2021 ARCHIVES | Special Symposia
The following special symposia were offered as part of the technical program at the 2021 annual conference. An Organized Symposium is a series of integrated presentations that address aspects of a single topic or theme.
S-01: Retaining New and Reactivated Participants: R3 During a Pandemic
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021 | 1:00pm - 2:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Coren Jagnow, Research and Education Division Chief, Human Dimensions Specialist, Pennsylvania Game Commission, [email protected]
Overview: Behavior changes associated with the Covid-19 pandemic created an unprecedented increase in outdoor recreation, particularly hunting, fishing, shooting sports, and boating. This “bump” in participation is fueled by both new recruits and those who have reactivated. As Covid-19 restrictions ease and normal schedules and activities resume, understanding those who were recruited or reactivated is critical to secure their continued participation. Determining the motivations of hunters, anglers, shooting sports participants, and boaters who were newly recruited or reactivated, through both qualitative and quantitative methods, is critical to ensuring that this increase in participation and license purchase is not temporary. After the initial surge of license buyers in Spring 2020, the need to encourage continued participation from these individuals became clear. In response, many state agencies and organizations started to create retention plans for the 2021. To better retain these audiences, state agencies and organizations must first identify who these participants are, including their motivations and constraints. Effective retention plans will incorporate research results to better provide the necessary resources allowing individuals to become more comfortable in their continued participation and eventually expand their outdoor recreation pursuits. Sharing ideas and learning from others about their successes and failures from retention efforts can greatly expand existing knowledge and create more effective retention programs. The presentation of findings from research of newly recruited or reactivated hunters, anglers, shooting sports participants, and boaters is the goal of this organized symposium. Additionally, presentations from new campaigns and efforts focused on retaining these new customers are encouraged.
Theme: R3, hunting and fishing retention, marketing, participation research
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021 | 1:00pm - 2:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Coren Jagnow, Research and Education Division Chief, Human Dimensions Specialist, Pennsylvania Game Commission, [email protected]
Overview: Behavior changes associated with the Covid-19 pandemic created an unprecedented increase in outdoor recreation, particularly hunting, fishing, shooting sports, and boating. This “bump” in participation is fueled by both new recruits and those who have reactivated. As Covid-19 restrictions ease and normal schedules and activities resume, understanding those who were recruited or reactivated is critical to secure their continued participation. Determining the motivations of hunters, anglers, shooting sports participants, and boaters who were newly recruited or reactivated, through both qualitative and quantitative methods, is critical to ensuring that this increase in participation and license purchase is not temporary. After the initial surge of license buyers in Spring 2020, the need to encourage continued participation from these individuals became clear. In response, many state agencies and organizations started to create retention plans for the 2021. To better retain these audiences, state agencies and organizations must first identify who these participants are, including their motivations and constraints. Effective retention plans will incorporate research results to better provide the necessary resources allowing individuals to become more comfortable in their continued participation and eventually expand their outdoor recreation pursuits. Sharing ideas and learning from others about their successes and failures from retention efforts can greatly expand existing knowledge and create more effective retention programs. The presentation of findings from research of newly recruited or reactivated hunters, anglers, shooting sports participants, and boaters is the goal of this organized symposium. Additionally, presentations from new campaigns and efforts focused on retaining these new customers are encouraged.
Theme: R3, hunting and fishing retention, marketing, participation research
S-02: Ongoing and Emerging Threats to Wildlife Health in the Northeast, U.S.
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021 | 1:00pm - 5:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Julie Ellis, Senior Research Investigator, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Andrew Di Salvo, Bureau of Wildlife Management, Wildlife Health Division, PA Game Commission ([email protected])
Overview: Disease emergence and resurgence threatens the sustainability of healthy population levels and long-term survival for many wildlife species in the Northeast. Disease outbreaks in wildlife can erode biodiversity and threaten ecosystem health. This symposium brings together university researchers and state agency staff to present their findings on diseases that are significant to wildlife conservation, as well as diseases that are transmitted between wildlife and domestic animals. Symposium speakers will provide information on a diverse array of topics pertaining to wildlife health, including: lead in American Black Ducks, potential threat of an invasive parasite to eastern reptile species, SARS CoV-2 surveillance in wildlife of the Northeast, Snowy Owl winter mortality investigation, anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in New England mesocarnivores, health and welfare considerations for confiscated turtles, and novel Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance and detection tools. Through this symposium, we seek to raise the profile of wildlife disease research and management in the region.
