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| NEWSLETTER |
DECEMBER 2000
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The year is winding down and the holidays are upon us! Y2K seems like a distant, phantom memory. This has been a busy year both from a Chapter and professional viewpoint for me. I would like to pause at this time and say we have made some accomplishments in Chapter directives this year (e.g., appointing a Finance Committee, focusing on young professionals in our Chapter, proposing to host 2003 Southern Division mid-year meeting, and finalizing the Chapter's Bylaws). We still have many things to accomplish in the coming year, and I know that our President-elect, Mr. Bob Curry will move us forward.
I can say that I have benefited from serving as President of the Chapter. My participation on the Chapter has helped me understand the many dimensions of AFS and helped me understand different perspectives and viewpoints of individuals within the Chapter. I thank you for the opportunity to serve the North Carolina AFS Chapter. I encourage each of you, particularly those who have not volunteered for AFS duties, to consider giving your time to help the Chapter, the Parent Society, and the environmental profession. I believe you will come out with a better professional perspective.
I hope to see you at our 2001 Chapter meeting in January. We have an outstanding meeting shaping up with our sister chapter in South Carolina. Bob Curry, Keith Ashley, and Wade Bales have put together a good meeting. See you there.
I wish each of you peace and holiday greetings.
Sincerely,
John Crutchfield
Greetings! As the newsletter editor, I would like to kindly ask for your assistance with our new electronic format. Every quarter I send out an e-mail message announcing the latest Internet-based issue of the newsletter; this message goes out to approximately 190 individuals. Invariably, eight to ten e-mails get returned each quarter as undeliverable. A new address can usually be found, but often, some can't. If you would like to keep getting these reminders about the newsletter, please let me know of any changes in your e-mail address. Also, if you know of someone new to the state or the fisheries field and think they might enjoy reading the news of the Chapter, please forward their e-mail address to me for inclusion in our mailing list. While we would like to see all of our e-mail addressees be Chapter members, it is not a prerequisite to getting the newsletter announcements. Our continued use of e-mails and the Internet for announcing and publishing the newsletter will save the Chapter hundreds of dollars a year in postage and paper costs! Thanks for your support!
Dave
2001 NCAFS President-Elect Candidates
Please take a minute to re-read the biographies of Shari and Kent and then follow the link to cast your vote. We would like to ask that only NCAFS members submit a ballot and that you include your e-mail address for anonymous confirmation of your membership status.
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Shari Bryant - Shari Bryant is a District Fisheries Biologist for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. She received her B.S. in Biology and Earth Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania (1983) and M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from Clemson University (1986). Shari has worked for the Wildlife Resources Commission since 1986 and has been involved in research and survey projects with largemouth bass and crappie in Piedmont reservoirs. Shari joined AFS in 1986. She was Secretary-Treasurer of the North Carolina Chapter from 1994 to 1996. She has served on the Southern Division's Small Impoundments Committee (1990-1999) where she served as Secretary-Treasurer (1991-1996) and Chair (1996-1998). |
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Kent Nelson - Kent Nelson graduated from VPI with a MS in Fisheries Science in 1978. He has worked for the NCWRC's Division of Inland Fisheries since 1978 as a Habitat Conservation Section Biologist, District Biologist and Coastal Research Coordinator. Since 1995 Kent has been the Coastal Region Supervisor. He has served as Chairman of the SDAFS Striped Bass Committee and also served on the Warmwater Streams Committee. |
2001 ANNUAL MEETING - FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS
Joint Meeting of the Carolina Chapters of the American Fisheries Society and South Carolina Fishery Workers Association
The 2001 NCAFS Chapter meeting will be January 17-19 at the Sea Trail Resort and Conference Center located in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. The program will include contributed papers from both North and South Carolina on any fishery-related topic. Presentations may include completed projects or works in progress. The meeting registration fee is $30 ($15 for students) and will cover the costs of breaks and socials. 2001 NC/SC Meeting Registration Form
Please note that an additional day has been added to accommodate all the papers and meetings. The meeting begins at 1:00 PM Wednesday, January 17 and concludes at noon on Friday, January 19. Two workshops are also planned for Wednesday morning from 8:00 AM until noon: "NonParametric Statistics Refresher Course" taught by Dr. Jackie Dietz and a "Reservoir Limnology Overview" taught by Dr. Jon Knight. Contact John Crutchfield E-mail: john.crutchfield@cplc.comif you are interested or need additional information. There will be a $10 registration fee for each workshop.
Submission deadline is December 22, 2000.
