Black Rail Workshop - Sept. 10-11 - Prime Hook NWR (Delaware)

[Fern Davies]

A workshop will be held to share information and reach a group consensus on the status and conservation of the Black Rail in USFWS Region 5. The workshop will take place at the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge on September 10 and 11, 2013. Anyone interested in Black Rail conservation is welcome to attend. Please RSVP with contact information by emailing me a reply - mdwils@wm.edu

This workshop is part of a grant agreement between the Northeast Regional Conservation Needs program (administered by Wildlife Management Institute) and the Center for Conservation Biology (College of William and Mary/Virginia Commonwealth University). Mike Wilson of the Center and Dave Brinker, MD Dept. of Natural Resources/Natural Heritage Program serve as project leaders to complete a written Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the species in the northeast region.

This will be one of two workshops focused on Black Rails with the other to be held in the Southeast U.S. to support the SE and Gulf Coasts portions of the plan at a TBD location and date (likely 3rd week of October 2013).

The workshop will be an open discussion format that is designed to reach consensus among participants on major conservation topics including; current status, population change, habitat breadth, threats, conservation strategies, among others. More information will follow this announcement. Participation will be credited in the final document. If you can't make it, please always feel welcome to contact me for anything you would like to contribute or ask about.

Many thanks to Art Coppola and the Prime Hood NWR staff for allowing us to host the workshop at this location.


Michael Wilson
Center for Conservation Biology
College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
phone: 757-221-1649
fax: 757-221-1650
email: mdwils@wm.edu
web: www.ccbbirds.org