Theme: wildlife health and disease
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021 | 1:00pm - 5:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Julie Ellis, Senior Research Investigator, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Andrew Di Salvo, Bureau of Wildlife Management, Wildlife Health Division, PA Game Commission ([email protected])
Overview: Disease emergence and resurgence threatens the sustainability of healthy population levels and long-term survival for many wildlife species in the Northeast. Disease outbreaks in wildlife can erode biodiversity and threaten ecosystem health. This symposium brings together university researchers and state agency staff to present their findings on diseases that are significant to wildlife conservation, as well as diseases that are transmitted between wildlife and domestic animals. Symposium speakers will provide information on a diverse array of topics pertaining to wildlife health, including: lead in American Black Ducks, potential threat of an invasive parasite to eastern reptile species, SARS CoV-2 surveillance in wildlife of the Northeast, Snowy Owl winter mortality investigation, anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in New England mesocarnivores, health and welfare considerations for confiscated turtles, and novel Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance and detection tools. Through this symposium, we seek to raise the profile of wildlife disease research and management in the region.
Theme: wildlife health and disease
S-03: Reconnecting Aquatic Habitats
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 | 8:30am – 12:00pm; and 1:00pm – 2:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Lisa Barno, NJ Division Fish & Wildlife, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Ross Shramko, NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife
Overview: As a century of land use changes have left critical aquatic habitats fragmented, part two of the symposium shifts to reconnecting aquatic habitats. Collaborative partnerships have been successful in reconnecting aquatic habitats through dam removals, culvert replacements and habitat restoration efforts. Aquatic passage assessments such as those performed by the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) help guide partnerships by identifying and prioritizing impediments to aquatic passage. Presentations documenting various aquatic connectivity projects will allow for a comparison of varying project design and implementation strategies as well as provisions for or effectiveness of pre- and post-project monitoring. Monitoring efforts are critical to understanding impacts to and response of the aquatic community (fish, mussels, reptiles, amphibians, etc.), as well as documenting changes in channel morphology and in-stream habitat. The goal of this session is to exchange information concerning various aquatic connectivity approaches and their effect on aquatic biota and their habitat to help facilitate future aquatic connectivity projects and partnerships.
Theme: Habitat connectivity (aquatic and land),dam removals, planning, implementation
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 | 8:30am – 12:00pm; and 1:00pm – 2:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Lisa Barno, NJ Division Fish & Wildlife, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Ross Shramko, NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife
Overview: As a century of land use changes have left critical aquatic habitats fragmented, part two of the symposium shifts to reconnecting aquatic habitats. Collaborative partnerships have been successful in reconnecting aquatic habitats through dam removals, culvert replacements and habitat restoration efforts. Aquatic passage assessments such as those performed by the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) help guide partnerships by identifying and prioritizing impediments to aquatic passage. Presentations documenting various aquatic connectivity projects will allow for a comparison of varying project design and implementation strategies as well as provisions for or effectiveness of pre- and post-project monitoring. Monitoring efforts are critical to understanding impacts to and response of the aquatic community (fish, mussels, reptiles, amphibians, etc.), as well as documenting changes in channel morphology and in-stream habitat. The goal of this session is to exchange information concerning various aquatic connectivity approaches and their effect on aquatic biota and their habitat to help facilitate future aquatic connectivity projects and partnerships.
Theme: Habitat connectivity (aquatic and land),dam removals, planning, implementation
S-04: Emerging Threats and Unintended Consequences: How Climate Change Exacerbates and Complicates Wildlife Management
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 | 9:00am – 12:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Michelle Staudinger, Science Coordinator, DOI Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Karen Terwilliger, Terwilliger Consulting Inc; Elizabeth Crisfield, Terwilliger Consulting Inc
Overview: Fish and wildlife experience persistent and pervasive threats from anthropogenic activities, disease, and other direct stressors. Climate change acts as an amplifier that exacerbates almost all of these issues, intensifying and accelerating the actions and timelines that managers face. Conversely, agencies are often reactive and limited in how they can respond to these emerging threats due to the lack of resources, expertise or information. Strategic, efficient, and collaborative solutions are needed to assist agencies in addressing these complicated and often cascading threats and to avoid unintended outcomes, which are known in the climate adaptation realm as “maladaption”. This session seeks to help managers keep pace with pervasive as well as emerging threats that are being amplified by climate change. Perspectives will focus on what is being done to address these problems, what resources are available, lessons learned from successes in other systems or applications, as well as new and ongoing research initiatives to reduce risk and uncertainty. Examples from the Northeast of several aspects of climate adaptation that demand agile approaches to wildlife conservation include: how do we balance the growing emphasis on renewable energy production and carbon sequestration while maintaining large and connected tracts of land and water? How are habitat needs for wildlife are measured and weighed with new land use priorities? How can we rapidly prioritize and conserve coastal habitats that are increasingly at risk from sea level rise, intensified storm impacts, development and shoreline armoring? How can Northeast states work together to improve detection and eradication of invasive species? This session brings federal, state, and academic leaders in climate adaptation together to address these and other urgent challenges through presentations and a panel discussion. Please bring your questions and solutions to this problem-solving session.
