RI Natural History Survey 2009 Annual Meeting
&
Mark D. Gould Memorial Lecture Series kick-off
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
5:00PM  and 7:00PM

RINHS (now in our 15th year!) will host our 2009 Annual Meeting on Tuesday, September 29th.
Please join us for refreshments & pizza at 5:00pm, followed by a 5:30pm annual meeting during which we will look back at events and discoveries of the past year, and preview several exciting projects which are on the horizon. This is a good opportunity to meet the Survey’s staff and Board of Directors.

The Annual Meeting is free and open to the public, and will be held in room 010 of the new Center for Biotechnology & Life Sciences (CBLS) building on the URI – Kingston Campus. For directions, see below.

Reservations are not required, but if you think you’ll attend, a reply to Kira Stillwell for head count would be helpful.

Mark D. Gould Memorial Lecture Series 2009-10 Kickoff
will follow the Annual Meeting, beginning with a coffee and dessert buffet at 7:00 p.m.

Sharks in New England: A Closer Look
Dr. Gregory Skomal, Massachusetts Shark Research Program

Conservation and management of sharks, often misunderstood creatures, is recognized as an important issue in ocean ecosystems worldwide. This presentation will highlight current research being conducted by the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, and will include new information on the biology and ecology of our local shark species.

Dr. Gregory Skomal, is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer and author. As the Principal Investigator of the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, he has been studying and diving with sharks for over 25 years. He has written numerous scientific research papers and has appeared in a number of film & television documentaries, including programs for National Geographic, Discovery Channel and PBS. His most recent book, The Shark Handbook, explores the world of sharks, and will be available for purchase and signing following the talk.

This lecture is free and open to the public and will be held in room 100 (auditorium) of the new Center for Biotechnology & Life Sciences (CBLS) building on the URI – Kingston Campus.
Doors open at 7:00pm for fellowship, coffee & dessert buffet. The lecture will begin at 7:30pm.

The 2009-2010 RINHS Mark D. Gould Memorial Lecture Series is sponsored by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

The meeting and lecture will be in the CBLS building, located on Flagg Road in the Kingston Campus of URI. From the west, take Rt 138 to Plains Road. Follow Plains Road to the first stop sign (in front of the Ryan Center) and turn left. Turn right onto Flagg Road. CBLS is on the right halfway up the hill. From the east, take Rt 138 to Upper College Road (the traffic light in Kingston Village). Follow Upper College Road to the end and turn left onto Flagg Road. CBLS is ahead 200 yards on the left. See the handy dandy map below for more information or call 401-874-5800 for assistance.
View RINHS events at URI, Kingston in a larger map

Audubon Society of Rhode Island
Lecture and Book Signing – September 17th at 7:00pm
Environmental Education Center, Bristol, RI
Basking with Humpbacks

Natural history author Todd McLeish will discuss the rare and threatened marine life found in New England waters, which is the subject of his latest book, Basking With Humpbacks.   He will share entertaining stories of his field trips with biologists who are studying these creatures to better understand their life cycle and the complex threats they face, including basking sharks, leatherback turtles, Atlantic wolfish, bay scallops, horseshoe crabs and harlequin ducks.  Following the lecture, he will be available to sell and sign copies of his books, including his previous title, Golden Wings and Hairy Toes: Encounters With New England’s Most Imperiled Wildlife. Lecture is Free! Registration is required.

Call (401) 245-7500 for more information or to reserve your space!

RINHS will host a lecture on February 5 entitled, “Considerations for Marine Fisheries Habitat and Marine Construction,” by Vin Malkoski, an aquatic biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and a leader in Massachusetts’ environmental review of the proposed Cape Wind off-shore wind farm. Malkoski will describe considerations taken by marine biologists in evaluating the potential effects of marine construction, be it wind turbines, oil platforms, or other fixed facilities. The lecture is Thursday, February 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Swan Auditorium, Swan Hall, Upper College Road, on URI’s Kingston Campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:45 PM for refreshments & fellowship.

Malkoski will describe a marine biologist’s approach to the review of off-shore development and share insights from his experience. Review of construction proposals requires evaluation of resource, habitat, and site characteristics in short and long time frames, of disputed impacts, and of the cumulative impact of present and future projects. Review should be data driven and can benefit from lessons learned in other countries.

