S N R N e w s

Volume XXIV
No.3
December 2002
SNR News
Newsletter of the School of Natural Resources • The University of Vermont • http://snr.uvm.edu/events/news/snr_newsletter.html
SNR Diversity Task Force Sponsors Panel
about “Perspectives on Hate and Violence in
the Environment”
By Maria Dykema Erb
THE S CHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES
(SNR) Diversity Task Force sponsored a
panel discussion titled, “Perspectives on
Hate and Violence in the Environment” on
Tuesday, November 12th. Over 75 people
gathered on the first and second floor of
the Aiken Center Atrium to listen to two
SNR faculty members and two SNR graduate students talk about their perspectives
on hate and violence in the environment;
Professor Carl Newton moderated the
panel.
the University of Vermont—My Stand
Against Hate! To build a bridge with one
another against hate, violence and threatening acts toward and against the environment, students, faculty and staff, and all
peoples, based on race, sexual orientation
and gender. That hate is unacceptable and
must stop! With this pledge, I commit to
standing together to build a stronger community, which will make our lives and our
world a more peaceful and safer place. Our
goal is for 100% participation in SNR so
make sure you sign the pledge!
SNR 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 SNR
Student Resource Area (336
Aiken) in the Dean’s office.
http://snr.uvm.edu
The presenters and topics were as follows:
Stephanie Kaza, Associate Professor,
Environmental Ethics, “War as Violence on
the Land”; Daniel Laven, SNR Master's
Graduate Student, Natural Resource
Planning, “The Reality of War, Hate and
Resource Management in the Middle
East”; Saleem Ali, Assistant Professor,
Environmental Policy and Planning,
“Green Hatred: The Vice and Virtue of
Extremist Environmentalism”; and
Brendan Fisher, SNR Ph.D. Graduate
Student, Natural Resources, “Changing
Face of Violence in Cambodia”. In spite of
the diversity of topics, there was a common theme of how the struggle over limited natural resources often breeds hate and
violence. The presentation was videotaped
so anyone who missed the panel is free to
borrow the tape. Please see Maria in the
SNR Dean's Office to sign it out.
In 1992, Dean DeHayes, then the
Associate Dean, initiated a faculty/staff/
student task force charged to address
recruitment, increase multicultural content
in the curriculum, and promote an atmosphere of commitment and respect. This is
the group that initiates annual updates of
the SNR Diversity Plan and provides leadership for accomplishing the agenda of
planned activities. Some other activities
that the Task Force has planned for this
upcoming year include an international
dinner in the spring semester, a movie from
a multicultural perspective, a review of the
diversity component in all SNR courses,
and supporting the partnerships that SNR
has with Christopher Columbus High
School in the Bronx, NY; the High School
for Environmental Studies in New York
City; and the American Museum of
Natural History, also in New York City.
Editor:
Melissa Levy, NRP ’03 G
210 Aiken Center
[email protected]
Assistant:
Kathryn Wrigley, ‘05 U
In addition to the panel, the entire SNR
community was challenged to sign the
Perspectives on Hate & Violence in the
Environment Pledge card: I pledge as a
member of the School of Natural Resources
Community and the greater community at
Participation in the Task Force is open to
all interested members of the SNR community; a dozen individuals routinely attend
meetings. If you would like to participate
in the Task Force, please e-mail Maria in
the Dean's Office at [email protected].
2
SNR News
SNR in Action
PUBLICATIONS
McEvoy, T.J. 2002. Use Timber to Clean Up Your Portfolio. Farming - The Journal of
Northeastern Agriculture. Vol. 5, No.11 - November Issue, pp 55 - 57(3).
McEvoy, T.J. 2002. Positive Impact Forestry. Forest Products Equipment Journal. Vol. 11,
No. 3 - November Issue, pp 14 - 15(2).
Erickson, Jon D., “The Future of Economics in the Century of the Environment,”
International Journal of Applied Economics and Econometrics 10(4), October-December
2002.
