ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
NEWSLETTER
February 27, 2006
In
this issue:
** Upcoming ES Events: "Getting Close to Baxter Park" and MOFGA is
on campus
** Campus Sustainability:
** Beyond
Colby: Help
Protect Katahdin Lake
** Grad
School: Graduate
Opportunities in Herpetology
**
Jobs and Internships:
==================================================================================================================
**
Upcoming ES Events:
ES Lunchtime Colloquium:
March 1
12:00 in the Fairchild Room in Dana, join us at 11:30 for lunch with Jonathan
"Getting close to Baxter Park"
Jonathan
Milne will present a slide show and discuss his 10 seasons as a field ranger in
Maines Baxter State Park. Slides will reveal some seldom seen areas throughout
the park. Come explore an insiders look into this amazing natural area.
Jonathan is a Registered Maine Guide, avid conservationist, and the Director
of Outdoor Safety and Education for Colby College. Jonathan was recently named
the Vice President of the Izzak Walton League of Maine and he sits on the board
of Kennebec Messalonskee Trails.
March
2
Learn Organic Agriculture in Maine through the Maine Organic Farmers and
Gardeners Associations
FARM APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
4:00
in Olin 234
An informal, experiential education program that connects people wanting to
learn organic farming with experienced farmers willing to share their
expertise. The typical arrangement involves an exchange of labor for room,
board, a stipend, and intensive training and experience in farming.
Apprenticeships provide opportunities for training in:
Organic vegetable, herb, and flower production at many different scales
Marketing techniques, including Community Supported Agriculture
Raising cattle, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, and poultry
Using draft animals for cultivation and woods work
Homesteading skills: housebuilding, food preservation, alternative
energy
Dairy farming and cheesemaking with cows, goats, or sheep
Maple sugaring, orchard pruning, cider pressing, and meat processing
Seed saving
Making value-added products with farm resources
Grass-based and intensive rotational grazing farm systems
For more information, visit www.mofga.org/apprinfo.html
or come to an
INFORMATION SESSION
with Andrew Marshall, MOFGA Education Director
THURSDAY MARCH 2
4 PM
OLIN 335
** Campus Sustainability:
** Beyond
Colby:
HELP PROTECT KATAHDIN LAKE
THE ISSUE
Governor Baxter
gave the people of Maine a great gift of the woods, waters and mountains that
comprise Baxter State Park. However, there was a key piece of his vision that
he was never able to completeprotection of the lands surrounding Katahdin
Lake. We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to finish what Governor Baxter
began, but this historic opportunity may be lost because hunting and
snowmobiling special interests are working to change the carefully negotiated
agreement. You can help by urging your legislators to support LD 2015 and the
agreement to preserve the Katahdin Lake lands.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Urge legislators to
support the effort to preserve the lands around Katahdin Lake, including the
section of LD 2015 (section 9) that will allow this to happen. Urge them to
help finish Governor Baxter's vision and to oppose efforts to open the deal to
hunting and snowmobiling. (Note that some of the state lands proposed for sale
in LD 2015 may be dropped from the list.)
1. Speak at a public hearing on LD 2015 on Monday, February 27, 9:30AM, in the
Augusta Civic Center, Capital Pine Tree
Room, 2nd floor, North Wing.
2. Email key legislators by March 1. Legislators are most likely to read your
email if it is short and personal.
For a list of members of the Agriculture, Conservation, Forestry Committee and
their contact information see http://janus.state.me.us/house/jt_com/acf.htm.
You can find your state representative at
http://janus.state.me.us/house/townlist.htm
You can find your state senator at
http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/senators/directory/index.htm
BACKGROUND
The Maine
Department of Conservation and the Trust for Public Land began negotiating this
very complex $14 million project with the current owner, Gardner Logging
Company, three years ago. In August 2005, the Trust for Public Land (TPL)
secured a Purchase and Sale Agreement to acquire the property for appraised
fair market value. If all the money can be raised for this project, the lands
will be bought and donated to Baxter State Park.
