Welcome to the blog of the ARC, dedicated to encourage, facilitate, and disseminate scholarship that advances the quality and vitality of the Adirondack Park and related environs. For more information on our history, projects, annual conference, and the Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies, please visit our web page at www.adkresearch.org.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Research Notes: Landscape Ecology of Eastern Coyotes

The 2007 Ecological Applications article "Landscape Ecology of Eastern Coyotes Based on Large-scale Estimates of Abundance" concerns the main areas of coyote habitation in the Adirondack region. Through fecal sampling and analyzing areas of disturbed forest, researchers worked to create a map of where this fairly new species is concentrating in the Adirondacks. The study revealed, based on abundance models, and contrary to previous assumptions, that forested areas are very suitable habitats for these coyotes. The research collected showed the highest density of coyote population present on the Southwestern edge of the Adirondack Park.

Research Notes: CFES Program

Kristen Ward, a student at Middlebury College, recently published her thesis regarding the non-profit organization College For Every Student (CFES) and its work in Adirondack schools. Entitled "From “one more step” to college for every student: the evolution of a nonprofit organization in two Adirondack schools", the focus of her thesis was to find if CFES was successful in these schools, and to address the potential issues that teachers at these schools face. What Ward found was that many New York schools felt CFES was a school reform organization, despite it being an organization for providing access to college. This indicates a disconnect between the ideals of CFES and the experiences of the teachers, who find their definitions of success very different from that of the organization.