2007 Watchable Wildlife Conference
DoubleTree Hotel - Tucson, Arizona
October 3-5, 2007
Tuesday 10/2/07 Pre-conference
9:00am - 5:00pm Tradeshow set-up
1:00pm - 5:00pm Conference Registration Open
Wednesday 10/3/07
7:30am - 5:00pm Conference Registration Open
7:30am - 9:00pm Breakfast
9:00am - 10:30am Welcome
Carrol Henderson,
Minnesota DNR, Chairman, WW, Inc.

Steve Ferrell
Deputy Director, Arizona Game & Fish Department

Kelly Paisley
Deputy Director, Arizona Office of Tourism

Chuck Huckelberry
County Administrator, Pima County Arizona

Jim Mallman,
President Watchable Wildlife, Inc.

Keynote Address
George Archibald, PhD  
10:30am - 11:00am Break and Tradeshow
11:00am - 12:00am Introduction to Conference Tracks
Eric Gardner, Mike Leyva and Bill Radke
O
N
E		   1) Natural Resource Conservation & Management
Understanding what constitutes a high-quality wildlife viewing experience continues to be a top priority of natural resource professionals. Accomplishing this while protecting the resources entrusted to them must always be the goal. This track will focus on templates being used in Arizona as well as other regions of the country that can facilitate the achievement of these goals.
T
W
O		   2) Site Development & Management
No area of nature/wildlife tourism has developed and improved in quality more than site development. From boardwalks to viewing platforms, interpretative signage to fixed optics, viewing site planning, construction and maintenance: all offer great opportunities for attracting, educating and impressing visitors. This track will focus on the latest viewing site designs, techniques and practices.
T
H
R
E
E		   3) Wildlife/Nature Tourism
For more than ten years Nature/Wildlife Tourism has demonstrated one of the strongest growth patterns in the travel and outdoor recreation market. Yet despite this growth most local and state departments of tourism lack a real understanding on how to develop a successful wildlife tourism program. This track will focus on how to identify and promote the key natural assets of an area and how best to utilize the services offered by CVBs and federal and state agencies.
12:00am - 1:30pm Lunch
Speaker: Bill Broyles is a research associate at the Southwest Center, University of Arizona. He taught English and PE in the public high school for 31 years and now studies the Sonoran Desert. He co-edited Dry Borders: Great Natural Reserves of the Sonoran Desert and wrote two books--Where Edges Meet: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Our Sonoran Desert--and numerous articles in periodicals such as Arizona Highways, Journal of Arid Environments, Wildlife Society Bulletin, Journal of the Southwest, and Journal of Arizona History. His favorite moments are watching lizards in his yard or desert bighorn in the wilderness.
1:30pm - 5:00pm Tracks (follow your track schedules below)

T
R
A
C
K

O
N
E

 1:30pm - 3:00pm Developing Responsible Wildlife Viewing

Speaker: Mark Duda  

Description: How to design and implement programs to inform the general public about their responsibility related to regulatory issues associated with wildlife viewing.
3:00pm - 3:30pm Break and Tradeshow

T
R
A
C
K

O
N
E

 3:30pm - 5:00pm A Foundation for Conflict:
Wildlife Values in the West

Speaker: Mike Manfredo Ph.D  

Description: Western states are going through a number of changes that have affected and will continue to affect wildlife management. Changes include population growth, changes in in-migration rates and land ownership patterns, increasing income and education levels, growth in technology, and urbanization. The recent study, “Wildlife Values in the West”, explores how some of these broad societal forces are shaping the composition of public values toward wildlife throughout the western region. We will also discuss how study results provide a context to assist with planning for the future of wildlife management in the west.
T
R
A
C
K

T
W
O		 1:30pm - 3:00pm Developing Community Programs to Preserve and Enhance Wildlife Habitat

