Time is running out to reserve your place in the 2008 BCI workshops. Partial scholarships are available for qualified candidates. More information can be found on the following webpage: http://www.batcon.org/home/index.asp?idPage=30&idSubPage=118
Bat Conservation International 2008 BAT CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT WORKSHOPS Each year, Bat Conservation International (BCI) offers a series of comprehensive, introductory field workshops to train serious students of bat conservation in current research and management techniques for the study of bats. Following an intensive 6-day, 5-night agenda, BCI biologists and professional colleagues will present a combination of lectures and discussions, field trips to view bat habitat resources and hands-on training to catch and identify bats. Learn species identification, netting, radio-tracking, night-vision observation and habitat assessment while working in extraordinary settings. ARIZONA -- Session I has just one spot and Session II has 2 spots remaining An Arizona workshop in the Chiricahua Mountains emphasizes western bats. The Chiricahuas offer a biodiversity unequalled anywhere else in North America. You can expect to see, and even to capture and handle, as many as 18 bat species in a single evening, then watch endangered long-nosed bats visit hummingbird feeders at your front door. Participants have also enjoyed spotting ring-tailed cats, coatis, and trogans. BCI workshop veteran Janet Tyburec, Dr. Katy Hinman and Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists will share a wealth of knowledge on species identification (including by echolocation calls), bat conservation, management, education, public health and nuisance issues, artificial habitats and much more. We will stay at the American Museum of Natural History's famous Southwestern Research Station, where you will enjoy superb dining with researchers from around the world. Two sessions: May 20-25 and May 25-30, 2008. Each session limited to 16 people. Departure city: Tucson, AZ. Cost: $1,395 CALIFORNIA -- just a few spots still available A California workshop focuses on the conservation and management of bats in the Pacific Northwest. Set among the rugged backdrop of unique lava formations at Lava Beds National Monument, we will have an unparalleled opportunity to observe and discuss how variations in cave environments uniquely impact where bats roost. In addition to viewing evening bat emergences and exploring the unique volcanic formations, we will practice setting nets and traps at ice cave entrances, over wet meadows and in mixed pine forests. Townsend's big-eared bats and colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats are just two of the 14 bat species we hope to encounter at this workshop. Janet Tyburec and local experts lead this workshop, which features species identification (including by echolocation calls), bat conservation, threats, management, education, public health and nuisance issues and much more. Our lodging, located in the heart of the Pacific Flyway, is tucked between the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges, both of which boast exceptional waterfowl diversity where bird-watching and photography opportunities abound. One session: July 19-24, 2008. Limited to 20 people. Departure city: Medford, OR. Cost: $1,395 PENNSYLVANIA -- only three spots left Our Pennsylvania workshop highlights eastern bats and their habitats. We'll net, trap and release bats over trout streams and beaver ponds, observe endangered Indiana bats swarming at a mine entrance, watch 20,000 little brown bats in a spectacular dawn return to their roost at a restored church and examine them up close. Workshop co-leader Cal Butchkoski of the Pennsylvania Game Commission is a leading expert on surveying and radio-tracking Indiana bats, as well as one of America's most successful builders of bat houses and other artificial roosts. Cal and Janet Tyburec, joined by local consultant John Chenger, will share a wealth of knowledge covering all aspects of bat conservation, management, education and public health and nuisance issues. Home cooking is but one of many unexpected treats at historic Greene Hills Manor, our workshop headquarters. One session: August 17-22, 2008. Limited to 20 people. Departure city: Harrisburg, PA. Cost: $1,395 2008 ACOUSTIC MONITORING WORKSHOP -- full, now accepting waitlist registration forms In response to many requests, BCI is offering an acoustic monitoring workshop session at Lava Beds National Monument in California. The workshop will cover hardware and software including Anabat, Pettersson and SonoBat and teach call identifications and how to develop a monitoring program. Joining BCI's Janet Tyburec will be acoustic software developers Chris Corben and Joe Szewczak, along with acoustic experts Sybill Amelon and Ted Weller. The format will be similar to BCI's Bat Conservation and Management workshops, combining discussions of current research with hands-on demonstrations and fieldwork. Each night, we will be capturing bats and developing call libraries so participants can return to their home study areas and begin their own projects armed with knowledge and experience. BCI will have equipment available, but participants are encouraged to bring there own systems. The Acoustic Monitoring Workshop is an advanced workshop designed for graduates of previous BCI workshops and/or experienced bat workers. One session: July 24-29, 2008. Limited to 20 people. Departure city: Medford, OR. Cost: $1,595 For additional information, registration forms and scholarship applications, visit www.batcon.org <http://www.batcon.org/> 'Get Involved' or contact Kari Gaukler, BCI, PO Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716; 512-327-9721; [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