GIS Day
GIS Day was November
20. SNR held an open
house from 9:00 am-4:00
pm in the Spatial Analysis
Lab. This was a good time
for folks to see the results
of recent renovations. For
more info about GIS day
see http://www.gisday.com
or take a look at planned,
local events at:
http://www.vcgi.org/cfdev
2/events/gisday_02.cfm
Hutchinson, G.H. and G.P. Livingston, Soil-Atmosphere Gas Exchange, pp. 1159-1182 In
J.H. Dane and G.C. Topp (eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part IV: Physical Methods,
Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, 2002.
Vanderbilt, Vern C., Guillaume L. Perry, Gerald P. Livingston, Susan L. Ustin, Martha C.
Diaz Barrios, François-Marie Bréon, Marc M. Leroy, Jean-Yves Balois, Leslie A.
Morrissey, Stanley R. Shewchuk, Joel A. Stearn, Sarah E. Zedler, Jonathan L. Syder,
Sophie Bouffies-Cloche, and Maurice Herman, Inundation discriminated using sun glint,
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience & Remote Sensing, 40, 1279-1287, 2002.
PRESENTATIONS
Jon Erickson recently made the following invited presentation: “Participatory Scenario
Analysis in a Spatial Social Accounting Framework: Applications in Watershed Planning,”
Environmental Research Group Seminar Series, University of New Hampshire, Durham,
NH, October 3, 2002.
Clare Ginger traveled to the Philippines in November to participate in a workshop entitled “Designing Policy Relevant Population, Health, and Environment Projects.” The
workshop was co-sponsored by Save the Children and the Population Reference Bureau.
Ginger was part of an eight-member training team and oversaw sessions on organizational
analysis and action planning. The workshop was attended by representatives from various non-government organizations in the Philippines.
Green Flash:
Did you know that the Aiken Mac lab consumes, on average, more
energy than is generated by the entire solar array on the Royall Tyler
Theatre? How many times have you walked past the door and seen
empty seats in front of glowing computer monitors. Be responsible,
take action and shut them off!
SNR News
Focus on Graduate Research: Ben Machin
Using Spatially Explicit Data To Predict
Potential Impacts Of The
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid In Windham
County, Vermont
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a
widespread, late-successional conifer. It is
extremely tolerant of shade and soil moisture, and has developed a strong niche in
the eastern forests, especially in moister
soils and riparian zones. This important
eastern tree species is currently under
attack from a nonnative insect, the
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). The
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae)
is a small aphid-like insect, approximately
the size if a typed period. Native to Asia,
HWA arrived in Virginia in the early
1950's, crossed Long Island Sound into
Connecticut in 1985, and has continued to
spread northward. HWA has not been
found in Vermont, but it is established near
our southern border within a few miles of
Brattleboro, Vermont. Windham County
was chosen as the test area, because it is
the closest Vermont county to the currently
infested area.
The challenge of this study will be to determine what factors have predicated high levels of HWA damage in areas to Vermont's
south, determine their applicability to the
environment in Windham County, and to
predict what areas will suffer heavy HWA
damage should infestation occur. Factors
being examined include soil type, soil moisture, elevation, slope, aspect, proximity to waterways, roadways, and
other potential vectors. Human
vectors are also being examined to
determine what role they might play
in accelerating the natural spread of
HWA into Windham County.
Focus on Internships:
SNR Student Involved with Audubon’s WatchList
Julie Hart, Environmental Science '01, has
the inside scoop on Audubon's recently
released WatchList. Her AmeriCorps
internship with Audubon's bird conservation program placed her in the position of
helping with all aspects of the new list,
from determining which species made the
list to writing species accounts. The
Audubon WatchList identifies American
bird species of conservation concern. The
201 species that make the list are significantly decreasing in number, have restricted ranges, or are facing other threats.
Rankings from BirdLife International's
Threatened Birds of the World and
Partners In Flight were used to determine
which species make the list. Both partnerships use scientific assessments to determine what avian species are threatened or
are of high conservation priority. The goal
of the WatchList project is to focus future
bird conservation efforts on the most atrisk species through education and outreach with the ultimate outcome of halting
declines and increasing population of
WatchList species.
