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Association of State
Wetland Managers


International Affairs, Office of U.S Fish & Wildlife Service

U.S. National Ramsar Committee

Partners in Flight
Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) Birders Needed (USA)

New BBS routes need to be run and new observers recruited. The most important need is attaining better data on long-term population trends for many species by ensuring that all BBS routes are run by qualified observers every year. The BBS, not a difficult methodology, only requires one morning per year. Some participants are described as taking an additional morning to scout the route a day or two ahead of time to make sure bridges are still in place and that they can identify everything that's singing. BBS brochures and training CDs are available from Terry Rich or Keith Pardieck at BBS. To see the status of routes in your state click here.

Ramsar News:

The Ramsar Convention and its Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative (MedWet) are calling for entries to the Ramsar/MedWet Award for films on water and wetlands. The Award will be granted at the Ecofilms Rodos International Films and Visual Arts Festival, 20 – 25 June 2006 in Rodos, Greece. It is open to film makers from all countries. The deadline for submissions is 1 March 2006. Click here http://www.medwet.org/medwetnew/en/index.asp

The Ramsar Convention has come into force in these new member countries: Central African Republic, Barbados and Rwanda.

New Ramsar Sites:
Albania - 1 site
Algeria - 16 new sites !!
Chad - 2 new sites
El Salvador - 1 new site
Guinea - 2 new sites
India - 6 new sites
Japan - 20 new sites!!
Kyrgyz Republic - 1 new site
Mexico - 2 new sites
Zambia - 1 new site

For more details click here.

News From Wetlands International

Hachirogata-Kantakuchi - The Largest Rice Scheme in Japan Joins the East Asian Anatidae Site Network
The Network now covers 28 sites in 6 countries. Click here

Wetlands International - South Asia

Dr. Taej Mundkur brings to our attention a major new development close to Shanghai - on the mudflats of the Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve, on the Chongming island, a Ramsar site. This is a critically important area for migratory shorebirds and many other waterbirds, including cranes, swans and geese. Last year, a Dunlin "Calidris alpina"was marked here and subsequently caught and released on its nesting grounds in Alaska. Movements of other migratory species have connected this important site to Russia, Australia and New Zealand. To learn more click here for this article "Shanghai Plans Eco-metropolis on its Mudflats"

Available: Meeting Report and Annexes for Proposed Central Asian Flyway Action Plan to Conserve Migratory Waterbirds and their Habitats [New Delhi, India, June 2005] Click here.

Team Finds Rare Sandpipers in Bangladesh

27 January 2006 - Associated Press, by Parveen Ahmed - Dhaka, Bangladesh - At least 11 rare spoon-billed sandpipers have been discovered along the coast of Bangladesh, scientists said Friday, raising hopes for the survival of the birds, whose population has dwindled to just 300-350 pairs in the wild. Concern rose over the fate of the small shore birds, named for their distinctive teaspoon-shaped bills, after a 2005 expedition failed to find a single bird in their traditional winter habitat along India's east coast. Click here

Hunting Decimates Greenland's Seabirds

26 January 2006 - BirdLife International - A new study published in the journal of the Danish Ornithological Society (DOF, BirdLife in Denmark) documents that birds in west Greenland have undergone a severe decline within the last 100 years. Shockingly, one formerly common breeding species, the Thick-billed Murre, can no longer be found. Click here

Extreme Birding Takes off

26 January 2006 - Associated Press, by Dave Carpenter - No place too far, no price too high for some bird-watchers attracted to the hunt. While the cost of chasing birds to the far corners of the earth is high, virtually everyone afflicted with this obsession says the rewards are well worth it. "The more you see them, the more amazing they are to you. You can’t ever get enough.” Click here

