Join CeRSER for a pubtalk about

Lek-based tracking tool and Wyoming-wide reclamation efforts:
Tracking disturbance, reclamation & peak Sage-grouse males

presented by Nicholas Graf (Wyoming GIS Center) and Michael Curran (University of Wyoming).

Thursday, October 27, 2016 from 6:30 – 9:00 PM in Laramie, WY

O’Dwyers Public House (1622 E Grand Ave, Laramie, Wyoming 82070)

 
FOOD, BEER, and ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION!
Admission is free and hors d’ouevers provided; cash bar available.
 
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Talk summary: Over 2,000 maps have been created for sage-grouse leks known to occur in Wyoming. Each map contains reclamation and disturbance features within a 2-mile radius of each lek. Various aspects of the tool have been used to populate the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Conservation Efforts Database for the Greater sage-grouse Endangered Species listing decision, while other aspects inform decisions regarding future anthropogenic development and address success, failure or lack of knowledge regarding habitat restoration for sage-grouse related to existing disturbances. This talk will outline the importance of the tool for policy and decision making, as well as the tool’s usefulness for tracking previous and informing future restoration projects.
 
About the presenters:
Nicholas Graf works for the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) at the University of Wyoming where he is the Wyoming Density and Disturbance Calculation Tool (DDCT) Data and Application Steward. Nicholas has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wyoming, and a Master of Arts Degree from Kansas State University, both in Geography.  Nicholas lives in Laramie with his wife and daughter who just turned one.

Michael Curran is currently a PhD Student in the Program in Ecology at University of Wyoming.  He has Bachelor of Arts’degrees in Biological Science, Geography, and Foreign Language and Literature from University of Delaware and Master of Science degree in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management from University of Wyoming.  During his master’s program, he developed the Wyoming Reclamation and Restoration Center’s Oil and Gas Reclamation Database.  Michael is from Manasquan, NJ and currently lives in Laramie, WY.