Abstracts for presentations should be submitted electronically to Bob Curry at CURRYRL@MAIL.WILDLIFE.STATE.NC.US or on a 3.5" diskette in either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect format. Presenters are requested to provide name, affiliation, phone number, e-mail address and a brief biographical sketch for a 20-30 second introduction. Send submissions to Bob Curry, NC Chapter AFS, 2001 Program Chair, 1721 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1721; phone (919) 733-3633, ext. 280; Fax (919) 715-7643.
Presenters should plan for a 15-minute program that includes a question/answer period. We urge students to attend and we are particularly interested in student presentations. Awards for "Best Paper" and "Best Student Paper" will be awarded by each chapter. Look for further meeting details, program abstracts and registration information on the NC Chapter web site at http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jhncsu/public/AFS/index.htm
2001 ANNUAL MEETING - ACCOMODATIONS
Accommodations range from a 2-person mini suite for $65 per night to a three bedroom villa for $200 per night that can accommodate 6-10 people. A 10% room tax will be applied in addition to the base room costs. Room reservations can be made by calling the Sea Trail Reservation Department at (800) 624-6601. Be sure to let them know that you are attending the NC/SC Chapters American Fisheries Society meeting. Room reservation cut-off date was extended to December 11, 2000. The conference lodging and meeting facilities are outstanding and we thank Dean Cain and Wade Bales from South Carolina for making all the arrangements.
NC to host the 2003 Southern Division AFS Mid-Year Meeting
The SDAFS EXCOM met at the recent SEAFWA meeting and listened to the NCAFS' bid to host the 2003 Mid-Year meeting. Our proposal was accepted! The tentative location is the Wilmington area. More on this effort in future issues of the newsletter.
Constitution and Bylaw Changes
Not that many of you will remember, but the Chapter originally started its existence with a Constitution that consisted of two typed pages. This document was so old that no one had a usable electronic version. We also eventually developed a set of Bylaws and Procedures. The Constitution and Bylaws were fairly redundant so the decision was made to combine the two documents into one set of Bylaws. This process has been going on for a few years now and finally seems to have reached an end. Editorial changes (revision marks) have been made to the earliest known version of the Bylaws. The EXCOM has reviewed and approved the changes and would like to formally request that the members follow the link to this document and read the Bylaws (the first eight pages). By providing this notice 30 days in advance of the annual business meeting, we would like to vote on acceptance of these Bylaws by the membership at that meeting. Pending that vote, they will be forwarded to the AFS Governing Board for acceptance. Bylaws
STUDENT SUBUNIT STUFF HERE!!
- Another raffle is planned for this year's Annual Meeting at Sea Trails. Proceeds support campus fishery activities, summer camp scholarships, and more. The Student Subunit would like to solicit the assistance of all Chapter members to raise raffle items for this event. If you know someone at a Wal-Mart who can get some gear, if you would like to donate a gift certificate, if you have old fishing tackle that has just collected too much dust, if you have anything that might be of interest to another fish-head, PLEASE consider bringing it to the Annual Chapter meeting and donating it to the student raffle! The Student Subunit would appreciate any and all support!
The Subunit's web page is always being updated with new information and images of the recent events and a tour of fisheries research in North Carolina currently being conducted by faculty and students at NC State. The web page can be linked from the Chapter home page or directly at http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jctaylo4/ncsu_afs .
If you have any questions or comments for the student Subunit, please contact the current president, Chris Taylor. (Email: chris_taylor@ncsu.edu, Snail-mail: NCSU Dept. of Zoology, Campus Box 7617, Raleigh, NC 27695).
The Education Committee is working on two continuing education offerings for the upcoming 2001 Chapter meeting. Course offerings are based on feedback received from surveys of participants who took courses offered in 1999 and 2000. The first course will be on Nonparametric Statistics and will be taught by Dr. Jackie Dietz of N.C. State University. This 4-hour course will review concepts and assumptions of nonparametric statistical tests and will offer an interactive tutorial with environmental data sets. Dr. Dietz has taught nonparametric statistics at N.C. State for many years and has developed a reputation as an excellent educator who can teach statistics in practical terms. A second course to be taught by Dr. Jon Knight of Duke Power Company will review and discuss reservoir limnology dynamics in the context of relationships with the fish community. Jon is an employee of Duke Power and has conducted extensive limnological research on Duke's power plant reservoirs, including Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, Lake Jocasse, and other piedmont and mountain reservoirs. This 3-4 hour course will review limnological concepts and the dynamics of reservoirs.
President Crutchfield is pleased to announce that Lawrence Dorsey, NCWRC, has agreed to chair the Education Committee. Many thanks to Lawrence for taking over the leadership of this valuable committee!
