To be held in conjunction with the Northeast Natural History Conference
Learn the finer points of vernal pool mapping and conservation at a conference in Springfield, Massachusetts, on April 7. VCE’s Stave Faccio and our colleague Dan Lambert have designed the session for vernal pool specialists, wildlife and wetland management professionals, research scientists, and field biologists working for state and federal agencies, universities, environmental consulting firms, and non-governmental organizations. Here are details:
Date: Monday, April 7, 2014 (the conference continues through Wednesday, April 9)
Location: Sheraton Springfield Hotel, Springfield, MA
Time: Noon to 5:30 pm (includes lunch)
Fee: $25 for those who register for the Northeast Natural History Conference or $50 for those who participate in the vernal pool workshop only
Conference website: http://www.eaglehill.us/NENHC_2014/NENHC2014.shtml
Workshop and conference registration:
http://www.eaglehill.us/NENHC_2014/registration/registrationinfo.shtml
Related sessions: The conference program includes scientific sessions on Amphibian Conservation, Amphibian Ecology, Freshwater Ecology and Biomonitoring, and Turtle Research and Conservation
Workshop Description
This workshop will introduce the North Atlantic Vernal Pool Data Cooperative (VPDC) and provide a forum for participation in its development. The objectives of the VPDC are to:
1) compile a comprehensive GIS database of currently mapped vernal pool locations in the North Atlantic region, including potential and verified pools;
2) compile and describe the various mapping and verification approaches currently being employed in the region;
3) develop a remote sensing method using LiDAR to efficiently identify potential vernal pool locations; and
4) prioritize areas for future mapping based on likely density of vernal pools or density of high- quality vernal pools.
Panel presentations and discussions will focus on the details of this approach as well as the scientific and conservation applications of a regionally coordinated vernal pool database. Small groups will then break out to review and refine: data and metadata standards, information access and visualization procedures, and geospatial modeling and field verification methods. Participants will also be invited to share basic information about vernal pool datasets with which they are familiar.
The Vermont Center for Ecostudies is coordinating the Vernal Pool Data Cooperative with funds from the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NALCC). The project’s advisors and collaborators include representatives from: Clemson University, High Branch Conservation Services, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, NatureServe, Siena College, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Paul Smith’s College, the University of Maine, and the University of Vermont.
For more information: Contact workshop organizers Steve Faccio () and Dan Lambert ()
