TWENTY-FIFTH VERTEBRATE PEST CONFERENCE
Sponsored by: The Vertebrate Pest Council

Portola Hotel and Spa
Monterey, California
March 5-8, 2012

Invitation for Students to Attend

You are cordially invited to attend and participate in the Twenty-Fifth Vertebrate Pest Conference. This Conference is an educational event for discussing and exchanging information on human-wildlife conflicts. The Conference will be held March 5-8, 2012 at the Portola Hotel and Spa in Monterey. The hotel is located within walking distance of the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, Old Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey State Beaches, Monterey State Historic Park with its historic adobes, and Cannery Row. The hotel is also within a short drive to Carmel-By-The-Sea, 17-Mile Drive, Big Sur, and 24 world-class golf courses. Additional information about the hotel can be found at:http://www.portolahotel.com.

The Vertebrate Pest Conference, which is held every two years, is the largest and most recognized Conference of its kind. Participants and attendees include leading authorities on vertebrate pest management from the United States, Canada, and throughout the world. The upcoming event will celebrate the 50th anniversary of this Conference, which began in 1962.

This announcement is intended to alert you to the next Conference and encourage you to participate via poster or oral presentation. Set aside these dates on your calendar and make plans to attend. The pre-registration fee of the four-day self-supporting Conference is $75 for students. This fee will include a CD containing the Proceedings, which is published following the Conference and provides a collection of the papers and posters presented. Students presenting a poster or making an oral presentation will be awarded a $500 travel grant to defray costs of participation. Additional information on the Conference can be found at: http://www.vpconference.org

Call for Student Posters and Papers

This call for papers and posters is an effort to attract a wide array of potential contributors. Topics can be of a practical nature or more technically or research oriented. Contributed papers or posters will be accepted in (but not limited to) the following vertebrate pest categories:

• Urban wildlife management
  
• Food safety and vertebrate pests
  
• Impact of EPA’s restrictions on rodenticides
  
• Hazards associated with vertebrate pest control
  
• Commensal rodent management
  
• Field rodent and rabbit management
  
• Bird management (urban or agricultural)
  
• Invasive vertebrate species management
  
• Wildlife and reforestation problems
  
• New wildlife management techniques
  
• Human, domestic animal and wildlife health
  
• Alternative management methods and materials (repellents, contraceptives, exclusion, etc.)
  
• T&E species and vertebrate pest management
• Economic, social, and political aspects of vertebrate pest management
  

Submission of Abstracts

Abstracts for oral papers and posters should be submitted by July 15, 2011. Abstracts for oral papers and posters received after this date will be considered if space is available.

To submit an abstract, visit the VPC website and follow the link “Submit an Abstract”.

Format for Posters:

Posters should be 3 feet by 3 feet in size with fonts large enough to be easily read. Easels will be provided to display posters.

Program Chair:
Roger A. Baldwin
UC Kearney Ag Research & Extension Center
9420 South Riverbend Ave.
Parlier, CA 93648
Phone: 559-646-6583
e-mail: rbaldwin@uckac.edu

Contributed papers will be selected by the Vertebrate Pest Council on the basis of scientific merit, newness, uniqueness of topic, usefulness, and appropriateness for the overall Conference program and its objectives.

All poster presenters and speakers are expected to submit a manuscript based on the content of their presentation or poster. Manuscripts, to be submitted both in electronic and hard copy format, are due at the time of the Conference. All manuscripts will be peer edited and published in the Conference Proceedings.

Program Schedule

Monday, March 5, 2012
Field Trip - Vertebrate pest management

Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Registration
Keynote Address and Plenary Session, recognizing the 50th-year anniversary of this Conference
General and Concurrent Sessions

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
General and Concurrent Sessions

Thursday, March 8, 2012
General and Concurrent Sessions
Closing Remarks

Call for papers on Wildlife and Zoonotic Diseases
The peer-reviewed journal Human-Wildlife Interaction (a publication of the Berryman Institute) will dedicate the spring 2012 issue to wildlife diseases. The "One Health" movement recognizes the close ties between human, animal and environmental health. Zoonotic diseases are an ever increasing concern to human health. Most emerging and re-emerging diseases are zoonotic and the most involve wildlife. But, the impact of wildlife disease is not just to health, but also the concern for environmental and economic impact. We seek review papers on selected diseases and topics as well as primary research papers on either wildlife diseases or zoonotic diseases. Article submissions are due before April 1, 2011. For more information contact: S. W. Jack (662/325-1311 or jack@cvm.msstate.edu).