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Training for DNR Professionals Forest Management for Neotropical Migratory Birds for DNR Professionals

Winter, Wis.

Forest Management for Neotropical Migratory Birds

June 18, 2024 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

In this workshop designed specifically for DNR and county forestry professionals, we will focus on the biology, habitat requirements, and tools to implement forest management that enhance habitat for neotropical migratory birds. We will concentrate on a handful of important species and walk through their identification, habitat needs, and ideal silvicultural prescriptions. Through a combination of presentations, case studies, and field tours, participants will:

  • Gain increased knowledge and identification of neotropical migratory bird species and their specific needs.
  • Learn practical, applicable techniques foresters can implement to benefit those species while establishing timber sales.
  • Discuss what these species (or the absence of them) mean as indicators of forest health and development.
  • Find ways to speak about these species and managing for them during a certification audit.
  • Explore special and/or unique habitat for neotropical migratory bird species in Bayfield, Rusk, Price, Sawyer, Ashland, and Iron counties.
  • Discover bird species especially dependent on habitat in Bayfield, Rusk, Price, Sawyer, Ashland, and Iron counties.

WORKSHOP DETAILS

Registration closed. Contact wfc@uwsp.edu for more information.

 

Tentative Agenda

Continuing Education Credit

The workshop counts towards the Forest Management for Wildlife Certificate program and has been approved for the following:

               

This workshop is designed for Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and County Forestry professionals.

WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS

Mike Demchik

Professor of Silviculture, UW-Stevens Point

Michael Demchik is a professor of forestry at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He teaches a wide range of courses at UWSP and is involved in research that addresses using silviculture to reach landowner goals. He is particularly obsessed with developing methods to teach students to mark timber better, faster, and with more confidence in their decisions. He has had several jobs across federal, state, and private natural resource management in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Emilia Skogen

Graduate Assistant, Teaching Assistant, UW-Stevens Point

Emilia Skogen is a UWSP Graduate and Teaching Assistant, researching the impacts of irregular shelterwood and prescribed fire on habitat use by neotropical migratory birds. She is also creating a tool land managers can use to assess habitat management success via bird surveys. She has worked across the US, gaining fieldwork experience in vegetation surveys, bird surveying, netting, banding, territory mapping, nest-searching, and radiotelemetry tracking. Emilia has banded 836+ birds of over 50 species, ranging from Ruby-Throated Hummingbird to Greater Sage-Grouse.

Pat Weber

Wildlife Habitat Specialist, American Bird Conservancy

Pat Weber is a wildlife habitat specialist with the American Bird Conservancy where his primary responsibilities are working with private landowners and public land managers to create breeding habitat for neotropical migratory songbirds in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Pat earned an M.S. in environmental science and policy from UW-Green Bay where his thesis assessed increasing upland bird habitat by substituting annual row crops with perennial hybrid hazel shrublands in northeastern Wisconsin.​

WORKSHOP PARTNERS