News

It's that time of year again--the BEST time of year--cool, crisp mornings, pumpkin lattes, sweater weather, football and the NCTC Deer Hunt!

NCTC Land Management would like to thank each of you for your continued support of this important program and, as always, a successfully run deer hunt season relies on assistance from all of its volunteers. We wanted to give you all the opportunity to look at this year's sign-up sheet in hopes of getting help running the deer hunt check station during the upcoming scheduled hunt dates.

The days NCTC needs the most help are:

• November 25 (5:30 am -12 noon or 12 noon - 6:30 pm)
• December 2 (5:30 am -12 noon or 12 noon - 6:30 pm)
• December 9 (5:30 am -12 noon or 12 noon - 6:30 pm)
• December 16 (5:30 am -12 noon or 12 noon - 6:30 pm)
• December 30 (5:30 am -12 noon or 12 noon - 6:30 pm)

For any questions regarding this year's deer hunt or information on helping run the NCTC deer hunt check station, please contact Casey Johnson (304)876-7347 or email at casey_johnson@fws.gov.

Thank you again all and look forward to working with each of you this upcoming season!

The Friends of NCTC are having two training sessions so that you can help their student guests at the Concierge Desk and/or helping with tours of the Archives. The Concierge Desk provides information on activities around the NCTC campus for the guests who are there for the week. Hours are 11:30 am-1:30 pm and 5:30 to 7:30 pm, (Monday through Thursday). Volunteers can choose the time and day they are available to help on a regular basis. The training will be Thursday September 7th at 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm. You can choose the time that works best for you.

Training to help with Archives/Museum Tours will be Wednesday November 8 at 1:00 pm or 6:30 pm. This training will give you background on the history of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, some of the items in the Archives, and the exhibits in the museum in Main Entry. Trained volunteers will available to help during the week on an "as needed" basis and before scheduled evening public programs.

Please note that regular NCTC volunteers go through a background screening that includes fingerprinting. To sign up for either of these trainings, contact Susan Holloway (holloway5@earthlink.net). Please specify which training and time you prefer.

It's Back!

After several years, NCTC is having a full Open House and we need the help of Friends of NCTC!

The event will take place on Saturday October 28 from 10 am to 3 pm. Volunteer help is needed including at the Friends of NCTC contact booths, at several NCTC exhibits, assisting with parking, people herding, and with some kids' activities. There may be other opportunities as well. If you can volunteer for a few hours or even all day, contact Ellen Murphy (Ellen.L.Murphy@comcast.net).

We're looking forward to seeing you! (No security clearance is needed for this day, but we need to know who to expect.)

Photo Credit: Deb Stecyk, Bald Eagles 101

The NCTC bald eagle pair have been busy guarding their nest and setting on eggs. They use their beaks to turn the eggs about every hour for even heating (photo).

The eggs were laid on Feb. 15 and 18. We hope to see the first egg hatch after March 22! You can view our two live nest cams at: https://www.outdoorchannel.com/live/eaglecam

We now have a second nest camera online - you can choose a closeup or wide angle nest view: https://www.outdoorchannel.com/live/eaglecam

The NCTC bald eagles "branch manager" video has been getting airplay across the country on CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC, Facebook and Twitter. Here's a sample: https://twitter.com/FOX10Phoenix/status/1629753191003815937

Please join us on March 16 at 1:00 pm ET for “Live from the Eagle’s Nest!” - our bi-weekly program during the bald eagle nesting season at the National Conservation Training Center. On each program we’ll catch up on the latest nest action and answer your eagle questions too. Teachers, students and anyone interested in bald eagles is welcome to join us on NCTC Livestream! https://livestream.com/nctc

You'll find our schedule here: https://fws.gov/story/2023-02/2023-nctc-eagle-update

The past week has been a busy one for the NCTC bald eagle pair!

• Egg #1 was laid at 3:26 pm on Feb. 15, 2023
• Egg # 2 was laid at 6:53 pm on Feb. 18, 2023

Less than an hour before the second egg was laid, another eagle tried to land on the nest but was repelled and chased off.

Both eagles remain on alert for nest takeover attempts; these attempts usually occur by breeding age females (4-5 years old) in search of nesting territory.

Male and female eagles take turns incubating eggs for 35-38 days before the hatch.

Watch for them to turn eggs with their beak about every hour!

You'll find the live video link along with photos, videos and commentary here: https://www.outdoorchannel.com/live/eaglecam

Photos by Paul Kolnik/Bald Eagles101

Mike has been watching our nest cam since 2010 when Liberty & Belle were the resident pair. He'd seen on our website about captured photos and shared a couple that he'd gotten! 

Bella snow covered.

Bella feeding while Smitty watches.

Fledge day with Smitty and Ozzy.

Welcome to NCTC!

Explore some of the new activities and events happening on campus through this link: https://trainingcenter.fws.gov/maps/content/index.html#/.

Please note, these activities are available to guests attending courses or on-campus events only.

Archery Training

• The Archery training at NCTC will occur on Thursday, June 9th. This will be a 4-hour afternoon session in the NCTC Physical Training Building.
• Participants will need to also complete a 4-hour online session PRIOR to attending the in-person class on June 9th.
• Note: Participants do NOT need to have any prior experience with archery in order to take this training.
  
• Interested participants need to RSVP by Thursday, May 12th (send an email to jennifer_gedert@fws.gov).

Climbing Wall

• The NCTC Climbing Wall training has been rescheduled for August (they're currently looking at the week of August 15th for this training). 
• The course will be a 20-hour in-person course over 3 days. 
• Participants MUST be able to comfortably top-rope at a 5.8 level. 
• Anyone interested in leading sessions on NCTC's climbing wall needs to successfully complete this training to get certified. 
• Interested people need to RSVP by June 1st (send an email to jennifer_gedert@fws.gov).

NCTC will provide any equipment needed.

First Aid training will be required of all the volunteers. NCTC will also provide this training for free.

Volunteers will not need a PIV card or parking pass to attend these trainings, but will need to complete a background check prior to facilitating the archery groups.

Anyone who is interested should email jennifer_gedert@fws.gov to RSVP and/or to get more information.

Last weekend, volunteers gathered at NCTC to celebrate Earth Day by planting about 300 trees from NCTC’s plant nursery. They were placed inside white plastic tubes to protect the young seedlings from deer and mice.

The tree species that were planted are: mockernut hickory, shagbark hickory, tulip poplar, black walnut, black cherry, sycamore, and redbud.

We want to send a big thank you to all the volunteers!

Photo credits: Jennifer Gedert.

Looking for a great new read? This website includes a link to the monthly "Wild Read" book discussions. Soar into the New Year by reading Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service!

And take a look at the FWS Scholar pages, where you get to know more about the USFWS employees!