Conferences & Conclaves

Conferences and conclaves are excellent opportunities for students to network with potential employers and colleagues, gain certifications, join working groups, and learn about new research occurring in the wildlife field.

All over the state and even the country, students are able to attend hands-on workshops regarding bird banding, mammal trapping, and parasite extraction. Speakers cover a wide array of wildlife related topics including predator-prey relationships, chronic wasting disease, wildlife damage, prairie chicken populations, etc. For local conclaves, UWSP society members also take wildlifers from other schools out to the Sandhill Crane Count, prairie chicken surveys, and small mammal trapping. The costs vary depending on the trip.

Other activities at conferences often include a quiz bowl, a photo contest, and a wildlife triathlon. In the quiz bowls, prove your wildlife knowledge during this long-standing National Wildlife Society Conference tradition. Teams from schools will be facing off against each other in round-robin fashion for ten minutes of jeopardy style questioning. Put your four top wildlifers on your team along with one alternate. In the wildlife triathlon, put your savvy telemetry skills, GPS knowledge, and prove your trap-setting finesse in this challenge. Teams will be competing against the clock for first place. Teams are often made up of three students and one alternate. 

Upcoming Conferences & Conclaves

​​​Ruffed Grouse Project poster presentation at Annual TWS National Conference 2023.