Julie comments, “This has been a huge
project that I have been working on over
the last several months. I have learned so
much about these birds and the many conservation efforts already in place. I hope
other people will take the time to learn
about these species and what they can do
to help them.” In writing accounts for
many of these species, she also has learned
just how amazing birds can be. For example, did you know that Swainson's Hawks
feed mostly on insects when they are not
breeding? Or that the Calliope
Hummingbird is the smallest breeding bird
in North America and the smallest longdistance avian migrant in the world? To
learn more about the WatchList and the
fascinating birds that make up the list,
visit: www.audubon.org/bird/watchlist.
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4
SNR News
Lakefront Museum Visitors Will View
Rubenstein Research First-hand
By Cheryl A Dorschner
The construction going on around the
Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory
at the base of College Street is a metaphor
for what will be going on inside in years to
come.
The Rubenstein is being surrounded.
Surrounded by a world-class, $14.5 million
science museum unlike anything in the
United States.
The new ECHO at the Leahy Center For
Lake Champlain museum will literally and
figuratively have science at its core. For the
first time, an active scientific research team
will be part of and contributing to the
museum's exhibits.
“It’s not common and has not been done
elsewhere, so we hope we can be a model
for how museums and research can work
together,” says Mary Watzin, associate professor of natural resources and Rubenstein
director. “It’s going to be a wow when it’s
finished.”
“While any one piece of what we’ll be
doing is not unique, the linkage of an
active research lab, a museum and a community is new,” agrees Phelan Fretz, the
museum’s director. “The concept of an ecomuseum is, of course, about the ecology of
a particular area.” The whole idea behind
the concept is to “reinforce the relationship
between university-level research and public education,” he adds.
Is there an ECHO?
The new facility intends to reinforce other
relationships, as well. The ECHO in its
name stands for the ecology, culture, history and opportunity of Vermont and the
Lake Champlain Basin. “We felt our mission is so strong we wanted it to be in our
name,” says Fretz.
The goal is to teach these concepts and
demonstrate opportunities to become stew-
ards for the environment and the community by using interactive exhibits.
So far, putting that idea into operation has
gone smoothly. “We’re on track, on time
and on budget,” says Fretz. Last week windows were being glazed. Fretz says the
building will be done in December; 10 staff
members and some 2,200 creatures, ranging from a five-foot sturgeon to 1,000
emerald shiners, will take up residence in
January. In April, Fretz plans to bring in
several “test audiences” to make sure
things run smoothly before the actual
grand opening the week of May 30.
The projection is that about 700,000 people will visit the Center for Lake
Champlain each year. The site includes a
café and is designed to host special events,
dinners and receptions in a setting that at
once interprets the science of Lake
Champlain — and offers sweeping views of
its azure waters.
Through windows, visitors will view university labs where research continues on
lamprey, zebra mussels, algae blooms,
water quality and more. Sixteen scientists
and their assistants work in the building,
including two in partnership with St.
Michael’s College. Visitors will have opportunities for “appropriate” access to some
areas where work is being done, says
Watzin. (Some areas, particularly those that
are unsafe or that may jeopardize experiments, will be closed.)
The new building has eight labs and a
mooring for UVM’s research boat, the
Melosira, “so we can get our samples and
come right back,” says Watzin. Researchers
leverage the facility's proximity to their
subject of study in other ways, as well; for
some experiments lake water is pumped
directly into the lab. This direct access is a
welcome change for the group, which was
peripatetic before the Rubenstein opened
three years ago, moving from the Aiken
Center to Hills to a trailer near the water at
SNR News 5
various points.
In the same way that the Rubenstein
building has extended the range and
ease of scholarly work, Watzin
hopes that the new museum (which
replaces the Lake Champlain Basin
Science Center) will make new
experiences possible for visitors to
the lake, bringing them into the
spirit of the research enterprise.
“What is going to be great here is
interpreting the science,” says
Watzin. “I like to think of [the
research/museum visitor experience]
as being an eco-detective. The idea
is that scientists develop a question
or a problem and collect data,
which are the clues. Put it together
and figure out how it all fits.”
