Graduate student research will be presented and on display at the upcoming 65th Annual Ohio Wildlife Management Association (OWMA) conference held on the campus of The Ohio State University. The conference theme, Quality Habitat, Quality Wildlife will bring together land and wildlife management professionals from across the state to foster, promote and practice wildlife research and management.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Chief Kendra Wecker will provide welcome remarks at the January 17 all-day event at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center with a Keynote Address from Darin McNeil, assistant professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management, who will discuss the umbrella species concept and wildlife conservation on private forests in the Eastern United States.
"The Ohio Wildlife Management Conference is one of, if not THE longest running state wildlife management conference of its kind in the entire U.S.,” said Bob Gates, associate professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management in the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) at The Ohio State University. "Held each year on Ohio State’s campus for much longer than my 27-year career at Ohio State, the conference brings together wildlife professionals from multiple agencies and universities throughout Ohio and serves to strengthen ties and partnerships among agencies, universities, and students by sharing information and knowledge that benefits Ohio's natural resources."
Joining wildlife professionals and scholars representing ODNR, Quail Forever, Pheasants Forever, BioSurvey Group, USDA, Ohio University and University of New Hampshire on the program and presenting from the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University in the afternoon session are:
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Utility Vegetation Assessments – Prescribing Management or Conducting Research? – Gabriel Karns, The Ohio State University & Michael Retterer, Pheasants Forever
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Landscape Features Shape the Genetic Structure of Barn Owls Across the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern USA – Allison K. Williams, The Ohio State University
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Modeling Changing Winter Duck Distribution in the Great Lakes Region – Andrea Spurck, The Ohio State University
Posters will be on display throughout the conference, including posters on habitat suitability for Gray Fox in Ohio and inter-annual and regional differences in survival and nesting productivity of Wild Turkey Hens.
To learn more about the OWMA, visit: https://ohiowildlife.org/