2018 CONFERENCE: Schedule

Please note: this schedule is from the 2018 Conference which has passed.  

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Sunday, September 9, 2018
12:00pm - 7:00pm	Conference Registration Desk Open	1st Floor Concourse
12:00pm - 6:00pm	Sponsor & Exhibitor Booth Set-Up	1st Floor Concourse
6:00pm - 7:00pm	Welcome Reception with Sponsors & Exhibitors	1st Floor Concourse
Evening	Dinner On Your Own	N/A
Monday, September 10, 2018
8:00am - 9:00am	Breakfast Buffet	Campus Center Auditorium
8:00am - 5:00pm	Conference Registration Desk Open	1st Floor Concourse
8:00am - 5:00pm	Exhibit Area Open	1st Floor Concourse
9:00am - 10:00am	Welcome & Opening Remarks Patricia Leavenworth, MassDOT Highway Division; Tom French, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program; Ronald Amidon, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game	Campus Center Auditorium
10:00am - 11:30am	Concurrent Sessions IMPLEMENTATION TRACK: ROOM 163C (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Reducing Vehicular and Wildlife Conflicts: A Case Study of an Urban Wildlife Tunnel in Concord, Massachusetts | 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Wildlife Conflict Resolution and Economic Development: The SJTA Experience | 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM First Wildlife Passage Dedicated to Turtles on the Road Network Managed by Quebec’s Ministry of Transportation’s | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM PANEL TRACK: Campus Center Auditorium (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Partnering for Resilient Infrastructure and Ecosystems in Massachusetts’s | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM POLICY TRACK: ROOM 165-69 (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Prioritizing Road-Stream Crossings from Ecological and Infrastructure Risk Perspectives | 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Developing a State Manual for Comprehensive Assessment and Prioritization of Road-Stream Crossing Upgrades | 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM The MassDOT Project Intake Tool: Innovation in Environmental Project Screening | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM RESEARCH TRACK: ROOM 162-75 (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Maine Turtle Roadkill Survey: Identifying Hotspots for Mitigation with the Help of Citizen Scientists and iNaturalist | 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM How to build a better ecopassage: evaluating amphibian use and preference of various ecopassage designs. | 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
11:30am - 1:30pm	Awards Luncheon & Keynote Address by Tom Wessels, Antioch University New England	Campus Center Auditorium
1:30pm - 3:00pm	Concurrent Sessions IMPLEMENTATION TRACK: ROOM 163C (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Crossing into New Frontiers in Maine | 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM NHDOT Stream Passage Improvement Program | 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM Integrating NEPA and Permitting | 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM PANEL TRACK: Campus Center Auditorium (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) The Pollinator Plight: Case Studies in Roadside Vegetation Management for Pollinator Conservation | 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM POLICY TRACK: ROOM 165-69 (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Post-Storm Infrastructure Improvements and Stream Restoration: Three Case Studies | 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM State Level Fisheries Coordination for the Efficient Delivery of Transportation Projects in Connecticut | 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM RESEARCH TRACK: ROOM 162-75 (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Road Mortality Mitigation: The Effectiveness of Animex Fencing vs. Mesh | 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM Plastic Bridges: New Materials for the Integrated Design of Landscape and Infrastructure | 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM Using Landscape-Scale Conservation Design to Prioritize Transportation Infrastructure | 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
3:00pm - 3:30pm	Coffee Break with Sponsors & Exhibitors	1st Floor Concourse