And hope that visitors get a “wow.”
SNR Get Green! Update
MEMBERS OF THE SNR GET GREEN!
Initiative are currently exploring several
opportunities to make SNR a “greener”
environment. Ideas range from simple energy conservation strategies to designs for
retrofitting the Aiken Center with green
technologies. Faculty, staff, and students
have given their input in terms of problems
and/or concerns with the working environment and the “greening board” on the second floor has been re-established. We
encourage everyone to post their ideas. In
the initial planning phase, the committee
members met with staff from UVM’s
Physical Plant and Environmental Safety
Facility to learn more about the physical
structure and air circulation system of
Aiken.
Simon Bird (ENSC '03) organized a student
committee that immediately challenged the
community to make changes. The
“Conserve November Project” is a challenge, through simple energy conservation
methods, to reduce the amount of energy
consumed this November in comparison to
November 2001. Last year the Aiken
Center consumed 48,800 kilowatt hours
during the month of November. We hope
that this year we can consume less through
simple actions, such as turning off lights
and computers when not in use. We're still
awaiting the results, but changes are visually evident by the signs in the Aiken Mac
lab advising users to shut down computers
when not in use. Since the Mac lab is one
of the largest energy consumers in Aiken,
this is sure to make a difference.
The Get Green! Initiative will host a kickoff event at 4pm on December 2nd in the
Aiken lobby. Please join us for presentations about greening possibilities for SNR
and learn about the future goals of the
greening committee. Refreshments will be
served. Stick around to hear the ENSC
101 students present their term projects on
the indoor air quality of Aiken at 5pm in
room 104. We might even find out some
information about that black stuff on the
ceiling tiles!
Help Wanted
The following is a sampling of positions listed at SNR. Job postings are updated daily on the SNR Job Board outside the Dean’s
office in the Aiken Center and weekly on the web at http://snr.uvm.edu/community/help_wanted.html. For further information,
contact: Jan Spencer, Career Services Coordinator, 336 Aiken Center, 656-3003, email: [email protected].
INTERNSHIPS
M.A.P.S. BIRD BANDING
INTERNSHIP - Audubon in
Sharon, CT. Interns operate
seven mist-netting and banding
stations in Connecticut and New
York as part of a long term
research project Monitoring
Avian Productivity and
Survivorship (MAPS). Contact:
Attn: Scott Heth, Audubon
Sharon, 325 Cornwall Bridge
Road, Sharon, CT, 06069,
phone: 860-364-0520, email:
[email protected],
www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/sharon (I041)
GARDEN INTERN Earthlinks, Denver, CO. Will be
gardening with homeless and
low income people throughout
the city of Denver. Contact:
www.oriononline.org/pages/ogn/
viewposition.cfm?action=one&o
gn_position_ID=286 (I049)
HUMAN DIMENSIONS
RESEARCH PROGRAM Illinois Natural History Survey.
Opportunity to work with a
state agency in all aspects of
human dimensions of wildlife
research, including survey questionnaire design and administration, data analysis, and stakeholder involvement processes.
Contact: Dr. Craig Miller,
Human Dimensions Program
leader, Illinois Natural History
Survey, 607 East Peabody Drive,
Champaign, IL 61820, phone:
217-333-7485, email:
[email protected] (I058)
BIOLOGICAL INTERN Sudbury, MA. Duties include
censusing breeding birds, marshbirds, woodcock, & whip-poorwills; locating and collecting
data on vernal pools; participating in northern red-bellied cooter
monitoring; assisting with
seabird censuses and monitoring;
participating in invasive species
mapping, monitoring and control; interacting with the public;
entering and analyzing data; participating in predator control.
Contact: Eastern Massachusetts
National Wildlife Refuge
Complex, 73 Weir Hill Rd.,
Sudbury, MA 01776, phone:
978-443-4661 x24. (I113)
REMEDIATION & CONSULTATION SERVICES - AIM
Group, Richmond, VT. AIM
offers a variety of internships.
