Registration is open for the second annual Long Island Natural History Conference to be held Friday, Dec. 6 in Berkner auditorium at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY.

A project of the Long Island Nature Organization, the conference is designed to promote nature studies on Long Island by facilitating communication among wildlife researchers, managers, and the general public and building a web-based clearing house for information about the natural history of Long Island.

Sixteen presentations in applied field biology at the conference will include the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on our flora and fauna, survey results for the American eel, bats, mammals, moths and carnivorous plants of Long Island.

Conservation issues related to the eastern box turtle, eastern tiger salamander, red knot and saltmarsh sparrow will also be covered, along with history presentations on the menhaden fishery and the environmental movement on Long Island.

Weather permitting, the conference will also include two field trips on  Sun., Dec. 7: “Superstorm Sandy Impact on the Fire Island National Seashore,” a tour guided by the National Park Service of the new “Old Inlet” opened by Superstorm Sandy and “Impacts of Sandy on Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge,” led by Don Riepe, Jamaica Bay Guardian.

Conference sponsors include: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long Island Pine Barrens Commission, Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island, The Nature Conservancy, North Shore Land Alliance, Peconic Land Trust, Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Seatuck Environmental Association, South Fork Natural History Society and Group for the East End.

By bringing together people with diverse backgrounds, conference planners hope to identify research and management needs, foster friendships and collegial relationships and encourage a greater region-wide interest in Long Island’s natural history.

General admission to the conference is $25; students $15.

For more information, go to the conference website at longislandnature.org

Include your comments below or on our Long Island Discussion Forum.

[Source: LI Nature Organization]

Photo by SoMAS on LongIsland.com