3:30pm - 5:00pm	Concurrent Sessions IMPLEMENTATION TRACK: ROOM 163C (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) What's in a Landscape? From Data to Decisions at MaineDOT | 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ) | 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM "No Sport for the Short-Winded:" Implementing a Successful Wildlife Crossing Project Through a Grassroots and Government Collaboration | 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM PANEL TRACK: Campus Center Auditorium (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Integrating Stream Habitat, Fish Passage, and Flood Vulnerability Data to Prioritize Culvert Replacements for Restoration and Mitigation in New Hampshire | 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM POLICY TRACK: ROOM 165-69 (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Land Use Planning & Ecological Connectivity: Case Study from the 1st Municipality in Quebec to Feature Wildlife Corridors in Its Urban Plan | 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM Connect the Coast: Planning for Wildlife Connectivity Across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine | 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM RESEARCH TRACK: ROOM 162-75 (read abstracts in this track on Monday, September 10) Modeling Road Crossings for Moose (Alces americanus) and Black Bear (Ursus americanus) in Massachusetts, USA | 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
5:30pm - 5:45pm	Board Buses for Conference Dinner	Flint Lab Circle
6:00pm - 7:00pm	Cocktail Reception & Apple Picking at Quonquont Farm	Offsite: Quonquont Farm, Whately MA
7:00pm - 8:30pm	Conference Dinner at Quonquont Farm	Offsite: Quonquont Farm, Whately MA
8:00pm - 8:45pm	Buses Return to UMass Hotel	N/A
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
7:00am - 8:00am	Breakfast Buffet	Campus Center Auditorium
7:00am - 12:00pm	Conference Registration Desk Open	1st Floor Concourse
7:00am - 12:00pm	Exhibit Area Open	1st Floor Concourse
8:00am - 9:30am	Concurrent Sessions IMPLEMENTATION TRACK: ROOM 163C (read abstracts in this track on Tuesday, September 11) Amphibian Road Closures: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Season of “Big Night Detours” in Keene, NH | 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM MassDOT Case Studies in Tidal Restoration | 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM Working with Environmental, Transportation and Emergency Management Agencies to Restore Aquatic Habitat Connectivity and Support Infrastructure Improvement | 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM PANEL TRACK: Campus Center Auditorium (read abstracts in this track on Tuesday, September 11) Analyzing the Hydraulic Capacity and Flood Resiliency of Culverts Across the Northeast | 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM POLICY TRACK: ROOM 165-69 (read abstracts in this track on Tuesday, September 11) Road-Stream Crossing Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Deerfield River Watershed | 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Bringing Flood Resiliency into MassDOT Asset Management | 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM Mitigating Road Corridor Habitat Connectivity Barriers for Increased Terrestrial Ecosystem Climate Change Resilience: A Pilot Project in Vermont | 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM RESEARCH TRACK: ROOM 162-75 (read abstracts in this track on Tuesday, September 11) Going with the Flow: Conserving Resilient and Connected Landscapes | 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Rights-of-way Management for Native Insect Pollinators in the Northeastern USA: Literature Meta-analysis and Preliminary Summary of Maine’s Bumblebee and Butterfly Roadside Surveys | 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM Mussel Relocation – Perspective from a Translocated Biologist | 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
8:00am - 9:30am	Poster Set-up	1st Floor Concourse
9:30am - 10:30am	Poster & Pastry Social (read poster abstracts)	1st Floor Concourse
10:30am - 12:00pm	Concurrent Sessions IMPLEMENTATION TRACK: ROOM 163C (read abstracts in this track on Tuesday, September 11) Engineering and Design Features of a Culvert Sliplining Project in Connecticut to Facilitate Brook Trout Passage | 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM MassDOT’s Innovative Approach to Planning Bridge Replacements | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM Innovative Fisheries Protection for MassDOT Design-Build Bridge Projects | 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM PANEL TRACK: Campus Center Auditorium (read abstracts in this track on Tuesday, September 11) Bats, Birds, and Fish. Oh My! Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act Updates and Ongoings POLICY TRACK: ROOM 165-69 (read abstracts in this track on Tuesday, September 11) New Jersey's Adventures in Requiring Wildlife Passages | 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Codes and Standards v. Hazard Mitigation: Funding Post-disaster Stream-crossing Upgrades Under the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Program | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM What Happens When Your Facility Isn’t Quite Resilient Enough | 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM RESEARCH TRACK: ROOM 162-75 (read abstracts in this track on Tuesday, September 11) Wildlife Movement Through Culverts and Bridges in Vermont: Influences of Structure and Site Characteristics | 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM “Profiling” Road Segments: A Rapid, Basic Set of Research Tools and Protocols for Understanding How Wildlife in Habitat Cores Are Impacted by Roads | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM The Vermont Transportation Resilience Planning Tool | 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
