August 2009 Archives
We’ve had a bear rampaging through Gothic. It’s quite worrisome because of how aggressive it is. Luckily no one has been hurt. It’s been climbing through windows, popping out doors, and breaking car windows. We’ve had problems in the past, but not like this. Usually if a bear shows up, we make certain the townsite is buttoned up and the bear goes away. I’m fairly certain this one learned bad habits elsewhere. It knows what refrigerators and cabins are. Indeed, the local police indicate it looks like a bear that had been getting food in the town of Mt. Crested Butte. A book I highly recommend is John McPhee’s “Coming into the Country” about Alaska. He’s a wonderful writer and gives you an insight into the richness of Alaska. One of the items he talks about is the philosophical approach people take to being in grizzly country. Many arm themselves. Others talk about how they are just visitors in grizzly country; they take precautions like bear spray and bullhorns. But since they make a conscious decision to put themselves at risk, they don’t carry a gun. Unfortunately the Lab can’t take such an approach. Gothic is a place where humans live. It’s our responsibility to make that environment as safe as possible, whether it is overhauling electrical systems or protecting people from bears. We’ve brought in the experts, Division of Wildlife, and they’ve responded quickly and professionally. We’ve got a bear trap set next to the dining hall. Hopefully it will be caught soon. I think we’ve got an unusual situation in that there is a generation of bears that grew up scavenging trash in the local municipalities. Hopefully our bear problems will fade as new bears go back to more natural foraging patterns. But it does force me to think about our footprint as humans on the world. At the end of the day, we are all guests in this world. Hopefully we can use our intelligence and resources wisely so that the generations that follow us continue to be welcomed.
The RMBL Board met this weekend and I found it very energizing. Knowledge about how the world works has never been more critical and that has forced the Lab to think hard about the impact we make. The Board has decided to put together a strategic plan to guide us through the next three years. The discussions and strategic plan involve identifying how to more effectively support the amazing research and teaching that is already happening, how best to leverage our existing activities to maximize what the Lab can accomplish, and how to best communicate the value of what we do.
We all have choices about how we spend our time and resources. The Lab has always been important to me on a personal level. I was first introduced to field science in Gothic and many wonderful people, with patience, wisdom, and trust have helped me become a scientist and an administrator. I met my wife here and my children here. As the Lab becomes more aware of its role in the larger world, I find that I now care about the Lab not just because of my personal relationship to it, but because of the impact the RMBL can make on society. I’m very lucky to have my job! I get to combine my personal and professional interests in a beautiful location and be part of an amazing community. Hats off to the RMBL Board for the leadership they are providing.
It’s the week of the Ecological Society of America meetings. They are being hosted in Albuquerque, New Mexico so a lot of RMBL people are driving down. They are huge meetings (something like 3,000 people). It’s a chance for field ecologists to talk about their research as well as related issues. The RMBL is trying something new; we’re hosting a mixer. We know that there are many students and scientists who are not currently working at the RMBL, but are still professionally active and will be at the meetings. I encourage anybody who is in the area to stop by. It’ll be this Wed., Aug. 5 from 6:30- 8 pm in the Apache Room at the Albuquerque Convention Center. I think there will be free pretzels. Thursday morning Mary Price and I are hosting a symposium on the Ecology of Place at the meeting. Speakers will be talking about research that has been conducted in a single place for a sustained period of time. It’s a great theme for the Lab and there will be several lab speakers. I encourage the RMBL alumni to come to either of these events! We’ve been thinking about ways to understand the impact the Lab makes on the profession, and seeing lots of people at the meetings is one way to get a handle on it!