News The Rubenstein School

The Rubenstein School
of Environment and Natural Resources
News
Vol. XXVII, No. 1, October 2005, The University of Vermont, www.uvm.edu/envnr
Welcome to The Rubenstein School!
Welcome to the Class of 2009.
Welcome to new undergraduate and graduate students.
Welcome back to returning students.
Welcome to the following new faculty and staff members:
The Rubenstein School
News, published monthly
from October through May,
is one of the school’s primary vehicles for keeping
students, faculty, and staff
informed. We publish news
and highlight coming
events, student activities,
and natural resources employment opportunities.
Copies are available in the
Aiken Center lobby and the
Student Resource Area (336
Aiken) in the Dean’s office.
http://www.uvm.edu/envnr
Editor:
Eileen Horn, ETC ‘07G
101 Aiken Center
[email protected]
Assistant Editor:
Sara Lovitz, NRP ‘05G
[email protected]
ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:
- Welcome
- The Rubenstein School
in Action
- Summer Internship by
Kristen Rigney
- Graduate Research by
Rebecca Pfeiffer
- Dean’s List
- Green Flash
- Help Wanted
- and more…
VISITING FACULTY
Milton Ostrofsky
Karen Refsgaard
STAFF
Emilie Bass, Staff Assistant in the Dean’s Office
David Brynn, Director of The Green Forestry Education Initiative
Susan Fuller, Senior Research Technician at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science
Doc Donnelly Day 2005
By Maria Dykema Erb
The 6th annual Doc Donnelly
Day (DDD) Picnic was held on the
south side of Aiken (no longer lawn
since it's all dug up for construction!)
on Monday, September 12th. Many of
our Rubenstein School faculty, staff,
and students took time out of their day
for some good food and fun that afternoon. The DDD triathlon consists of
events in the cup race, string ball toss,
and bocce ball. This year's outstanding triathlete was Forest DonajKeys, one of our new first year students. Forest received
an engraved trophy
from Doc and Mindy
Donnelly for his big
win. Congratulations,
Forest!
Complete Results of the 2005 Doc Donnelly Day
Triathlon:
1. Cup Races
Number of participants -- 26
Winners:
1) First place -- Forest Donaj-Keys
2) Second place -- Sarah Wilkins
3) Third place -- Daniel Murphy
2. Bocce
Number of participants -- 25
Winners:
1) First place -- Forest Donaj-Keys
2) Second place -- Peter Kovacs
3) Third place -- Jessica DeBiasio
3. String Ball
Number of participants -- 33
Winners:
1) First place -- Dan Passios
2) Second place -- Chris Lang
3) Third place -- Dan Lee
4. Overall competition (must have completed all
three events)
Number of participants -- 16
Winners:
1) First place (trophy winner) -- Forest Donaj-Keys
2) Second place -- Jessica DeBiasio
3) Third place -- Peter Kovacs
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The Rubenstein School News
The Rubenstein School in Action
PUBLICATIONS
McEvoy, T.J. 2005. Pruning Fruit Trees. Tree Services Magazine. Vol. 1, Issue 7. pp 31 – 32(2).
McEvoy, T.J. 2005. With IRS It Is Always More Than Semantics. Forest Products Equipment Journal. Vol. 13,
No. 12. August Issue. pp 14 – 17(4).
McEvoy, T.J. 2005. Are Death and Taxes Still a Sure Bet? Farming -- The Journal of Northeastern Agriculture.
Vol. 8, No. 9 - September Issue. pp 58 – 60(3).
Ruggiero, P., Kaminsky, G.M., Gelfenbaum, G. and Voigt, B. 2005. Seasonal to Interannual Morphodynamics
along a High-Energy Dissipative Littoral Cell. Journal of Coastal Research, 21(3), 553 - 578.
Claramunt, R. M., J. L. Jonas, J. D. Fitzsimons, and J. E. Marsden. 2005. Influences of spawning habitat characteristics and interstitial predators on lake trout egg deposition and mortality. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 134:10481057.
Marsden, J. E., M. Malchoff, and M.Hauser. 2005. Investigation of the need and options for an exotic species barrier on the Champlain Canal. Aquatic Invaders 16(3):11-16.
SUZANNE N. LEVINE, REGLINDIS F. ZEHRER AND CAROLYN W. BURNS. Impact of resuspended sediment on zooplankton
feeding in Lake Waihola, New Zealand. Freshwater Biology (2005) 50, 1515-1536.
Sherry, T.W., M.D. Johnson, and A.M. Strong. 2005. Does winter food limit populations of migratory birds? Pages 414-425 in R.
