Research Notes: Effects of acid rain on microorganisms in Adirondack Lakes

The June 27th issue of Science Daily reported on research at the Darrin Freshwater Institute of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on the effects of acid rain on microorganisms in Adirondack Lakes. According to the article,

The team found a general link between increased acidity and decreased bacterial diversity, but surprisingly, most of the dominant species of bacteria were not directly impacted by acidification. However, some rarer types of bacterial populations were significantly or strongly correlated to acidity, rising and falling with fluctuations in water pH. The findings could eventually allow scientists to use these bacteria as indicators of lake recovery, according to Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer, director of the Darrin Fresh Water Institute and professor of biology.

The full article can be read at: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080623175401.htm. For more information on the research of the Darrin Freshwater Institute, see their web page at: www.rpi.edu/dept/DFWI/.

Next steps for Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies

[The following editorial was published in the most recent issue of the Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2008]

Big Shoes, Next Steps

Jon D. Erickson

It was with appreciation and humility that I recently agreed to take on the role of executive editor of the Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies. So many people from so many walks of life in the Adirondack region owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Gary Chilson for founding AJES, staying true to its search for common ground, and promoting dialogue around sustainable development through the window of the Adirondack experience. These are big shoes to fill, but ones I humbly accept because so much has been accomplished in the 15 short years since the creation of the Adirondack Research Consortium and its publication AJES, but also because so much more lays ahead.

The first issue of AJES in 1994 was published on the heels of turbulent political times in the Adirondacks. The journal and the research consortium helped to fill a void between entrenched positions along the preservation/development continuum by providing a neutral ground of sorts – shrouded in at least the spirit of academic objectivity – to share ideas and produce a body of research both emerging from and accountable to the region. The hope has been to publish both contemporary debates and peer-reviewed analysis across a broad range of issues and disciplines in a voice approachable by an audience larger than just typical academic circles. I’ve been fortunate to work with many people in the intervening years involved in planning and participating in annual conferences, writing and reviewing AJES articles, and building bridges between information producers and consumers. We’ve connected some dots, but much of the borderlands between discipline and perspective remain unexplored.

The opportunity nearly 15 years later is to continue to promote an arena for ground-truthing and fact-checking, aided by open minds and informed dialogue. AJES seeks to explore the nexus of environmental, social, and economic issues, and as such demands a transdisciplinary and participatory approach to inquiry. The world has problems but the academy has disciplines. More often than not they don’t overlap. The study of the Adirondack region, the larger Northern Forest, and similar biomes across the world requires an approach that transcends disciplinary boundaries and pushes for unified descriptions of human-dominated ecosystems from which management recommendations can emerge. And broad participation must not come only from credentialed expertise, but from all layers of society … citizen, scientist, and manager alike. As communities worldwide search for examples of genuine development – where economic activity doesn’t erode the very environmental foundation that makes life possible and worthwhile – the time is upon us to further open the lines of communication between the study of our means and the vocalization of our ends.

AJES can be that vehicle. We can hold on to the values and virtues of peer-review, while providing a forum for debate, shared understanding, and resolution. We can continue to merge disciplines through the study of place. We can extend the circle of those who speak with authority beyond academics speaking with other academics. And we can aide an ongoing, bottom-up process of visioning management objectives and clarifying decision alternatives.

But AJES can’t reach its full potential in print form, mailed to a fluctuating base of subscribers and publishing commentary and peer-reviewed analysis with a 6 to 12 month lag time. North Country communities are being pulled into the age of the internet (perhaps unwillingly for some), and so can AJES. The world of open-source learning is upon us, enabling faster review and publishing times, extending peer review to a broader group, extending avenues for commentary and feedback through web logged discussion, and creating active readers that can better shape research questions and target research results.

Gary Chilson (and too many colleagues to name) has built a foundation of disciplinary inclusion and broad perspective during the formative years of AJES and the Adirondack Research Consortium. The business of connecting information producers and consumers in real-time should be the next big step for AJES. In another 15 years time, let’s look back on the second generation of AJES with pride in having expanded the common ground still further. As we begin to plan for the next volume of AJES, I’d love to hear your thoughts about a move to an internet platform. I can be reached at jon.erickson@uvm.edu, or the old-fashioned way at 802-656-3328.

15th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks a Success

The Adirondack Research Consortium’s 15th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks was held May 21-22, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Resort and Golf Club, in Lake Placid, NY. Lake Placid’s world class hospitality, combined with engaging conference speakers and presentations, and excellent networking opportunities, all contributed to a successful event. Nearly 150 attendees enjoyed a strong program focused on the “Future Sustainability of the Adirondack Park”. The final program and research paper and poster abstracts have been posted on the webpage.