As a part of this unique deal, the state would sell to TPL a number of
scattered public lots ranging from 240 acres to 1,281 acres. Those lands would
then be traded by TPL to Gardner Logging Company. We prefer that state land not
be sold, but this is an extraordinary opportunity to protect an important
ecological treasure. (Note that some of the state lands proposed for sale in LD
2015 may be dropped from the list. We support that.)
The sale of state conservation lands requires the approval of 2/3 of the
Legislature. LD 2015 would authorize this sale. The money the state receives
from selling the public lots will be used to buy additional conservation lands
in the same counties where the public lots are being sold.
Katahdin Lake is truly a unique place that deserves to be added to Baxter State
Park. The 6,015-acre Katahdin Lake parcel is a remote wilderness abutting the
east boundary of Baxter State Park. It contains one of the largest areas of
unprotected mature forest remaining in Maine. Mature or old-growth forest
accounts for less than 1% of Maines forestlands. Katahdin Lake has long been
the destination of hikers, paddlers, and artists looking for the unspoiled tranquility
of wilderness.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
Contact
jym@restore.org or ken@restore.org
Stopglobalwarming.org
Help spread the
word about a new environmental campaign called The Virtual March to Stop Global
Warming. The Virtual March was launched to confront this urgent threat we
all face. There are tons of great organizations involved including: The
Surfrider Foundation, Patagonia, Clif Bar, The Sierra Club, The Blue Man Group,
MTV, plus many more. We would really appreciate it if you would take a
second to check out the site: www.stopglobalwarming.org
UNE Symposium:
"The Bush Administration: Changing Values and Goals for Environmental and
Human Health"
University of
New England in Portland, April 10, 2-5 PM.
Email Cheryl at clabreque@une.edu for more details.
** Grad
School:
Graduate Opportunities in Herpetology
Teaching
assistantships available for students interested in doing a thesis in reptile
and amphibian conservation and/or behavioral ecology. Contact Don C.
Forester ( dforester@towson.edu) at Towson University, Towson, MD. For
information on herpetology lab groups visit ( http://wwwnew.towson.edu/herpetology/);
for information on the graduate program visit ( <http://wwwnew.towson.edu/biologicalsciences/> http://wwwnew.towson.edu/biologicalsciences/).
Deadline for applications is March 15, 2006.
Undergraduate Research in Herpetology
Avila
University in Kansas City, Missouri offers a Research Experience for
Undergraduates entitled: NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERPETOFAUNA OF ST. VINCENT
The program provides participants with experience in research by developing,
implementing, and reporting on a project of their own design during an intense
ten-week program that includes a three-week field trip to the Caribbean island
of St. Vincent.
Students learn to access and use the primary literature, methods of field
research, computer use, statistical analysis of data, to write for professional
journals, how to choose a graduate program, to apply successfully to the
program of their choice.
Senior faculty are Robert Powell, Avila University, John S. Parmerlee, Jr.,
Johnson County Community College, Ellen J. Censky, Director, Sam Noble Oklahoma
Museum of Natural History, and Robert W. Henderson, Curator of Amphibians and
Reptiles, Milwaukee Public Museum.
Seminars include history of St. Vincent, political and economic realities in a
developing nation, tropical biology and conservations efforts in Caribbean nations,
how to write for science, introduction to the Macintosh computer, using a
research library and the role of museums in biological research, and graduate
programs: selection and application.
The program will provide a $4000.00 stipend, all expenses associated with the
field experience, and on-campus lodging for non-resident students in Kansas
City, Missouri. Up to $800.00 is available for travel to and from Kansas City
for an accepted student residing outside the continental United States.
Participants are financially responsible for travel to and from Kansas City,
their food while at Avila University, and tuition (at a reduced rate).
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Students may earn up
to 6 hrs of credit in biology research.
