2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

Tom Boersig

Missouri Department of Conservation

Scientist

Columbia MO

10:30am CST

North Central Division AFS Business Meeting Grand A (4th Floor)Daniel Isermann

1:00pm CST

Lake and Reservoir Management Committee Meeting Mills 3 (4th Floor)Will Radigan

1:40pm CST

S-04: Historical Perspectives on Trout Management in Missouri Grand A (4th Floor)Mike Kruse

2:00pm CST

S-02: Fish Freeways: How Rock Ramps are Assisting Prairie Stream Fish Movement Regency B (2nd Floor)Seth Callahan S-04: Trout Streams of the Northern Ozarks: Overview of Missouri's Ribbon Areas Grand A (4th Floor)Blake Stephens

2:20pm CST

Wildlife Track: Monitoring tarantulas in Missouri glades: Conservation of a charismatic arachnid. Sterling 3 (2nd Floor)Becky Hansis-O'Neill S-04: The Meramec River Brown Trout Dilemma - a Case Study of a Missouri Ozark Stream's Salmonid Management Grand A (4th Floor)Jen Girondo S-05: The Power of Partnerships in Advancing Coldwater Conservation Grand B (4th Floor)Mike Siepker

3:20pm CST

S-04: Insights into Missouri's Urban Winter Trout Program Grand A (4th Floor)John Schulte

3:40pm CST

S-02: Utilizing the USFWS National Fish Passage Coordination Map and the SARP National Aquatic Barrier Inventory and Prioritization Tool to Assess Stream Connectivity Across the Western Great Plains Regency B (2nd Floor)Jacob Zona S-04: Evaluating Brown Trout strains stocked into Spring River, Arkansas Grand A (4th Floor)Joseph Kaiser

4:00pm CST

Fisheries Track: Spectaclecase Mussel Detection in the Upper Mississippi River Using eDNA Regency D (2nd Floor)Tariq Tajjioui S-02: Connecting Freshwater Resilience and Barrier Prioritization Regency B (2nd Floor)Mary Khoury S-04: Evaluation of the Effects of a Slot Length Limit and Stocking Changes for Rainbow and Brown Trout in Lake Taneycomo, Missouri Grand A (4th Floor)Shane Bush

4:20pm CST

Fisheries Track: Addressing the Data Need to Manage Future Change in Fisheries Regency D (2nd Floor)Madalyn Siller Fisheries Track: Evaluating Data-limited Population Assessment Tools for Walleye Regency C (2nd Floor)Caleb Branam S-02: Facilitated Discussion - Developing an Aquatic Connectivity Team: An example from the Missouri Stream Connectivity Partnership. Regency B (2nd Floor)Eric Rahm S-04: From Rod to Research and Resilience: How Anglers Enhance Fisheries Research and Management in Minnesota Waters of Lake Superior Grand A (4th Floor)Nick Peterson S-05: Engaging Private Landowners through Conservation Marketing Shoal Creek Woodlands for Wildlife Case-History Grand B (4th Floor)Rob Pulliam

5:00pm CST

Invasive Species Technical Committee Information and Interest Meeting Sterling 6 (2nd Floor)Hannah Mulligan • Logan Zebro

6:00pm CST

Offsite Dinner and Social ($) - Sponsored by Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation Anheuser-Busch Brewery

7:00am CST

Continental Breakast with Exhibitors - Sponsored by PayIt Grand Foyer (4th Floor)

10:20am CST

Fisheries Track: Apples and Oranges? Using radio and acoustic telemetry to evaluate restoration success. Regency D (2nd Floor)Seth Fopma S-07:Cooperative Inter-Agency Management of Invasive Carps in the United States Regency E (2nd Floor)Rob Simmonds S-10: Shifting Perspectives: The Role of Aquatic Plants in the Future of Fisheries and Angling Regency B (2nd Floor)Steven Bardin

10:40am CST

Fisheries Track: Enhancing the science of age estimation: the creation of fishage.org Regency D (2nd Floor)Mark Pegg S-07: Developing a framework to inform early detection efforts of the next carp invasion in the Missouri River Basin Regency E (2nd Floor)Brielle Thompson S-09: Engaging Non-traditional Audiences Through Relevancy Messaging (Formal Title: AFWA Relevancy Communication Toolkit Update) Mills 3 (4th Floor)Hiroto Hayashi S-10: Aquatic Vegetation Management Challenges and Opportunities Regency B (2nd Floor)Nate Long

11:00am CST

Fisheries Track: A Wide Net: Identifying Habitat Across Species and Age Groups of Fish for a Holistic View of the Ecosystem Regency D (2nd Floor)Kayla Lenz Fisheries Track: Big River Bluegill: How and why bluegill population dynamics vary along a large river gradient Regency C (2nd Floor)Kristen Bouska

