Manomet Scientist Featured Speaker at NYC Conference

Katherine Parsons, director of Manomet Center for Conservation Science's Wildlife & Agriculture program, recently presented at the Hudson River Environmental Society (HRES) conference held in the Kaufmann Theater of the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. The theme of the conference was "Birds of the Hudson River Estuary: Status, Emerging Issues, and Conservation." The conference brought together researchers and other participants who explored which species use habitats, how each population has changed over time, the threats to their continued existence, and ongoing protection efforts.

Speaking on "Urban Wading Bird Colonies and Contamination: Colonies and Contamination in New York Harbor," Dr. Parsons shared her compelling research documenting contaminant impacts on several species of waterbirds in New York Harbor.

To read more about the conference, click on this article published in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

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A Special Thanks to Earth Day 2004 Online Partners

Manomet appreciates our friends in the business community who participated in this year’s Earth Day awareness campaign by posting the Earth Day EQ Quiz on their web sites. Our partners included:

• Birder’s World magazine
• Droll Yankees
• FieldFare
• The Virtual Birder
• Down the Shore Publishing
• Plymouth Radisson Hotel
• Linear Aveda Lifestyle Salon and Spa
• Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
• Intelligent Nutrients
• The Harraseeket Inn
• Swift Instruments
• Plymouth County Convention & Visitors Bureau

Manomet’s Earth Day quiz also appeared on ENN, the Environmental News Network (www.enn.com), a leading source of environmental news and information. ENN’s publisher, Jerry Kay, thought that the quiz provided an interactive way for participants to learn more about the environment, and that it encouraged conservation. “I took the quiz and enjoyed it tremendously. You often hear the term ‘lifelong learning’ which refers to our ongoing desire to keep learning. And, of course, we often remember things best when we had fun learning them. Your EQ Test helps in both areas. The design was great. It was fast and really enjoyable. I also liked the balance of the questions...none were weighted in topic areas or politics; definitely a plus in my judgment.”

If you haven’t taken the Manomet Earth Day EQ Quiz, we will continue to make it available on this site. Just click on the banner below to test your Environmental Intelligence Quotient.

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On a Mission: Manomet Research Team Gears Up for Arctic Refuge Expedition

It’s April 28, 2004. Manomet’s Director of Shorebird Conservation and Research Stephen Brown and his team are already feeling the adrenaline flow as they prepare to leave for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the most remote regions of the U.S., and certainly most difficult to reach. Plans for an intensive field study have been in the works since the team returned from last year’s field season, and as their end of May departure approaches, there’s an excitement building over this new expedition.

During the next weeks leading up to leaving for the Arctic Refuge, Brown and his team will have completed a mind-boggling number of logistical arrangements and preparations necessary for the Manomet team to carry out studies in the Refuge. Everything from food and water to fuel for the helicopter must be brought in with the team. “We’re feeling the push to get things done,” says Brown who notes that a great deal of effort goes into overall planning, logistics, special training, making connections with project partners, getting supplies and gear, and other details for making a study in the remote North Slope area possible.

At the heart of the project is protecting shorebirds on Alaska’s North Slope. Fourteen shorebird species breed on the coastal plain area that includes the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve, where oil drilling is already underway. Six of these species are in serious decline and may be threatened by development in the Arctic.

When the team sets up camp at their study site in the Refuge at the end of May, they’ll begin several weeks of intensive searching for shorebird nests at plots near camp. At the same time, other crew members will be making short visits by helicopter to remote plots scattered throughout the coastal plain. The data they collect will help develop the first map of shorebird density on the coastal plain. “We are excited by the opportunity to make this important contribution, determining how many shorebirds use the vast coastal plain of the Refuge as their nesting area,” says Brown.

Working in cooperation with research, government, industry, and conservation groups, Manomet’s project is focused on helping develop habitat protection and management protocols on the North Slope.

If you would like more information on this project, please visit www.shorebirdworld.org. If you would like to support this effort, click here.

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Manomet Announces the Winner of the Pablo Canevari Memorial Award for 2004

The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences is pleased to announce that the winner of the Pablo Canevari Memorial Award for 2004 is Xicoténcatl Vega Picos, Director of Conservation in Sinaloa, México, for Pronatura Noroeste Mar de Cortés, and Associate Professor of Ecology and Sustainable Development at ITESM Campus Sinaloa.

Pablo Canevari was the first Director of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), a scientist, a skilled illustrator, a colleague, and a dear friend to those who knew him. In March of 2000, Pablo died suddenly of cancer. The annual Award recognizes and supports with a cash prize a Latin American individual or organization that demonstrates an outstanding commitment to shorebird conservation – as did Pablo Canevari.

Xicoténcatl Vega—“Xico” to his many friends and associates— is recognized for his work in conserving shorebirds in Northwest Mexico. He has been instrumental in promoting both conservation and research interest in shorebirds in Mexico, and has been the moving force behind the nomination and designation of two WHSRN sites in Sinaloa state (Playa Ceuta and Bahía Santa María). He has been key in the delivery of 5 training workshops in Sinaloa and Baja California, including 4 for WHSRN, and one for the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV) of the United States. Working with the PPJV, Xico has participated in a trinational project to identify the wintering grounds of Marbled Godwits, Limosa fedoa. Through sophisticated techniques including stable-isotope analysis, the project seeks to link for the first time the breeding and wintering grounds of these large shorebirds.

These and other aspects of Xico’s tireless work have helped create broad political support for shorebird and wetland conservation. As an example of not only “acting locally” Xico has been “thinking globally” and has built links, all revolving around shorebird and wetland conservation, with academic, governmental and non-government organizations in the U.S., Canada, and even Spain.

The award was presented to Xico (at left in photo) on April 5, 2004 at the Wetlands International “Global Flyways” Conference in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, by the Director of WHSRN’s Coordinating Office, Charles Duncan.

For more information about Xicoténcatl Vega and Pablo Canevari, as well as previous winners of the Canevari Award, visit the WHSRN website, www.manomet.org/WHSRN

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