Announcing National GAP Annual Meeting in Colorado

The 13^th Annual National Gap Analysis Program Meeting will be held October 7-10, 2003, in Fort Collins, Colorado.  The meeting is hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Biological Resources Discipline, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Wildlife Refuge System.  The theme of this year’s meeting is “GAP Data and its Application to Planning, Management, and Decision Making in Refuges and Other Conservation Areas.” 

We invite you to join us to share new information and experiences from Gap Analysis projects and related research, and to celebrate and enhance the National Gap Analysis Program’s partnership with the FWS.  This year marks the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS).  A major way of promoting further successes in conservation is to apply the latest scientific techniques and data, such as those stemming from GAP, to our land protection and management efforts.  It is in this spirit that we are focusing this year’s meeting on applying biological data to conservation and management issues, with specific examples from FWS, the NWRS, and GAP.

This meeting is an opportunity for anyone interested in large-area biodiversity science to learn about GAP’s philosophy, data, information and products and to network with others in the conservation community.  Also, this year we are inviting professionals from FWS to participate and discuss their needs for biological data and give examples of the use of scientific information in day-to-day management.  A specific focus will be FWS’ new initiative on strategic growth of the refuge system, which focuses on how FWS works with partners to manage refuges within a larger landscape.  This meeting is also an opportunity for all FWS programs to learn about GAP and identify how GAP can be applied to planning and conducting biodiversity conservation at the landscape scale.

Goals

The goals of the meeting are to highlight current GAP projects and products and to hear from FWS partners about their management issues, specifically with regard to how biological data are used in decision making.  This will be an opportunity for FWS professionals to learn more about GAP, and for GAP professionals to understand the actual challenges faced by leaders in FWS.  Another goal of this meeting is to define a series of joint initiatives aimed at improving the use of scientific data to enhance conservation management efforts within the FWS.

Location of Meeting

This meeting will take place in Fort Collins, Colorado, at the University Park Holiday Inn.  Fort Collins, located 65 miles north of Denver, is home to Colorado State University.  Along with its world-class research facilities, the city borders on many natural attractions, including the Cache la Poudre Wild and Scenic River, Roosevelt National Forest, and Pawnee National Grassland.

Who Should Attend

We are bringing together an interdisciplinary group to discuss some of the most challenging issues facing conservation efforts in the United States today.  The target audience for this meeting includes:

• Anyone involved in Gap Analysis projects

• Managers and staff from FWS interested in the future of landscape planning of the Refuge System

• Biologists interested in planning efforts such as Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCPs), Habitat Conservation Plans, or migratory bird protection plans

• Research scientists, biologists, ecologists, data developers

• Professionals from conservation agencies focused on remote sensing, GIS, and the predictive modeling of species

Registration information will be available at http://www.gap.uidaho.edu/meetings/2003/info.htm.  For additional information, contact Angela Reichert by e-mail at areichert@usgs.gov or by phone at 208-885-3717.

The Gap Analysis Bulletin is published annually by the USGS Biological Resources Division’s Gap Analysis Program.  The editors for this issue are Elisabeth S. Brackney, Ree Brannon, Kevin J. Gergely, and Michael D. Jennings.  To receive the bulletin, write to: Gap Analysis Bulletin, USGS/BRD/Gap Analysis Program, 530 S. Asbury Street, Suite 1, Moscow, ID 83843, fax: (208) 885-3618, e-mail: brackney@uidaho.edu.  A digital version of the Bulletin, containing additional graphics, is available on the Internet at http://www.gap.uidaho.edu/gap/Bulletins/11/index.htm.

Suggested citation: Brackney, E.S., R. Brannon, K.J. Gergely, and M.D. Jennings, editors.  2002.  Gap Analysis Bulletin No. 11.  USGS/BRD/Gap Analysis Program, Moscow, Idaho.