Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) Western Field Representative Chris Smith, Dr. Dan Decker with Cornell University, Ann Forstchen with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) and Dr. Pat Lederle with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently completed the first Wildlife Governance Principles (WGPs) pilot workshop in Florida.

The North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative and its partners recently completed a large, collaborative mapping effort to show the distribution and abundance of marine birds in the Northwest Atlantic. Spatial and temporal information on the occupancy patterns of birds in offshore habitats is otherwise lacking throughout much of the North and Mid-Atlantic. The goal of the mapping effort was to develop and demonstrate techniques to document and predict areas of frequent use and aggregations of birds as well as the relative risk to marine birds within these areas.

The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is identified as a species of ?Severe Concern' by the Northeast Partners for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (NEPARC, 2010) and the species is listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in 12 Northeast states. It is believed to be extant in only 10 of those states. A recent study, funded through the Regional Conservation Needs Grants program, evaluated the prevalence of a disease that may be impacting regional Timber Rattlesnake populations.

The relationship between science and management has traditionally been thought of as mutually reinforcing, with scientific investigation and discovery informing management on the one hand, and management helping to guide and focus science on the other. Unfortunately, recent trends suggest a slow unraveling of this integration within the natural resource community.

A workshop at the 81^st North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference will provide a snapshot of resource management initiatives in Pennsylvania and highlight how partnerships are supporting conservation actions to address the rapidly changing needs of the Commonwealth's natural resources. This workshop, titled A Foundation for Managing Pennsylvania's Fish and Wildlife:  Partnerships in the Early 21^st Century, is slated for Tuesday, March 15 from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.