Speaker: Scott K. Estergard, ACE

Description: The Rio Salado project on the Salt River in Phoenix is one of four large scale ecosystem restoration projects underway in the Phoenix metro area. Urban development, diversion of water, groundwater overdraft and channelization have eliminated or altered most of the natural vegetation communities that once occupied the Salt River leaving only scattered remnants of the original vegetation communities.  Restoration projects are underway with the goal to restore riparian habitat along nearly 30 miles of river. The Rio Salado project is the first to be constructed and is already achieving numerous benefits.
  3:00pm - 3:30pm Break and Tradeshow
T
R
A
C
K

T
W
O		 3:30pm - 5:00pm The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan - Decades of Conservation Planning by Pima County, Arizona

Speaker: Kerry Baldwin, Natural Resources Division Manager Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation   

Description: The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan combines short-term actions to protect and enhance the natural environment with long-range planning to ensure that the natural and urban environments not only coexist but develop an interdependent relationship where one enhances the other. The major elements of the Plan include Ranch Conservation, Historic and Cultural Preservation, Riparian Restoration, Mountain Parks, Biological and Ecological Corridor Conservation and Critical Habitat Protection.  
T
R
A
C
K

T
H
R
E
E		 1:30pm - 3:00pm NWRS Birding Initiative

Speaker: Maggie O'Connell, Visitor Services Specialist National Wildlife Refuge System

Description: Nearly 50 million Americans describe themselves as casual or avid birders and are an untapped resource for bird conservation support.  The National Wildlife Refuge System Birding Initiative is intended to further understanding of the role refuges and the US Fish and Wildlife Service play in bird conservation, while providing more “birder friendly” programs and facilities at refuges nationwide.   This session will describe the Birding Initiative and the steps being taken to reach out to this audience.
  3:00pm - 3:30pm Break and Tradeshow
T
R
A
C
K

T
H
R
E
E		 3:30pm - 5:00pm Accessible Wildlife Viewing

Speaker: Cindy Dillenschneider  

Description: This session will address meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities in wildlife viewing/ experience contexts. Current challenges and suggestions voiced by site managers and people with impairments will be presented. Adaptation principles will be suggested in order to assist managers in providing functional supports to visitors who experience impairments or limitations. Session participants will be provided with research-based demographic and user interest information along with a list of suggested resources.
  6:00pm - 9:00pm Evening at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum
Thursday 10/4/07
6:00am - 8:30am Morning Birding Trip (Agua Caliente Park)
7:30am - 5:00pm Conference Registration Open
8:00am - 9:00am Breakfast
9:00am - 10:30am Tracks (follow your track schedules below)
T
R
A
C
K

O
N
E		 9:00 am - 10:30am Duck Stamp Program

Speaker: Bill Hartwig Chief National Wildlife Refuge System, Retired   

Description: Enough Talking: the Duck Stamp Program is the best tool available for birders and others supporters of wildlife conservation to step up and help support wildlife habitat conservation. We need to develop programs to get this message out and demonstrate how Nature and Wildlife Tourism have benefited from this well established program.
  10:30am - 11:00am Break and Tradeshow
T
R
A
C
K

O
N
E		 11:00am - 12:30pm Technology in Wildlife Conservation

Speaker: Steven Living, Watchable Wildlife Biologist, Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries.  

Description: The Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries has had great success with its EagleCam rated one of the “Top Ten WebCams in the World” and reaching well over a million viewers.  This effort grew out of a unique public private partnership.  Stephen will discuss the technical aspects of presenting and maintaining this project, while synthesizing the needs and goals of the project partners.  What worked and what didn’t, lessons learned and what the future holds for this technology will round out the Program.
T
R
A
C
K

T
W
O		 9:00am - 10:30am U.S. Forest Service Wildlife Watch

Speaker: Don Virgovic  

Description: This talk will focus on introducing the new Forest Service NatureWatch Program Website.  The site features state of the art technology (GIS capabilities, internal data migration, and even external data migration to state-level tourism websites), a multitude of hands-on resources, all combined with an attractive style that is sure to please its users.
10:30am - 11:00am Break and Tradeshow
11:00am - 12:30pm Planning and Designs for Interpretive Centers