Vin Malkoski is a Senior Marine Fisheries Biologist for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). Currently assigned to the Division’s Fisheries Habitat Project, he was the DMF lead for the environmental review of the Cape Wind Project from 2001 through 2007. As a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Habitat Committee and the New England Fisheries Management Council Habitat Plan Development Team, Malkoski works on regional and coast-wide marine habitat issues.

The program is part of RINHS’s 2008 – 2009 Mark D. Gould Memorial Lecture Series. This year the series theme is energy facility development and its biological effects. Series sponsors include U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service RI Refuge Complex and Rhode Island Ocean SAMP. Rhode Island Ocean SAMP is a project to study the possible sites for alternative energy development in Rhode Island’s off-shore waters and organize the inputs and concerns of diverse stakeholders. RI Ocean SAMP encourages a community-wide conversation about the energy initiatives being considered in Rhode Island. For more information visit RI Ocean SAMP.

For more information: 401.874.5800 programadmin@rinhs.org.

Download a printed flyer in PDF: Malkowski flyer

Swan Hall is located on Upper College Road on URI’s Kingston Campus. Coming north on Upper College Road from the light at Rt. 138, Swan Hall is on the right after the first stop sign. For parking, pass Swan Hall and turn right on to Fortin Road and right into the lot behind the URI Foundation building. Alternatively park in the lot behind the Fine Arts Center, on Bills Road, the first right after the URI Club. To get to Kingston, from the west follow Rt 138 to Kingston and turn left at the light onto Upper College Road; from the east and north follow Rt. 1 south to Rt. 138 and turn west then go to the second light and turn right onto Upper College Road.

Bearing Witness to the Past: What Original Town Surveys Tell Us About the Presettlement New England Landscape

by Charles V. Cogbill, Ph.D.
Hubbard Brook Long-Term Ecological Research Project

Thursday, April 24, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Weaver Auditorium · Coastal Institute Building
Greenhouse Road, URI, Kingston Campus (map)

A common practice of colonial land surveyors was to record “witness trees” as part of the description of property bounds. These trees were useful as durable and relatively immovable references for corners or other major points of a property boundary. Since witness tree annotations noted the tree species, there are imbedded within the land records of towns across New England a significant data base for the biogeography of presettlement forests. Cogbill will describe his study of witness tree data from 153 towns, and the conclusions drawn with regard to the species composition and patterns of presettlement forests.

Charles Cogbill works on all aspects of the history, composition, dynamics, and management of the vegetation of north-eastern North America. He is the historical ecologist with the Hubbard Brook Long-Term Ecological Research Project, and is currently conducting field research at the Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research Station.

This event is free & open to the public. Doors open at 6:45 for refreshments & fellowship.

Related Links:

• Google Scholar results for Charles Cogbill
• Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research Station
• Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study

RINHS invites the Rhode Island community to a special program honoring great naturalists of Rhode Island, Friday, March 28, 2008, 7:00 p.m.

Independence Hall Auditorium * Independence Hall
Upper College Road, URI, Kingston Campus

Featured speaker: Roland Clement, biologist, administrator, author, and artist, has been a giant in the ecological movement in New England and beyond for much of the last century. Clement will be describing great naturalists and landmarks of the environmental movement from his own first hand experience.

The lecture will be preceded by presentation of the 2008 Rhode Island Distinguished Naturalist Awards. These awards are given by the RINHS Board of Directors to individuals who excel in their studies of Rhode Island’s ecosystems and in their ability to communicate the knowledge and understanding to others.

The 2008 recipients are:
Rick Enser
Rick Enser led the RI Natural Heritage Program for nearly 30 years, during
which time he traversed the state’s every nook and amassed a huge practical
knowledge of its biota. Enser probably taught more natural history to more
people with fewer words than anybody in the history of RI but his low-key
manner does not preclude his having strong organizational instincts. Rick
was a leader of the RI Wild Plant Society and the RI Natural History Survey
and guided the Natural Heritage Program with strategic vision.

Ken Weber (posthumous award)
The late Ken Weber was a man who, to Rhode Islanders, needed no introduction;
virtually everyone had read his newspaper columns or used his outdoor
guides. In achieving a simple and approachable writing style, Weber showed
himself to be a true craftsman of the language, communicating the lovability
of our natural environs and their inhabitants with seeming effortlessness.
Weber died in August at age 63. Few other people have influenced so many to
learn about, to recreate in, to fight for, and most of all to love Rhode
Island’s natural world.
Read about previous recipients of the Distinguished Naturalist Award.

