportunity and I have really enjoyed my me as President. There is a bright future ahead for the Chapter and we are well posi oned to look at bringing new programs to our members while con nuing to deliver our exis ng events. I look forward to working with the new Execu ve as Past Presi-dent to explore these new possibili es. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each member of this year’s Execu ve for their hard work and dedica on. The Chapter is cer-tainly stronger as a result. With the 2015 Annual TWS Conference coming to Winnipeg in October, I encourage everyone to

spread the word about this great confer-ence opportunity. Hopefully many of you will be able to a end the conference and par cipate in many of its func ons. This is a great opportunity to meet and talk with many great professionals and students from across North America. In closing, thank you again for the oppor-tunity to serve as President of the Chapter. Borrowing from Dr. Rick Baydack, I as well challenge you to think about “Why Do Wildlife Ma er?” Tell your stories, not to just your “wildlife family”, but to your wife, husband, kids, parents, friends and neigh-bours. It is with these people that we will begin to make a difference!   - Dennis Brannen

OF NOTE:

CHAPTER AGM FAST APPROACHING!

LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE REPORT

CHAPTER MEMBER BECOMES TWS

PRESIDENT!

STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD DEADLINE

MARCH 15

Inside this issue:

March 2015 Winter/Spring 2015

WINTER GETAWAY REPORT 2

CHAPTER NEWS 3

SPECIAL REPORTS 4

ANNOUNCEMENTS 6

THE WILDLIFE SOCIETY Excellence in Wildlife Stewardship Through Science and Education

The Wildlife Society Manitoba Chapter

Newsletter

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Page 2

Winter/Spring 2015

The 2015 annual Winter Get-Away, held at Camp Wannakumbac, was a packed weekend of wildlife

presenta ons, workshops, and networking. A total of 75 students and professionals a ended the weekend

with a great representa on from the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg, the University

College of the North, Brandon University, NGOs, federal government, and many others. We had a great

Saturday morning filled with scien fic presenta ons from undergradu-

ate and graduate research in the province. The a ernoon allowed eve-

ryone to get outside and learn some fun GPS skills, winter tree iden fi-

ca on on snowshoes, and skull iden fica on of various species. Our

Wildlife Career Panel has been receiving so much posi ve feedback

that we hope to con nue this ac vity in future years. A special thanks

to Stephen Petersen, Megan Hainstock, Pamela Rutherford, and Chris

Malcolm for sharing their stories and advice. Our weekend wrapped up

with a special deer trapping workshop on Sunday morning where we

were able to set up clover traps and even trap some special “wildlife”...

Thank you to all the workshop leaders, speakers, event organizers, and

camp staff for pulling another successful weekend off. We hope to see

you all again next year!

2015 WINTER GET-

AWAY AT CAMP

WANNAKUMBAC

WAS A GREAT

SUCCESS!

Undergraduate representa ve Laura Kiernan caught in the trap Sunday 

Photos courtesy of C‐Jae Breiter 

CHAPTER NEWS

Page 3

Winter/Spring 2015

CHAPTER NEWS (con’t)

As you may be aware, The Wildlife Society Manitoba Chapter has been responding to various public com-ment periods on behalf of the membership. The Chapter has wri en le ers to Manitoba Hydro and Mani-toba Conserva on with our sugges ons, recommenda ons and support on topics affec ng wildlife in Mani-toba. Coming up, there are open comment periods for: Environmental Act approvals; Sturgeon Bay, Kin-wow Bay and Pelican Islands Park reserve on a proposal to designate the Park Reserve as a provincial park; and Goose Islands, Grand Island and Pemmican Island Provincial Parks also to designate the Park Reserve as a provincial park. If you are interested in having a voice on these environmental issues and would like to join our Conserva-

on Affairs Commi ee, please contact Dennis Brannen at [email protected].

The Wildlife Society (TWS) - Manitoba Chapter is in good financial posi on. The chapter bank balance is at $11,258.76 as of February 10, 2015. There is also currently $2,035.66 in a GIC investment as a rainy day fund.

