Grosbeaks Galore

• Bill Volkert- Bill worked as the naturalist and wildlife educator for Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at Horicon Marsh for 27 years, where he conducted more than 3,700 education programs for over 220,000 people.  In his personal time he has traveled widely in search of the world's birds and the wild places they inhabit.  Bill has been watching and studying birds for over 40 years and in his travels has sighted more than 2,500 species (1/4 of the world's birds).  To facilitate his studies he is also a federally licensed master bird bander, with the Bird Banding Laboratory of the U.S. Geological Survey.  Bill and his wife Connie make their home in the northern Kettle Moraine area of east-central Wisconsin.  Here they work together to restore a series of native plant communities on their land, including an oak-hickory forest, a planted prairie community and nursery, and manage various types of wetlands.  On this land, they have now identified more than 600 species of plants and animals, including 202 species of birds.

 

• Kim Grveles - Kim’s bird career began on her chicken farm in Michigan when a Tufted Titmouse pecked on her house. A passion for wild birds grew in her and eventually led her to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in conservation biology from Central Michigan University. She has conducted and coordinated bird surveys for Michigan State Parks, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, The Nature Conservancy, and other organizations. An internship with the International Crane Foundation brought her to Wisconsin in 1998. Kim went on to serve as a Conservation Educator with Adams County and then as an all-bird planner for the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative before landing in her current position in the Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation (formerly Endangered Resources) in 2005. In addition to her leadership role with the Wisconsin Stopover Initiative, Kim also tracks rare and endangered birds for the Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory Program and leads the Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Strategy in Wisconsin.

 

• Lucas Olson - Lucas’ seed for a life in natural resources conservation was planted along the banks of the Mississippi in the Driftless Area of Minnesota. An internship with Mississippi Valley Conservancy, a non-profit land trust organization based in La Crosse, served as an introduction to professional conservation. He achieved a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2013 where he conducted a study researching the diets of gray wolves in Wisconsin. Following work for WisCorps, a non-profit conservation corps in Wisconsin, and participation in the Cascade Carnivore Project, an alpine carnivore study in Washington State, Lucas joined the Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation in 2014. He currently leads the Natural Heritage Site Program, a property certification program that will recognize private landowners, businesses, organizations, schools, and communities that voluntarily conduct habitat restoration and preservation practices on their properties. 

 

 

 

 

• Rob Zimmer - columnist for Gannett Media, is your Yard MD, prescribing gardening advice, and tips for a healthy, vibrant lawn and garden. Visit him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/YardMD. 

 

 

Field Trips

We are pleased to offer the following 7 field trips at the May 9th workshop in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.  These trips will occur simultaneously during two separate sessions in the morning.  Participants can choose two trips from the list when registering.  There will be a 15-minute break between sessions when we will enjoy breakfast or a snack and each other’s company.

 

Trip A:  Birds along the Lake Michigan shore -- lead by Dr. Charles Sontag, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc

 

Trip B: Birds and habitats at Woodland Dunes -- lead by Bill Volkert, Wildlife Educator and Naturalist

 

Trip C (Canceled)

 

Trip D:  Native plants for wildlife – trees and shrubs birds love -- lead by Dr. Michaeleen Golay, Assistant Professor, Silver Lake College

 

Trip E:  Restoration for migratory birds (“Restore the Shore”) -- lead by Jim Knicklebine, Director, Woodland Dunes Nature Center

 

Trip F:  Invasive plants at Woodland Dunes Nature Center -- lead by Kelly Kearns, Invasive Plant Coordinator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

 

Trip G:  Native insects -- lead by Jay Watson, Terrestrial Invertebrate Ecologist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

 

 

For more information contact Kim Grveles at the Wisconsin DNR. Phone: 608-264-8594 or by email: Kim.Grveles@Wisconsin.gov