Scientific Conference Hosting

The Sutton Center has hosted three major scientific conferences in recent years. In November of 2001, the Sutton Center, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service together hosted the Prairie Grouse Technical Council biennial meeting. Held in Woodward, this northwest Oklahoma town is within the Lesser Prairie-Chicken's breeding range. About 130 grouse biologists from the U.S., Canada, and even Scotland attended this meeting to share research results and participate in field trips to local ranches which are home to prairie-chickens.

In October 1995, the Sutton Center and the Association of Field Ornithologists joined forces to host the International Conference and Training Workshop on the Ecology and Conservation of Grassland Birds, held in Tulsa, OK. Nearly 300 people from throughout the Western Hemisphere gathered to share information on grassland birds, which as a group are declining faster than any other group of species. Over the three days of the conference, about 60 oral scientific papers were presented. Additionally, 27 poster papers were displayed. A field trip to the Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve rounded out the activities. The proceedings from this conference were published as part of the Studies in Avian Biology series produced by the Cooper Ornithological Society. To order Studies in Avian Biology 19, send $25 U.S. for paperback or $39.50 for hardcover to Cooper Ornithological Society, c/o Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA 93010. Call for availability. The phone number is (805) 388-9944.

The Sutton Center also hosted the 1991 annual meeting of the Raptor Research Foundation, held in Tulsa in November.


Concurrent paper sessions allowed 60 presentations to be made in two days at the Grassland Birds Conference.	Poster presentations displayed additional original research at the conference.	As the banquet speaker, Jerome Jackson gave insights into the life and work of George Miksch Sutton.

Field trip of conference participants

Conference attendees fan out across The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, wrapping up the three-day Grassland Birds Conference.


Dr. Peter Hudson informs meeting attendees about Red Grouse biology in Scotland.	The paper sessions took place in the historic downtown Woodward Theater.	Area rancher Dan O'Hair points out Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitat on his ranch.