You are cordially invited to attend the 2018 Olympic Mudminnow Symposium scheduled for Monday, December 10th (9 am – 1 pm or 2:30 pm; optional field sampling demonstration) at the House of Welcome, Evergreen State College.

See the draft agenda below for more details

Please RSVP by November 27th at the latest using this link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/olympic-mudminnow-symposium-registration-51441650361

This public, half-day symposium aims to communicate recent research, discuss conservation needs, and demonstrate monitoring approaches related to this remarkable fish. A similar workshop was hosted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service six years ago, and was attended by more than 125 people. We hope that you consider attending.

 

Draft Agenda

Date: Monday December 10th, 9 am – 2:30 pm (1:00pm)

Location: House of Welcome, Evergreen State College (https://www.evergreen.edu/longhouse)

Host: University of Washington and USFWS

Goals: This public, half-day symposium aims to communicate recent research, discuss conservation needs, and demonstrate monitoring approaches related to this remarkable fish.

Format: The symposium will consist of short presentations (15 min), a brief breakout discussion session, and a field demonstration of sampling protocols for mudminnow. Presentations will convey the current state of knowledge related to Olympic mudminnow, including distribution, habitat associations, and conservation and threats. We will then have two rounds of topical breakout discussions focused on three topics: (1) Critical knowledge gaps and research needs, (2) Management and conservation challenges on private and public lands, and (3) Raising the profile of mudminnow: Teaching, Communication, and Art; where attendees can choose to participate in two out of the three topics. The discussion groups will be charged with coming up and framing the “Top-10 Priority Questions” that we hope can inform a statewide action plan for mudminnow. Lastly, there will be an optional field demonstration after lunch where attendees will learn sampling approaches and recommended monitoring protocols at nearby Green Cove. Depending on group size, we’ll likely split up in smaller groups led by Julian Olden (UW), Lauren Kuehne (UW), Olivia Williams (USFWS) and Roger Tabor (USFWS). Green Cove is about a 15-min walk from the symposium venue, or there’s room for 10-15 cars to park there too.

Agenda

  • 8:45 Sign in
  • 9:00 Introduction and welcoming remarks, conservation challenges (Julian Olden, UW)
  • 9:15 What is a mudminnow? Phylogenetics of mudminnow (Pat DeHaan, USFWS)
  • 9:30 Long-term distributional trends of Olympic mudminnow (Lauren Kuehne, UW)
  • 9:45 Hunt for the Elusive Olympic Mudminnow: Developing environmental DNA tools to help find a rare fish species (Tammy Hoem, USFS)
  • 10:00 How to catch a mudminnow: monitoring protocols – (Olivia Williams, USFWS)
  • 10:15 BREAK
  • 10:45 Biological threats to the Olympic mudminnow (Roger Tabor, USFWS)
  • 11:00 Wetland regulations: restoration opportunities and challenges for mudminnow (TBD)
  • 11:20 Topical discussion groups – Round 1
  • 11:50 Topical discussion groups – Round 2
  • 12:20 Recap and Next Steps
  • 12:30 LUNCH (Provided – via free registration)
  • 1:15 – 2:30 Sampling and monitoring mudminnow at Green Cove. Green Cove is about a 15-min walk, or there’s room for 10-15 cars to park there too. Leave venue at 1:15, arrive Green Cove at 1:30.
  • 2:30 Adjourn

Questions? Contact Julian Olden (olden@uw.edu) or Lauren Kuehne (lkuehne@uw.edu)