The winter getaway resulted in a surplus of $855.54 due in large part from a great turn out of students and professionals. The bo le draw fundraiser was a big success as we made $212. We also saw a large turn out of new members (42) including a few local drop ins and renewals (22).

The membership currently stands at approximately 151 members.

MANITOBA

CHAPTER

CONSERVATION

AFFAIRS

COMMITTEE

TWS MANITOBA

CHAPTER

FINANCIAL REPORT

At the Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society (TWS) in Pi sburgh this past October, our very own, Dr. Rick Baydack was named President of TWS. Many of you will also know that Dr. Baydack is a Professor and Chair of Environmental Science and Studies at the University of Manitoba.

During his acceptance speech, Dr. Baydack challenged TWS members to think about and to perhaps an-swer a seemingly straigh orward ques on, “Why Do Wildlife Ma er?”

Upon reflec on, the possibility of answers will certainly be different to every individual and cross a spec-trum from simple to complex. As Dr. Baydack pointed out an answer may also depend on who you include, “Why do wildlife ma er to you, to your family, friends, to other cultures and society, to future genera-

ons?”

There is certainly no right or wrong answer; however, Dr. Baydack suggests that “the more answers that are generated and revealed to others, the greater the influence all of us and TWS will have on ensuring that wildlife resources remain, as well as become, an important considera on in natural resource and environmental decisions that are made on a regular basis in North America and beyond.”

In answering this important ques on let’s take on Rick’s challenge and “tell our stories!” “Our profession is the greatest story never told.” (Wini Kessler, 2012).

Join me in congratula ng Dr. Rick Baydack in becoming President of TWS and lets all be proud of the fact that he is a member of our Chapter as well. - Dennis Brannen

CHAPTER

MEMBER

BECOMES TWS

PRESIDENT!

Page 4

SPECIAL REPORTS

Winter/Spring 2015

The  Leadership  Ins tute  is  an annual  course  offered  by  TWS since  2006  that  consists  of  in‐tensive ac vi es and mentoring rela onships  designed  to  pre‐pare par cipants  for  leadership posi ons,  both  in  their  work‐place and  in TWS. The course is geared  towards  career  profes‐sionals  who  are  two  to  three 

years out of university, current‐ly working full‐ me in a wildlife professional  posi on,  and  who have demonstrated evidence of their  leadership poten al.   This past year (2014), I had the won‐derful  opportunity  to  par ci‐pate  in  the program and  found it  immensely  valuable.  I  met many  peers  and  professionals through my  involvement  in  the program and  I strongly encour‐age those interested to apply.  Each Leadership Ins tute par c‐ipant is paired with a LI alum as well as a TWS council member.  This was an excep onal experi‐ence,  in of  itself, as  the  stories and what  I took away from the connec on with my mentor was moving.  My involvement in the Leadership Ins tute exposed me to a whole new side of the TWS Annual  conference,  including my  introduc on  to  various working groups, the inner work‐ings of council,  the opportunity to  connect  with  the  council 

members,  past  and  present, including  some  of  the  most influen al in our field. I am now lucky enough  to be able  to  call upon  these  individuals  on  a professional  level,  and  in  some cases,  I  believe  I  can  call  on them  for  personal  guidance  as well.    But  lastly,  the  rela on‐ships I have built with my class‐mates  I  believe  will  be longstanding.  It was a privilege to work  alongside  such  a  phe‐nomenal  group  of  individuals.  Other Manitoba  Chapter  Lead‐ership  Ins tute  Alums  include Jonathan Wiens, and Dr. Agnes Pelle er.   Please  check  out  the call  for  applica ons  for  the 2015  Class  of  the  Leadership Ins tute  for  this  excellent  op‐portunity:  h p://wildlife.org/LIApplica on‐2015   ‐  Erin C. McCance 

TWS Leadership Ins tute Class of 2014: 

TWS Awards Banquet 2014: Erin McCance (LI Par cipant), Harriet Allen (TWS Council), Wini Kesslar (Former TWS Council), Sonja Leverkus (LI Par cipant) 