11:20am CST

S-07:The Commercial Bait Dealer Program in Kansas: Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations and Inspections Regency E (2nd Floor)Michael Parr S-10: Why I'm establishing aquatic plants, and you should too! Regency B (2nd Floor)Nick Kramer S-11: From streams, swamps, sloughs and roadside ditches: The places you will go while sampling the rare crayfishes of Texas, USA. Grand C (4th Floor)Dusty Swedberg

11:40am CST

S-07: Improving the Discoverability and Accessibility of Invasive Carp Projects and Data Regency E (2nd Floor)Jason Ross

1:20pm CST

Fisheries Track: Impacts of Habitat Enhancement on Fish Assemblage Integrity in Several Midwestern Streams Regency C (2nd Floor)Ryan Skowronski S-04: Advancing Cold Water Beyond Trout: Characterizing Aquatic Biota and Habitat Across Thermal Gradients in Missouri Grand A (4th Floor)Natalie Coash S-07: What could adaptive management of invasive bigheaded carp in the Tennessee and Cumberland river subbasins look like? Regency E (2nd Floor)Michael Colvin S-10: Testing the Waters: A Foray Into Floating Wetlands Regency B (2nd Floor)Kara Tvedt

1:40pm CST

Fisheries Track: Response of Fish Communities to Backwater Restoration in the Upper Mississippi River Regency C (2nd Floor)Hannah Lenning Fisheries Track: Smallmouth Bass Demographics in the Kaskaskia and Vermilion Rivers Regency D (2nd Floor)Ethan Scott S-04: Heritage Brook Trout program in southeast Minnesota Grand A (4th Floor)Doug Dieterman S-07: Evaluating Invasive Carp Management on the Illinois Waterway Through Adaptive ‘Multi-Agency Monitoring’ Regency E (2nd Floor)Michael Spear

1:50pm CST

S-12: Osage Culinary Traditions and Food Sovereignty Sterling 3 (2nd Floor)Veronica Pipestem

2:00pm CST

S-04: Brook Trout Management in the Iowa Driftless Region Grand A (4th Floor)Mike Siepker S-07: Exploring tools to evaluate invasive carp management success across different density gradients and river systems Regency E (2nd Floor)Jim Lamer S-09: Who Fishes in Indiana: Population Segments as Management Tools Mills 3 (4th Floor)Josef Hrabowski

2:20pm CST

Fisheries Track: Built to Last? Evaluating the Condition of Fish Habitat Structures in Missouri’s Ozark Reservoirs Regency C (2nd Floor)Tyler Ham S-04: Assessment of Coldwater Fisheries Resources in Northeast Iowa. Grand A (4th Floor)Gregory Gelwicks S-07: Invasive Carp Growth Chronologies: Management Tool To Help Evaluate Harvest Success? Regency E (2nd Floor)Kaiden Vinavich S-12: Reconstructing wetland garden productivity and resilience at Cahokia, Illinois (900-1350 AD) Sterling 3 (2nd Floor)Natalie Mueller

2:40pm CST

Fisheries Track: Trends in Population Status and Range-Wide Geographic Patterns of Genetic Variation for the Federally Petitioned Bluestripe Darter Regency C (2nd Floor)Brittany Harried S-07: Invasive Carp Removals in Missouri River Tributaries Regency E (2nd Floor)Adam McDaniel S-08: Herpetofauna use of canebrake habitat in southern Illinois Grand B (4th Floor)Thanchira Suriyamongkol S-11: Clawing for Survival: Mapping Invasive and Endemic Crayfishes in the Upper Saint Francis River Basin Grand C (4th Floor)Anna Raney

3:20pm CST

Fisheries Track: Linking Stream Fish Thermal Ecology and Adaptive Capacity to Prioritize Watershed Areas with Greatest Value for Conservation Regency C (2nd Floor)Brittany Harried S-07: Invasive Carp Removal Approaches in the Missouri River Basin Regency E (2nd Floor)Jessica Howell S-09: Anonymous Location Data Integrated with Intercept Surveys: A Powerful Combined Approach to Measuring Lake Recreation Mills 3 (4th Floor)Rebecca Krogman

3:40pm CST

Fisheries Track: Navigating the Currents: Investigating Environmental Cues for Pallid Sturgeon Immigration and Emigration for a Missouri River Tributary Regency C (2nd Floor)Jenna Ruoss S-07: Monitoring Invasive Bigheaded Carp Movement Across Sub-basins in Response to Removal Efforts Regency E (2nd Floor)Joshua Abner S-09: Using resource size-use models to predict how climate cycles influence angler effort Mills 3 (4th Floor)Matthew Maldonado

4:00pm CST

Fisheries Track: Applications of Environmental DNA Metabarcoding to Fish Biodiversity Assessments of Missouri Ozark Stream and Mississippi River Lowland Habitats Regency D (2nd Floor)David Duvernell

