Registration is now open for the second annual Southeastern Wisconsin Conservation Summit. The conference will take place at beautiful Forest Beach Migratory Preserve (Hotspot Near You No. 156) in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, on November 2-3. The preserve sits on bluffs above Lake Michigan, about 30 miles north of Milwaukee.

The two-day summit, organized by the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory, is designed to foster regional collaboration and networking by providing opportunities to meet and listen to the people who are conducting terrific conservation work in southeastern Wisconsin.

The event is open to the public. Complete details, registration materials, directions, and links to local lodging and dining options are available on the observatory’s website.

The first summit, held at the preserve in November 2017, was a big success, attracting attendees from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. Like the inaugural gathering, the 2018 summit will include more than 40 speakers and focus on a wide variety of subjects related to environmental research and monitoring, conservation advocacy, and ecological restoration.

According to William Mueller, the observatory’s director, speakers will include representatives from local government agencies, the American Bird Conservancy, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy, and other organizations. They will give presentations on Kirtland’s Warbler recovery efforts, orchid conservation, phragmites control, addressing stream-bank and bluff erosion, and Bird City Wisconsin.

Also on the agenda are talks about the monitoring of deer populations, controlling toxic algae, citizen-based monitoring of rusty patch bumblebees, invasive plant species, bird banding, Great Lakes shoreline conservation, bird collisions and urban architecture, the Wisconsin Monarch Collaborative, and much more.

Presentations will be 15 minutes long and grouped by theme into sessions that allow time for questions from the audience and ample networking opportunities.

Posters will also be displayed throughout both days of the conference, and attendees will have a chance to chat with poster authors during a 90-minute poster session on Friday afternoon. For more details, see our calendar of events.

Birding festivals in October 2018

 

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