THE WILDLIFE

SOCIETY

LEADERSHIP

INSTITUTE 2014

Winter/Spring 2015

SPECIAL REPORTS (con’t)

Page 5

High precipita on and rich black soils combine to make tall-grass prairie the most produc-

ve, and consequently the most threatened, prairie type in North America. This problem is par cularly acute in Manitoba, where the northernmost extent of this ecosystem occurs. Es -mated to have historically cov-ered 600,000 ha, over 99.9% of Manitoba’s tall-grass prairie has been lost to agriculture, urban development, and encroach-ment of shrubs and trees. An inventory conducted in 1987-88 by the Manitoba Naturalists Society revealed most remain-ing fragments to be in sparsely wooded grasslands on the pe-riphery of what is considered “true prairie”. These sites sur-vived because their poorer, stonier, and o en poorly drained soils were not condu-cive to crop produc on.

Func oning as oases to many species of rare and endangered plants and animals, tall-grass prairie remnants in Manitoba con nue to decrease in size and number. Of a sample of the remnants inventoried in 1987-88, only 63.2% remained in 2006, and the majority of these

were under 21 ha in size. To-day, non-na ve grasslands, such as hayfields and seeded pasture, make up the majority of grassland habitat in the tall-grass prairie region. Yet even these surrogate habitat patches tend to be small.

The loss and fragmenta on of grasslands across the con nent is believed to be the primary cause of declines in grassland bird popula ons, which have been sharper and more wide-spread than those observed for any other group of North Amer-ican birds. A major conserva-

on concern regarding grass-land birds is area sensi vity – a behaviour whereby birds avoid, or nest in lower numbers in smaller habitat patches, reduc-ing the contribu on of these patches to overall habitat avail-ability. Previous research has demonstrated that Bobolink, Le Conte’s sparrow, Savannah sparrow, and Sedge wren nes ng in Manitoba’s tall-grass prairie all exhibit area sensi vi-ty. However, why a bird would avoid nes ng in an otherwise apparently suitable piece of habitat, more than large enough for the territory of a single pair, remains unclear.

Last spring, myself, a fellow graduate student from the University of Manitoba, Erin Prokopanko, and our field assis-

tant, Sarah Freeborne, sur-veyed grassland bird popula-

ons in 23 remnant tall-grass prairie patches to look for some clues. At each patch, we con-ducted mul ple point counts, whereby an observer recorded every bird seen and heard with-in a 50m radius over a 6 minute period. I will be using these data to try to determine wheth-er area sensi vity is influenced by the type of edge surround-ing a patch (eg. forest vs. cropland) or by the amount of habitat in the landscape sur-rounding a patch. Because 2014 was the 5th season these patches have been surveyed since 2007, I will also inves -gate whether their grassland bird popula ons have changed over me.

While evidence of area sensi v-ity has encouraged land manag-ers to emphasize the conserva-

on of large habitat patches, this may not be an op on in many cases. Therefore, deter-mining what characteris cs of a habitat patch, other than its size, encourage or discourage area sensi vity, would be an important tool towards con-serving grassland bird habitat in a highly fragmented landscape, such as Manitoba’s tall-grass prairie region.

The Effect of Habitat Loss and 

Fragmenta on on Grassland 

Birds – By Laurel McDonald 

HABITAT LOSS &

ITS EFFECT ON

GRASSLAND

BIRDS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Winter/Spring 2015

Page 6

FUNDRAISING SOCIAL MARCH 21 AT THE PEMBY! 

Come out for a fun filled evening of dancing prizes, food, and drinks! Help support The Wildlife Society Manitoba Chapter as we prepare for the Annual Conference being held in Winnipeg in 2015.

Invite your friends and colleagues. Spread the word! TICKETS ONLY $10

Please contact Laura Kiernan on Facebook, or by email at

[email protected] for more info!

Manitoba Chapter Annual General Mee ng Our Annual General Mee ng will take place at Fort Whyte Alive’s Interpre ve Centre, on March 26, 2015.

(Doors open at 6:30 pm, event starts at 7:00 p.m.)  