Coral Reefs Cheaper to Protect than Neglect, U.N. Finds

25 January 2006 — Reuters, by Alister Doyle, Oslo — Costs of safeguarding the world's fast-disappearing coral reefs and mangroves are small compared to the benefits they provide from tourism to fisheries, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) said. The report, part of a recent trend trying to place a value on the natural world, said that pollution, global warming and expanding human settlements along coasts were among mounting threats to reefs and mangroves. "Day in and day out and across the oceans and seas of the world nature is working to generate incomes and livelihoods for millions if not billions of people," UNEP executive director Klaus Toepfer said... Click here

Wild Bird Flu Blame 'Too Hasty'

24 January 2006 - BBC News - Governments across Europe are being too hasty in blaming the spread of avian flu on wild birds, says the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Many scientists say there is evidence wild birds are spreading the highly dangerous H5N1 strain of the virus. But the RSPB says the trade in birds and the movement of poultry products is a more likely cause. The charity said there are no migration routes that would take birds from China to Turkey at this time of year... Click here

Stop Blaming Waterbirds for Avian Flu

23 January 2006 - Wetlands International - Migrating waterbirds are seen as a major health risk since the outbreak of the avian flu. Millions of wild birds have now reached their winter destination. No serious outbreak due to these migrations has occurred yet. According to Wetlands International, it is now time to shift the attention from wild birds to the poultry sector... Click here

World Pledges $1.9B to Bird Flu Fight

18 January 2006 - CNN News - Nations attending a bird flu meeting in the Chinese capital of Beijing had pledged $1.9 billion to fight the disease, a U.S. official said, exceeding expectations set by the World Bank. The World Bank says nearly half of the money raised will be spent in Southeast Asia, where the virus is already well entrenched. Click here

Canada Strides Forward to Protect its Rich Natural Heritage

18 January 2006 - World Conservation Union - Three major achievements mark the past three months of Canada’s protected area agenda: the protection of the world’s largest freshwater lake, the doubling in size of Canada’s smallest national park, and the creation of a new national park, supported by the Inuit people. Click here

Government Urged to Take Steps to Save Migratory Birds

17 January 2006 - News From Bangladesh - Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh has urged the government to take immediate effective measures to save the migratory birds, whose visits “indicate the health of our
ecosystems”, reports UNB. Click here

Fewer Wetland Birds Migrate to UK

16 January 2006 - BBC News - Many birds who migrate to the UK are staying closer to home. Fewer migrating ducks, geese and wading birds are wintering in the UK because more are staying closer to their Arctic breeding grounds due to climate change. New studies by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust have revealed the fall. Ducks, geese and waders are attracted by the relatively warmer winter conditions in the Gulf Stream protected British Isles but, claims the BTO, global warming could be persuading migrating birds to stay in cooler northern and eastern waters... Click here

Tsunami Less Destructive than Overfishing to Sumatran Reefs

13 January 2006 - Environment News Service - Reef Check, the California organization that conducted the first global reef survey, sent a scientific team to the Indonesian island nearest to the epicenter of the quake and tsunami. Overfishing with destructive methods has damaged the reef ecosystems more than the earthquake and tsunami, the scientists found. Click here

World's Largest Wetland Under Threat in Brazil

12 January 2006 - Reuters - Sao Paulo, Brazil - The world's largest wetland, Brazil's Pantanal, is being destroyed by increased farming, ranching and mining, according to a report by the environmental watchdog Conservation International. The report said deforestation had destroyed 17 percent of the natural vegetation of the Pantanal and if it continued unchecked, all the original forest would disappear within 45 years. Click here


Global Warming Driving Widespread Amphibian Extinctions by Triggering Epidemic Disease

12 January 2006 - NatureServe - A new study published in the journal Nature provides the first clear proof that global warming is causing the outbreaks of infectious disease that are wiping out entire frog populations, driving many species to extinction. Click here

Ducks Unlimited and Partners Move to Protect Wetlands in USA Supreme Court Case

12 January 2006 - Ducks Unlimited News - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case in February that could dramatically affect the future of more than half the 100 million acres of wetlands remaining in the United States. Today, Ducks Unlimited joined other conservation organizations and two of the world’s largest outdoor gear retailers in filing an amicus brief addressing whether the Clean Water Act protects wetlands adjacent to small tributaries that flow into larger bodies of water. Click here