Greenberg and P. Marra, Eds., Birds of two worlds: Ecology and Evolution of migratory birds, Johns Hopkins University Press.
PRESENTATIONS
Undergraduate student Ross Saxton went to the International Conference on Energy, Environment and Disasters (INCEED). Ross presented
the curriculum of an environmental institute that he helped design over a portion of the summer to a group of professors and environmental
scientists, including Dr. Nangera, who is the former ambassador to the UN from Kenya. The environmental program will be held at Kimball
Union Academy next summer, Ross’ high school alma mater.
Assistant Professor Allan Strong gave a presentation at the Cooper Ornithological Society meeting in Arcata, California in June entitled, “Are
hayfields ecological traps for grassland songbirds? Habitat selection and reproductive success of Bobolinks and Savannah Sparrows in agricultural landscapes”
Graduate student Sarah Wheeler, Associate Professor Suzanne Levine and Associate Professor Leslie Morrissey have been busy presenting the results of their research on the remote sensing of cyanobacterial blooms at international conferences. Sarah and Suzanne attended the
of June ASLO meeting in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, while Leslie Morrissey represented the team at the August ESA/INTECOL conference in Montreal.
In August, Associate Professor Clare Ginger and Graduate student Stephanie DeLano presented findings from research on the role of science in policymaking contexts, with a focus on acid deposition at the meetings of the Ecological Society of America in Montreal. Their presentations drew on research that Stephanie and another graduate student, Jackie Errecart, conducted as a part of their master's degree programs. The titles of the talks were "Science In Acid Deposition Decision Making: A Vermont Case Study" and "Transmitting and Translating
Scientific Information in State Agencies: Acid Deposition Policy in New York and Vermont."
In June, Associate Professor Clare Ginger traveled to the Philippines for three weeks to join colleagues in conducting workshops on Population, Health, and Environment linkages in the context of efforts to respond to poverty. One workshop focused on policy advocacy; another
focused on developing teaching case studies to document practitioners' experiences with linking population, health, and environment interventions in the field. The case studies are to be completed for distribution at a conference on Population, Health, and Environment to be held in
the Philippines in February 2006.They will be published by the Population Reference Bureau. Professor Ginger also was hosted by colleagues
Dr. Nicomedes Briones and Dr. Carmelita Briones for a visit to the University of the Philippines, Los Banos.
Associate Professor Patricia Stokowski and her graduate student, Emilian Geczi, traveled to the International Symposium on Society and
Resource Management, held in Ostersund, Sweden, in June 2005. Pat presented a paper entitled, "Assessing Social and Cultural Influences
and Consequences of Resource-Based Rural Tourism Development." Emilian presented a paper entitled, "From Resource Dependence to
Tourism: A Study of Discourses of Place in Two Vermont Towns," a paper that shared results of his master's thesis research.
The Rubenstein School News
3
PRESENTATIONS (cont’d)
Rubenstein School faculty and students gave the following presentations at the annual conference of the International Association of Great Lakes Research, held in Ann Arbor, MI in late May 2005:
Marsden, J. E. and Ashley Porter. A substrate which inhibits zebra mussel attachment.
Smith, S. J., and J. E. Marsden. Sea lamprey egg survival in and out of nests.
Howe, E. A., J. E. Marsden, T. Donovan, and R. H. Lamberson. Development of a matrix based population viability model to
manage a population for extinction.
AWARDS
Masters student Hilary Harp received a 2005 Switzer Fellowship from the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation. You can
find out more information at: www.switzernetwork.org.
Associate Professor Patricia Stokowski received funding from UVM's International Travel Incentive Grant Program for a
research project entitled "Transitions from Resource Dependency to Tourism in Rural Communities of the Former East Germany." She traveled there in June 2005 to conduct interviews and collect data in the communities of Oberwiesenthal, Seiffen,
and Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany.
The Spatial Analysis Lab was recognized with a Special Achievement in GIS award at the ESRI International User Conference.
Extension Associate Professor Thom McEvoy learned over the summer that his new book Positive Impact Forestry -- A Sustainable Approach to Managing Woodlands (2004 Island Press) was selected by the American Library Association for its
'Choice Award' as an "Outstanding Academic Title in Biology/Botany for 2004." This is the book's second national award
since publication in May 2004.