News from around North Carolina
AFS News from Fred Harris - At the recently completed 3rd World Fisheries congress in China an AFS bid to host the 4th Congress in North America was accepted. Congress will be in 2004. AFS office is reviewing possible host cities.
AFS Membership Committee will be working with the chapters to increase their AFS membership by 10% or 10 members. Individual membership in AFS has declined in recent years and we all need to make a concerted effort to this around. Chapter presidents will be getting a letter asking them to appoint a chapter member to work with the membership committee.
AFS is changing the company that handles distribution of our books and we are hoping to unload some via a book sale. Available books and sale prices are listed on the web site (sale goes through Dec. 14). Also AFS is looking for donors to help cover the costs of shipping books to educational institutions & individuals around the world. For example, we have a current request from Kenya for some books but need the money to pay for shipping. If anyone would like to help with such a project, they should contact Karen Maggi at the AFS office.
Next year AFS will publish a 25th anniversary issue of Fisheries. This issue will look back at the significant advances in fisheries science and management since the first issue and speculate on what the next 25 years might offer. Should be an interesting issue.
News from Tom Kwak - Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society Warmwater Streams Committee Announces the Jimmie Pigg Memorial Outstanding Student Achievement Award!!
The Warmwater Streams Committee was established in 1976 as a technical committee within the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society in order to address issues related to warmwater streams. The Committee promotes the conservation and management of warmwater streams by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, information, and concerns.
The Committee created an Outstanding Student Achievement Award in 1997 to recognize university students who are truly outstanding in research, education and professional endeavors. Outstanding student(s) are recognized at the Southern Division's Annual Mid-Year Meeting and receive a plaque, funds to travel to the meeting, and a one-year membership to the American Fisheries Society. In 1999, the award was re-named the Jimmie Pigg Memorial Outstanding Student Achievement Award in honor of Jimmie Pigg, a longtime supporter of student activities.
Nomination material is available from the Committee's homepage housed in the SD AFS site (http://www.sdafs.org/) or by contacting Chris O'Bara at cobara@dnr.state.wv.us or 304-420-4550.
News from several NCAFS members - There has been a lot of news lately on possible links between rotenone exposure and Parkinson's Disease. Please follow these two links if you like more information. The first is a link from the BBC BBC News Story and the second is from the AFS website AFS Review
News from Jeremy Walker McCargo - Here is an announcement for a $500 scholarship from the Nat Greene Scholarship/Education Fund.
Applicant must be a North Carolina resident, either attending or enrolled in a N.C., accredited college/university. Applicants should be entering their senior year of undergraduate or attending graduate level classes. Area of study must be in discipline that prepares the applicant for a career in fisheries enhancement, aquatic habitat restoration or aquatic biology.
Applicant will need to apply by submitting a letter of interest to include the following: 1) level of current study, 2) Area of study, (with confirming documentation from the college or university, 3)A brief biography, 4)Need of such scholarship, and 5)Career goals.
Applications should be mailed to: Nat Greene Fly Fishers, Bodie McDowell, PO Box 9684, Greensboro, NC 27429. Letter of interest and supporting documentation for the scholarship will be accepted November 1, 2000 through April 28, 2001. The officers and board of directors for Nat Greene Fly Fishers will make the choice of scholarship winner. Nat Greene TU/FFF Chapter will award a check in the amount of $500 to the recipient in May 2001 for the fall semester of 2001.
Sediment News from Jeri Gray, Water Resources Research Institute of The University of North Carolina - A toll-free hotline has been established statewide for concerned citizens to report possible violations of the N.C. Sedimentation Pollution Control Act. To report problems call 1-866-STOPMUD (786-7683)
River Course Workshops announced by Greg Jennings, NCSU - The following 3-day workshops will be taught at the NCSU McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Space is limited to 40 students per workshop on a first-registered basis. Professional Development Hours will be provided. Workshops will include morning classroom sessions and afternoon field exercises, including visits to several stream restoration project sites in the Raleigh area.
I. Stream Classification and Assessment - April 17-19, 2001, Raleigh, NC Registration Fee: $355
This 3-day workshop will provide the following information: an overview of stream processes related to channel formation, information on identifying bankfull stage in the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Mountain Regions (Emphasis will be placed on identifying the Inner Berm, Bankfull (Floodplain), and Terraces), North Carolina regional curves, and the Rosgen classification of natural streams (concentrating on North Carolina stream types and channel evolution from land use changes and channel modifications). Field exercises will teach participants how to identify bankfull, and apply the Rosgen stream classification system. Workshops will also include information on methods for morphological assessments of stream condition, stream stability, stream potential, and evaluation of stream restoration. The associated field exercises will demonstrate techniques for measuring streambank erosion, cross sectional surveys, longitudinal profiles, substrate analyses, and channel stability.
