Welcome to the

Portland, Oregon

January 11th to 15th, 2011

DoubleTree Hotel, near downtown Portland

For more than thirty years, the North American Arctic Goose Conference and Workshop (NAAG) has been the premier meeting for bringing together waterfowl researchers, managers, conservationists, and students with a passion for geese. The conference has grown from a small meeting centered largely on North American white goose populations to an international meeting addressing science, conservation and management of geese nesting throughout the Arctic.

NAAG provides a forum for cutting edge research that advances our basic understanding of avian biology, ecology and theoretical advances in broad fields including behavioral ecology, nutritional ecology, population ecology and foraging ecology. NAAG also serves as a forum for discussions on goose management and conservation. Goose management has become more complicated as goose population size and distribution changes in response to human alterations of the landscape and evolving agricultural practices change the suitability of habitats for geese. These immediate challenges are foreshadowed by concerns about how global climate change may influence geese.

NAAG 12 is the first conference to include Canada and Cackling geese nesting in Alaska because these birds have recently been included under the umbrella of the Arctic Goose Joint Venture. We are pleased that our brood has expanded! Highlights of the science program for NAAG 12 include a symposium on goose-grazing interactions to honor Dr. Robert Jefferies and a workshop on Canada Goose taxonomy, continuing the discussions started by Dr. Robert Zink’s plenary talk at NAAG 11 in Reno.