Additional information and application forms are available at http://www.avila.edu/bobpowell/7powreu.htm
Applications must be received by 10 March 2006. For further information,
contact Robert Powell at
robert.powell@avila.edu
New Zealand research
The
NZ government has loads of scholarship money for doctoral students, and
the next round is starting soon. The NZ International Doctoral Research
Scholarship is very generous (as a recipient, I can testify to this!), and
also open to students from all countries (and in all disciplines). Please
feel free to circulate this information as widely as possible!
<http://www.newzealandeducated.com/scholarships> www.newzealandeducated.com/scholarships
** Jobs and Internships:
SUMMER INTERNSHIPS IN STREAM RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT
Trout Unlimited
has received a grant through Maine's Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) for watershed planning in the Bond Brook watershed. We are looking for
two interns to work on the project this coming summer (2006). These are paid
positions, subject to confirmation of funding.
The BOND BROOK WATERSHED PLANNING AND SALMONID PROTECTION PROJECT is aimed at
(1) identifying key threats to and opportunities for protecting Bond Brook, and
(2) raising the awareness of and appreciation for the brook among local
governments and residents.
Given its urban location within a stones throw of the statehouse in Augusta,
Bond Brook is a remarkably healthy stream. Until the removal of the Edwards
Dam, the brook supported a reproducing population of Atlantic salmon, and it
still supports wild (unstocked) populations of brook and brown trout.
Anadromous fishes including blueback herring and rainbow smelt use the lower,
most urbanized reaches. Yet the long term health of Bond Brook is threatened by
urbanization and development of its watershed.
Tasks to be tackled by the interns may include the following (exact assignments
will depend on the strengths and interests of candidates):
1. Participating in field studies on stream
geomorphology and stormwater management.
2. Initiating publicity and public outreach
efforts to increase the visibility of Bond Brook among residents of its
watershed and help foster grassroots interest in the brook;
3. Tracking actions and policies of local
government, especially the city of August and its comprehensive planning
process.
4. Gathering existing information on Bond
Brook and drafting a report on the condition of the brook.
5. Organizing volunteer-based stream survey
days and other on-stream public events.
6. Developing a Bond Brook web site to
improve public visibility and to make accessible data on the brook's condition;
Applicants should send a cover letter indicating their interest and specifying
when they anticipate being available next summer, along with a resume and names
and phone numbers of two references by March 15, 2006 to the following address.
Curtis C. Bohlen
Trout Unlimited
8 Crosby St.
Augusta, Maine 04330
(207) 623-1472 (p)
cbohlen@tu.org
Trip
Leader: Canoe Expedition for Maine Girls
Organization: The Chewonki Foundation
Starting Date:
April 2006
Note: There will be two expedition groups in 2006. Applicants may apply to lead
Paddle Making Weekends and Expeditions for one or both groups (see dates
below).
Qualifications: Wilderness trip leading experience; whitewater canoeing skills; teaching and
group facilitation experience; knowledge of women's issues and adolescent girl
development; knowledge of northern Maine's ecology and history; WFR
certification; Life Guard or Small Craft Safety Certificate. Liberal arts
undergraduate degree preferred. This program serves adolescent girls ages
14-17 and the trip leader position is open to women only.
Responsibilities:
Paddle-Making
Weekends (April 14-17 and April 20-23)
Working with co-leader and assistant leader, begin the process of forming an
emotionally safe community for 9 adolescent girls. Oversee paddle making with
the guidance of Maine Guide, Jane Barron. Facilitate community building
activities and group conversations about emotional and physical goals for the
trip. Manage logistics of using Chewonki space for meals, lodging and other
activities. Organize evening slide show with alumnae and answer questions
regarding the program. Participate in mentor workshop when girls are
interacting with mentors and help to facilitate the development of trusting,
authentic relationships between mentors and girls.