Theme: Climate Change, adaptation strategies
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 | 9:00am – 12:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Michelle Staudinger, Science Coordinator, DOI Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Karen Terwilliger, Terwilliger Consulting Inc; Elizabeth Crisfield, Terwilliger Consulting Inc
Overview: Fish and wildlife experience persistent and pervasive threats from anthropogenic activities, disease, and other direct stressors. Climate change acts as an amplifier that exacerbates almost all of these issues, intensifying and accelerating the actions and timelines that managers face. Conversely, agencies are often reactive and limited in how they can respond to these emerging threats due to the lack of resources, expertise or information. Strategic, efficient, and collaborative solutions are needed to assist agencies in addressing these complicated and often cascading threats and to avoid unintended outcomes, which are known in the climate adaptation realm as “maladaption”. This session seeks to help managers keep pace with pervasive as well as emerging threats that are being amplified by climate change. Perspectives will focus on what is being done to address these problems, what resources are available, lessons learned from successes in other systems or applications, as well as new and ongoing research initiatives to reduce risk and uncertainty. Examples from the Northeast of several aspects of climate adaptation that demand agile approaches to wildlife conservation include: how do we balance the growing emphasis on renewable energy production and carbon sequestration while maintaining large and connected tracts of land and water? How are habitat needs for wildlife are measured and weighed with new land use priorities? How can we rapidly prioritize and conserve coastal habitats that are increasingly at risk from sea level rise, intensified storm impacts, development and shoreline armoring? How can Northeast states work together to improve detection and eradication of invasive species? This session brings federal, state, and academic leaders in climate adaptation together to address these and other urgent challenges through presentations and a panel discussion. Please bring your questions and solutions to this problem-solving session.
Theme: Climate Change, adaptation strategies
S-05: Bear-Human Conflict Management in the Northeast
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Catherine Tredick, Associate Professor, Stockton University, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Andrew Timmins, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
Overview: Bear-human conflict management continues to represent a critical component to overall jurisdictional bear management throughout the Northeast. As bear populations grow in states with some of the highest human densities, understanding bear-human conflict dynamics and appropriate strategies to manage these conflicts becomes critical. This symposium is designed to synthesize information related to bear-human conflict dynamics, conflict management strategies, and best practices for outreach and education for use by management agencies. An ultimate goal of this session is to identify ways that managers can create a more informed and responsible public as a means of minimizing conflicts between bears and people. Speakers may include, but are not limited to, agency personnel from various states who have or are currently dealing with bear conflict issues, experts who have evaluated the efficacy of various conflict management strategies (including hunting and trash management), and developers of the BearWise program (bear experts from the Southeastern states), an outreach and education program designed to compel the public to be more responsible with human-related attractants in an effort to minimize bear-human conflicts.
Theme: black bear management; human-bear conflict; public outreach and education
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Catherine Tredick, Associate Professor, Stockton University, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Andrew Timmins, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
Overview: Bear-human conflict management continues to represent a critical component to overall jurisdictional bear management throughout the Northeast. As bear populations grow in states with some of the highest human densities, understanding bear-human conflict dynamics and appropriate strategies to manage these conflicts becomes critical. This symposium is designed to synthesize information related to bear-human conflict dynamics, conflict management strategies, and best practices for outreach and education for use by management agencies. An ultimate goal of this session is to identify ways that managers can create a more informed and responsible public as a means of minimizing conflicts between bears and people. Speakers may include, but are not limited to, agency personnel from various states who have or are currently dealing with bear conflict issues, experts who have evaluated the efficacy of various conflict management strategies (including hunting and trash management), and developers of the BearWise program (bear experts from the Southeastern states), an outreach and education program designed to compel the public to be more responsible with human-related attractants in an effort to minimize bear-human conflicts.