The ARC is busy working on the program for the 16th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks, May 20-21, 2009. Please, mark your calendars! We welcome your thoughts and ideas in the planning process. Watch our web page as more conference planning information will follow in the months to come.

The Adirondacks featured on PBS

The Adirondack Park was featured this spring in a PBS special that premiered May 14, 2008. The feature included many folks that have been involved with the Adirondack Research Consortium since its inception, including Phil Terrie, Bill McKibben, and former ARC president Michael Wilson. From the program summary on YouTube:

Sprawled across six million acres in upstate New York, the Adirondack Park is by far the largest park in the lower 48 states. Yet it is the only one on the continent in which large human populations live and whose land is divided almost evenly between protected wilderness and privately owned tracts. Through the varied perspectives of many passionate characters, this program explores the remarkable history, seasonal landscape, and current state of the Adirondacks.

For more information visit http://www.pbs.org/theadirondacks/. For a sneak peak, check out the YouTube trailer below.

Research Notes: Black bears and human conflict

Recent research by the Wildlife Conservation Society on the habituation of black bears with human food and garbage could have widespread management applications. A May 10th article in Science Daily highlights research that suggests that, "Bears that steal human food sources are just as likely to form these habits on their own or pick them up from unrelated, 'bad influence' bears." The article also refers to research in the Adirondacks on the decline in human-bear conflicts due to the increased use of bear-proof trash canisters.

To view the full article, see:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105606.htm.

Research Notes: Shifts in Adirondack winter deer yards

Research on winter deer yards in the Adirondacks was published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of Wildlife Management by Jeremy Hurst and William Porter of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Below is the abstract to the article, available at the website of the Wildlife Society.

In the Adirondack region of northern New York, USA, severe weather and deep snow typically force white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to congregate in areas of dense coniferous cover and along watercourses at lower elevations. We examined 16 yards in the Adirondacks and explored the observation that deer have changed their movement behavior to incorporate residential communities within their wintering areas. We compared locations of deer herds in 2003 and 2004 to deer wintering areas mapped during the 1960s and 1970s. Deer were predominantly absent in 9 of 16 historical yards but were present in residential communities within the same drainage. Yarding areas to which deer shifted contained more residential, deciduous, and mixed cover than yards where no shift occurred, indicating that deer in residential areas were using conifer and mixed cover at a finer scale than deer in nonresidential areas. Smaller winter ranges and core areas of marked deer in a residential winter yard further imply greater concentration of resources available in these areas. Marked deer demonstrated flexibility in core winter range fidelity, a behavior that allows for more permanent shifts as habitat and food resources change or as new areas with appropriate resources are encountered. Our study suggests that low-density residential areas in lowland conifer forests may provide an energetic advantage for deer during winter due to the assemblage of quality habitat interspersed with open areas and a variety of potential food sources in environments where movement is typically constrained by deep snow. Managers should consider the potential for changes in use of deer wintering areas prior to land conservation efforts and may need to adapt management strategies to reduce conflicts in communities occupied by deer during winter.

Research Notes: Science-based tourism management

Using science to manage Northern Forest tourism and recreation
Kelly A. Goonan, Carena J. van Riper, Robert Manning, and Christopher Monz, University of Vermont

Outdoor recreation and tourism is a growing and important use of the Northern Forest— 26 million acres stretching from the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York to eastern Maine. Thousands of visitors are attracted to the region’s mountains each year. Ultimately, outdoor recreation must be sustainable to protect natural resources in the area and provide a high quality experience to visitors. Managing tourism and recreation in the Northern Forest in a sustainable manner will require informed decisions based on a strong scientific foundation. This calls for formulating indicators and standards of quality for natural resource conditions and the visitor experience. Indicators of quality are manageable, measurable variables that define the quality of natural resources and visitor experiences, and standards of quality define the minimum acceptable condition of indicator variables. The University of Vermont is conducting research to guide management of the Northern Forest for tourism and recreation. Once indicators and standards of quality are formulated, indicator variables will be monitored and appropriate management action can be taken to ensure that standards are maintained. This study will focus on four summits across the Northern Forest region, and data will be collected during the 2008 summer field season. A pilot study was conducted on CascadeMountain in New York during the summer of 2007. Data were collected on the summit area to assess resource and social conditions. These data will provide an initial framework from which additional summits will be examined in upcoming field seasons. This research is funded by a grant through the Northeast States Research Cooperative.

For more information, please visit www.uvm.edu/envnr/parkstudies and www.nsrcforest.org.