Shanghai Plans Eco-Metropolis on its Mudflats

8 January - A project is underway to transform the mouth of the Yangtse River into the world's biggest single development, or "the planet's first 'eco-city.'" "The bleak wetlands of Dongtan seem an unlikely place for a neo-industrial revolution, but if the project being planned for its muddy shores is successful, it could arguably change the course of global economic development..." Click here

Rice Paddies Proposed as Cuban Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

5 January 2006 - BirdLife International - IBAs are normally located in natural areas, and single-crop cultivation is not what typically comes to mind when one thinks of bird conservation. However, in Cuba, rice cultivation goes through a wet and dry cycle, and since rice is grown constantly over large expanses, there are always fields in varying stages of flooding and draining, leading to high levels of vertebrate and invertebrate biodiversity. Click here

Hundreds of Species Cling to Existence in Just One Place on Earth

13 December 2005 - Environment News Service - Washington, DC - Animals, birds and plants are going extinct more quickly now than they have for thousands of years. To help save as many species as possible, scientists have identified endangered species whose global populations are reduced to just one primary site. If that site can be protected with "immediate and direct" action, the Alliance believes, the species living there can be saved. Sites where these 794 species cling to existence are called "centers of imminent extinction" in the study published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." Click here

Brown Pelican: Safe Yet?

12 December - In mid-December the Endangered Species Recovery Council submitted a formal petition to remove (delist) the California Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) from coverage under the federal Endangered Species Act from the list of species covered by the state's California Endangered Species Act. The case was made that this subspecies represents an ESA success story and that it should be delisted from both federal and state lists (not be merely down-listed from Endangered to Threatened). [news, thanks to Paul Baicich.]

Nearly Half of Isolated Wetland Types Support Listed Species (USA)

1 December 2005 - NatureServe - New Report Analyzes Biodiversity Values Across U.S. Click here for the full story.

New Model Helps Protect Future Wetlands

Jackson State University (Mississippi, USA) scientists have developed a model that indicates which wetlands need environmental protection. It predicts potential habitat changes caused by changes in water clarity or shoreface slopes as a result of natural disturbances or restoration efforts. The study is explained in the December issue of the journal Restoration Ecology. Click here

Overview of Wetlands Status in Viet Nam Following 15 Years of Ramsar Convention Implementation

In English or Vietnamese. Click here for this 80-page report.

Philip's Guide to Wetlands
Edited by Patrick Dugan

This book is described as covering many aspects of the study of wetlands in a single, portable volume. It begins by defining wetlands, and describes the many different ways in which they function as environments and habitats both for wildlife and for people. The economic importance of wetlands is given particular attention. 304 pages, softcover. 2005. £9.99 (approx. $18/€15). Philip's. Click here

Report on Biodiversity of Isolated Wetlands (USA)
Published by NatureServe

Some wetlands and waters that are "isolated" from navigable waters in the United States are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act as a result of a 2001 Supreme Court decision (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County vs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC), 2001). NatureServe offers an assessment of the potential impacts of the SWANCC decision on the at-risk species and communities that are associated with these isolated wetland systems in all 50 U.S. states. Click here for the complete report and supporting data.