Theme: black bear management; human-bear conflict; public outreach and education
S-06: Wild Trout Management
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 | 2:20pm - 4:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Adam Kautza, Coldwater Biologist, Mass Wildlife, [email protected]
Overview: Targeted management of wild stream-dwelling trout is increasingly important as the impact of multiple environmental stressors on the resource becomes more apparent and as diverse angling opportunities for these fisheries continues to be desired by the angling public. States and provinces in the region are addressing this by developing, or revising, their wild trout management plans. However, many state and provincial resource management agencies desire additional information and resources to support the development, or timely revision, of a wild trout management plan. Fisheries professionals working on wild trout management in rivers and streams throughout the region need an avenue to share their knowledge and experiences with others who have been or are currently dealing with similar issues. Providing a means of sharing useful knowledge and experience will allow managers to learn from one another and help to inform the development of wild trout management plans with a greater likelihood of successfully meeting intended goals and objectives. The objective of this symposium is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information among various scientists and managers in an effort to better facilitate effective management of wild trout resources in streams and rivers in the region.
Theme: Wild Trout, Wild Trout Management, Streams
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 | 2:20pm - 4:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Adam Kautza, Coldwater Biologist, Mass Wildlife, [email protected]
Overview: Targeted management of wild stream-dwelling trout is increasingly important as the impact of multiple environmental stressors on the resource becomes more apparent and as diverse angling opportunities for these fisheries continues to be desired by the angling public. States and provinces in the region are addressing this by developing, or revising, their wild trout management plans. However, many state and provincial resource management agencies desire additional information and resources to support the development, or timely revision, of a wild trout management plan. Fisheries professionals working on wild trout management in rivers and streams throughout the region need an avenue to share their knowledge and experiences with others who have been or are currently dealing with similar issues. Providing a means of sharing useful knowledge and experience will allow managers to learn from one another and help to inform the development of wild trout management plans with a greater likelihood of successfully meeting intended goals and objectives. The objective of this symposium is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information among various scientists and managers in an effort to better facilitate effective management of wild trout resources in streams and rivers in the region.
Theme: Wild Trout, Wild Trout Management, Streams
S-07: How Marketing Strategy Supports R3 Goals
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 | 8:30am - 12:30pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Katie Yates, Marketing/R3 Coordinator, Maine Dept. Fish and Wildlife, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Courtney Moulton, Media & Graphics Supervisor, MDIFW, [email protected]
Overview: As states implement R3 plans and R3 coordinators, many departments still struggle with how R3 works and its role in outreach. In Maine, our R3 effort is multi-faceted and heavily based in digital marketing and market segmentation. This symposium will cover the many ways our Department identifies opportunities, strategizes outreach to target user groups, and measures outcomes. In the time of quarantining, shifting values, and online educational programming, not only are we seeing an uptick in outdoor participation, but also a myriad of opportunities to retain new participants unlike ever before. From geofencing, influencers, virtual coffee chats, podcasts, and time-tested digital marketing campaigns, Maine is connecting with the pubic and moving them along the R3 pathway in a variety of exciting ways, setting an example for other states.
Theme: How modern marketing efforts support R3 goals
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 | 8:30am - 12:30pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Katie Yates, Marketing/R3 Coordinator, Maine Dept. Fish and Wildlife, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Courtney Moulton, Media & Graphics Supervisor, MDIFW, [email protected]
Overview: As states implement R3 plans and R3 coordinators, many departments still struggle with how R3 works and its role in outreach. In Maine, our R3 effort is multi-faceted and heavily based in digital marketing and market segmentation. This symposium will cover the many ways our Department identifies opportunities, strategizes outreach to target user groups, and measures outcomes. In the time of quarantining, shifting values, and online educational programming, not only are we seeing an uptick in outdoor participation, but also a myriad of opportunities to retain new participants unlike ever before. From geofencing, influencers, virtual coffee chats, podcasts, and time-tested digital marketing campaigns, Maine is connecting with the pubic and moving them along the R3 pathway in a variety of exciting ways, setting an example for other states.