Staff Training
Participate
in:
Canoe
Expeditions (June 23rd-July 15 and July 28- August 19)
Working with co-leader and assistant leader, prepare curriculum tools, skills
progressions, route and menu for Expedition. Manage physical and emotional
safety of each tripper. Facilitate group conversation and individual check-ins
to cultivate and encourage emotional and physical growth. Ensure that itinerary
is followed in order to meet in a timely manner with Resource Women and
Resupply. Share knowledge of Maine's natural and cultural history. Prepare for
and manage a day-long solo experience. Help group prepare for the Final
Celebration during which they will tell the stories of their adventures to
family, friends and mentors. Facilitate the Final Celebration and
"graduation" ceremony. Write a description of each girl's challenges
and successes as well as useful methods for supporting the girls through
difficulty for mentors in order to give them a more intimate understanding of
their mentee's experience.
Salary
Trip
Leaders will receive $70 - $96/day for the paddle-making weekend(s), training,
and expedition(s).
Application Procedure: Send cover letter and resume to Greg Shute, Director of
Wilderness Programs, 485 Chewonki Neck Rd., Wiscasset, ME 04578
207-882-7323 x16, gshute@chewonki.org
Questions can also be directed to Phoebe Hazard, Project Coordinator
phoebehazard@yahoo.com/(603) 449-2581
2006 Intern projects WWF-US Conservation Science Program
The
following social science internships are available at the Conservation Science
Program at World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC.
They are designed typically for graduate students, although some may be
appropriate for advanced undergraduates. Projects can be undertaken over
the summer (with extensions, as necessary, into the fall semester). Most
projects could also be extended over the course of one or two semesters as part
of a student's course work or thesis requirements; advance arrangements would
be necessary with faculty advisors. Internships are typically unpaid, but
facilities, library resources, and computers at WWF headquarters are available
(not to mention a fun, dynamic group of scientists!). Hours are flexible.
In general, our interns need solid data management and writing skills,
self-motivation, an ability to work both independently and
collaboratively, and a sense of humor. Specific skills (required or
preferred) are listed with each project, along with the primary contact
person. For more information on WWF's Conservation Science Program, see www.worldwildlife.org/science/ or contact Contact: Mike Mascia (michael.mascia@wwfus.org) unless
otherwise noted.
To apply, please email a cover letter and resume/CV to the contact individual
listed for each project. Please include "INTERNSHIP" and the
relevant internship number (listed immediately prior to the project
description) in the subject line.
Conservation Social Science
22. Social Impacts of Conservation Interventions
The conservation community is increasing interested in documenting the social
impacts of conservation interventions, yet practitioners often lack rigorous,
robust, and sophisticated indicators that can document the positive and
negative social impacts of conservation activities. Development of a set of
common conservation-relevant social impact indicators will help the
conservation community to ensure accountability and to engage other sectors
(e.g., development, health) in a constructive dialogue regarding the link
between biodiversity conservation and other social objectives (e.g., poverty
alleviation, nutrition). This project will review the academic and
practitioner literature to identify the indicators most appropriate for
measuring the social impacts (positive and negative) of conservation
interventions. The project will produce a peer-reviewed manuscript and internal
spin-off products.
23. Social Science "Success Stories"
Social factors frequently determine conservation success or failure, yet the
successful application of social science tools and approaches to conservation
problems is seldom documented. As a result, valuable social science-based
approaches to solving conservation problems are underused. This
project will document the successful application of social science tools and
approaches in at least two WWF projects (TransFly of Papua New Guinea;
Madagascar Moist Forest), providing replicable models for other conservation
practitioners. Each case will be documented in a working paper that
describes the conservation problem, the social science tool/approach used, the
results of using this tool/approach, and the broader implications of each case
for the conservation community. Each working paper will be published
online and may lead to a peer-reviewed publication.