II. Stream Restoration Design Priciples - May 9-11, 2001, Raleigh, NC Registration Fee: $395 Prerequisite: Working knowledge of Rosgen Stream Classification System and experience with bankfull identification and stream stability assessment. This 3-day workshop will build on the information learned in Section I of the River Course Series. The principles and techniques discussed include: the four priority levels of restoring incised streams (developed by Rosgen), and reference reach stream analyses. The workshops will present techniques for finding and analyzing reference reaches. Participants will survey a reference reach. We will also provide an introduction to the natural channel design process, including examples from North Carolina projects. Participants will gain an understanding of the steps needed to complete a natural channel design and will visit several restoration projects in the Raleigh area.
Workshop instructors are faculty at North Carolina State University with experience working on more than 25 stream assessment and restoration projects throughout North Carolina: Greg Jennings, PhD, PE, Water Resources Engineer; Dani Wise-Frederick, Hydrologist; Barbara Doll, PE, Civil Engineer; and Karen Hall, Biologist .
Please contact Dani Wise-Frederick for registration information.
Dani Wise-Frederick, NCSU Water Quality Group, Campus Box 7637, Raleigh, NC 27695-7637, Phone: (919) 515-7475, Fax: (919) 515-7448, E-Mail: dani_wise@ncsu.edu .
More News forwarded by Greg Jennings, NCSU (originally from Bruce Newton, National Water and Climate Center, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) - Dave Correll (recently retired from the Smithsonian Institution) has maintained an annotated and indexed bibliography of the world literature on buffer strips. The bibliography has been updated to October 2000 and can now be found at http://www.riparian.net . Within the introduction are suggestions for downloading the document file and searching for entries by specific characteristics.
The North Carolina Chapter would like to welcome two new members: Mr. Matt Moon and Ms. Suzanne Jones.
Spotlight on Students and Young Professionals
Spotlight on Lawrence Dorsey, NCWRC - Lawrence Dorsey is native of Raleigh, North Carolina. He received his B.S. degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from NCSU in May 1995. During his senior year, he worked as a technician for Dr. Jim Rice on the SABRE project. Lawrence attended Tennessee Tech University to pursue his Master of Science Degree where he studied under Dr. Phil Bettoli. His master's thesis involved studying the effects of reservoir water level fluctuations on the hatching, growth, and survival of age-0 largemouth bass and spotted bass in Normandy Reservoir, Tennessee. He received his M.S. degree from Tennessee Tech in August of 1997.
Lawrence was hired by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in September of 1997 as the District 7 Assistant Fisheries Biologist. While in District 7, he worked on several projects including examining the retention of coded wire tags in juvenile muskellunge and determining the status of crappie populations on several reservoirs.
In June of 2000, he was promoted to District 6 Fisheries Biologist. District 6 includes several large reservoirs-High Rock Reservoir, Tuckertown Reservoir, Badin Lake, Falls Reservoir, Lake Tillery, and Blewett Falls Lake--on the Yadkin-Pee Dee River watershed. Lawrence's current duties include the coordination and implementation of District 6 fisheries survey, research, and habitat protection activities. Lawrence has also volunteered to be the new chair of the Chapter's Education Committee.
2001 SDAFS Mid-Year Meeting - Feb. 21-25, 2001, Jacksonville, FL. http://www.sdafs.org/meetings/01sdafs/2001home.htm
Fourth International Symposium on Sturgeon - July 8-13, 2001, Oshkosh, WI. To provide a forum for exchange of information and knowledge on the biology, culture and management of Acipenseriformes of the world, and to provide an opportunity for scientists, biologists, enforcement specialists and commercial interests working with Acipenseriformes around the world to communicate, share experiences and develop new research and management initiatives for the benefit of sturgeon populations and their users. http://www.sturgeonsymposium.org/
131th Annual AFS Meeting "2001: A Fisheries Odyssey" - Aug. 19-23, 2001, Crowne Plaza Hotel and Convention Center, Phoenix Arizona. http://www.fisheries.org/annual2001/
55th Annual SEAFWA Conference - Oct. 13 -17, 2001, Louisville, Kentucky. The annual conference is held for state and federal wildlife and fish agencies personnel, conservation groups, and wildlife and fisheries students to address opportunities and challenges affecting wildlife and fisheries in the southeast.