Golden Eye Award
A new award to be given annually to the person who submits the most significant
observation to RINHS for inclusion in our BORIIS biodiversity database. This year the award goes to Matt Ricker, the URI graduate student who reported the first observation of the invasive aquatic weed water chestnut in Rhode Island.

For more information: 401.874.5800 programadmin@rinhs.org
All lectures are free & open to the public. Doors open at 6:30p.m. Refreshments & fellowship following the program.

Independence Hall is located on Upper College Road on URI’s Kingston Campus. Coming north on Upper College Road from the light at Rt. 138, Independence Hall is on the right after the first stop sign. For parking, pass Independence Hall and turn right on to Fortin Road and right into the lot behind the URI Foundation building. Alternatively park in the lot behind the Fine Arts Center, on Bills Road, the first right after the URI Club. To get to Kingston, from the west follow Rt 138 to Kingston and turn left at the light onto Upper College Road; from the east and north follow Rt. 1 south to Rt. 138 and turn west then go to the second light and turn right onto Upper College Road.

On Friday evening, March 28, 2008, RINHS will host Naturalist Roland Clement for Mark D. Gould Memorial Lecture Series on Rhode Island’s Fauna, Flora, Geology, and Ecosystems.

Clement has been a giant in the ecological movement in New England for much of the last century, and will be describing great naturalists and landmarks of the environmental movement from his own first hand experience.

Very appropriately, this special evening will also feature the presentation of the 2008 Rhode Island Distinguished Naturalist Award as well as the presentation of a new award, the “Golden Eye,” which will be given annually to the person who submits the most significant observation to RINHS for inclusion in our BORIIS biodiversity database.

The program begins at 7:00 P.M. in the new Independence Hall auditorium on Upper College Road, on URI’s Kingston Campus. The event includes a reception for Clement and the Distinguished Naturalist and Golden Eye award winners.

Date: 21 September 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kira Stillwell, 401-874-5800

Geologist, Expert on the History of Glaciers in New England, to speak at Natural History Survey Annual Meeting

Kingston, RI: The Rhode Island Natural History Survey will host a lecture entitled Varves, Palaeomagnetism, and Radiocarbon: Formulating a Detailed History of the Last Ice Age in New England by geologist Jack Ridge, Thursday, September 27th, at 7:30 p.m., at the Coastal Institute building on the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston Campus. This lecture is the first event in the Survey’s 2007-2008 Mark D. Gould Memorial Lecture Series. The lecture will be preceded by the Survey’s 13th annual meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. The annual meeting will include a look back at events and discoveries of the past year and a preview of new projects coming up. Both the lecture and the annual meeting are free and open to the public. The entire program will take place in Weaver Auditorium at the Coastal Institute on URI’s Kingston Campus.

The Rhode Island Natural History Survey, founded in 1994, serves as a non-profit, umbrella organization for ecological information in Rhode Island. It gathers and disseminates information on RI’s biology, geology, and ecosystems, manages the Biota of Rhode Island Information System (BORIIS), the most complete source of information available on the state’s animals, plants, and natural communities, and hosts events to highlight the state’s biodiversity and the work of researchers and naturalists. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in Rhode Island’s plants and animals.

(Pleistocene age varves at Scarboro Cliffs, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The thickest varves are more than half an inch thick. Source: Wikipedia)

Symptom or Cause? A Critical Look at the Threats Invasive Species Pose to Rare Species

Date: Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Kettle Pond Visitors Center, USFWS, Charlestown, RI
Speaker: Dr. Elizabeth Farnsworth, Stewardship Ecologist at the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust

Phragmites australis: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Date: Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Weaver Auditorium, Coastal Institute, URI Kingston Campus
Speaker: Dr. Laura A. Meyerson, Assistant Professor of Habitat Restoration Ecology, Department of Natural Resources Science, URI

Emerging Disease in Amphibians
Date: Thursday, November 30, 2006, 7:30 PM
Location: Weaver Auditorium, Coastal Institute, URI Kingston Campus Speaker: Dr. David K. Skelly, Professor of Ecology, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University