FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson) 

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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Field Scientists Find Common Ground Here

By SHANNON HAUGLAND

Sentinel Staff Writer

From the swamps of Florida to the plains of Oklahoma, the deserts of Colorado and the California coast, representatives from biological field stations across the United States, and many from other countries, were in Sitka last week for their annual conference.

 

Participants in the Organization of Biological Field Stations annual meeting gather for a photo outside the Sitka Sound Science Center Friday.  (Sentinel Photo)

“Our general missions are similar, the problems we face are similar, but the scale of the problems are different,” said Damon Gannon, vice president of the board for the Organization of Biological Field Stations. 

“When we come together we instantly have all these things in common,” said Lisa Busch, director of the Sitka Sound Science Center, which was host for the conference in cooperation with the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. “Getting field station managers together, we realize we share a work culture, where people live their job, they’re passionate about what they do. Through education and research they’re exposing people to the natural world – and in this day and age that’s getting rare because people live away from the natural world.”

The Sitka conference drew about 125 representatives of the 240 member stations worldwide.

Many of the member organizations are in the U.S. and Canada, but those who attended the meeting came from as far away as Costa Rica, Germany and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Gannon said.

The organization’s mission is “to help member stations increase their effectiveness in supporting critical research, education and outreach programs. We pursue this goal in a manner that maximizes diversity, inclusiveness, sustainability and transparency.”

“Scientists working at field stations and marine laboratories strive to understand natural processes at every scale, from the molecular to the global, from milliseconds to eons,” the organization’s website said. 

Biological field stations are “living libraries” and outdoor laboratories for students, researchers and members of the general public who are interested in the environment, the organization says. “They vary greatly in form and purpose, and include both marine laboratories whose focus is offshore, as well as terrestrial reserves dedicated to protecting key ecosystems.”

“Field stations are the nexus between local knowledge and current research,” Busch said. “They take local knowledge and apply it to current scientific ideas.”

Topics at this conference included use of drones in field research, communicating science effectively, preventing sexual harassment at field stations, promoting field stations as an indispensable societal asset, and art and field stations. 

Some biological field stations are urban areas, others are in remote locations. At some, the researchers depend on primitive trail networks, and others have state-of-the-art laboratories.

“Whatever form individual field stations may take, they all share the same commitment to advancing our understanding of the Earth by supporting research, teaching and public education,” the organization says.

“You can think of a field station as being a natural laboratory,” Gannon said. While indoor laboratories are valuable for performing research and experiments in controlled environments, he said, “you can only learn so much by working in a lab. You need to take the work out to the real world.”

Gannon is assistant director of academics for the University of Georgia Marine Institute at Sapelo Island. The “outdoor lab” in this case is the salt marshes of the Georgia coast.

“We specialize in studying salt marsh ecology,” Gannon said. “We have the largest salt marshes in North America.”

The effects of sea level rising on the marshes or the effects of drought on plants in salt marshes were among examples of research that goes on at the station. The institute supports ongoing research by resident and visiting researchers, and also provides access and facilities for college classes to experience field research.

“A lot of field stations focus on science, but don’t exclusively focus on science,” Gannon said. Art, social science, humanities and writing course are also offered there.

Field stations are commonly run by universities, but many others are run by nonprofits. The Sitka Sound Science Center is an example of that, he added.

“There’s a huge variety of administrative models,” he said. “Many belong to universities, some stations are private nonprofit groups and some are with museums.”

The group meets annually, picking from a list of field stations that put in proposals.

“Sitka Sound Science Center really rose to the top,” Gannon said. “Things they could offer here in terms of natural areas and science they have and programs they offer – it was a great place to come. Sitka’s a great place for a meeting like this – everyone’s thrilled to be here. The Sitka Sound Science Center folks are a joy to work with and we’ve had a lot of fun staying at the (Sitka Fine Arts Camp).”

 

Also at the conference, Busch said, SSSC awarded the OBSF Mary Hufty Local Hero Award to David and Margaret Steward.

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....

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