1st Annual Michigan Members of PARC Herpetological Symposium

Greetings,
Michigan Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (MiPARC) would like to invite you to join us for the First Annual Michigan Members of PARC Herpetological Symposium on February 20, 2009 from 9am-4pm. To limit the travel distance for as many people as possible, we will meet in Midland, Michigan at the Midland Center for the Arts.

This meeting has three primary goals. First, we want to bring together people from different ecological backgrounds with an interest in herp conservation in Michigan and create a network of contact persons and experts. Second, we want to hear from managers, researchers, and others to identify what is needed to help them implement conservation programs. And lastly, we want to establish list of priorities for herp conservation in Michigan and identify the first steps towards resolving these issues.

We feel you could contribute significantly to MiPARC and Michigan herp conservation in general and hope you are able to attend. Please see the basic agenda below for more details. Lunch will be provided.

9-9:30am Registration/Breakfast
9:30-10am Intro/Info
10-Noon Presentations on Herp Conservation and Status in Michigan
Noon-1pm Lunch
1-1:15pm Group Breakout/Instruction
1:15-2:15pm Group Discussion
2:15-2:30pm Break
2:30-4:00pm Wrap-up

Please RSVP by January 31st so we can order food and supplies for everyone. You can RSVP either by replying to this email, emailing Edi Sonntag (sonntage@msu.edu), or by visiting MWPARCinMI.ning.com. Also, please feel free to contact either Dave or Edi at any time for more information.

Sincerely,
Edi Sonntag, MSc
PhD Candidate
MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
sonntage@msu.edu

David Mifsud, MSc, PWS
Herpetological Research Management
dmifsud@herprman.com

I am not in Michigan, but I just want to point out...

• PARC is a worthwhile organization, and free to join. See: http://www.parcplace.org/
• PARC is interested in outreach to hobbyists and hobbyist organizations.
• PARC has state and regional meetings, such as the one Kaysie has posted.
• PARC regional meetings may be places where C.org'ers could get together.

I'm in Michigan and as of now I plan on going if I'm not needed at work. I think Midland is a perfect location to talk about conservation, not to mention its a hot herping site.

Just for some background info, Midland is home of the world's highest concentration of pollutants EVER. These consist mostly of dioxin trapped in sediments in the Tittabawassee River, downriver from the Dow Chemical plant.