(Posted March 21, 2016)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College's student chapter of The Wildlife Society is hosting the 2016 Northeast Conclave, an annual meeting of student chapters of the society from colleges and universities across the Mid-Atlantic Region from April 1 to 3 at Camp Blue Diamond in Rothrock State Forest near Petersburg, Pa.

The Conclave is sponsored by The Wildlife Society, Sodexo, the Raystown Field Station, Standing Stone Coffee Company and Friends of Raystown Lake.

The meeting will feature a Quiz Bowl, where 15 teams from institutions from Virginia to Michigan to Maine will answer questions about wildlife and environmental science. The Quiz Bowl competition is at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 2 in the main lodge.

On Friday, April 1, the main speaker for the meeting, at 8 p.m. in the main lodge, will be Lisa Williams, a wildlife biologist and species specialist for ruffed grouse, woodcock, mourning doves and webless waterfowl. Williams, a 1989 Juniata graduate, helped develop the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Wildlife Action Plan and helped coordinate the commission's emergency response to White Nose Syndrome, a deadly affliction affecting bats throughout the state.

Workshops will run throughout Saturday April 2 at 8:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:15 p.m. On Sunday, April 3, there will be a longer workshop from 8:15 a.m. to noon.

Among the Saturday workshops at the Conclave will be sessions on Camera Traps, Birding Basics, Forest Management for Long-eared Bats, Distance Lab, Wildlife Immobilization, Amphibian Ecology, Geospatial Referencing, Tips for Leading Nature Walks, Rocket Netting, Survival Skills for Field Biologists, Bear Trapping, Small Mammal Population Estimating, Avian Trapping Techniques, Grant Writing for the Wildlife Professional, Raptors as Conseravation Ambassadors, Drones as a Management Tool, Winter Tree Identification, Insect Comics, Electrofishing, Turtle Ecology, Feral Hog Management and Wildlife Harassment and Deterrent.

The longer Sunday workshop topics include White-tailed Deer Chemical Immobilization (at the Penn State University Deer Pens), Waterfowl Identification Workshop and Electrofishing.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.