The deadline for submitting abstracts for posters and manuscripts is May 1, 2001. Manuscripts must follow SEAFWA Guidelines which can be obtained at the Kentucky AFS web site gerard.buynak@mail.state.ky.us . Information on registration, hotels, activities, program, etc. can be found, as it becomes available, on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources website http://kdfwr.state.ky.us .
If you are aware of meeting information that would be beneficial to the membership of the NCAFS, please send it to the newsletter editor for inclusion in the next newsletter. E-mail: djcoughl@duke-energy.com
NC Wildlife Resources Commission - the NCWRC has an opening for a Fisheries Technician III (Position # 40532), Grade 65, with a salary range of $24,136 - 39,164. The position is located in Burlington, NC and entails advanced technical support work in fisheries management and research. The employee will conduct and evaluate well-defined phases of survey, research, and management projects and assist the District Biologists through the independent collection, organization, analysis and evaluation of data. Duties are performed independently under the general supervision of a District fisheries Biologist and are reviewed through oral and written reports. Graduation from a two year technical college with an Associate Degree in wildlife or fisheries management and three years of experience in the management of wildlife or fisheries resources; or an equivalent combination of training and experience. Masters degree in fisheries management is preferred. Contact Kimberly Moses, NCWRC, 1703 Mail Services Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1703 by December 22, 2000.
Carolina Power & Light Company - Carolina Power & Light Company has an employment opening for a part-time, temporary contract environmental position at its Harris Energy & Environmental Center located near Raleigh, North Carolina. The candidate will be performing laboratory work. The candidate can be a student who is seeking part-time work or an individual with a B.S. degree. The work hours will range from 15 to 20 hours per week, depending upon the work schedule. The work will involve sorting benthos samples, performing chlorophyll a analyses, and conducting fisheries laboratory duties.Pay will depend upon qualifications and experience. If you are interested in this position, please contact John Crutchfield, Carolina Power & Light Company, at 919-362-3557 to schedule an interview. Resumes can be sent to John at his work e-mail: john.crutchfield@cplc.com
Fish Division of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department - The Fish Division of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department anticipates approximately 20 seasonal openings in Fishery Management. These openings will be statewide and will generally last 3 to 9 months. Some begin in April or May and may continue into October or November. A few coincide with summer break and will not require missing spring or fall semesters. Duties are variable and include electrofishing, netting, habitat and angler creel surveys, data entry, and equipment maintenance as well as other routine fishery management tasks. These positions provide valuable experience for those pursuing natural resource careers.
The minimum qualifications for these positions is completion of a high school degree plus 2 years experience in fish and wildlife resource management, research, or habitat development or 2 years of college course work towards a baccalaureate degree in fishery or wildlife management, ichthyology, or other closely related field; other related training and experience will be evaluated. Most positions are intended to provide introductory experience to individuals seeking a fisheries career and preference may be given to those who meet the minimum qualifications but have little experience in this environment. Preference will be given to applicants who submit complete and legible applications with well-written cover letters.
Please attach a cover letter explaining career plans, and preferences for type of work and work location as well as dates of availability (starting and ending dates are particularly important). Chances of employment are greatest for applicants with the greatest flexibility in work location and dates of availability.
Applications are available online at http://personnel.state.wy.us/stjobs/forms/online.htm Class code is "AWEC-40" and the title is "Biologist Technician/Fisheries". Starting pay $7.80 per hour. Applicants interested in these positions should return their completed application packet (including cover letter and application) in duplicate to Mr. Dirk Miller (dmiller@wyoming.com), Assistant Fishery Management Coordinator, 528 S. Adams St., Laramie, WY 82070, (307)745-4046 FAX (307) 745-8720 no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 1, 2001.
Fishery related jobs can be found on the AFS web site at: http://www.fisheries.org/jobs.html This site also offers links to job postings on non-AFS web sites.
If you have a fishery-related job opening and would like to post it in the next NCAFS Newsletter, please send your announcement to the newsletter editor. E-mail: djcoughl@duke-energy.com
Valuable Links - Courtesy of AFS
The American Fisheries Society Home Page offers a wealth of links to assist you in your fishery endeavors. Information on ordering AFS books, public outreach, annual meetings, chapter links and joining the AFS can be found at http://www.fisheries.org/
Additional links can be found courtesy of Dr. Mike Allen and the Southern Division, AFS. http://www.sdafs.org/links/msallen1.htm
The Georgia Chapter has a new website! It was developed by the UGA Fisheries Society, a student subunit of the GA Chapter. Check it out! http://www.uga.edu/ugafish/ga-afs/