Congratulations to ALAPARC's Secretary, Dr. Bill Sutton

ALAPARC is proud to announce that Bill Sutton obtained his Ph.D. this week from Alabama A&M University. Congratulations to Bill and we'll all be looking forward to reading about how forest management practices have influenced the amphibian and reptile populations of Bankhead National Forest, Alabama.

Opp Rodeo in National News

If you're from Alabama, you're likely familiar with its sole rattlesnake rodeo, which attracts thousands to Opp each year. Although the number of rattlesnakes harvested for Opp is small compared the two roundups in Georgia, it is still a source of concern for conservation biologists. Dr. Bruce Means recently published an article describing long term trends observed among rattlesnakes and linked these patterns to the roundups. You can download a pdf of the article here. Armed with this knowledge, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned Georgia to investigate the prevalence of tortoise burrow gassing and also asking the Governor to outlaw roundups.


The national news has picked up the story (focusing on Opp), and a small sampling of the dozens of news outlets that ran it can be found below:

CBS News
MSNBC
The Associated Press
NPR

The GTC is coming to Alabama

Hi all,

As co-chair of The Gopher Tortoise Council (GTC), my responsibility this year was to plan the annual meeting and I'm proud to bring it to Alabama in 2010. The meeting will be held October 7-10th at the Alabama 4-H Center in Columbiana, Alabama. This is a great opportunity for ALAPARC members to learn more about a regional conservation organization that's been working to protect the gopher tortoise and its habitats for over thirty years. Registration and other information will be provided in the coming months over at the GTC website but for now, mark the data on your calendars.

Dave Steen

Save The Date!

Here we go again; it's time to start planning for our annual meeting. Missed our 2009 meeting? Don't make the same mistake again and mark your calendars for November 5-7th at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center in Andalusia, Alabama.

Expect more great talks about the conservation of Alabama's amphibians and reptiles as well as some new features, including debates and the debut of special award session to commemorate pioneer(s) in Alabama herpetology.

We will also hear about how our initiatives have progressed over the last year and hopefully hear from some of you about additional conservation efforts.

UAB Researcher's Turtle Work Featured in The Birmingham News

As co-chair of ALAPARC, it's been gratifying to see plans develop for our November meeting and I'm looking forward to hearing about all the amphibian and reptile conservation and research that's going on in our state.

Today I came across an article (also here) describing Dr. Thane Wibbels' (along with Andy Coleman and Dr. Ken Marion) efforts to conserve the diamondback terrapin at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

I'm excited to note that this team will be at our meeting to discuss their research. Register now to ensure a space.

Dave Steen
ALAPARC Co-Chair

Meeting Presentations

Friday, September 18th was the abstract submission deadline for our November inaugural meeting and we've been overwhelmed by the positive response. Over the coming days and weeks we'll be working on our preliminary agenda and hope to have it complete by the registration deadline of October 15th (Register Here). Want to present something but missed the deadline? Send us an e-mail at AlabamaPARC@gmail.com; we can't guarantee that we'll be able to fit you in this year but it's worth a shot.

Also, we can accommodate more posters. If you'd like to present a poster this November, send us an abstract and we'll see what we can do.

One Day Left

Hi all,

If you haven't already submitted your abstract, you've got one day remaining to send it in to AlabamaPARC@gmail.com. Remember, we encourage abstracts from all Alabamians involved in amphibian and reptile research, conservation, education, etc. We are also accepting abstracts for posters. We cannot guarantee you a space if we don't hear from you soon.

Website Relaunched

We invite everyone to check out our website now that it has been relaunched with additional information and features. Thanks to David and Laura Laurencio for their work.

Website Manager and Newsletter Editor Positions Filled

Everyone should welcome David and Laura Laurencio of Auburn University to the Alabama Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation team. Both have extensive experience finding and researching herps from the southeastern U.S. through Central America. David and Laura have taken the reins of our website and our newsletter. We look forward to upcoming updates to our website which promise a wealth of new material and information. The newsletter will also be a useful means of disseminating information to our membership, which is growing daily.


Thanks are due to Mark and Karan Bailey for getting the ball rolling on the website and configuring it to accept our meeting registration.

Abstracts Rolling In

Hi all,

As we noted in a previous post, we've already issued a call for abstracts for our inaugural meeting and they are rolling in. We only have a limited amount of space for submitted talks and we are confirming them more or less as they arrive, so submit yours soon. We may encourage you to present a poster depending on how our agenda develops. Send your abstracts to AlabamaPARC@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing your presentation this fall.