No ce of Bylaw Change about execu ve memberships. This change will be discussed at the AGM. We are now accep ng nomina ons for the 2015‐2016 execu ve. Vo ng will take place at the AGM.

Please send us your nomina on by March 12, 2015. For details about these posi ons, please email Rob Officer ([email protected]) or Don Sexton ([email protected]).

Open posi ons include: 

President-Elect Secretary-Treasurer

Northern Representa ve Member-at-large (x2)

Graduate Student Representa ve

Manitoba Chapter Conserva on Award If you know of an individual or organiza on that deserves recogni on for their outstanding contribu on to wildlife conserva on in Manitoba, please take the me to nominate them for the Manitoba Chapter Con-

serva on Award. For more informa on and to find the nomina on form, check out h p://drupal.wildlife.org/manitoba/

sites/wildlife.org.manitoba/files/Conserva on%20Award%20nomina on%20form.pdf Deadline is March 3, 2015 and winner will be announced at the spring AGM.

Manitoba Chapter Student Travel Award ($250) Next applica on deadline is March 15.

For more informa on and to download the applica on form, check out the Awards tab of the Manitoba Chapter website at h p://www.wildlife.org/manitoba/

MANITOBA

CHAPTER

FUNDRAISING

SOCIAL! COME

JOIN US!

MANITOBA

CHAPTER AGM AT

FORT WHYTE ALIVE

THURSDAY,

MARCH 26, 2015

CONSERVATION

AWARD - DO YOU

KNOW SOMEONE

WHO DESERVES

RECOGNITION?

STUDENT TRAVEL

AWARD DEADLINE

FAST

APPROACHING!

Winter/Spring 2015

ANNOUNCEMENTS (con’t)

Page 7

CANADIAN

SECTION &

INTERNATIONAL

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Canadian Sec on Annual Conference For the first me The Canadian Sec on of the Wildlife Society (CSTWS) will be hos ng its Annual Confer-

ence in Saskatoon this year on March 14th & 15th. The conference will include oral presenta ons, a poster session and a banquet featuring plenary Speaker Dr. Erin Bayne from the University of Alberta. The confer-ence offers all Saskatchewan fish and wildlife researchers a great opportunity to present their research to

wildlife professionals and students from throughout Canada!

Apply now for the 2015 TWS Leadership Ins tute From May un l October, par cipants will engage in a series of ac vi es to develop and expand their lead-ership skills. Ins tute members will a end the TWS Annual Conference in Winnipeg (October 16-21, 2015) and par cipate in various ac vi es, including mentoring and leadership workshop sessions. The Ins tute is

free, and par cipants receive free registra on and a travel grant for the conference. h p://wildlife.org/next-genera on/leadership-ins tute/

The applica on deadline is March 27, 2015.

Call for Past Newsle ers

We are in the process of trying to track down as many old newsle ers as we can. We are especially inter-

ested in anything from the 1990’s & earlier. If anyone has any past newsle ers saved, please scan or fax

them to: Marc Schuster at [email protected] (fax:204-983-5248).

Help Us!

wildlife.org/manitoba

Current Execu ve 2014/15  President: Dennis Brannen [email protected]  President Elect: Stephen Petersen [email protected]  Past President: Robert Officer

[email protected]

 Secretary/Treasurer: C-Jae Breiter

[email protected]

 Member at Large: Rosemary Dohan

[email protected]

 Northern Representa ve: David Rai [email protected]   Graduate Student Representa ve: Marika Olynyk [email protected]  Undergraduate Student Representa ve: Laura Kiernan

[email protected]

 Advisor: Don Sexton [email protected]

The Manitoba Chapter of The Wildlife Society is dedicated to the conserva on and protec on of our wildlife resource base, through ini a ves in public aware-ness, educa on and professional development, while promo ng and upholding

responsible wildlife stewardship  

WHO’S WHO ON THE EXECUTIVE 

Ques ons/Comments about the newsle er can be directed to the Website/Newsle er Editor: Marc Schuster at [email protected]