Agenda for the Black Rail Status and Conservation Workshop Nov 12-14

[Fern Davies]

Below is a general agenda for the Black Rail Status and Conservation Workshop. It is an open discussion format guided by presentations:

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 4 and the Gulf Coast. The workshop will be held November 12, 13, & 14, 2013 at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center and Complex headquarters office (694 Beech Hill Lane, Hardeeville, SC 29927). Anyone interested in Black Rail conservation is welcome to attend. Please RSVP with contact information by emailing me a reply - mdwils@wm.edu

The Savannah workshop is made possible by a cooperative agreement between the Center for Conservation Biology and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Troy Wilson, Regional Non-Game Biologist, Migratory Bird Program, USFWS and Jennifer Wheeler, Waterbird Coordinator, Division of Migratory Bird Management, USFWS have been instrumental in helping me plan for this workshop.



Black Rail Status and Conservation Workshop

Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center
694 Beech Hill Lane, Hardeeville, SC 29927 (843-754-2468)
November 12, 13, &14, 2013

Driving Directions: http://www.fws.gov/savannah/map.html
Facilitator: Mike Wilson, Center for Conservation Biology, 757-221-1649, mdwils@wm.edu

Purpose: To share information and reach consensus on major topics regarding Black Rail Status and Conservation through an open discussion format

Agenda:

November 12th

12:00pm: Begin Workshop; Introductions
12:30pm: Workshop Purpose and Design
Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for Atlantic and Gulf coastal states
Workshop framework and mechanics
1:00pm: Summary of Results from Northeast Black Rail Workshop in Delaware (held Sep 10&11)
1:30pm: Population Status
Historical Range & changes
Current Range and Distribution
NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, LA, MS, TX
Inland population status
Protection Status
2:30 break
2:45pm Population Status continued
3:15pm: Habitat Use
Description and Breadth of Saltmarsh use
Freshwater marsh use
Managed habitats, impoundments
5:00pm: Adjourn for day

November 13th

9:00am: Resolve any unfinished business from day before
9:30am: Phenology
Migration, Nesting
10:15am: Population Threats /Causes for Decline
Habitat loss and degradation
Sea-level rise, upland habitat matrix, historical changes
Habitat Management
e.g., ditching/draining/flooding, mosquito control, prescribed burning
Demographic Threats
Nest survival & productivity, adult survival
12:00pm: Lunch break (nearby restaurants in Savannah)
2:30pm: Population Threats continued
3:00pm: Monitoring
Survey Design - population census recommendations
Survey Protocol
5pm: Adjourn for day

November 14th

9:00am: How does the Black Rail fit into your agency / institutional planning?
e.g., urgency, priorities for funding of census, monitoring, management work, as a focal
species vs community approach
10:30am: Ongoing projects and future needs
Create list of recommendation for monitoring and management projects
12:00pm: Short Break
12:30pm: Continuation of projects
2:00pm: Workshop adjourned


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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