Wetlands 2004: Wetlands and Migratory Birds: PROTECTING AND RESTORING WETLANDS OF INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE October 19-20, 2004, Kansas City, Missouri

Field Seminar Wetlands and Bird Habitat in Living Landscapes (Printable Version - PDF) October 21-22, 2004 Great Bend, Kansas (optional field trip)

North American Waterfowl Management Plan sites, Ramsar sites, Wetland-Related National Wildlife Refuges, Wetlands in National Parks, Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve sites, National Estuarine Research Reserves, Other

Location:  The optional field seminar will leave from the Hilton on the morning of October 21 and travel to Great Bend (see description below). It will return on October 22.

Attendance will be limited. We will travel by bus from the Hilton Kansas City Airport to Great Bend, Kansas (about a 4 hour ride) on Thursday, October 21 and return to the Hilton on Friday, October 22. We will visit Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve, the Flint Hills, McPherson Wetlands, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge wetlands, and Cheyenne Bottoms wetlands. There will be a $145 registration fee for the two-day field seminar which will include bus transportation, box lunches on October 21 and 22, dinner on October 21, buffet breakfast on October 22, and lodging at the Highland Motel in Great Bend on the evening of October 21. There will be lectures along the way and at stops. A mixer and dinner will be held in Great Bend on the night of the 21. Local staff of Cheyenne Bottoms, Quivira, the Great Bend Tourist Bureau and other groups will be asked to join us and make presentations.

Goals of Field Seminar:

§ Provide participants with an opportunity to see the Kansas Wetlands Complex and Tall Grass Prairie and some of the birds which inhabit them. § Provide participants with useful information concerning the protection and restoration of wetlands in agricultural landscapes utilizing, landowner education, landowner agreements, conservation easements, fee purchase, restoration, ecotourism, and various types of active management (e.g. fire, cattle grazing, water level controls, etc.). § Provide participants with an opportunity to get to know each other, exchange information. § Help support Great Bend ecotourism and wetland protection efforts over time by developing a “prototype” birding/wetland/tall grass prairie “ecotour” which tour operators could provide to groups attending other natural resource conferences in Kansas City.

Proposed Agenda:

0ctober 20. 7:30p.m.-8:30p.m. Pre-field Seminar Mixer and "Get Together" at the Hilton Kansas City Airpot. There will be presentations concerning the field seminar route and what we will see.

Day 1, Thursday, October 21. 7:30a.m. or 8:00a.m. Bus Departs Hilton Hotel.

7:30a.m. or 8:00a.m. Begin at Hilton Kansas City Ariport Hotel.

8:00a.m.-10:15a.m. Drive to Konza Preserve, Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University. Videos and discussion on bus.

10:15a.m.-11:45a.m. Tall Grass Prairie restoration and management (discussion and bus trip at the Konza Preserve).

11:45a.m.-1:30p.m. Drive to Cheyenne Bottoms Ramsar Site. Video’s and discussion on the bus. Box lunch on bus while traveling.

1:30p.m.-4:45p.m. Cheyenne Bottoms. Nature Conservancy and State of Kansas management at Cheyenne Bottoms.  Discussion concerning management.

4:45p.m.-5:15p.m. Drive to Great Bend from Cheyenne Bottoms

5:30p.m.-6:30p.m.Cash Bar at Highland Motel. Field Seminar Participants and Other Local Participants.

6:30p.m.-8:00p.m. Dinner at Highland Motel. Dinner and Presentations (Local).

Day 2, Friday, October 22. 7:00a.m.-8:00a.m. Breakfast at Highland

8:00a.m.-8:45a.m. Drive to Quivira National Wildlife Refute. Video.

8:45a.m.-11:45a.m. Quivira Refuge. Management practices. Visit sites throughout the Refuge. Lectures.

11:45a.m.-1:45p.m. Drive to National Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. Discussion along the way concerning sites of interests, sustainable tourism. 1:45p.m.-3:15p.m. National Tall Grass Prairie Preserve 3:15p.m.-6:00p.m. Return to Hilton from National Tall Grass Prairie with stop at airport.

Field Seminar Fee:  $145. Participant On-line Registration Form (For Nonspeakers) Participant Registration Form in PDF Format. SPEAKER Registration form in PDF format.

Contact Information:

Questions Regarding Program, Call for Papers, and Abstracts, Please Contact: Jon Kusler, Associate Director, Association of State Wetland Managers, P.O. Box 269, Berne, NY 12023; (518) 872-1804; Fax: (518) 872-2171; aswm@aswm.org; www.aswm.org.

Questions Regarding General Registration, Speaker Registration, Scholarships, and Exhibits, Please Contact: Laura Burchill, Association of State Wetland Managers, 2 Basin Road, Windham, ME 04062; (207) 892-3399; Fax: (207) 892-3089; laura@aswm.org.

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