24. Social Science Tools & Approaches.
Social factors are critical to the success of conservation efforts, yet the
scientific tools to address these social challenges are often
inaccessible to conservation practitioners. This project will build upon
the work of the Society for Conservation Biology's Social Science
Working Group by collecting and compiling conservation social science tools and
developing a strategy for dissemination. The project may also identify
priorities for tool development and capacity building, and develop a strategy
to act on these priorities. The project will produce an online
conservation social science toolkit and possible spin-off products.
25. Mapping the Cultural Landscape
Conservation organizations have traditionally focused upon mapping species and
ecosystems, while paying relatively less attention to
mapping social phenomena. Groups outside the conservation community,
however, have mapped dimensions of culture (language, religion, etc.) and other
social phenomena at a variety of scales for a variety of purposes. This
project will review past and current efforts to map indigenous cultures/peoples
(drawing upon the published literature, reports, and personal communication
with experts) and will explore opportunities to develop
spatially-explicit/geo-referenced maps of indigenous cultures/peoples.
The result will be a peer-reviewed manuscript and perhaps map(s) of indigenous
cultures/peoples inhabiting priority conservation region(s).
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
15. MPA Management Effectiveness Meta-Analysis
Recently, numerous MPA assessment initiatives at various spatial and temporal
scales have been developed. Drawing upon these Management Effectiveness
assessments, we see an opportunity to identify the connections between MPA
governance and MPA ecological and socioeconomic impacts. Marine protected areas
(MPAs) are an integral component of local, national, and international biodiversity
conservation strategies, but their contribution to sustainable development
remains contested. Our interdisciplinary research initiative seeks to explain
variation in MPA performance: when do MPAs provide both biodiversity and social
benefits, and when do tradeoffs exist between biodiversity conservation and
social welfare? Identifying the specific forms of MPA governance
that foster both biological and social benefits will provide critical insights
to policymakers, conservation practitioners, and development
specialists. Project would include efforts to locate, synthesize, and
analyze MPA monitoring data for peer-reviewed publication and internal spin-off
products. Requirements: degree in natural or social science; familiarity
with MPAs. Statistics and program evaluation
experience/expertise and foreign language competency preferred. Please
send a resume/CV and cover letter by March 13 to ensure full
consideration. Contact: Helen Fox (Helen.Fox@wwfus.org)
Global Review of MPA Social Impacts
The positive and negative impacts of marine protected areas (MPAs) on people
are critically important, yet these social impacts are poorly documented.
As part of a WWF research initiative to explain variation in MPA performance
(biological and social), this global review will compile and synthesize the
existing data on MPA social impacts, drawing upon published literature,
unpublished reports, and raw data from the field. The project will result
in a peer-reviewed manuscript and internal spin-off products.
Global Survey of MPA managers
Despite the abundant research on marine protected areas (MPAs), the
conservation community lacks a global picture of MPA performance. As part
of a WWF research initiative to explain variation in MPA performance
(biological and social), this global survey of MPA managers will provide a
rapid and comprehensive understanding of MPA governance and performance.
We require assistance with survey development and implementation. This
project will likely result in a peer-reviewed publication and in internal
spin-off products.
Causes of MPA establishment
Countries are establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) at dramatically
different rates, but it isn't clear why MPAs are rapidly adopted in some places
and not in others. We are examining MPA establishment rates globally, in
order to identify social and biological correlates/causes of MPA
establishment. This will allow WWF and other organizations to design
conservation strategies that foster MPA establishment. We seek an intern to
help identify and test hypotheses regarding causes/correlates of MPA
establishment.
ensure full consideration.
21. Causes of MPA Compliance
Noncompliance with marine protected area (MPA) rules is a nearly universal
phenomenon, yet little research has examined why some resource users obey rules
and others break them. A theory-based, empirically grounded framework for
understanding compliance is essential to inform conservation practice and to
guide future research. Accordingly, this study will review and synthesize
the existing theories of compliance, drawing upon the published literature on
(marine) protected areas, other environmental settings (e.g., fisheries and
pollution control regulations), and other non-environmental settings. This
project will result in a peer-reviewed publication and multiple spin-off
products.
