ALBERTA BIOLOGISTS' BIWEEKLY
JANUARY 1, 2023
ASPB Registrant Renewal
Renewal Fees are payable through the member portal “Sign In” located at the upper right of the www.aspb.ab.ca website, and the ASPB accepts Visa and MasterCard credit card payments through the online renewal system for payment. Please remember that the Board-approved increases to renewal fees for 2023 will be applied on January 1, 2023. For more information, refer to the section “ASPB fee adjustments for 2023” on the FAQ for Existing members’ page.
P. Biols. wanted
for regulated committees
The ASPB is always looking for active and enthusiastic registrants to serve on our several working groups, especially on our regulated committees (Registration and Discipline). You can learn more about these opportunities by contacting the ASPB Executive Director, Dean Falkenberg, HERE.
Regulatory Reform in Alberta:
A Status Update
Field Law has published a brief overview of six regulatory reform initiatives underway over the last four years in Alberta. The article provides an update on the status of these legislative initiatives impacting professional regulation in Alberta and can be read
HERE.
COSEWIC Assessments and
SARA Consultations
On November 2, 2022, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) submitted 43 assessments of species at risk to the federal Minister of the Environment, and on December 16, the Government of Canada posted the Ministerial Response Statements for these species on the SARA Public Registry and is now launching public consultations on potential amendments of Schedule 1.
 ECCC is also seeking comments on proposed amendments to Schedule 1 resulting from assessments of 18 terrestrial species. Of these, nine new wildlife species are eligible for addition to Schedule 1. Eight species, already listed on Schedule 1, are being considered for reclassification to a lower risk category. One species is being considered for removal from Schedule 1.
 Eleven terrestrial species at risk already listed on Schedule 1 have received confirmation of their status. These are not included in this consultation process, as no regulatory amendment is required. The complete set of statements and the consultation path (normal or extended) for each species are available HERE.
CONFERENCE SPONSORS
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
NEW
on the
JOB BOARD

Fish Habitat Restoration/Offsetting Specialist; Fisheries Field Instructor; Forest Ecosystems Biologist; Seasonal Aquatic Biologist; Seasonal Technicians; Wildlife Discipline Lead; Wildlife/Aquatics Biologist; Wildlife Biologists; Environmental Consultant; Wildlife Resource Specialist; Senior Fisheries Biologist
 
FIND INFORMATION ABOUT THESE POSITIONS
AND OVER 25 MORE
2022 Conference Presentations
We are working hard at figuring out how best to virtually share with our ASPB members the presentations from the 2022 fall conference.
SEMINARS, WEBINARS & CONFERENCES
JANUARY
Back to Botany Basics
The Alberta Native Plant Council is hosting the first of its new monthly lunchtime webinar series, focusing on botany basics. Join us on January 18, 2023 as Laurie Hamilton presents useful native plant resources and Ann Willyard helps us to learn to love those Latin names. You can register HERE .
SEMINARS, WEBINARS & CONFERENCES
FEBRUARY
Field Law Part 1: (Edmonton)
Labour, Occupational Health + Safety
Field Law annually presents its Year in Review, a complimentary series of virtual and in-person events which focus on legal updates for management and employee groups.
In-person in Edmonton
Wednesday, February 1
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
2500 - 10175 101 ST
Cost: Complimentary 
________________________________________________________________________________

