Pre+Post Meeting Professional Development Workshops

If you have suggestions for topics you’d like to see in the future, please email Janine Payne at pdc@tws-west.org.

Ecology and Management of Ungulates in a Changing World

  • Tuesday, February 3, 2026 – 8:30am to 5:00pm
  • Monterey Hyatt, Regency Ballroom
  • Requires separate registration fee.  Link to rates
  • The Symposium is a stand-alone event, you do not need to attend the Annual Meeting to register for the Ungulate Symposium.
Please join us for the Ungulate Symposium preceding the 73rd Annual Meeting. This symposium will address ecology, management, and conservation of ungulates in a rapidly changing world. Spatial distributions of ungulate species often span vast and diverse areas within ecosystems. Ungulates exhibit movement patterns at landscape scales and often migrate extensive distances. These patterns increase exposure of ungulates to many natural and anthropogenic challenges. Moreover, ungulates are often considered keystone species in ecosystems that they inhabit and may act as umbrella species for others occupying those ecosystems. The growing threats of rapidly changing climate, mineral extraction, alternate energy, and expanding diseases present ungulate biologists with a multifaceted conservation and management problem at local scales, while landscape scale disturbances occur in their habitats or on their migration corridors. This symposium brings together researchers at the forefront of ungulate ecology to present their findings on these important topics relative to ecology and conservation of these unique mammals.

Symposium Co-Chairs:

Dr. Kelley Stewart is a Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research focuses on effects of density dependence, reproduction, and nutritional condition of large mammals on movement patterns, resource selection, population dynamics, and community structure. More recently, her research has moved into investigating the links between nutritional condition and disease ecology to population demographics. Kelley teaches courses in wildlife ecology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. She was named the Teacher of the Year in 2012 and Researcher of the Year in 2021 by the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources at UNR. She received the Raymond F. Dasmann Award for Professional of the Year from the Western Section of The Wildlife Society in 2022. Kelley has been primary advisor for 26 graduate students working on various aspects of ungulate and population ecology, 3 undergraduate honors students, and 2 postdoctoral research associates.

Dr. Nathan Jackson is a large mammal ecologist interested in population ecology and the effects of density dependence on movement, demography, population dynamics, and competition (intra- and interspecific). Nathan’s research leverages movement and demographic datasets to inform conservation and management decisions for large, herbivorous mammals. Nathan’s current research as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Nevada, Reno focuses on migratory behavior of ungulates in the Great Basin. His current work is done in co-production with state (Nevada Department of Wildlife) and federal agencies (U.S. Geological Survey Corridor Mapping Team).

Thank You Symposium Sponsors:

Non-linear regression techniques for modeling wildlife habitat in R

  • Monday, February 2, 2026 – 8:30am-5:00pm
  • Monterey Hyatt, Regency Ballroom
  • Requires separate registration fee.  Link to rates
  • The Symposium is a stand-alone event, you do not need to attend the Annual Meeting to register for the this training.
  • Instructor: Kevin Shoemaker, University of Nevada-Reno

Telemetry data are often used to study wildlife habitat selection patterns. Traditionally, wildlife ecologists have used logistic regression to fit resource selection functions (RSF). These models are commonly used to predict resource use intensity across space and time, and to assess patterns of selection or avoidance. While useful, standard logistic regression has some limitations- one of which is that it makes strong simplifying assumptions about how animals respond to environmental gradients. Non-linear regression tools such as generalize additive models (GAMs) offer a relatively straightforward way for wildlife researchers to get more out of their telemetry data by allowing wildlife to respond to multidimensional habitat gradients in complex ways. In this one-day workshop, we will walk though a full RSF workflow, starting with raw telemetry data, building a full habitat model, interpreting model results and using the model to map resource use intensity across a study region. Participants should have a working knowledge of the R statistical programming language.

Training for High Speed Rail Jobs

  • Tuesday, February 3, 2026 – 8:00am to 12:00pm
  • Monterey Hyatt, Regency Ballroom
  • Requires separate registration fee.  Link to rates
  • The Symposium is a stand-alone event, you do not need to attend the Annual Meeting to register for the High Speed Rail Training.
  • Moderator: Debra Hawk, California High Speed Rail Authority
The California High Speed Rail (HSR) is a long term construction project requiring numerous biologists to conduct preconstruction surveys as well as biological monitoring. This workshop is being held in conjunction with the HSR Authority and will provide biologists with an understanding of the specific criteria used by agencies to deem biologists qualified to work on this project. It will also allow participants to learn how to distinguish San Joaquin kit fox from other sympatric species, a key training need for biologists working on the project. The workshop is suitable for all levels of biologists including recent graduates and for those who are interested in doing field work, specifically hands-on biological monitoring.  Questions? Email Janine Payne:  pdc@tws-west.org

Wildlife Biologist Construction Awareness Training (WildC.A.T.)