Professor Bob Manning was appointed to a panel to review the program of the Grand
Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. The Center is administered by the US Geological Survey and was created to study and monitor the impacts of the Glen Canyon
Dam. The Glen Canyon Dam was constructed in the 1960s just upstream of Grand
Canyon National Park and controls the flow of the Colorado River and associated sediment through the park. In recent years, the US Bureau of Reclamation which operates
the dam has conducted a series of experimental “floods” through the park in an effort
to help restore natural conditions. Bob and four other members of the panel floated the
Colorado River in June to examine site conditions and hear reports from scientists and
managers about the GCMRC program of research and monitoring, especially as it relates to recreational use of the river. The panel prepared a report that is now under
review by the agency.
MEDIA
Assistant Professor Saleem Ali’s research was highlighted by UVM in an article
entitled “Madrassah Research Attracts Attention.” Released 9-19-2005. This article
can be found at: http://www.uvm.edu/news/?Page=News&storyID=6666
Photo: Bob Manning helps prepare
report on GCMRC research and
monitoring program
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The Rubenstein School News
Park Studies Lab Summer Research
Once again, The Rubenstein School’s Park Studies Lab
had an active summer conducting research in the National Park
System and related areas. Graduate students Logan Park, Bill
Valliere, Jeff Hallo, and Rebecca McCown spent most of the
months of July and August at Acadia National Park collecting
data on visitor-based standards of quality for resource and experiential conditions at selected locations in the park. They were
assisted by undergraduate students Dan Wells and Chris
Franske. One component of the study at Acadia focused on alternative research methods to collect data on visitor-based standards of quality on the summit of Cadillac Mountain, and this
component was conducted in collaboration with Steve Lawson
of Virginia Tech University, a former doctoral student in the Park
Studies Lab. Jeff Hallo and undergraduate student Dave Santucci worked on a study of off-road vehicle use at Cape Cod National Seashore. Jeff Hallo also worked on a study of visitor-
Students and Faculty Participate in American Fisheries
Society Meeting
based standards of quality at Muir Woods National Monument
(California). One component of this study addressed visitorcaused noise in the park, and this work is being conducted in
collaboration with Peter Newman of Colorado State University,
a former doctoral student in the Park Studies Lab. Rebecca
McCown spent a couple of weeks in the City of Pittsburgh park
system conducting a survey about racial/ethnic diversity in parks
and outdoor recreation. Bob Manning initiated a study of visitor
carrying capacity at Denali National Park (Alaska). Daniel
Laven continued his evaluation research at Blackstone River
Corridor National Heritage Area and has extended this program
of work to Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Area. Finally, Bob Manning, Bill Valliere, Rebecca McCown and Logan
Park spent a couple of days at Lake Umbagog National Wildlife
Refuge (New Hampshire) meeting with staff and touring the area
in preparation for a new study to begin this fall.
and was co-author on another presentation:
Mather, M.E., J. Dettmers, and D.L. Parrish. Navigating the
changing landscape of fisheries publications: setting a course,
avoiding the rocks, and faciliating the rescue.
Graduate students Eric Howe, Stephen Smith, and David
Hitchcock, along with Research Associate Professor Donna
Donna was installed as President of the Education Section for the
Parrish (Leader, Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit), attended the 135th Annual Meeting of the American next two years. She was also elected to the AFS Management
Fisheries Society in Anchorage, AK from September 11-15. The Committee of the Society’s Governing Board.
three graduate students presented posters:
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our students represented
Hitchcock, D.J., and D.L. Parrish. Potential strategies for remov- us beyond their research presentations. Dave and Eric both did
very well in the spawning run and Steve won the prize for “most
ing adult sea lamprey prior to spawning.
caps from vendors.” If you need an extra cap, see Steve!
Howe, E. A., J. E. Marsden, and Wayne Bouffard. Movement of
sea lamprey in the Lake Champlain basin.
Smith, S. J., and J. E. Marsden. Sea lamprey egg survival in and
out of nests.
In addition, Associate Professor Ellen Marsden, who did not
attend, was co-author on a poster:
Hand, C. H., Ludsin, S.A, Marsden, J.E., Fryer, B.J. Microelemental analysis of statoliths as a tool for tracking stream origins of sea lamprey.
and, a presentation in the symposium titled “Invasive Species in
Large River Systems.”
Marsden, J. E., M. Hauser, and M. Malchoff. Feasibility of a
Champlain Canal aquatic invasive species barrier.
Professor Donna Parrish was a co-organizer of a symposium
titled “Written communications: Writing and Reviewing Papers
for Fisheries Journals.” Donna presented the introductory talk
Photo: Graduate student David Hitchcock presents his research
at the conference.
The Rubenstein School News
5
Rubenstein School Faculty and Graduate Students Attend Laven, D. Evaluating National Heritage Areas: Theoretical Foundations, Program Analyses, and Policy Implications.