Contact: Chris Crothers,
[email protected] or Angie
Vespa, [email protected] or call
802-434-2715, AIM Group, PO
Box 847, Richmond, VT, 05477
(I117)
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
- Center for Economic
Conversion, CA. Help do
research on preparing a
Sustainable Economics
Curriculum. Or look into the
Green redevelopment of military
bases. Deadline - N/A Contact:
Jeanne McGinnis, Center
Coordinator, Center for
Economic Conversion, 222 View
St., Mountain View, CA 94041,
phone: 650-968-8798, fax: 650968-1126, email: [email protected]
(I122)
BACHELOR'S DEGREE
REQUIRED
ASSISTANT RESEARCH SCIENTIST - Florida Marine
Research Institute. Conduct all
aspects of the FisheriesIndependent Monitoring program with emphasis on data
analysis and program design and
development. Contact: Florida
Marine Research Institute,
Personnel Office, 100 8th
Avenue S.E., St. Petersburg, FL
33701-5020,
www.myflorida.com/dms/hrm/jo
bsdirect/app.pdf (B061)
ASSOCIATE PROGRAM
MANAGER - Backyard
Conservation Program, NV.
This is a combined technical,
grant writing, management, and
supervisory position. Will
require the ability to manage a
seasonal crew of Conservation
Assistants, manage budgets,
coordinate efforts with local
partners, create and implement
education and outreach plans,
develop and manage grants, and
provide technical assistance to
district residents. Contact: P.O.
Box 4605, District Manager,
Nevada-Tahoe Conservation
District, Stateline, NV 89449
(B073)
the management of personnel,
finances, and development
efforts, and overseeing implementation of research, conservation, education, and membership
programs. Jeff P. Smith, Science
Director, HawkWatch
International, Inc., 1800 South
West Temple, Suite 226, Salt
Lake City, UT 84115, phone:
801-484-6758 or 800-726HAWK, email: [email protected], www.hawkwatch.org
(M105)
NONGAME
BIOLOGIST/LAND TRUST
EXEC. DIRECTOR. - Idaho
Department of Fish and Game.
Some of your responsibilities will
include: designing and implementing wildlife surveys with
emphasis on nongame species;
provide information on
Threatened and Endangered and
at risk species to the Idaho
Conservation Data Center; and
identify wildlife habitat
needs/opportunities and implement appropriate management
projects. Contact: Idaho
Department of Fish and Game,
P.O. Box 428, Jerome, ID
83338, Attn: Nongame position
(B075)
SUSTAINABILITY PLANNER ECW Environmental Group,
LLC, Southeast U.S. Prepare
sustainability plans, coordinate
community/facility sustainability
workshops, develop ISO 14001
EMS, NEPA analyses, and documentation. Contact: [email protected] with subject:
Sustain SE, fax: 757-727-7904
(M110)
HABITAT CONSERVATION
PLAN COORDINATOR Michigan Department of
Natural Resources. Responsible
for coordinating the development of an ecosystem-based,
state-wide Habitat Conservation
Plan (HCP) for the Karner blue
butterfly. Contact: Emily Argo,
Conservation Biologist, Wildlife
Trust, c/o Mote Marine
Laboratory, 1600 Ken
Thompson Parkway, Sarasota,
FL 34236, email:
[email protected] (B085)
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES Florida International University.
Contact: Linda A. Powell,
Information Manager, Florida
Coastal Everglades LTER
Program, Southeast
Environmental Research Center,
OE 148, Florida International
University, University Park,
Miami, FL 33199, Office: ECS
253, phone: 305-348-6054
(P097)
MASTER'S DEGREE
REQUIRED
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HawkWatch International, Salt
Lake City, UT. Responsible for
Ph.D REQUIRED
STAFF ECOLOGIST - Southern
Appalachian Biodiversity Project,
NC. Contact: www.oriononline.org/pages/ogn/viewposition.c
fm?action=one&ogn_position_I
D=276 (P056)
FACULTY POSITIONS
Ecology Department Head,
Montana State University (P021)
Director of the Gaylord Nelson
Institute for Environmental
Studies, University of WisconsinMadison (P106)