COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC MAGAZINE Volume 10. Number 1. . Spring 2014 FIELD ECOLOGY Shan Burson '83 took this photo of the Grand Teton while skiing near his home. Shan works as an acoustic ecologist for both the Grand Teton and Yosemite national parks. The Teton Range can be quite silent, especially in winter; at other times cascading rivers, blowing wind, and the bugling of elk mingle with noise from aircraft flying overhead, and motorcycles and other vehicles on park roads. COA The College of the Atlantic Magazine Field Ecology Letter from the President 3 News from Campus 4 Watson Reports 10 Donor Profile Jay Pierrepont 13 FIELD ECOLOGY Introduction John Anderson 15 Soundscape Ecology Shan Burson '83 16 The Right Whale Scott Kraus '77 19 Field Ecology Journeys Designed by Khristian Mendez '15 22 Paleoecology Jacquelyn Gill '05 24 Policy, Politics, and Protection Erica Maltz '08 26 In the Mixtecan Field Greg Rainoff '81 28 Applied Ecology Tanner Harris '06 31 Students in the Field 33 Apples : Hannah Hirsch 16 36 Kalokagathia Jayson Bowles '17 38 Poetry Sarah Haughn '08 42 Alumni and Community Notes 44 In Memoriam 50 Toward a Literary Ecology Karen Waldron 51 Ecology and Experience Rich Bordon 52 This Summer at COA 53 COA This year marks the sesquicentennial of the publication of The The College of the Atlantic Magazine Maine Woods, written by that astute and poetic field observer, Volume 10 Number 1 Spring 2014 Henry David Thoreau. To celebrate, I reread Ktaadn, the story of Thoreau's initial Maine journey. I happened to be in Boston, Editorial so I also stopped by the Harvard Museum of Natural History's Editor Donna Gold Editorial Guidance Heather Albert-Knopp '99 homage to this anniversary, "Thoreau's Maine Woods." It is John Anderson a glorious exhibit, featuring large-format images of Maine's Rich Borden Lynn Boulger mountains, trees, and streams by photographer Scot Miller. But I felt homesick; Dru Colbert displaced- longed for those woods, for the smell of moss after a rain, the Ken Cline Michael Griffith '09 miracle of trillium, the joy of seeing a moose spray droplets of water in the Jennifer Hughes sun as it shakes its head after a long lake drink. The museum images, however Katharine Macko Editorial Consultant Bill Carpenter exquisite, are remote from the direct experience of the place; they hold little of Alumni Consultants Jill Barlow-Kelley Thoreau's trembling encounters with nature as "something savage and lawful, Dianne Clendaniel though beautiful. that Earth of which we have heard, made out of Chaos and Design Old Night." Art Director Rebecca Hope Woods COA Administration The founders of College of the Atlantic-inspired by Thoreau, among others- President Darron Collins '92 created a school in which students are immersed in firsthand experience. At Academic Dean Kenneth Hill Associate Academic Deans Catherine Clinger COA students connect directly to their subjects-to learn for themselves, much Stephen Ressel as Thoreau did, aided by faculty catalysts-whether studying biology, history, Sean Todd Karen Waldron literature, art, or land use planning. Administrative Dean Andrew Griffiths Dean of Admission Heather Albert-Knopp'99 Dean of Institutional Lynn Boulger This kind of learning hones self-reliance and keen observation, qualities crucial Advancement to thriving in our unpredictable world. The work we do-any of us, but especially Dean of Student Life Sarah Luke the work this generation graduates into-asks us to span multiple skills. COA Board of Trustees Take Erica Maltz '08, fisheries program manager for the Burns Paiute tribe in Becky Ann Baker Sarah A. McDaniel '93 Oregon (see page 26). Her duties range from wading rivers in search of trout to Dylan Baker Linda McGillicuddy Timothy R. Bass Jay McNally '84 negotiating with state governments. Beyond COA's course-required fieldwork, Ronald E. Beard Stephen G. Milliken Erica credits her interdisciplinary preparation to the rigors of class presentation, Leslie C. Brewer Philip S.J. Moriarty Alyne Cistone Phyllis Anina Moriarty a governance structure using student facilitators, and the college's close faculty Nikhit D'Sa '06 Hamilton Robinson, Jr. connections. But Erica's interdisciplinarity extends further. Her first appearance Amy Yeager Geier Walter Robinson George B.E. Hambleton Nadia Rosenthal in the magazine came in Spring 2008 with the publication of an excerpt from her Elizabeth D. Hodder Marthann Lauver Samek senior project-a novel set on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra. Philip B. Kunhardt III '77 Henry L.P. Schmelzer Anthony Mazlish William N. Thorndike, Jr. Suzanne Folds McCullagh Cody van Heerden, MPhil '15 Thoreau's close observations of the natural world were unusual in his time; I fear Life Trustees Trustee Emeriti they remain so today. And what a loss that is! An education in the field leads to William G. Foulke, David Hackett Fischer one of life's most essential skills: the ability to be present, to rely on oneself, to Samuel M. Hamill, Jr. Sherry F. Huber John N. Kelly Daniel Pierce mobilize one's senses, one's intelligence, one's entire being to discover the core Susan Storey Lyman Helen Porter of the encounter, as well as the crucial linkages-and so to make a difference in William V.P. Newlin Cathy L. Ramsdell '78 John Reeves John Wilmerding the world. Henry D. Sharpe, Jr. The faculty, students, trustees, staff, and alumni gold of College of the Atlantic envision a world where Donna Gold, COA editor people value creativity, intellectual achievement, and diversity of nature and human cultures. With respect and compa sion, individuals construct meaningful lives for themselves, gain appreciation of the relationships-among all forms of life, and Front cover: Mot-mot. John Anderson, faculty member in biology, took this image safeguard the heritage of future generations while in the dry forests of the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica with fellow biology faculty member Steve Ressel and fourteen students. The journey COA is published biannually for the College of the completed the class Costa Rican Natural History and Conservation, one of COA's Atlantic community. Please send ideas, letters, and intensive field-based courses. The group spent the March break in Costa Rica's submissions (short stories, poetry, and revisits to human ecology essays) to: forests and fields, observing the ecology and biotic diversity of the region, creating detailed field journals, and discussing the implications of this diversity on concepts of COA Magazine, College of the Atlantic conservation biology. 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 dgold@coa.edu Back cover: Island Landscape (detail) by Jennifer Judd-McGee ('92),* 24"x26," original papercutting, 2013. An internationally recognized mixed media artist and illustrator WWW.COA.EDU from Northeast Harbor, Maine, Jennifer Judd-McGee receives inspiration from her coastal surroundings, and the patterns and forms she finds in nature. Her work is on display this summer, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., July 5 to September MIX PRINTED WITH 12 in the Ethel H. Blum Gallery. CERTIFIED Paper from responsible sources WIND FSC www.fsc.org FSC® C021556 POWER *COA indicates non-degree alumni by a parenthesis around their year.