Conference in Sweden
Several Rubenstein School faculty and staff participated in the
11th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management in June. The symposium was held in Ostersund, Sweden.
Professor Bob Manning and Associate Professor Pat Stokowski
attended the meeting along with graduate students Daniel Laven,
Jeff Hallo, and Emilian Geczi. A highlight of the symposium
was the address and participation of Carl XVI Gustaf, King of
Sweden. The King chose to attend a paper presentation by
Daniel Laven and listened intently as Daniel described his program of research on US National Heritage Areas (see accompanying photograph). Daniel and Jeff were awarded symposium
scholarships to attend the meeting. The following papers were
presented:
Geczi, E. and P. Stokowski. From Resource Dependence to Tourism: A Study of Discourses of Place in Two Vermont Towns.
This paper shared results of his master's thesis research.
Stokowski, P. Assessing Social and Cultural Influences and Consequences in Resource-Based Rural Tourism Development.
Manning, R. “Standardized Standards”: Developing and Applying the “Levels of Service” Concept to Carrying Capacity Planning and Management in the US National Parks.
Hallo, J. and R. Manning. Understanding the Visitor Experience
on Scenic Roadways at Acadia National Park, Maine.
Summer Accomplishments of the joint Rubenstein
School / USDA Forest Service Working Group of Anthropogenic Influences on Forest Health:
Working group members:
UVM Rubenstein School – Don DeHayes, Gary Hawley, Cathy
Borer, Brett Huggett, Tammy Coe, Michelle Turner, Josh Halman
USDA Forest Service – Paul Schaberg, Brynne Lazarus, Paula
Murakami
Our working group had two manuscripts published in scientific journals this summer:
Hawley, G.J., Schaberg P.G., DeHayes, D.H., Brissette, J. 2005.
Silviculture alters the genetic structure of an eastern hemlock
forest in Maine, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research
35:143-150.
Photo: Daniel Laven presents paper to King of Sweden (front
row, second from right)
deposition impacts on forest health and nutrition: evidence from
northeastern U.S. forest ecosystems. Invited talk by Paul Schaberg at the special symposium “Ecosystem response and recovery:
Assessing the 1991 Canada-US Air Quality Agreement”, part of
the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Montreal,
Canada, August 8-12, 2005. p.567.
Members of our group also made several contributed presentations at meetings this summer:
Schaberg, P.G., DeHayes, D.H., Hawley, G.J. 2005. The mechanism of acid deposition-induced winter injury and decline of red
spruce: a model for damage in other species? In Proceedings of
Acid Rain 2005 – the 7th International Conference on Acid Deposition, Prague, Czech Republic. June 12-17, 2005. p. 316.
Schaberg, P.G., Hawley, G.J., Lazarus, B.E., DeHayes, D.H.
2005. Severe red spruce winter injury in 2003: evidence for the
involvement of acid deposition-induced Ca depletion. In Proceedings of Acid Rain 2005 – the 7th International Conference on
Nijensohn, S.E., Schaberg, P.G., Hawley, G.J., DeHayes, D.H.
2005. Genetic subpopulation structuring and its implications in a Acid Deposition, Prague, Czech Republic. June 12-17, 2005. p.
mature eastern white pine stand. Canadian Journal of Forest Re- 317.
search 35:1041-1052.
Borer, C.H., Schaberg, P.G., DeHayes, D.H. 2005. Redefining
In addition, members of our group made two invited presen- foliar calcium deficiency and vulnerability. In Proceedings of
the Ecological Society of America’s 90th Annual Meeting, Monttations at scientific meetings:
Hawley, G.J., Schaberg, P.G. and DeHayes, D.H. 2005. Genetic real, Canada, August 8-12, 2005. p.63.
Effects of Diameter Limit Cutting. Invited talk by Gary Hawley
at the conference "Diameter-limit Cutting in Northeastern Forest". University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA. May 23-24,
2005.
Huggett, B.A., Schaberg, P.G., Hawley, G.J. 2005. Assessing the
influence of long-term calcium and aluminum soil fertilization on
wound closure in sugar maple (Acer saccharum). In Proceedings
of the Ecological Society of America’s 90th Annual Meeting,
Schaberg, P.G., DeHayes, D.H., Hawley, G.J. 2005. Atmospheric Montreal, Canada, August 8-12, 2005. p.290.
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The Rubenstein School News
Focus on Graduate Research:
Rebecca Pfeiffer, WFB ‘06
The Changing Landscape of Vermont’s
Champlain Valley:
What Does It Mean For Grassland Breeding
Birds?