Speaker: Sam Vaughn Assoc. Manager Interpretive Planning NPS Harper’s Ferry  

Description: This session will introduce how to plan, design, operate, and sustain visitor centers. Topics will include using interpretive media effectively, sustainability, costs and benefits, what we have learned from visitor center evaluations, alternatives to  visitor centers, and affordable ways to evaluate and increase effectiveness. The presenter will draw from his 34 years  in the National Park Service, 17 years as an interpretive planner and evaluator, and 10 years reviewing NPS visitor center construction and rehabilitation projects.
T
R
A
C
K

T
H
R
E
E		 9:00am - 10:30am The Babcock Ranch Model - Conservation, Development and Management in South West Florida.

Speaker: Dr. William Hammond, Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Meyers, Florida  

Description: The Babcock Ranch encompasses over 90,000 acres of land (18,000 private development-73,000 public lands) acquired for conservation and development. Comprehensive planning efforts are bringing together diverse opportunities for recreation, timber harvest, housing/commercial development, ranching, farming and hunting while protecting over 17 vulnerable wildlife species. The property will help complete a wildlife corridor from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf that is a minimum of 4 miles wide.
  10:30am - 11:00am Break and Tradeshow
T
R
A
C
K

T
H
R
E
E		 11:00am - 12:30pm FAM Tours

Speaker: Marjorie Magnusson and  Hylton Fothergill

Description: Developing the Economic Description: Familiarization (FAM) tours and creating itineraries are tremendously important and essential components of marketing activities, bringing recognition to your community’s tourism amenities and attraction. These components can also help increase the overall awareness of your visitor destination. In this session, learn how to apply these elements to your marketing strategy. We will focus on what a FAM tour is, if a FAM tour is right for your community, and how to develop and execute a tour. Differentiate the various needs of your FAM tour audience between the tour operators and travel agents who sell your destination and media who publicize your destination.
12:30pm - 1:30pm Lunch with Keynote Address
Dr. Tuggle, Regional Director U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 2

Trade Show open 11:45 – 1:30
1:30pm - 5:00pm Tracks (follow your track schedules below)
T
R
A
C
K

O
N
E		 1:30pm - 3:00pm The Trumpeter Swan, Magnificent Recovery Story

Speaker: Carrol Henderson, Minnesota DNR   

Description: Within the past 25 years the magnificent Trumpeter Swan has moved from a status as an extirpated species, to endangered species, to wildlife success story.

During the pioneer settlement era, the Trumpeter Swan was one of the first North American waterfowl species to be eliminated from most of its range across Canada and the lower 48 states. This presentation by Carrol Henderson documents the 25-year recovery program of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to bring this species back to the state's wetlands.

Henderson wrote the Minnesota recovery plan for the Trumpeter Swan in 1982 and has carried that plan to completion through 25 years of restoration efforts. Minnesota's trumpeter swan population has grown from about 6 pairs in the early 1980s to over 1300 breeding pairs in 2007. The population is still growing, and swans are now re-establishing populations in southern Ontario and Manitoba.

In this power point presentation, Carrol Henderson details the long term efforts necessary to bring back the swans, and in doing so this project has created some incredible opportunities for memorable wildlife watching experiences in Minnesota.
  3:00pm - 3:30pm Break & Tradeshow
T
R
A
C
K

O
N
E		 3:30pm - 5:00pm Watchable Wildlife & Children in Nature

Speaker: Rick Lemon, US Fish & Wildlife/National Conservation Training Center

Description: To address the major natural resource issues that we face – from climate change and water shortages to unsustainable energy use – will require that the American people care about nature, understand the importance of these issues and commit to personal responsibility in finding and implementing solutions.