Ecosystem services
1. Assessing ecosystem services across
landscapes.
Natural ecosystems provide people with a wide range of benefits, called
ecosystem services (e.g., water purification by wetlands, crop
pollination by bees). Ecosystems therefore can have significant
economic value, providing a potentially powerful argument for
conservation based in economics and human welfare. Our ability to
harness this power is limited, however, because we have yet to develop
ways of rigorously mapping the value of ecosystem services across
landscapes. Such maps would allow us to optimize our conservation plans
for both biodiversity and ecosystem services, and to estimate the
economic benefits of a conserved landscape. A group of scientists from
WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and Stanford University are developing a
method to map and estimate ecosystem services over broad scales. An
intern would help in this effort by collecting available information on
relevant ecosystem services for different biomes, searching literature
for useful data and approaches, and helping to develop the models that
will use all this information. A particular focus on the Eastern Arc
Mountains in Tanzania may emerge. Products would be compiled databases,
internal documents, and a likely peer reviewed publication. Skills in
data manipulation, internet and literature research, ecology and
economics, and GIS would be useful. Contact: Taylor Ricketts
(taylor.ricketts@wwfus.org).
3. Global analysis of crop pollination services.
Crop pollination is an ecosystem service of enormous economic value, and
an increasing number of studies is showing that wild, native pollinators
contribute significantly to production in several crops. An
international group of pollination ecologists has begun to synthesize
existing studies to harvest emerging patterns and lessons for both
agriculture and conservation biology. We also hope to use the emerging
general relationships we find to predict consequences of land use change
on pollinator diversity and crop productivity. An intern would help in
several aspects of the project: searching the scientific literature for
relevant studies and datasets, gathering and compiling disparate data,
and - depending on levels of interest and experience - participating in
analyses and presentation. Products would be compiled databases,
internal documents, and a likely peer reviewed publication. Skills in
data manipulation, internet and literature research, ecology and
economics, and GIS would be useful. Contact: Taylor Ricketts
(taylor.ricketts@wwfus.org).
4. Forest Trade Flows.
A compelling and popular measure of humanity's cumulative impact on the
biosphere is the fraction of the planet's net primary production (NPP)
that humans appropriate for their own use. Previous influential studies
have estimated that humans appropriate 31% of global NPP, but we have
recently produced a gridded global map of this consumption, showing for
the first time where these NPP products are consumed. The map
powerfully depicts the spatial "footprint" of human consumption and
its
various local impacts on the biosphere. Clearly, however, human
populations do not consume the products of only local photosynthesis.
Regional and global trade transports these products widely, such that
the environmental impacts of human consumption are partly realized in
ecosystems far from the consumers themselves. This intern would address
this challenge by collecting and compiling data on wood production and
trade (domestic and international) for Brazil, Chile, or the Russian Far
East to quantify the global flows of wood products. The work would
involve researching published and unpublished literature, searching web
databases, and communicating with experts at the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization, the Institute for Food Policy Research, other
international or local agencies and governments, and major wood
importers such as Home Depot, etc. Necessary experience: excellent
research and data management skills, ability and confidence to work
independently and with minimum supervision, knowledge of the forest
industry, and basic GIS skills. Contact: Colby Loucks
(colby.loucks@wwfus.org).
7. Development Aid & Marine Ecosystem Services:
We seek to develop an understanding of conservation's costs and benefits to
fisheries and food security by looking explicitly at "development"
projects and whether they incorporate consideration of environmental
sustainability or ecosystem services that MPAs provide. We also wish to
conduct regional analyses of groups (governmental or NGO) developing
alternative livelihood projects to assess potential for effective linkages to
conservation. Requirements: degree in natural or social science, familiarity
with sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. Please send a
resume/CV and cover letter by March 13 to
ensure full consideration. Contact: Helen Fox (Helen.Fox@wwfus.org)