By Rebecca Pfeiffer
You may ask just how dairy farms, birds and Vermont might relate to each other, and the answer may not seem
obvious. Right now, however, there is an alarming trend in
not only the state’s population of grassland breeding birds, but
the entire North American population. For at least the past 40
years, the population of these birds has been declining all over
the US, some say more so than any other group of birds in
North America. This is mainly due to the fact that breeding
habitat for these birds have been among one of the most rapid
and severely declining ecosystems in North America. Because of this significant decline in their breeding habitat, conservation strategies are needed to protect the areas in which
these birds migrate to in the spring to build nests and raise
their young.
One important breeding area in the Northeastern US
is the Champlain Valley of Vermont because of the dairy and
other type of farms that are found in this region. Grassland
breeding birds rely on open fields in order to nest and there
are many hay fields throughout this area that provide suitable
nesting habitat. Over the past fifty years, though, agricultural
practices such as hay field cutting dates and the number of
acres that are actively being farmed have been changing in a
significant way, causing a large loss of agricultural lands that
these birds are using for breeding. Acres of farmland that are
being lost has been due to either farm abandonment, where
fallow farm fields quickly start growing back into forest, or
from urban expansion and the development of former farm
fields. With such a drastic decline of available breeding habitat, knowing how and why these fields are being lost can be a
helpful tool when developing conservation strategies for
grassland birds. My thesis work is focused on trying to figure
out both environmental variables and human-influenced practices that may be contributing to the loss of farm land within
the Champlain Valley.
The first step in studying the causes of land
use change is to find out where it is occurring. In order to do
this, a land cover/land use map is being made of the Champlain Valley, using satellite imagery and existing land use
maps of the area to find out what types of vegetation were
present, (forest, shrubs or wetlands) or how the land was being used by people (such as agriculture or urban uses) in
1984, 1992 and 2002. Once we figure out where land and
what type of changes have taken place over these time periods, we can apply a model that analyzes how much influence
different variables, such as soil type, distance to Burlington or
distance to a major road, have on changing land use. We plan
to apply the model to the entire Vermont Champlain Valley to
see if the variables that have more influence on driving land
use change vary in different areas.
Although the results will not be a direct
conservation strategy, they can help to figure out agricultural
fields that are at a high risk of being converted, and what the
fields might become. This is important because a field turning back into forest can be mowed and managed in order to
remain suitable breeding habitat for grassland birds, whereas
fields that are at risk of become housing developments require
a much different conservation strategy, such as conservation
easements. Once we have a better idea of the type of changes
that are happening throughout Vermont’s Champlain Valley,
though, land managers will hopefully be able to devise a successful conservation strategy and compromise for grassland
breeding bird, dairy farmers and Vermonters.
The Rubenstein School
of Environment and Natural Resources
Announces
The Twenty Second Annual
Graduate Research Symposium
Presentations by Graduate Students
Please Join Us on Friday, October 14th from 1:30-5:00PM
104 & 116 Aiken Center – UVM Campus
Social reception following at Billings Apse
The Rubenstein School News
Focus on Internship:
Kristen Rigney, NR ‘06
Photo: Aerial view of IPEC and surrounding landscape
This past summer I spent five weeks learning and
practicing permaculture at the Institute for Permaculture
and Ecovillage of the Cerrado (IPEC), in Pierenopolis,
Goias, Brazil. For those who may not know what permaculture is, it is the use of ecology as a basis for designing
sustainable human environments which allow people to
provide for themselves and live sustainably. Permaculture
also incorporates a lot of what I have studied for the past
three years at UVM, such as ecosystem management, sustainable community development and ecological design.
I was one of 23 students from all over the United
States and Puerto Rico staying at IPEC. For three weeks
we studied the principles of permaculture and different design techniques. We were even lucky enough to have Bill
Mollison, the father of permaculture, stay with us and give
several lectures. At the end of the three weeks I earned a
certificate as a Permaculture Apprentice and after two years
of practicing permaculture I can become a certified Permaculturist. During the course we designed and built a garden center for IPEC to sell seedlings and plants that they
have propagated as well as an area for artisans from the
community to sell their work. It was very rewarding to see
the project go through all its stages; from being only drawings to actually building our ideas and seeing the finished
project. Our design involved building compost, an herb
spiral, as well as water tanks and above ground ponds out of
ferrocement. We also worked on a much larger task of designing a permaculture landscape plan for one of the community members. Although our client only spoke Portuguese and we needed the help of a translator, it was a valuable experience to go through the client interview process
and create a design he was happy with that fit his needs.