4:10pm CST

S-12: Incorporating Ecological Design for Production and Resilience: A Case Study in the Lower Missouri River Floodplain Sterling 3 (2nd Floor)Zach Miller

4:20pm CST

Fisheries Track: Reproductive Characteristics of a Vulnerable Riverine Specialist in the Unchannelized Missouri River Regency C (2nd Floor)BJ Schall

4:40pm CST

Fisheries Track: Lessons and advice on the development of a mobile-entry platform Regency D (2nd Floor)Keith Hurley

6:00pm CST

Poster Session & Tradeshow Social - Co-Sponsored by Aquatic Control, HDR Engineering & NASA Grand Ballroom (4th Floor) P-07: Using Camera Traps to Explore Coyote Presence Across an Urbanization Gradient in St. Louis Grand Ballroom (4th Floor)Jacob Meyer P-11: Bat Communities along an Urbanization Gradient in St. Louis, MO Grand Ballroom (4th Floor)Elizabeth Biro

8:00am CST

Fisheries Track: Conserving "native rough fish" through fisheries management in the Midwest Regency C (2nd Floor)Steve Herrington Fisheries Track: Population Characteristics of Buffalo in Wisconsin: Contribution and Resiliency to Bowfishing Harvest Regency B (2nd Floor)Daniel Isermann S-07: Aggregation for Eradication: An Exploratory Grass Carp Management Strategy in the Upper Mississippi River Regency E (2nd Floor)Max Monfort S-11: Molecular Surveillance of a Potential Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) Invasion in the Midwest United States Grand C (4th Floor)Eric Larson S-17: The Public’s Perceived Importance and View of Midwest Fish and Wildlife Agencies Regency E (2nd Floor)Lisa Parks S-18: FishCAST: Introducing the North Central Division Fisheries Community Advocacy and Sustainability Team Mills 3 (4th Floor)Brittany Harried S-19: Midwest Landscape Initiative and the Midwest Conservation Blueprint Sterling 9 (2nd Floor )Rachael Carlberg

8:20am CST

S-07: Fisheries dependent and independent data inform a capture technique for an emerging invasive fish species in the mainstem Mississippi River; Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus Regency E (2nd Floor)Patrick Kroboth S-15: Modifying Water Velocities to Promote Lake Sturgeon Spawning Success on the Mississippi River Grand A (4th Floor)Sarah Peper

8:40am CST

Fisheries Track: Assessing Age and Incremental Growth Rates in Cedar River Shovelnose Sturgeon through an 18-year Mark-Recapture Dataset Regency C (2nd Floor)Juliana Kaloczi

9:00am CST

S-18: Overview of DEIJA and Indigenous relations in AFS Mills 3 (4th Floor)Jory Jonas

9:40am CST

S-07: Deterring Upstream Movement of Invasive Carp in the Kansas River Regency E (2nd Floor)Liam Odell S-13: Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project: Adapting to change Sterling 3 (2nd Floor)Shelby Timm

10:20am CST

Fisheries Track: Assessing Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) Abundance Dynamics in Tailwater Habitats Using Side-scan Sonar Techniques Regency B (2nd Floor)Adam Jones S-07: Assessment of Sampling Gears for Adult Invasive Carp in Mid-Order Rivers in Nebraska Regency E (2nd Floor)Brett Anderson

10:40am CST

S-07: Silver Carp Biomass Estimation Using Low-Cost Consumer-Grade Technology to Inform Management Strategies Regency E (2nd Floor)Josey Ridgway S-18: Moderated Panel Discussion for FishCAST Symposium Mills 3 (4th Floor)Brittany Harried S-19: Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act: An Underutilized Tool for Conservation Planning Sterling 9 (2nd Floor )Rebecca Sloan

11:00am CST

Fisheries Track: Using Side-Scan Sonar and N-Mixture Models to Estimate the Abundance of Invasive Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) in the Lamine River, MO Regency B (2nd Floor)Cade Roach S-07: Missouri River Tributary Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) Population Assessment Regency E (2nd Floor)Kellie Hanser

11:20am CST

Fisheries Track: Influence of Thermal Variation on Paddlefish Thermal Tolerance, Recovery and Post-Release Behavior Regency C (2nd Floor)Shasta Kamara S-19: Development and Implementation of Missouri's Landscape Health Index Sterling 9 (2nd Floor )Jon Podoliak

11:40am CST

Fisheries Track: Spatial and Temporal Variation of Invasive Carp Spawning Activity in the Illinois River Basin Regency B (2nd Floor)Braden Whisler S-15: Where Do We Go From Here? - Advancing the Sustainable Rivers Program to New Rivers and Opportunities in the Midwest Grand A (4th Floor)Brian Johnson