Louisiana Tech will host the sixth annual ArkLaMiss Wildlife Management Symposium on Feb. 12. This year’s topic will deal with the Louisiana black bear. “Our mission is to provide credible, scientific-based information to the public,” said Dr. James Dickson, coordinator of the wildlife program. “The (symposium) will deal with the bear, bear biology, habitat and how to manage the population.” Dickson said the Louisiana black bear is officially recognized as being a threatened population in 1992, though, due to efforts to protect them and reforest their habitat, their population size has begun to increase. Several experts in the wildlife field are scheduled to speak at the symposium, including Dr. Joseph Clark, branch chief with the USGS Southern Appalachian Research Branch at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville; Maria Davidson, large carnivore program manager with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Paul Davidson, executive director of the Black Bear Conservation Coalition; and others. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Tech’s Student Center. Early registration for the event is $25, which includes breakfast and lunch and is due by Feb. 9. After that date, registration will be $40. Checks should be made payable to the ArkLaMiss Wildlife Group and mailed to Dr. James Dickson at P.O. Box 10138, Ruston, La. 71272. For more information contact Dickson at 318-257-4020 or at jdickson@latech.edu.