7
Once the three week permaculture course was completed, I chose to stay longer and participate in a natural
building program. During this time I was one of only a
handful who spoke English. Although I had picked up
a little Portuguese during my stay, I was worried that
the difference in language may present difficulties
while we were working. To my surprise, I was able to
learn and understand a lot simply through the hands-on
process of building. The design we were implementing
was one for a natural building museum showing various techniques including straw bale, super adobe,
adobe, stone, bamboo, rammed earth, rammed straw
and cob (my personal favorite!). For ten days we
worked from 8am until 5pm gathering materials from
the surrounding land and building the structures.
Studying permaculture in the cerrado was a very
inspiring experience. The cerrado is Brazil’s tropical
savanna, the second largest ecosystem next to the rain
forest. There are two distinct seasons in the cerrado: six
months of rain and six months of drought. At times, these
conditions can create challenges for designers but that is
what permaculture is about. Rather than seeing difficult
conditions, like arid climates or living in cities, as a challenge, they are viewed as an opportunity for using design to
improve the way we live.
Photo: Kristen mixing cob in preparation for a
building project
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The Rubenstein School News
Congratulations to the following Dean’s List Recipients for Spring 2005
Erin Affronti
David Alexander
Dafna Alsheh
Christopher Anderberg
Sara Armstrong
Richard Balouskus
Matthew Beam
Amy Boynton
Matthew Bresler
Heather Caulfield
John Cetner
Rachel Charow
Eammon Coughlin
Nicole Desnoyers
Natalia Fajardo
Abby Farnham
Brianna Farver
Shelby Fraga
Kristin Geldert
Katherine Gibbons
Caleb Grant
Samuel Graulty
Adam Hammerschmidt
Charles Hancock
Rachel Hanish
Whitney Haskell
Sarah Heimbach
Maria Hoffman
Katelyn Homeyer
John Ibsen
Christopher Jager
Grant Janukajtis
Kate Johannesen
Nathan Johnson
Sarah Johnston
Matthew Jokajtys
Coco Joly
Ethan Joseph
April Kane
Allyson Keefe
Owen Kiley
Karen Klinger
Nathaniel Koeppel
Anna Kovaliv
Deborah Krug
Jared Levesque
Rebecca Lewis
Emily Lord
Andrew Mahon
Roger Masse
Michael Matson
Jessica McKay
Peter Merritt
Stephen Midway
Daniel Mills
Adam Morrison
Anne Morrison
Nathaniel Morse
Amy Niemczura
Meghan O'Connor
Jaclyn O'Riley
Jennifer Plourde
Kesha Ram
Alison Ray
Evan Reiss
Natasha Sadoff
Bryanne Salmonsen
Emily Schelley
Matthew Scott
Thomas Scott
Kristen Simard
Emily Swint
Catherine Townsend
Emilie Travis
Alicia Turner
Jeremy Walker
Emily Wellington
Carter Westlund
Sarah Wilkins
Ryan Yost
Teruaki Yuta
Min Zheng
Vermont Field Studies Course 2005
Fully equipped with two amazing
professors (Jon Erickson and Roelof Boumans) and an itinerary full of knowledgeable
speakers, 23 entering Masters and Ph.D. students from The Rubenstein school embarked
on a great adventure. Through their explorations of farms, forests, lakes, and urban environments, the students received a great introduction to the environmental issues of Vermont. At the end of the week-long course,
the students produced a web page about their
experiences. Be sure to check it out at:
http://www.uvm.edu/~bcmiles/vtfs2005/
Photo: Vermont Field Studies students receive an introduction
to the Monkton Property by David Brynn, Director of The
Green Forestry Education Initiative.
The Rubenstein School News
9
GREEN FLASH:
Do you want to study in a building that reflects your environmental values? Do you want to learn from a building that
demonstrates the latest in green technology? Do you want the Aiken Center to foster that community spirit that attracted
you to the Rubenstein School? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the Greening of Aiken Committee
wants you!
To date, The Rubenstein School has received $2.1 million in private donations and federal
grants toward the greening initiative. Most recently, we received a $97,000 grant from the
Kresge Foundation. In addition to the private funds and grants, the University has promised $5
million toward the building renovation. We are making significant strides to make the dream of
a green Aiken Center a reality, but there is still a great deal of work to be done.
Currently the Greening of Aiken committee is focusing on a few different areas. One project is
to continue with the cost analysis of the building renovation and addition to develop a better estimate of both construction and soft costs. Another important piece is research – what can we learn from other green buildings throughout the
U.S.? From visiting these buildings, to interviewing key people involved in their planning and the construction process,
the committee hopes to learn from others’ successes and failures.