  • Tuesday, February 3, 2026 – 1:00pm-5:30pm
  • Monterey Hyatt, Regency Ballroom
  • Requires separate registration fee.  Link to rates
  • The Symposium is a stand-alone event, you do not need to attend the Annual Meeting to register for the WildCAT Training.
  • Moderator: Natalie Greer
Wildlife biologists are often called on to provide technical expertise and implement protective measures on construction sites, but they rarely receive practical training in environmental permits or safety as they enter the workforce. This half-day workshop provides an introduction to construction monitoring for recent graduates, early career professionals, and regular construction monitors, and will be taught by experienced wildlife biologists, construction personnel, and health and safety officers. Learn about the environmental permits that require construction monitoring, what to expect on construction job sites, situational awareness and health and safety basics, common environmental protection issues and Best Management Practices, effective communication techniques with construction crews, and useful tools of the trade. Upon completion of the workshop, attendees will receive a certificate of completion and helmet sticker that shows prospective employers and construction personnel in the field that they have attended WildC.A.T. training.  

Using Cellular Tracking Technology nodes for data gathering:  From planning to downloading data

  • Tuesday, February 3, 2026 – 8:00am-12:00pm
  • Monterey Hyatt, Regency Ballroom
  • Requires separate registration fee.  Link to rates
  • The Symposium is a stand-alone event, you do not need to attend the Annual Meeting to register for the this training.

Motus stations help track migratory animals at spatial scales from kilometers to continents, but what do you do if you need finer scale movement data? Cellular Tracking Technology CTT “nodes” are mini stations that can detect tags at the scale of tens to hundreds of meters. Networks of these nodes can be used to triangulate tag location. Centrally placed nodes can help you determine animal activity for activity budgets or life history stage analyses. This workshop will explore how to plan and execute a study of movement and activity patterns using nodes. It will also discuss how to prepare for, download and use the large volumes of data that result from node studies.

Instructors:

Patrick D. Lorch, PhD:  After a decade doing academic research and teaching, that included radio tracking insects with the USDA, Pat moved to working with the Motus wildlife tracking system (https://motus.org).  After setting up over 58 Motus stations, Pat has tons of experience with planning and constructing Motus stations as well as with data management and analysis. At SSRS, he’s leading Motus station projects, assisting with data analysis, and grant applications aimed at strengthening the role the station plays in regional conservation.
 
Edwin Jacobo:  Edwin Jacobo is a doctoral candidate at Washington State University, where he studies the stopover ecology of migratory birds in North America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in environmental sciences from Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit, Mexico. His research examines how migratory birds respond to environmental disturbances such as wildfire, drought, and tree mortality, focusing on linking field-based tracking to conservation needs. Edwin has applied radio telemetry and node networks in the Kern River Valley and the mountains of California and Oregon to study the movement ecology of Western Tanagers and Yellow-billed Cuckoos. He brings field and analytical experience to make radio telemetry and automated tracking systems approachable for students and practitioners interested in movement ecology and bird conservation.
 
Steven J. Hromada, PhD:  Steven Hromada is a wildlife ecologist interested in how landscape changes impact wildlife communities. His research has focused on how different wildlife respond to different landscape management and alterations. Some of these (prescribed fire) are intended to restore native ecosystem function, while some are meant to provide human benefit (agriculture, infrastructure). Steven’s research is intended to develop evidence-based management schemes to protect our native biodiversity. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo working on a Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard reintroduction project. This project has implemented a very large (possibly the largest) network of nodes to track movement and determine habitat use of the released lizards.

Wildlife Tracking Workshops with CyberTracker  

Well-rounded field skills and ecological literacy were once common among field biologists and emphasized in university curricula. In recent decades, however, these qualities and practices have rapidly diminished; numerous academic articles have highlighted this loss, warning of the impacts on future research, wildlife management, and conservation.

There are two ways to learn about wildlife tracking in Monterey! These events require advance registration and have an *extra fee. 

(1) Wildlife Tracking Training

Friday, February 6, 2026 – 12:30pm to 5:30pm

Join us for an introductory, no experience required, no-pressure tracking training session. Unlike the Saturday Certification, there is no evaluation component, test scores, or certificates involved in this low-stress afternoon of learning. Participants will spend an entertaining afternoon in the field with skilled trackers, identifying and discussing tracks and sign of any and all animals encountered. We’ll cover tips for ID, wildlife behavior, and how the process of reliable track interpretation works. This course provides guidance for methods and resources to effectively begin tracking on your own. Limited to the first 20 registrants. 

(2) One-Day Certification with CyberTracker Conservation 

Saturday, February 7th from 8am to 4pm

Created alongside the San Trackers in South Africa, this process is designed to teach participants to track the way we’ve always learned: participants are asked to answer questions on a wide variety of tracks and animal sign (such as scat, feeding sign, burrows, etc) before the group discusses them at length. Though no prior experience is required to participate, please note that these evaluations are designed to test the current ability of participants, recording their answers right from the start. Each question is scored based on a difficulty scale, and participants will receive a certificate if enough points are earned through correctly answering the questions. This process effectively engages the core skills of competent trackers and the result is not just a significant upgrade in current ability—it provides participants a clear framework to keep improving in the field. Limited to 18 participants.

Instructor – Casey McFarland trains biologists, research teams, wildlife guides, and the public to read and interpret the tracks and signs of wildlife. A Senior Tracker and International Evaluator for CyberTracker Conservation, he has given over 200 Tracker Certifications and various trainings around the globe to develop and support tracking skill and ecological knowledge. Casey has authored several books and is the Executive Director of Tracker Certification North America.