Join us for a virtual exploration of beaver ecology and management in the Hudson Valley, NY.
Topics covered include:
- Beaver as ecosystem engineers and keystone species
- 101 on how beaver alter watersheds
- A historical perspective on beaver in New York State
- Beaver recolonization of Cary Institute: A case study
- How to coexist with beaver and mitigate conflicts
Presented by Mike Fargione, Cary wildlife biologist and Manager of Field Research & Outdoor Programs, and Dan Aitchison, Senior Curator of Wildlife for the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation.
Speakers
Dan Aitchison has worked in the wildlife field since 2009, as the Senior Curator of Wildlife for the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation. His work has focused on the study of target wildlife species and monitoring their impacts, creating and implementing adaptive management programs and strategies to mitigate human/wildlife conflicts, public education, developing working relationships with local research organizations, and acting as a liaison between the county, state and federal wildlife agencies.
Mike Fargione manages Cary Institute’s natural areas and coordinates property access and outdoor public programs. Research interests include: local predator-prey relationships, interactions between human actions and wildlife populations, and finding ways to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. Among his active projects are managing deer impacts on forests using habitat management and controlled hunting, using trail cameras to understand wildlife distribution and abundance, and investigating the ecological role of man-made nest boxes as wildlife resources.