One of the goals of the Greening of Aiken is to make the entire process a learning experience for students. To support
this, the committee is brainstorming new classes to be incorporated into the School’s curriculum. Last semester, courses
on ecological design and modeling produced valuable information on both reused/recycled and new materials for the
project and on energy and water use. The committee hopes to keep the student involvement moving forward with potential classes that examine the LEED certification process, the latest green technologies, and green buildings in general.
Dean Don DeHayes likes to think of the future Aiken Center as more than just a building. He envisions a teaching tool
to help students learn about the environment and green technology. The renovated building will serve as a beacon to
attract new students to study at The Rubenstein School and serve as a new model for teaching, learning and demonstrating sustainable practices. It’s a critical time for the Greening Committee. As fundraising efforts continue, the Committee must move forward with the implementation phase. We need your help! Support from both undergraduate and graduate students is one of the most important aspects of this initiative.
If you are interested in becoming part of the Greening Committee, please attend the next meeting (even
if you can only come for some of it!) on Wednesday, October 26th, 12:30-2:30 in Room 105 Aiken or
contact [email protected] to join the e-mail list for future updates.
RSENR Educators Travel to Willow School
Willow School is growing rapidly. Last fall,
we worked with 35 students. This year, with the addition of a new 5th grade class, there are 63 students.
On Friday, September 23, a group of 10
RSENR faculty, staff and students worked with the K- We anticipate another trip to the school in the spring to
begin more intensive for5 classes at the Willow School in Gladstone, New Jerest ecology and water
sey. Kate Crawford, Tori Jones, Sarah Wilkins and
quality projects with the
Alan McIntosh helped students collect and identify
Willow students and facaquatic invertebrates from a stream and a pond on
ulty.
school property, while Rebecca Pfeiffer, Scot Foxx,
Thanks to all the
and Darrel Penders talked with students about how
RSENR folks who
landscapes change and how terrestrial organisms adapt
helped make this trip a
to those changes.
success!
They led the younger students in a scavenger
hunt in which students used their senses to locate the
desired items. Gary Hawley and Carl Waite spent the
Photo: Graduate student
day setting up plots in the school's woodlands for fuKate Crawford helps a
ture student projects on forest ecology, while Tom
student to identify
Hudspeth shared his thoughts on environmental educaaquatic invertebrates.
tion with Willow School faculty.
10 The Rubenstein School News
Help Wanted
The following is a sampling of positions listed at The Rubenstein School. Job postings are updated daily on the Job Board outside the
Dean’s office in the Aiken Center and weekly on the web at http://www.uvm.edu/envnr/?Page=employment/help_wanted.html. For further information contact: Marie Vea-Fagnant, Career Services Coordinator, 656-3003, email: [email protected]
INTERNSHIPS
BACHELOR’S DEGREE REQUIRED
Environmental Education Intern
Dec 1 - May 31, 2006 (somewhat flexible) needed at
the J.N. “Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge
located on beautiful Sanibel Island, FL.
Duties include: Designing and conducting environmental education lesson plans, coordinate and execute monthly special events, creating and performing weekly interpretive programs for the public,
design teacher curriculum packets along with
teacher workshops.
Please send a resume with relevant course work and
field experience by November 15, 2005 to the J.N.
“Ding” Darling NWR, c/o Toni Westland (239-4721100 ext 236), 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel, FL, 33957
or email to [email protected].
Field Biologist Position
Everglades National Park
Position for a field biologist to assist with the collection of tree demographic data in Everglades National Park. The minimum requirement is a BS/BA
in a biological or environmental field. The position
is full time, is available beginning in October or
November and will continue through May or June.
Salary will be approximately $12.50 per hour, depending on experience, and will also include a modest stipend for housing. This is a temporary position
and as such does not include medical insurance, paid
leave or sick time.
To apply for the position, please send (via email
preferred) a letter of interest, a cv or resume, and
contact information for three references to:
[email protected]. Applications will be
reviewed until the position is filled.
Wildlife Technician Field Assistants
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, BISON
ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Agency: National Park Service
Duty Description: 2 assistant positions available
with the Yellowstone Bison Ecology and Management Program. Duties include working in the backcountry of Yellowstone under severe winter conditions to collect demographic and vital-rate data on
bison. Position will start January 10th and will extend through mid-April with a possible extension
into May. Salary: $15/day + housing Qualifications: Preferred experience Nordic skiing (though
on-the-job training is feasible) and a strong desire to
work in winter weather conditions.
To Apply:
Send resume, cover letter, and a list of 2 references
to: [email protected] (preferred) or Janice
Stroud, Bison Ecology and Management Program,
Yellowstone National Park, POB 168, Mammoth,
WY 82190
Policy Coordinator
The Missouri Department of Conservation has a
position available for a Policy Coordinator in Jefferson City, Missouri.
