19th Eastern Black Bear Workshop
Human-Bear Conflict Management: aversive conditioning & information
outreach
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
April 9 - 12, 2007
What is the Eastern Black Bear Workshop?
The first official Eastern Black Bear Workshop was held in Delmar, New York in
July 1972. The meeting was hosted by the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, Wildlife Research Lab; 31 attendees represented 10
states and one federal agency. Since 1972, the Workshop has had a consistent
and successful track record of 18 biennial meetings hosted by 15 states and one
Canadian province. Attendance has ranged from 31 at the first meeting to 146 at
the 12th Workshop, with an average attendance of 89. State/provincial
representation has ranged from 9 to 25 (mean = 18) out of a potential 35
Eastern states or provinces. Three states have been represented at every
Workshop since 1972- North Carolina, New York, and Virginia. Proceedings were
produced from all but 2 of the meetings and provide an informative and
interesting history of black bear management and research in eastern North
America for the past 34 years. Considering the fact that there has never been
an organizational body governing the Workshop, its track record is remarkable.
Between 1978 and 1983 attempts were made to bring some consistency and
continuity to the Workshop by developing guidelines; these attempts were not
successful. Thus, all of the accomplishments to date have been done informally
among the various states and provinces. The 19th workshop will be held at the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center (NCTC).
Highlights of the meeting include:
Evening Social:
Monday, April 9, 2007. An evening icebreaker will be held after dinner at NCTC
to provide crucial time to get reacquainted and meet new people.
Concurrent Meetings:
Tuesday Morning, April 10, 2007. There will be concurrent committee meetings of
both the Northeast and Southeast Black Bear Technical Committees. These
meetings will be limited to NE and SE technical committee members only.
Technical Session:
Tuesday Afternoon, April 10, 2007. The technical session will consist of status
reports and 5-6 selected papers presented by bear researchers. Papers are
reviewed and selected by the co-hosts with an emphasis on human-bear conflict
management, and will be included in the workshop proceedings.
Tuesday Social:
Tuesday Evening, April 10, 2007. There will be an evening social with a live
band. In addition there will be a poster display session that will include
information on biology, management, and social aspects of bear management. This
evening social is being sponsored by Bear Trust International.
Technical Session:
Wednesday, April 11, 2007. The Wednesday technical session will be done in a
workshop style format and broken into morning and afternoon topics with
professionally facilitated discussions.
Banquet:
Wednesday, April 11, 2007. A social hour will precede an evening meal prepared
by staff at NCTC followed by special guest speaker, John Hechtel, Alaska
Department of Fish and Game.
Summary of Workshop Sessions and Business Meeting:
Thursday, April 12, 2007. Dr. Mike Pelton will provide a synopsis and
perspective on the Wednesday’s workshop. A brief business meeting will follow,
which will include discussion about the next Eastern Black Bear Workshop.
Meeting Costs:
Cost for workshop registration is $125. Registration costs include all socials,
breaks, proceedings, and associated costs of the workshop. The meeting will be
held at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West
Virginia. Rooms are available at $110.00 single and $76.00 per person to share
a room. These prices include room on night of check in, dinner that night, and
breakfast and lunch the next day. Double rooms are very limited. You are
responsible for contacting NCTC to make your lodging reservations.
Reservations may be made by contacting NCTC at 1-304-876-7900. Be sure to
mention your reservations are for the 19th Eastern Black Bear Workshop. For
more information regarding NCTC, see NCTC Info Sheet*, NCTC Campus Map*, and
Driving Directions* (You will need Acrobat Reader to view these files). Rooms
will only be held for the workshop until February 9, 2007. Attendees
are encouraged to register early due to limited number of rooms.
Flight Information:
If you are flying, you may fly in to either Dulles International airport in
Washington, DC or Baltimore-Washington International airport in Baltimore, MD.
Car rentals are available from both airports. Additionally, Maryland DNR will
be providing limited shuttle service between Dulles International Airport and
NCTC on April 9, 10, and 12. To arrange for shuttle service, contact Harry
Spiker with flight information by February 9, 2007.
More information concerning the meeting can be obtained by contacting Chris
Ryan, (304) 558-2771 chrisryan@wvdnr.gov, Harry Spiker (301) 334-4255
hspiker@dnr.state.md.us, or Mark Ternent (814) 625-3597 mternent@state.pa.us.