Research shows that an adult’s affinity and behavior toward the natural world is often linked to direct interaction with nature as a child.  Yet today, our children spend less time than ever before outside interacting with nature.  This trend does not bode well for their future engagement in addressing the serious resource conservation issues that we face as a nation.

On the other hand, a convergence of issues – from concerns about the health and wellbeing of our children to climate change and energy shortages – has provided the attention and impetus needed to begin to reconnect children and their families to the natural world. A movement is spreading across the country to connect children and nature.  Many sectors, including conservation, education, health-care, architecture, technology, development, recreation, tourism and others need to be working together. The Watchable Wildlife Program should be a major player in this movement.
T
R
A
C
K

T
W
O		 1:30pm - 3:00pm Community Site Assessment Exercise

Speaker: Jim Mallman, President, Watchable Wildlife, Inc.

Description: Most people do not know where they live. Watchable Wildlife Inc conducts Sustainable Community Wildlife/Nature Tourism Workshops around the world. This session will feature the Site Assessment portion from these workshops. This exercise is tailored to help community leaders better understand how to prioritize site improvement projects and determine the real value of their wildlife viewing assets.
3:00pm - 3:30pm Break and Tradeshow
3:30pm - 5:00pm Trail Development

Speaker: Bob Finch, Colorado State Parks  

Description: With the increasing use of trails, growing human populations and our tremendous love for both hiking and wildlife, it is very important for trail planners and builders to understand and incorporate wildlife needs into trail design. How can trails best be planned and managed to recognize the needs and sensitivities of wildlife and the environment?  What impacts do trail development and use have on wildlife? What can we do to minimize these impacts? 
T
R
A
C
K

T
H
R
E
E		 1:30pm - 3:00pm Value of Endangered Species (Part 1)

Speaker: Dr. Jim Halfpenny and Mike Jimenez USFWS Project Leader for Wyoming wolf recovery

Description: Opportunities and Challenges in the Southwest, including discussion on:
- Turning endangered species into an asset and not a liability.
- Specific southwest Opportunities.
- Using watchable wildlife programs to promote understanding and acceptance of ES role in environment.
- Economic and ecological values of ES, Mexican wolves in particular.
- Keys to successful programs.
- Specific program opportunities.
3:00pm - 3:30pm Break & Tradeshow
3:30pm - 5:00pm Value of Endangered Species (Part 2)

Speakers: Dan Groebner (bio) Arizona Game & Fish Department

Description: Presentation on the programs AZ G&FD is conducting in the state to promote awareness and the financial potential in protecting endangered species programs. This session will also include a roundtable discussion with all the speakers on the topic moderated by Commissioner Bob Hernbrode (bio).
6:30pm - 7:30pm Reception
7:30pm - 9:30pm Watchable Wildlife Banquet & Awards
DoubleTree Hotel Conference Center

2008 conference details also presented
Friday 10/5/07
6:00am - 8:30am Morning Birding Trip (Cienega Creek Nature Preserve)
7:30am - 5:00pm Conference Registration Open
8:00am - 9:00am Breakfast
9:00am - 10:30am General Session

2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation

Speaker: Richard Aiken, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Description: All the predicting and guessing is over. The Preliminary Finding of the 2006 National Survey is complete and the numbers tell the story. Even with a very “strict definition” of what qualifies as Wildlife Watching Recreation, this segment of  the U.S. Fish & Wildlife 2006 survey is the only one to show continual  growth and an increase over 2001. Hear what these figures mean for the future of community based wildlife viewing programs.
10:30am - 11:00am Break and Tradeshow
11:00am - 12:00am General Session

New Technical Tools for Nature Tourism 

Speakers: Miles Phillips, Texas A&M University and David Peterson, President, Watchable Media, Inc.

Description: The introduction of two new web-based planning tools will be introduced at this session. These internet tools will help business owners develop a business plan and travelers map out a trip based on wildlife viewing opportunities.