The Breakfast Roundtables are now just the Roundtables, as this year we have added a lunch session!
Each day we will take a different approach to exploring the conference theme through interactive and engaging conversation, including interaction between virtual and in-person participants. You are welcome to join us for one, two, or all three Roundtable discussions.
The Roundtable sessions are open to all conference attendees, no prior knowledge or experience is required. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate; the more diverse the participation, the more diverse the conversation! No pre-registration or extra fee (aka Free!) and BYO food.
Wednesday: 7:30am-9:30am
World Cafe style discussion, virtual only. For in-person attendees you will need to connect via a personal device and the free hotel WiFi.
The discussion will focus on the overall conference theme of symbiosis. We will delve into our relationship with nature, and wildlife in particular.
Round 1: What is our professional relationship with nature, and wildlife in particular? How is it expressed? Consider activities spanning from on the ground field work and management action through policies addressing issues such as adaptive/active management, stewardship, rehabilitation, etc.
We will come back together for a short harvest of ideas
Rounds 2 and 3: What is our responsibility for intervention and to what extent should we take those actions? Does this create a symbiotic, interdependent, mutually beneficial or parasitic relationship with wildlife?
We will rejoin as a full group to share discussion highlights.
Thursday: 12:45pm-1:50pm (Choice of 3 Options)
Lunch Discussions: BYO lunch. (For in-person attendees, you have the option of pre-purchasing the lunch buffet which will have to-go containers available or bring in any food of your choosing. ) You will join us in the designated rooms set aside for the event. On-line attendees will join us using the virtual conference portal.
Hybrid Roundtable Discussion, participants will engage in conversation at a single table/zoom room then we will use livestream technology to bring the virtual and in-person participants together to share outcomes.
The discussion will focus on the daily theme of parasitism
The session will start with a short brainstorm: The wildlife profession can at times create non-productive, one-directional, or otherwise parasitic relationships. What are these relationships? What barriers are present that prevent positive relationships from forming?
Each discussion group will select a single identified barrier and engage in an in depth discussion. How would you actually address this issue to bring about positive change? What steps could be taken?
We will rejoin as a full group to share discussion highlights.
Horse Rich and Dirt Poor Film Viewing and Discussion Lunch Session
Horse Rich and Dirt Poor focuses on the interaction of free-roaming horses and burros, their management, and native wildlife and habitats, to better understand the ecological impacts of free-roaming horses and burros on public land and the ecosystems in which they occur. The film dives into the intricacies of this, a high profile conservation, policy, and ecological issue in the State of Nevada and the Great Basin.
Following the viewing of the film (16 min) directed by Ben Masters and Charles Post, there will be a post-film panel discussion featuring biologists and managers from within State of Nevada and the Great Basin. This Lunch Session is sponsored by the Nevada Chapter Conservation Affairs Committee.
- Meet-Up with Wildlifers
Bring your lunch, and join other western wildlifers for casual conversations!
Friday: 7:00am-8:00am
We will host parallel “Conference Conversations” sessions, with separate online and in person forums, to connect with fellow participants over discussion prompts ranging from silly to thought provoking. In-person attendees will BYO breakfast and join us in the designated room set aside for the event. On-line attendees will join us using the virtual conference portal.
Self-directed, participants may move between zoom rooms/tables at their will.
