Organization of Nature Quests
From pick@pick.uga.edu Wed Feb 10 01:01 EST 1999
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 01:23:08 -0400
To: spruance@infinet.com
From: pick@pick.uga.edu (John Pickering)
Subject: ATBI Nature Quests
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Eric et al.,
Many thanks for your thoughts and support. I'm very positive about the
concept of having intensive nature quest/hunt/blitz's with our professional
societies leading local volunteers. So long as these events generate good
science, they'll be fantastic publicity for biodiversity and the ATBI.
Please pursue organizing one with the lep society.
Besides leps, this letter concerns developing Nature Quests for ants,
flies, fungi, and eventually other taxa.
To make a publicity splash and officially start field work in the ATBI's
pilot year, the dipterists and mycologists, in conjunction with our
educational and communications committees and others, will coordinate a
high-profile Nature Quest from 27 to 31 May, 1999. I'm also hoping that Ed
Wilson will pick this as a good time for him to collect ants in the Park
and contribute to the start of our coordinated across-taxa field work.
At our December meeting, there was considerable discussion about Nature
Quests. The scribes notes of the relevant discussion are on our website
<www.discoverlife.org> linked to "Events" and then "Group & Project
Reports" for the 14-17 December meeting. I sat in some of this discussion
and urge Peter Adler, Kitty Esco, Christi Gaasch, George Carroll, John
Morse, Chris Thompson, and Dave Wagner to become key players in getting
ATBI Nature Quests up and running. I'm asking Christi & Peter to draft a
short Executive Summary of the discussion and run it by the rest of you by
the end of this month.
In addition to the positive aspects from such events, concerns were
expressed about (1) possible negative PR generated by the "image of mad
scientists running around killing innocent moths/flies/...," (2) data
quality, and (3) how to include individuals who want specimens for private
collections. Having identified these concerns, we need to explore
solutions, come to a concensus, and proceed.
Christi Gaasch should be in the loop, if for no other reason than to rain
on the parade and act as a devil's advocate. She expressed some of the
strongest concerns regarding killing poor insects. If you can get it by
her, you should be in the clear. I should add that Christi killed more
insects in her wild graduate career that most mortals could ever count.
Whether her concerns are driven by the thought of additional suffering or
her guilty conscience is a question that baffles me.
Peter Adler, Chris Thompson, Brian Wiegmann, are coordinating the fly
"killers." Brian is leading the North American Dipterists Society's
participation this May, using his website, which is linked to
<www.discoverlife.org> under "Events." Chris just sent information on the
ATBI and May's Nature Quest to their 500+ members.
Regarding the "butterflies of the soil, " as we are now to call fungi,
Lorelei Norvell is enthusiastic about including a mycological event in
parallel with the fly one. She suggested that Rod Tulloss, our Macrofungal
Coordinator, and members of the Ashville Mushroom Club were likely
participants.
Kitty Esco has also agreed to develop and test collecting protocols for
ants with Georgia teachers and students this April and then to help
coordinate volunteers collecting ants during the Nature Quest in May.
Stefan Cover, Larry Gilbert, Mike Kaspari and Ed Wilson are among possible
myrmecologists who may be persuaded to participate.
Starting tomorrow, Heather Alley will maintain a section on our website to
keep a record of everyones correspondence regarding Nature Quests.
Everyone should copy their correspondence to this site by sending it to
<dl@discoverlife.org> It can be read at <www.discoverlife.org> by linking
to "Great Smokies," then "Planning & Organization, and finally, "Nature
Quests."
Regarding organizing Nature Quests in the Park, I recommend that you work
with Jody Flemming (logistics), Bob Miller and Tom Kiernan (PR), Kitty Esco
and Christi Gaasch (Outreach), Karen Ballentine, Elizabeth Skillen, Chris
Stein, and Ken Voorhis (Education), Keith Langdon (who can steer you
through the Park's permitting issue), and the taxonomy teams. You can get
list of taxonomy teams and everyones emails from our website's "Who's
Involved" section.
After consulting with Keith, I recommend that we form a Nature Quest
outreach team led by Christi, Brian, Kitty, Lorelei, & you, presuming that
you all are willing. Christi has agreed to call and coordinate your first
meeting. Ideally you should select additional members and then elect
three co-coordinators. Your team needs to interface with communications,
education, science, and our other committees and teams. It might report to
Discover Life in America's Board of Directors, either directly or through
one of our standing committees. After we see what you put together, we can
decide which of these is the most appropriate avenue to choose.
The Nature Quest will be the largest single event that Discover Life in
America coordinates this year. We should aim to present it's scientific
results at our General Evaluation & Planning Meeting, 8 - 10 December, thus
giving us time to work-up and analyze our findings. Keith and I suggest
that we plan to sample over 1,000 sites across the Park and then build
distribution maps for selected taxa based on the Nature Quest's findings.
This will be no small undertaking. Please let us know how we can help you
in any way.
In short, your charge is to excite the public, educate the masses, and get
some good data. Have fun.
Cheers,
Pick
_________________________________________________________
John Pickering
Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2602
Office: 706-542-1115 Messages: 706-542-3379
Laboratory: 706-542-1388 FAX: 706-542-3344
e-mail: pick@pick.uga.edu Home: 706-353-7076
Web sites: <www.discoverlife.org> <http://dial.pick.uga.edu>
_________________________________________________________
>John et al,
>
>Here's hoping the December meeting went well, and that the holidays were
>nice to you and your family etc.
>
>We just completed the 20th anniversary annual meeting of The Ohio
>Lepidopterists, and the snow is melting. I know we'll get more, but
>moth collecting is around the corner. I'm anxious to get going.
>
>Of course I'm curious how the December meeting went, especially re my
>proposal for a blitz from The Lepidopterists' Society. If it looks like
>something can be done, I'll ask the Pres. of our organization for his
>approval to keep at it.
>
>Best wishes to you all,
>
>Cheers,
>
>Eric
>
>Eric H. Metzler
>1241 Kildale Sq. N.
>Columbus Ohio 43229-1306
>USA
>
>Phone: 614 888 3642
>E-mail: spruance@infinet.com
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