Plans well underway for the 37th Annual General Meeting
10-12 October, Stanley Bridge Country Resort, Stanley Bridge, P.E.I.

THE ATLANTIC SOCIETY OF FISH AND WILDLIFE BIOLOGISTS

At the Stanley Bridge Country Resort, Stanley Bridge, PEI

Tom Duffy began work in May as a biologist for Ducks Unlimited Canada in Prince Edward Island. His former position as the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture Program Manager on PEI is now being filled by an old professional, Alan MacLennan.

Jason Hudson has recently abandoned the puffins of Machias Seal Island and found employment with the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre in Sackville, NB. According to the Natural Enquirer ( the CDC newsletter) he is working on species-at-risk surveys in conjunction with the Canadian Wildlife Service.

Kate MacQuarrie, Executive Director of the Island Nature Trust is beginning her Masters research on exotic plants at UPEI. UPEI has always had a few exotic plants, and Kate wants to learn more about the survival of these plants in specific habitats.

Brent Patterson is completing his PhD while working as the Regional Biologist for Department of Sustainable Development in Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Benjamin Lawrence of NS Wildlife Division spent 3 months working with Brent this summer doing a photo census of the bluenose caribou herd, collecting wolverine carcasses and ground truthing Landsat imagery. Brent can be contacted at bpatterson@gov.nu.ca.

Gerald Redmond assumed teaching duties at the Maritime Forest Ranger School September 1, 2000. Friends are taking bets on how long he will last, while former colleagues at NB Fish and Wildlife are speculating as to how the students will hold up. Good luck Gerry!

Laurie Roberts has left her job with the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy and is working with the Atlantic Coastal Action Program in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. She can be reached at 902-627-9888.

Rob Cameron has left his exalted position as Vice-President Membership of the Atlantic Society of Fish and Wildlife Biologists and moved to the Queen Charlotte Islands to take up a job with the British Columbia Forest Ministry. Julie Towers is vacating her position as Senior Policy Advisor with the Nova Scotia Department of Environment to make the journey to British Columbia and sends the following information about their cross-country move.

BC Bound
(a recent correspondence from Julie Towers)

We're moving to the Queen Charlotte Islands. Rob's new position is with the BC Ministry of Forests as a planning forester. He is responsible for ensuring that the provincial Biodiversity Guidelines are met, both on unallocated Crown and on the large forest companies' tree farm licenses. For all harvesting on Crown land, endangered species habitat, old growth forest and other provincial requirements must be incorporated. Rob has been out on the islands since late July doing a mixture of computer modeling, landscape planning and field checks. A lot of flying is involved to access the remote areas of the islands, and he's having a great time. Not to mention the hiking and crabbing and fly-fishing and....

I leave Nova Scotia in mid-September. The first stop is in Maine at a field trial for my German Shorthaired Pointer. Over a three week period, I will drive across the country visiting friends and family. A few highlights for me include stops at Pukaskwa National Park in Ontario, and a hunting trip with a habitat biologist friend in Manitoba. Once in the Queen Charlottes, I'll be working on a forest wildlife book for Grade 5/6 level which has been requested by the Forest Technicians Associations in NB and NS. By next year, I will hopefully be starting field work on a PhD thesis on some as yet unknown wildlife topic.

We will be living amongst 1200 other people in Queen Charlotte City, renting a two bedroom house from the Ministry of Forests. Guests are more than welcome. You can fly in any day from Vancouver, or drive to Prince Rupert and ferry across. Trout or salmon can be sought at any time of year, but apparently the summer months are the sunniest. Bring fishing gear and hiking boots to enjoy Haida Gwaii at the islands' best. See you all in a few years. Rob and I can be reached at: towers@qcislands.net and Robert.Cameron@gems1.gov.bc.ca

Check out the website of the Northeast Fur Resources Technical Committee at http://www.conservewildlife.org . It includes species range maps.

The Premiers Symposium on North American Hunting Heritage was held in Ottawa, August 23rd to 27th. Over 600 delegates gave banquet speaker Shane Mahoney (of the Newfoundland Wildlife Division) a standing ovation for his presentation on the significance of hunting.

Birds and cod were on the agenda (cod mainly on the plate) during the Joint Meeting of the American Ornithologists Union, The British Ornithologists Union and the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, hosted by Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. Johns August 15-19th . About 700 delegates participated in the concurrent sessions, and in mid week, field trips were sponsored to the seabird colonies at the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, and Cape St. Marys Ecological Reserve where the new facility was dedicated as the Leslie M Tuck Centre. (The late Dr. Tuck, internationally recognized ornithologist, author of "The Murres", "The Snipes" and other works, was previously recognized by the ASFWB Wall of Fame). A Canadian, Fred Cook, was elected President of the AOU.

.....through meetings, seminars, workshops and its newsletter, the Society helps to keep members informed on current issues affecting natural resources and the environment of Atlantic Canada.....it provides opportunities to discuss these issues and to voice informed opinions on how to further the cause of wise resource management.....it prepares position statements, policies, and communicates these to government and non-government decision-makers.....it encourages education and training of biologists in Atlantic Canada.