SALARY RANGE: Annually $40,908 - $74,376.
Beginning salary will be $40,908 - $46,896 depending upon qualifications.
CLOSING DATE: October 10, 2005
For an application and complete job description,
contact the Missouri Department of Conservation,
Human Resources Division, 2901 West Truman
Blvd., Jefferson City, Missouri 65102 (573/751
4115) or visit our
web-site at www.mdc.mo.gov/about/jobs.
Submit a letter (email is satisfactory) describing
your qualifications, a resume, copies of your graduate and undergraduate college transcripts, and the
names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of
three professional references to:
Janelle Schnadt
Department of Forest Resources
University of Minnesota
115 Green Hall
1530 Cleveland Avenue North
St. Paul, MN 55108
ph: 612/624-2799 or 612/624-3098, fax: 612/6255212, email [email protected]
Research Assistantships
Grassland/Prairie Restoration to begin January 2006
Research Focus: A field experiment will be used to
test whether intrinsic differences within dominant
species, for which there is evidence for intraspecific
variation in individual traits and competitive abilities, acts as an ecological filter on community assembly and scales to affect ecosystem function.
Please contact Sara Baer ([email protected], 618-4533218) or David Gibson ([email protected]) in
the Department of Plant Biology at Southern Illinois
University, Carbondale.
PHD REQUIRED
Ecology and Economic Post-Doctoral Researchers
Two post-doctoral research positions are available
for scholars with skills in ecology and/or economics
to work on quantification and valuation of ecosystem services in relation to agriculture and renewable
energy. Positions are annually renewable for up to
three years and may begin immediately.
Graduate Assistantship for MSc ,
Applications including a CV, list of three references,
$20,000/year, NSF funded project, starts Spring
writing sample, and statement of research interests,
2006
A graduate research assistantship (Master's level) is should be sent to Nancy Larson, Department of
Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of
available for the Spring semester of 2006. The proForestry Internship Opportunity – Spring 2006
The National Association of State Foresters is seek- ject is a large-scale ecological experiment funded by Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN
55108. The University of Minnesota is an equal
the National Science Foundation (NSF) and ining a qualified candidate for an internship opportuopportunity employer.
volves manipulating forest stands at the Bankhead
nity in Washington, DC.
National Forest (southern Cumberland Plateau,
Duties : Attend and report on Congressional hearnorthern Alabama) through thinning and prescribed Assistant Professorship in Aquatic Biology
ings on forestry and natural resources issues, interThe Biology Department of Hobart & William
burning. There are 5 distinct subprojects of the
act with a wide variety of forest policy makers.
Smith Colleges invites applications for a tenureWork with Legislative Assistant to assist in legisla- study, but this assistantship concerns only the subproject examining the vegetation community. Some track position for the 2006-07 academic year. Cantive tracking. Attend other meetings with agency
additional details about the subproject can be found didates must have a Ph.D. degree by the starting
and interest group representatives as necessary.
date. Individuals with broad experience in freshwaat:
Starting/Ending Dates : On or around January 17
http://saes.aamu.edu/forestry/Projects/subproject_1. ter biology and ecosystems ecology are encouraged
until May 13, 2006. Dates are negotiable for a 17
to apply.
week period. The successful Candidate will be noti- htm
For further information on the Colleges' Biology
fied of a decision by November 2, 2005.
Department, see our Web site at
How to Apply : Send resume, letter describing your
www.hws.edu/aca/depts/bio/index.html.
interests, professional goals, and three references to:
MASTER’S DEGREE REQUIRED
Internship Coordinator National Association of State
Applicants should send curriculum vitae, a stateForesters 444 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 540
ment of teaching philosophy, a statement of research
Forest Management Modeling and Guideline
Washington , DC 20001 Fax to 202/624-5407
interests, official transcripts for all degrees received,
Development
Email: [email protected] Faxed, E-mailed, The University of Minnesota seeks a researcher and and three letters of reference to: Dr. David Droney
or hand delivered resumes will be accepted. No
project manager to participate in and lead a multiBiology Department Hobart & William Smith Coltelephone inquiries. Applications must be received
agency effort to develop web based forest manageleges Geneva, NY 14456 EOE To ensure full conby close of business on October 14, 2005. Addiment guidelines for a wide range of users and man- sideration, applications should be received by Octotional information about the National Association of agement objectives. The position will be located in
ber 7, 2005.
State Foresters may be found at
the Department of Forest Resources on the Univerwww.stateforesters.org
sity's St. Paul Campus.