The Wildlife Society Members Have Best Conclave Finish in Program History

Photo Submitted

Members of The Wildlife Society chapter at the University of Arkansas participated in the 2017 Southeastern Wildlife Conclave hosted by Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi March 16-19. The Wildlife Society hosts five regional student conclaves each year that provide college students with valuable hands-on training in wildlife management and conservation, and networking opportunities with wildlife professionals. Some activates include field trips; workshops on subjects such as telemetry, chemical immobilization, falconry, prescribed fire, mist-netting; field competitions; game-calling competitions; quiz bowl; banquets; art and photography contests; and guest speakers.

The Southeastern Wildlife Conclave has been hosted since 1972 by different universities throughout the southeast including: Frostburg State University in Maryland, the University of Florida, and as far west as Oklahoma State University. The Southeastern Section of The Wildlife Society hosts the most future wildlife professionals of all the regions with approximately 450 students in attendance yearly, representing 20-25 natural resource programs from across the southeast.

The Wildlife Society at the University of Arkansas was able to send four members to this year's conclave thanks to the financial support of Associated Student Government, the Biological Sciences Department, and the Arkansas State Chapter of The Wildlife Society. The students participated in workshops ranging from preserving private lands for wildlife to water sampling to canoeing in bottomland hardwoods to observe wading bird rookeries. The team also competed in many events including, quiz bowl, team competition, canoeing, orienteering, field photography, game calling, and many art and photography categories. Two members had top three finishes. Sydney Spradlin won third place in the free-form art competition and Phillip Stephenson won second place in the cervid calling competition. The team had its best finish ever in the team competition, which is composed of 25-30 unique stations including plant identification, bird calls, amphibian identification, traps, wildlife disease and knot tying -- that test wildlife knowledge. The team finished 10th of 24 schools beating programs from LSU, Virginia Tech, University of Florida, Clemson,  Arkansas State, Arkansas Tech, Tennessee Tech,  and Texas A&M - Kingsville. The team also had its best overall finish at conclave coming in 18th or 24 natural resource programs. This shows the presence that The Wildlife Society at the University of Arkansas has in the Southeast and also its influence on the knowledge of its student members in a University that does not have an official natural resource program.

The Wildlife Society at the University of Arkansas has bi-weekly meetings throughout the year. The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m.Thursday, April 6 in SCEN 101  Joseph Bump from Michigan Tech talk about his work "Wolves, baiting for black bears, and hunting dog conflict". All are invited. He will be presenting a different lecture at 4 p.m. April 6 in SCEN 604  and all are invited to attend this lecture as well. If you have any questions about The Wildlife Society at the University of Arkansas please email uofawildlifesociety@gmail.com.