Students Travel to Arizona for Wildlife Society Annual Meeting

SUNY Cobleskill Professor Kevin Berner led a group of five SUNY Cobleskill bachelor students to the Annual Meeting of The Wildlife Society, held in Tuscon, Arizona September 22 through 30.  The national meeting is attended by nearly 1,500 wildlife biologists, researchers and students each year. 

A total of 148 SUNY Cobleskill students have participated in these trips, each held in a different area of North America, since 1998.  Not only do students attend the conference, but also travel to surrounding areas to view “as many species of wildlife and as great a variety of habitats as possible,” according to Berner.  This year, students traveled nearly 1,200 miles to surrounding canyons, deserts, and national forests, viewing over 100 species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals.  For all of the students who traveled this year, this was their first experience traveling in the western United States. 

The students agreed the trip reiterated things they had learned in their studies at SUNY Cobleskill, yet the habitat in Arizona is so vastly different from the Northeastern United States that it gave them a rich experience they would not otherwise get.  One such experience included the sighting of a California Condor- a magnificently large, critically endangered vulture- only about 300 of which exist on earth.  

Students listened and conversed with “real scientists working on shoestring budgets,” according to student Rich Stanton of Angelica, “including scientists from both the US and Mexico.” 
Students heard and discussed several current issues in the field, including how border issues and fencing impact wildlife movements, which, according to Berner, are very minutely understood.
“Species diversity is very high in that area because of the unique geology,” said Stanton.  “The habitat there is totally different than anything I had ever seen before,” he said.  Stanton hopes to attend grad school upon graduating from SUNY Cobleskill and conduct research to benefit threatened and endangered species.  

“The most important part of the trip for me was getting the chance to meet professors and other students in the field,” said Willie Thompson of Lake George, who did some of his best networking ever at the conference.  “I got to eat lunch with the national TWS president,” he said of the University of Minnesota’s Natural Resources Department Head Dr. Dan Svedarsky.  “He encouraged me to call him if I need a hand finding a job in the future.”  Thompson hopes to work for a wildlife refuge out west upon graduating from SUNY Cobleskill. 

“Hearing grad students and professionals gave me an idea of what to expect for my future in this field,” said Kate VanDerzee of Schenectady.  “This experience broadened my ideas of what’s out there for careers in the wildlife arena, from the USDA to US Geological Survey.”   
Liz Clark of Victor, who plans to earn a master’s degree following her SUNY Cobleskill experience, said she brought back valuable advice from professional and student presenters at the conference.  “I got great advice on how to approach a master’s thesis, and took tips on public speaking from the presenters.” 

The group received funding for the trip from the New York State Chapter of TWS, Schoharie County Conservation Association, and SUNY Cobleskill Student Government Association.