In 2014, the Miistakis Institute hosted a Citizen Science Conference, exploring this diverse field with sessions on program design, evaluation, policy implications, technology and applications in parks and protected areas. This links to the website that chronicled that event.
Bill Abercrombie
Alberta Wolverine Project
Speaker Bio: Currently President of Alberta Trappers Association. President and senior consultant for Bushman Inc a wildlife management and consulting company. Life long trapper and conservationist my goal is to facilitate collaborative research between the trapping community and the scientific/academic community to further sustainable wildlife management and conservation in Alberta.
Presentation: Alberta Wolverine Project - lessons learned from working with trappers to conserve wolverines
Biologists and resource users sometimes address conservation questions from a different background and point of view. But when members of Alberta Trappers’ Association approached Alberta Conservation Association with a proposal to partner on a wolverine research project, it provided a unique opportunity to combine strengths and work together towards common objectives. Through the course of a five-year initiative that involved more than 150 trappers, far more was achieved than could have been by either organization working alone. Trappers provided not only a valuable asset in terms of data collection in remote, backcountry areas, but also input into how the study should be designed and implemented. Biologists contributed by helping to design methods, ensure consistency, and analyze and report on data. We discuss the partnership approach that we took to design a study that could tackle shared objectives, and provide recommendations for others from the lessons we learned along the way.