The World's Largest Wetlands: Ecology and Conservation
Edited by Lauchlan A. Fraser and Paul A. Keddy

This is described as an authoritative collection of papers on the world's leading wetlands.
488 pages, hardcover. 2005. £80.00 (approx. $140/€117). Cambridge University Press. Click here

Asian Waterbird Conservation Fund

Provides financial support to projects at site of importance for migratory waterbirds in the East Asia - Australasian Flyway. Cathay Pacific has donated HK$500,000 (approx. US$65,000) to the Fund which is administered by WWF Hong Kong. There will be a single call for applications to the Fund each year with a 31 March 2006 deadline. For further information click here

4th Annual North Star Science & Technology Transmitter Grant Program

North Star Science and Technology, LLC and American Bird Conservancy are awarding a total of eight satellite transmitters (Argos Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTTs)), to one or two recipients (8 PTTs to one project or 4 PTTs to each of two projects) anywhere throughout the world. Click here for more information. htp://www.northstarst.com. Deadline for proposals is February 3, 2006. Direct questions to George Wallace at:gwallace@abcbirds.org

Ramsar Seeks Intern/ Assistant Advisor Position for Asia

This 12-month posting will be located at the Ramsar Secretariat in Switzerland and will begin after 22 May 2006. With an upper age limit for applicants of 30 years old, the post offers an opportunity for young graduates to become acquainted with the workings of an intergovernmental treaty dealing with the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Candidates for this internship should be nationals of countries in Asia. Click here for General Terms of Reference for Ramsar internships. The deadline for applications is 24 February 2006.

Tropical Songbird Banding Training - Tabasco State, Mexico. April 2006.

This course will cover basic banding and mist-net set-up, bird identification, determining age using molt limits, taking blood samples and more. A variety of species should be caught - from migrant warblers to trogons, to bats. All banding skill levels welcome. Certificates will be issued. The cost of the course is $950 USD which includes transport from Villahermosa, Tabasco, 3 meals per day, and rustic lodging. Banding equipment is supplied. Participants are responsible for travel to Villahermosa, pre-trip vaccinations and personal field gear. Maximum of 10 students accepted. Contact: Manuel Grosselet:birdninnet@yahoo.com.mx

California IBA Coordinator Position Announcement

The successful candidate will convene a technical committee to review the current network of California IBAs, update the data supporting these sites, identify gaps, work with the national IBA team to have IBAs prioritized using the global and continental IBA criteria, ensure that all IBAs are well mapped and documented, and more. M.S. in conservation biology, wildlife biology, ornithology, natural resources, or equivalent. Minimum two to three years professional experience preferred. Contact Graham Chisholm at: gchisholm@audubon.org for more information.

17 – 20 February
The Great Backyard Bird Count (all over the USA)
The National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory encourage everyone to go count birds. Click here

20 – 23 February
4th Mangrove Forest Ecology, Management and Restoration Training Workshop
Hollywood, Florida, USA, Anne Kolb Nature Center. The workshop includes an introduction to mangrove forest ecology, management options and problems, and restoration design issues. Case studies of 5 successful mangrove restoration projects, and several unsuccessful projects, are discussed. This course is organized by the Coastal Resources Group, Inc., and will be taught in conjunction with the Mangrove Action Project (www.earthisland.org/map). More information can be provided by Robin Lewis: LESRRL3@aol.com or Click here

27 February –- 2 March
Shorebird Science in the Western Hemisphere
Boulder, Colorado. Click here for more details and logistics or email David Lank at: dlank@sfu.ca


March

March – June [4 months]
Wetlands for Water Quality - Online Course UNESCO-IHE (Institute for Water Education) and the Partnership of Water Education and Research (POWER) Offer this online Course. It begins March 1 and lasts for 4 months. Click here for more information.



April

New
8 –-12 April
International Conference on Hydrology and Management of Forested Wetlands, New Bern, North Carolina. Click here

New
27 –- 28 April
11th Annual American Museum of Natural History, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) Conserving Birds in Human-Dominated Landscapes: A Biodiversity Symposium. To be held at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York. Click here

May

13 May
International Migratory Bird Day
The 2006 theme is the Boreal Forest: Bird Nursery of the North Click here

June

11 –- 14 June
II Congress of Neotropical Raptors and Symposium on Raptors of the South Cone
Iguazu, Argentina. Deadline for submission of presentations and abstracts is February 1, 2006. Abstracts must be written in Spanish, English or Portuguese and must be no greater than 250 words. Oral or poster presentations may be in any of these languages. There will be simultaneous translation during the oral presentations. Deadline for travel grants is February 1, 2006. ThePeregrine Fund will concede a limited number of travel grants to Latin-American and Caribbean participants. Click here

20th Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, Conservation Without Borders
San Jose McEnery Convention Center, San Jose, California, USA. Click here

New
30 June
Deadline for Ramsar Small Grants
Click here for The SGF Operational Guidelines.