Field Law Part 1: (Webinar)
Labour, Occupational Health + Safety
Field Law annually presents its Year in Review, a complimentary series of virtual and in-person events which focus on legal updates for management and employee groups.
Thursday, February 2
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Cost: Complimentary
If you are unable to attend at the scheduled time please register and a link to the recording will be sent to you.  
Field Law Part 2, Year in Review
Privacy, Human Rights, Employment
Field Law annually presents its Year in Review, a complimentary series of virtual and in-person events which focus on legal updates for management and employee groups.
IN-PERSON SEMINAR
Calgary
Wednesday, February 15
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
400 - 444 7 AVE SW
Cost: Complimentary
Field Law Part 2, Year in Review
Privacy, Human Rights, Employment
Field Law annually presents its Year in Review, a complimentary series of virtual and in-person events which focus on legal updates for management and employee groups.
IN-PERSON SEMINAR
Edmonton
Wednesday, February 15
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
2500 - 10175 101 ST
Cost: Complimentary 
Field Law Part 2, Year in Review (webinar)
Privacy, Human Rights, Employment
Field Law annually presents its Year in Review, a complimentary series of virtual and in-person events which focus on legal updates for management and employee groups.
Thursday, February 16
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Cost: Complimentary
If you are unable to attend at the scheduled time please register and a link to the recording will be sent to you.
Northern watershed planning councils
collaborate on February conference
Alberta's northern watershed planning and advisory councils will host the Water Management in Alberta’s Boreal conference on February 15-16, 2023. The Athabasca Watershed Council, the Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance and the Lesser Slave Watershed Council have extended an invitation for two days of learning, exploration and discussion of water management issues, challenges and partnerships to be held at the Pomeroy Hotel in Grande Prairie. Details and registration will be listed on Eventbrite in mid December.
PCES Conference is in Calgary
The 2023 Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference will be held in Calgary, February 21-23, 2023. You can register HERE
SEMINARS, WEBINARS & CONFERENCES
MAY
Responsible Recreation:
Pathways, Practices and Possibilities 
Recreation and adventure tourism opportunities and activities are expanding globally. However, empirical measures of impacts are often difficult to obtain. This two-day conference hosted by the Columbia Mountains Institute will be an excellent opportunity to network and learn about current thinking on increasing outdoor recreation activities and the effect on wildlife and ecosystems. This event on May 9 and 10, 2023 will be a hybrid event, with both in-person and online participation. The call for proposals is open until February 3, 2023; go HERE for more information.
NATURAL RESOURCES
TRAINING GROUP

Wildlife Survey Field Methods – Online – January 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 2023

Technical Writing for Professionals: Proposals – Online, January 11, 2023

Technical Writing for Professionals: Report Writing – Online, January 12, 2023

Fish Habitat Restoration – Prescription Development – Online, January 17, 2023

Avian Nest Sweeps and Monitoring Methods – Online, January 18-19, 2023

Fish Habitat Restoration – Instream Techniques – Online, January 18-19, 2023

Experimental Design in Ecology – Online, January 24-25, 2023

For the full calendar of upcoming courses the link is here:
SALMTEC
 COURSES AND TRAINING PROGRAMS
 
Understanding ACIMS Tools Online Course
 
Alberta Soil Information Viewer Online Course
 
Alberta Wetland Policy Basics Online Course
 
Navigating the Alberta Soil Information Viewer Video Short (free)
Registration Link: https://salmtec.myshopify.com/
 
Wetland Water Cycle Video Short (free)
Registration Link: https://salmtec.myshopify.com/
 
Interactive classes comprise the final learning component of a Blended/Online course.
Phantoms in Photographs
In November (2022), Lorne Fitch, P. Biol., a retired Fish and Wildlife Biologist and a past Adjunct Professor with the University of Calgary, wrote a commentary on the value of - and the messages delivered by - photographs from times long past: “Old photographs can speak to us, providing context for our world, and perhaps speak about us with the changes that our cumulative wishes and desires have created... In these photos are the ghosts of past landscapes, of fish and wildlife populations, and the hubris that changed, sometimes forever, the place we now live...”
Writer and blogger Kevin Van Tighem has included this article, Phantoms in Photographs, on his blog. You can check it out HERE.
Field Law announces
Community Program winners
Field Law has announced the 2022 winners of funding from its Community Program, distributing $75,000 in funding to 14 local initiatives in Alberta. The Grand Prize winners were (in Southern Alberta) the EXploitation Intervention and Transition (EXIT) Program (resetcalgary.ca), and (in Northern Alberta) a program to alleviate food scarcity and teach valuable life skills. Field Law’s Community Program has delivered over a quarter-million dollars over ten years to a wide variety of local initiatives.
We regularly receive notifications from Google Scholar Alerts and other sources, which previously we have shared on Twitter and (more recently) in the BIWEEKLY. Here is the latest batch (the links are HOT):



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Banner Image: Courtesy of ABMI

The ASPB regulates the professional practice of biology in the disciplines of Botany, Zoology, Environmental Biology and Microbiology, and all sub-disciplines below them. The ASPB is the only organization for biologists in Alberta that is registered under Provincial Legislation with a mandate to protect the interests of the public of Alberta. The society is governed by a Board of Directors elected by its registrants.

You are probably receiving this newsletter because you are an ASPB Registrant. This newsletter provides relevant information about professional development opportunities for our members and essential member-related society business; if you are a registered member of the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists, please DO NOT unsubscribe. For more information about the Society or to contact the administration, please visit the website: https://www.aspb.ab.ca
Opinions and general news published in this e-newsletter
do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Society or its Board of Directors.