12:00pm - 12:30pm	Field Trip Preview	Campus Center Auditorium
12:30pm	Grab & Go Lunch	1st Floor Concourse
12:30pm	Board Buses for Field Trip	Flint Lab Circle
12:45pm - 5:00pm	Conference Field Trip (view itinerary)	Offsite
Evening	Dinner On Your Own	N/A
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
7:00am - 8:00am	Breakfast Buffet	Campus Center Auditorium
7:30am - 10:30am	Exhibit Area & Posters Open (read poster abstracts)	1st Floor Concourse
7:00am - 12:00pm	Conference Registration Desk Open	1st Floor Concourse
8:00am - 10:00am	Concurrent Sessions LIGHTNING SESSION: Campus Center Auditorium (read lightning session abstracts) Development of a State-wide Program in Massachusetts to Build Municipal Capacity for Replacing Problem Culverts with Crossings That Meet Improved Environmental Design and Flood Resiliency Standards | 8:00 AM - 8:10 AM New Municipal Grant Program Helps Advance Culvert Replacements in Massachusetts to Meet Ecological and Flood Resiliency Design Criteria | 8:15 AM - 8:25 AM First Year Review of Culvert Stream Crossings Designed Using Habitat Connectivity Design Practices | 8:30 AM - 8:40 AM Tidal Road-Stream Crossings: A New Approach to Assess and Prioritize Transportation Infrastructure for Coastal Resilience | 8:45 AM - 8:55 AM The MassDOT Municipal Small Bridge Program | 9:00 AM - 9:10 AM Review of Effects of Highways on Bats in Context of the Federally-Endangered Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) | 9:15 AM - 9:25 AM Wildlife Mortality Hotspot Locations Identified from Two Different Data Sources: is there any Overlap? | 9:30 AM - 9:40 AM Exeter Dam Removal: Managing Public Infrastructure to Increase Resiliency | 9:45 AM - 9:55 AM WORKSHOPS: Multiple Locations - See Below (read workshop abstracts) Keep It Together: Using the Nature’s Network Conservation Design to Support a Resilient Landscape | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM | ROOM 165-69 Where the River Meets the Road: MassDOT Training Program for Using Fluvial Geomorphology to Enhance Infrastructure Resiliency | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM | ROOM 162-75 Implementing Ecological Connectivity from Labrador to Connecticut: A Workshop with the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Working Group on Ecological Connectivity | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM | ROOM 163C
10:00am - 10:30am	Coffee Break with Sponsors, Exhibitors & Posters (read poster abstracts)	1st Floor Concourse
10:30am - 12:00pm	Concurrent Sessions LIGHTNING SESSION: Campus Center Auditorium (read lightning session abstracts) A Review of Three Herptile Passage Systems in New Jersey | 10:30 AM - 10:40 AM Assuming the Mantle: A Cross-agency Collaboration in Maine to Safeguard Freshwater Mussels During Transportation Projects | 10:45 AM - 10:55 AM The Hot 200: A New Protocol and Technology for Surveying 200 Culverts Across Vermont | 11:00 AM - 11:10 AM Wildlife Passage Benefits of Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Programmatic Agreement (MAP) | 11:15 AM - 11:25 AM NY’s First-Ever Critter Shelf | 11:30 AM - 11:40 AM Moving Forward on Northeast Regional Conservation Priorities for Freshwater Turtles at Risk: Current and Best Management Practices for Locating and Mitigating Road Impacts on Turtles | 11:45 AM - 11:55 AM WORKSHOPS: Multiple Locations - See Below (read workshop abstracts) (CONTINUED) Keep It Together: Using the Nature’s Network Conservation Design to Support a Resilient Landscape | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM | ROOM 165-69 (CONTINUED) Where the River Meets the Road: MassDOT Training Program for Using Fluvial Geomorphology to Enhance Infrastructure Resiliency | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM | ROOM 162-75 (CONTINUED) Implementing Ecological Connectivity from Labrador to Connecticut: A Workshop with the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Working Group on Ecological Connectivity | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM | ROOM 163C
12:00pm - 1:00pm	Closing General Session & Working Lunch	Campus Center Auditorium
1:00pm	Conference Adjourns

Keynote Speaker: Tom Wessels

Tom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University New England where he founded the master’s degree program in Conservation Biology. With interests in forest, desert, arctic, and alpine ecosystems, plus geomorphology, evolutionary ecology, complex systems science, and the interface of landscape and culture, Tom considers himself a generalist. He has conducted workshops on ecology and sustainability throughout the country for over three decades. His is the author of numerous book with his latest being Granite, Fire, and Fog: The Natural and Cultural History of Acadia.