An Update on the
Desert Bighorn
Council
Transactions
(May 2009)

By Brian Wakeling
(Transactions Editor)

 Past issues (1956 - 2009) of the Desert Bighorn Council Transactions can now be downloaded from this website
Click here

The Desert Bighorn Council Transactions are published once every two years, with the published document distributed in years between meetings. The every-other-year format will provide the printer, reviewers, authors, and the editor with sufficient time to provide quality manuscripts providing that time lines are followed.

For information on obtaining copies of the DBC Transactions: Click here

My goal as editor is to help authors with the opportunity to improve their final manuscripts through the peer-review process. State reports and abstracts from meetings will still be included, although they will be edited only for grammar. Authors of manuscripts for Desert Bighorn Council Transactions should use the format described in the guidelines formally used by the Wildlife Society Bulletin (available from me on request). I would also like short descriptions about the authors and their background to accompany the paper.

The Transactions will use the following timeline:

Submission deadline: June 30, 2009. I will then solicit two independent reviews for each manuscript. I will contact potential reviewers before I send them out to determine if they are willing to conduct the review within the timeline. Authors may suggest reviewers for their manuscript.

Reviews from reviewers due back to editor: July 31, 2009. I will compile the reviews and provide suggestions to the authors on how to proceed.

Manuscript revision by authors, due back to editor: September 15, 2009. Authors will need to submit an electronic version of their manuscript at this time.

Final review adjustments, if needed, back to authors: October 15, 2009. Manuscript back to editor: November 15, 2009. Page proofs to authors: December 31, 2009. Proofs to editor: January 15, 2010. Camera-ready copy to printer: February 1, 2010. Distribution: April 2010.

The opportunity for final page proof reviews by authors is only possible if these submission deadlines are followed closely. I hope that this will assist authors in understanding the information flow and timelines that the Transactions will operate under. Any manuscript addressing the ecology, biology, management, and conservation of desert bighorn sheep, even if not presented at the Desert Bighorn Council Meeting, may be submitted for publication in the Transactions.

For more information, please email BWakeling@azgfd.gov.