Theme: How modern marketing efforts support R3 goals
S-08: Conserving Joint Priority At-Risk Species in the North Atlantic-Appalachian Region
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 | 8:30am - 12:30pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Valerie Hipkins, PhD, Assistant Regional Director, Science Applications, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, [email protected]
Overview: The 1973 Endangered Species Act provided a mechanism for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to protect and conserve threatened and endangered species and their habitats. Currently, more than 1600 species are listed. However, species that are listed are often in need of extensive, and expensive, recovery measures, and implementing these measures in a timely manner can be difficult with species that are so critically imperiled. Thus, the USFWS also prioritizes actions for species that are proposed or candidates for listing, or At-Risk Species (ARS). The hope is that preventative actions now may prevent ARS from ever needing to be listed. In our region, expediting the conservation of ARS is a top priority for the Service. The State and federal commitment to work together on ARS is reflected in AFWA’s landscape conservation resolution naming ARS as a mutual priority. Recently, the Service and States in our region collaborated to identify Shared Priority ARS based on the Service national listing work plan and the Northeast state Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The species on the list will be the focus of game-changing collaborative efforts to leverage funding and resources to rapidly advance on the ground conservation for ARS. Shared Priority science and research actions include surveys for frosted elfin butterflies, bees, freshwater invertebrates, Bethany beach firefly, spotted, wood, and Blanding’s turtles. Conservation actions include development of a turtle poaching task force, salt marsh restoration planning, pine barrens management, riparian habitat restoration, and captive propagation.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 | 8:30am - 12:30pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Valerie Hipkins, PhD, Assistant Regional Director, Science Applications, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, [email protected]
Overview: The 1973 Endangered Species Act provided a mechanism for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to protect and conserve threatened and endangered species and their habitats. Currently, more than 1600 species are listed. However, species that are listed are often in need of extensive, and expensive, recovery measures, and implementing these measures in a timely manner can be difficult with species that are so critically imperiled. Thus, the USFWS also prioritizes actions for species that are proposed or candidates for listing, or At-Risk Species (ARS). The hope is that preventative actions now may prevent ARS from ever needing to be listed. In our region, expediting the conservation of ARS is a top priority for the Service. The State and federal commitment to work together on ARS is reflected in AFWA’s landscape conservation resolution naming ARS as a mutual priority. Recently, the Service and States in our region collaborated to identify Shared Priority ARS based on the Service national listing work plan and the Northeast state Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The species on the list will be the focus of game-changing collaborative efforts to leverage funding and resources to rapidly advance on the ground conservation for ARS. Shared Priority science and research actions include surveys for frosted elfin butterflies, bees, freshwater invertebrates, Bethany beach firefly, spotted, wood, and Blanding’s turtles. Conservation actions include development of a turtle poaching task force, salt marsh restoration planning, pine barrens management, riparian habitat restoration, and captive propagation.
S-09: Illegal Trade of North America's Native Turtles
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Scott Buchanan, Herpetologist, Rhode Island Fish and Wildlife, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Lori Erb, Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology; Jen Sevin, University of Richmond; Julie Slacum, USFWS
Overview: The illegal collection and trade of North America’s native turtles is a serious threat with potentially severe conservation implications. The challenges this issue raises are variable and complex and confronting them will require creating a nexus of law enforcement personnel, biologists, legal experts, and others with expertise in husbandry, genetics, forensic science, disease/biosecurity, economics, and public outreach. We intend to foster these relationships during this symposium by creating a forum for a discussion centered around illegal turtle collection and trade. Potential talks include but are not limited to: investigating the scale of illegal collection in eastern Northern America, law enforcement case studies and techniques, case studies of large-scale prosecutions, economic drivers of the illegal trade, use of forensic science to identify collection locations, housing and repatriation of confiscated turtles, and the biology and conservation implications of turtle poaching. Discussions after the talks will focus on needs and solutions. The symposium will be coordinated by the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Turtle Networking Team's (PARC - TNT) Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles (CCITT) – a grassroots working group composed primarily of biologists, law enforcement officers, and attorneys, whose goal is to advance efforts to better understand, prevent, and eliminate the illegal collection of North America’s native turtles.
Theme: Law Enforcement, Herpetology
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm ET | View Abstracts
Contact: Scott Buchanan, Herpetologist, Rhode Island Fish and Wildlife, [email protected]
Co-Organizer(s): Lori Erb, Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology; Jen Sevin, University of Richmond; Julie Slacum, USFWS
Overview: The illegal collection and trade of North America’s native turtles is a serious threat with potentially severe conservation implications. The challenges this issue raises are variable and complex and confronting them will require creating a nexus of law enforcement personnel, biologists, legal experts, and others with expertise in husbandry, genetics, forensic science, disease/biosecurity, economics, and public outreach. We intend to foster these relationships during this symposium by creating a forum for a discussion centered around illegal turtle collection and trade. Potential talks include but are not limited to: investigating the scale of illegal collection in eastern Northern America, law enforcement case studies and techniques, case studies of large-scale prosecutions, economic drivers of the illegal trade, use of forensic science to identify collection locations, housing and repatriation of confiscated turtles, and the biology and conservation implications of turtle poaching. Discussions after the talks will focus on needs and solutions. The symposium will be coordinated by the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Turtle Networking Team's (PARC - TNT) Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles (CCITT) – a grassroots working group composed primarily of biologists, law enforcement officers, and attorneys, whose goal is to advance efforts to better understand, prevent, and eliminate the illegal collection of North America’s native turtles.
Theme: Law Enforcement, Herpetology