July

New
9 - 14 July
The Society of Wetland Scientists Annual Meeting will be held in Cairns, Australia, as a joint meeting with the Australian Marine Science Association. For further information, visit the website or contact the conference organiser, Sally Brown: Sally.Brown@uq.net.au, or the conference chair, David Rissik: David.Rissik@nrc.nsw.gov.au

August

6 – 11 August
Ecological Society of America 91st Annual Meeting
Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Click here

13 – 19 August
24th International Ornithological Congress
The Deutsche Ornithologen–Gesellschaft (DO–G, German Ornithologist's Society) and Institute of Avian Reseach 'Vogelwarte Helgoland,' Wilhelmshaven
Hamburg, Germany. Click here

29 – 31 August
Wetlands 2006: Wetlands of the Great Lakes
Organized by the Association of State Wetland Managers. Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City, Michigan, USA. For more information contact: laura@aswm.org.

New
22 – 25 August
5th European Conference on Ecological Restoration, Greifswald, Germany. Click here

Revised
28 – 31 August
Great Lakes and Beyond
Wetlands 2006 International Symposium: Applying Scientific, Legal, and Management Tools to the Great Lakes and Beyond. Organized by the Association of State Wetland Managers. Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City, Michigan, USA. Click here or email Laura at: laura@aswm.org.

September

1 – 3 September
Seabird Populations Under Pressure
Aberdeen, Scotland. To be hosted by the (UK) Seabird Group. For further information contact: Mark Tasker: mark.tasker@jncc.gov.uk

New
8 – 17 September
Jocotoco Birdathon - to take place at two Jocotoco Foundation Reserves - The Buenaventura Reserve, located in southwestern Ecuador. Sponsored by the American Bird Conservancy, the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative and Jocotoco Foundation. This event seeks to raise money to save habitat for Ecuador's rarest birds while helping two Important Bird Areas battle for the title of "Birdiest Reserve." For more information contact: Craig Thompson, (608) 785-1277, Craig.Thompson@dnr.state.wi.us.

New
11 – 14 September 2006,
HydroEco2006 International Multidisciplinary Conference on Hydrology and Ecology: The Groundwater/Ecology Connection, Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czech Republic. Click here

October

2 – 7 October
4th North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC)
Veracruz, Mexico. Other associated meetings: American Ornithologists' Union, Association of Field Ornithologists, CIPAMEX (Sección Mexicana de Consejo Internacional para la Preservación de las Aves, A. C.) , Cooper Ornithological Society, Raptor Research Foundation, Society of Canadian Ornithologists / Société des Ornithologistes du Canada, The Waterbird Society, Wilson Ornithological Society. Click here

December

Updated
9 – 13 December
3rd National Conference and Expo on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration, "Forging the National Imperative for Restoration" New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, Hilton Riverside Hotel. Contact Conference Planning/Program coordinator, Steve Emmett-Mattox at sem@estuaries.org Click here

2007

June 2007

4 – 9 June
VIII Neotropical Ornithological Congress
Maturín (Monagas), Venezuela & Unión Venezolana de Ornitología. Click here

August 2007

5 –- 10 August
92nd Annual Meeting of The Ecological Society of America
San Jose McEnery Convention Center, San Jose, California

8 – 11 August 2007
A meeting of The American Ornithologists' Union will meet at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming

2008

New
9 – 15 June 2008
13th International Peat Congress After Wise Use - The Future of Peatlands, Tullamore, Ireland.
Click here

The End
1 February 2006