2018 Annual Meeting

Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country – Santa Rosa, CA
February 5-9, 2018

Welcome to the 65th Annual Meeting of The Western Section of The Wildlife Society

Please join us for our 2018 annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country (formerly known as Vineyard Creek Hyatt) in Santa Rosa, California.
Our theme this year is Communicating Science.  Communicating is a critical life and professional skill.  Yet few of us have been trained in communication techniques.  Consequently, many of our science messages fall flat, especially when presented to non-scientists.
One of the objectives of our 2018 meeting is to provide strategies that can be used to overcome that challenge, more effectively communicate what we know, and inspire action.
In that regard, our 2018 meeting offers many opportunities to improve and practice our science communication skills.  These include:

  • The Story Circles Demo Day – a workshop on using narrative structure to communicate science,
  • The Breakfast Roundtable – a World Café-style discussion on communicating science,
  • A workshop on the process of publishing and peer-reviewing scientific papers,
  • A technical paper session on Communicating Science to Diverse Audiences,
  • A workshop on How Not to Give a Scientific Presentation,
  • A banquet talk by Randy Olson on What Science Needs: Narrative Training,
  • A plenary session on Communicating Science, featuring author and filmmaker Randy Olson, Chico State professor emeritus Jon Hooper, NSF post-doc and TED fellow Mike Gil, and UC Berkeley doctoral candidate Sara ElShafie, plus
  • A workshop on preparing résumés and developing interviewing skills.

To foster professional development in other areas, we are also offering pre-conference workshops and symposia on other topics, including watershed restoration, wildlife biologist construction awareness training, wilderness first aid, and the dilemma of the barred owl invasion in California.
Among our technical papers sessions will be special sessions on mitigation for bats and planning for at-risk species under the U.S. Forest Service 2012 Planning Rule.  And on Friday, in addition to technical paper sessions, we’re offering numerous activities to encourage and develop students and early career professionals.
I look forward to improving our science communication skills, sharing research, reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, making new friends and colleagues, stimulating new ideas and discussions, and strengthening the Western Section.
See you there!
Jeff Davis, TWS-WS President-Elect
2018 TWS-WS Annual Meeting Chair
Principal Scientist, Colibri Ecological Consulting