Bill Sutton Joins ALAPARC as Secretary

The Alabama Chapter of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation is pleased to announce that Bill Sutton has signed on to serve as our Secretary. Bill is a Ph.D. student at Alabama A&M and is researching how amphibians and reptiles respond to pine-hardwood forest management. Bill brings extensive experience to his new post, as he also serves as Secretary for Southeast PARC. We are looking forward to working with Bill as he helps keep track of all our ongoing efforts, meetings, and initiatives.
Welcome Bill.

ALAPARC Call for Abstracts for Inaugural Meeting

We are planning our inaugural meeting on November 6-8, 2009 at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center near Andalusia, Alabama. We will feature a lineup of distinguished speakers to discuss how individuals may facilitate effective conservation in different capacities. To date, confirmed speakers for this event include Whit Gibbons, John Jensen, Craig Guyer, and Matt Aresco. Additional speakers, including Jim Godwin, Jim McHugh, Chris Jenkins and Mark Bailey, will introduce current conservation efforts in Alabama.

Our inaugural meeting will feature presentations (oral and poster) describing research, education, and conservation efforts in the state. We welcome abstracts for consideration; send them to AlabamaPARC@gmail.com. Presentations will be confirmed for the meeting as space allows.

We want to know what you've been up to in Alabama! Submit your abstracts soon.

Member Profile: Mark Bailey

Mark Bailey has been integral to ALAPARC since its inception and has been involved in all aspects of our progress from meeting coordination to website creation and launch. We have been unable to come up with a title that accurately encompasses his contributions so for now he is "only" a member of our steering committee.

Senior Biologist at Conservation Southeast, for nearly ten years Mark was Terrestrial Zoologist for The Nature Conservancy’s Alabama Natural Heritage Program and was lead author on the recently published PARC Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Southeast. Mark was subcontracted to assist in development of Alabama’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, chaired the Herpetology subcommittee of Alabama’s Second Nongame Wildlife Conference, and co-authored two of the resulting publications. Mark has written multiple Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and frequently works with the Alabama Forest Resources Center on large conservation easement projects. Mark is the immediate past president of the Alabama Chapter of The Wildlife Society and serves on the board of directors of the Alabama Wildlife Federation.

Clearly ALAPARC is fortunate to have an Alabama wildlife veteran like Mark Bailey working to further our amphibian and reptile conservation goals.

State and Federal Agency Liaison Position Filled

ALAPARC is proud to announce that Jim Godwin has recently accepted a position with our organization as State and Federal Agency Liaison. Jim is a zoologist with the Alabama Natural Heritage Program and has vast experience conducting amphibian and reptile research in the state. With unmatched wit and charisma, Jim has fostered relationships with numerous state and federal agencies relevant to wildlife conservation in Alabama. These relationships will be put to use by ALAPARC in furthering our goals.

Welcome Jim.

Education/Outreach Position Created

We are excited to announce that Wally Smith has agreed to help our chapter find effective methods of using outreach/education to further our amphibian and reptile conservation goals.

Wally is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alabama, researching interactions between ecological variables, forest management and diversity of amphibians and reptiles within Talladega National Forest.

Welcome aboard Wally.

Treasurer Position Filled

We are proud to announce that Karan Bailey has agreed to serve as ALAPARC's Treasurer. Karan brings with her years of experience serving as Southeast PARC's Treasurer and has worked on amphibian and reptile conservation in Alabama for years as project manager and biologist with Conservation Southeast, Inc.

We are still eager to recruit more individuals to our team, please let us know how you would like to become involved.

A New Chapter

Hi all,

Our chapter is developing quickly and we will soon make the formal announcement regarding our formation and our inaugural meeting this fall at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center. Stay tuned for details.

We currently have initiatives planned to address the status and distribution of the hellbender in Alabama as well as efforts to determine how chytrid fungus may be influencing amphibian populations in the state. We hope to update you on the progress of these initiatives and hear your ideas for more this fall.

As our chapter solidifies, we have identified the need for additional officers. We seek enthusiastic and self-motivated individuals to become either Secretary, Treasurer, or Newsletter Editor. Contact us at AlabamaPARC@gmail.com if you are interested.

David Steen
ALAPARC Co-chair