2025 Annual Meeting

Virginia Chapter of

The Wildlife Society

March 17-19, 2025

Maymont Foundation

Richmond, Virginia

The 2025 VATWS meeting will be held March 17-19, 2025. Talks will be held at the 1000 Westover building on Maymont.

Schedule

Monday, March 17

3:00 – 6:30 Arrival and check-in at Omni Hotel Richmond

6:30 – 10:00 Welcome reception at the hotel (dinner on your own)

Tuesday, March 18 – Maymont Park (1000 Westover Building)

Breakfast On your own

8:00 – 8:30 Check in at Maymont Park

8:30 – 9:00 Welcome & Logistics

Presentations

9:00 – 9:20 Crossing the Divide: Conservation Genetics in Fish – Stephanie Coster

9:20 – 9:40 Black Vulture Behavior in Central Virginia – Richard Groover

9:40 – 10:00 Blue Ridge Woodrats: From Headache to Heaven-Sent - Karen Powers

10:00 – 10:20 Weller’s Wannabe? Investigating Possible Mimicry between Desmognathus orestes and Plethodon welleri – Morgan Crum

10:20 – 10:40 Break

10:40 – 11:00 Virginia Gray Fox Project Status Update – Victoria Monette

11:00 – 11:20 Is Deer Hunting Over Bait Fair Chase? A Commentary – Matt Knox

11:20 – 11:40 Virginia Wildlife Action Plan: An Opportunity for Partnering in Conservation – Jeffrey B. Trollinger

11:40 – 12:00 Making Roads Safer for People and Wildlife: Virginia's Wildlife Corridor Action Plan – Jennifer Allen

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch (provided)

Speed talks (~7min)

1:00 – 1:10 The Devil in the Details: Micro-Experiments in the Context of an eDNA Study on Dam Removal – Abbigail Pesut

1:10 – 1:20 Prevalence of Zoonotic Diseases and Impact on Anesthesia on Raccoons from Central Virginia – Cam Dabu and Mike Tulupov

1:20 – 1:30 Predictive Modeling for Chronic Wasting Disease: Machine Learning-Based Forecasting in Virginia’s Deer Population – Vishal Shah

1:30 – 1:40 The Last Dam Summer: Pre-Removal Monitoring Related to Ashland Mill Dam – Jacob Langley

1:40 – 1:50 Get the Dam Students Involved: Combining Monitoring Work with Education – Charles Gowan

1:50 – 2:10 Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Dr. Seuss) - Pathways to Getting a Job in Wildlife Management & Career Advancement – Bob Duncan

2:30 – 4:00 Maymont Tour (guided with reservation or on your own)

5:30 – 6:30 Poster Session Social (at Omni)

6:30 – 8:00 Chapter Awards Dinner (provided, at Omni)

8:00 Evening Social

Wednesday March 19 – Maymont Park (1000 Westover Building)

Breakfast On your own

8:30 – 10:00 Chapter Business Meeting (Maymont Park)

10:00 – 10:30 Break

Presentations

10:30 – 10:50 Wildlife as Depicted in the Paleolithic Cave Art of Western Europe – Ray Dueser

10:50 – 11:10 From Collections Care to Collaboration and Publication: An Overview of the Vertebrate Collections at the Virginia Museum of Natural History – Marshall Boyd

11:10 – 11:30 Working with Landowners: The Good, the Bad, and the Muggy – Amy Roberts

11:30 – 11:50 Inclusive Field Safety – Physical, Social, and International Concerns – Marcella Kelly

11:50 Adjourn

Lodging Information

Lodging for the meeting has been arranged at the Omni Richmond Hotel. Please note that dinner, awards, and socials will also take place at the Omni.

Registration

You can register for the 2025 Annual Meeting through our registration site on Eventbrite. Registration is $75 ($35 for students) and includes breaks, and lunch and dinner on March 18th. There will be a tour of Maymont, including animal exhibits, on Tuesday afternoon. Registration for the tour is required, but there is no additional charge.

Travel Grants

2025 Student Scholarship from the VATWS Committee on Increasing Diversity, Equity, and Awareness

Graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to apply.

This scholarship is open to any current student, graduate or undergraduate, who self-identifies as Black/African American, Hispanic, Alaskan Native or American Indian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, LGBTQ+, differently abled, or as a member of any community underrepresented in the wildlife profession.

Awards can be used to cover VATWS meeting registration, lodging, and travel costs at the recipient's discretion. Recipients are encouraged (not required) to join and contribute to the VATWS IDEA committee. Applications are due March 4th. To apply, please complete this form: https://forms.office.com/r/KZQ2pPpCWD Any questions can be sent to: vatwsidea@gmail.com

The Virginia Chapter of The Wildlife Society's Annual Meeting follows the conduct policy of The Wildlife Society, which can be viewed here.

We encourage participants to contact us regarding any special accommodations they require. if you would like to request special accommodations, please email vatwsidea@gmail.com