Susan Crow Presents: Creating Resilient Communities: Tools for Regional Land Use Planning in the Face of Hazards in South Carolina

by Lydia Bilodeau, Monica Giermek, and Priscilla Hernandez

Since the early 1990’s, Susan Crow has focused her efforts on applying GIS and other technologies to ecosystem based management programs in order to help communities have a better understanding on the negative implications that comes with industrial development and population growth. She believes that by recognizing these implications and visualizing future alternative, communities can make sustainable decisions. PlaceMatters is a non profit organization that supports tools for community involvement in land use planning situations. Place Matter takes pride in bridging the divide between social and science tools and approaches. This is done by giving recommendations for effective integration of these two approaches, and providing training and outreach programs in order to broaden use of division support tools.

Her current project is titled, “Creating Resilient Communities, Ecosystem Based Management”.  The site for the project is the tri-county region of South Carolina. This region is an area that has been affected by Hurricane Katrina and Rita, growth, and changing sea levels, a result of global climate change. Creating Resilient Communities wishes to incorporate holistic planning and adaptive management.  This project will help area residents, businesses, planners, and elected officials make better informed decisions concerning where land should be developed. It also aims to prepare communities to resist damage from natural disasters, conserve natural areas, and assess coast community vulnerability.

Creating resilient communities faces certain challenges due to the tri-counties having fractured governance and planning, no jurisdictional coordination, and no regional database. They hope their efforts will open up several opportunities for the community, such as public and private partnership, regional planning initiatives and hopefully provide a willingness to cooperate among the different stakeholders. This project is planned to run up until 2009. Susan Crown and Place Matters hope that communities will benefit from all their combined efforts.  Expected benefits include flood control, recreation, tourism, food materials, and fish and wildlife preservation.

­Susan Crow is a member of the public service faculty of the Institute of Government and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia. She is currently a fellow for PlaceMatters, a program of theDavid and Lucile Packard Foundation located in Denver.

Patricia Riexinger Speaks About Wetlands at ESF

By: Kacie Gehl, ESF Graduate Student

Ms. Patricia Riexinger, Director of Fish, Wildlife, and Marine Resources, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, presented Freshwater Wetlands: Conservation Policy in New York State Tuesday, April 8, 2008.  Ms. Riexinger’s presentation was sponsored by the Environmental Studies Randolph G. Pack Environmental Institute and the ESF Women’s Caucus, and was the third presentation this spring in ESF’s Women in Environmental and Scientific Seminar Series. 

Ms. Riexinger began by defining herself as a “good bureaucrat”.  She elaborated that she began her career with the DEC doing field work which she one day decided wasn’t actually protecting the habitat of the species she cared for in a direct enough way.  She decided that in order to feel as though she was really making a difference, she would have to get involved with the politics and decision-making processes.  She conveyed that science alone will not manage habitat.  Although she feels DEC is making a big difference, she added the disclaimer that DEC can only do the “legal thing” not always what they feel is the “right thing.”  This idea was further discussed with examples of federal court cases and county- level disagreements.

Ms. Riexinger described wetlands and the painstaking process of mapping wetlands with differing views between agencies on the exact definition of wetland delineation.  She reminded the audience that only wetlands 12.4 acres or larger in size are protected which only protects about 75-80% of wetlands by acreage.  This specification may exclude wetlands that are of smaller acreage, but which are of unusual local importance.  She emphasized that it is still very important to protect smaller wetlands but a compromise had to be made between the political and scientific levels of the argument.

Ms. Riexinger asked the question, “What will climate change mean for managing natural resources in New York State?”  She encouraged the audience to think “big and bold” with their ideas for conservation and management because you have to think big to make change.  One change that the DEC is making currently is to amend their existing freshwater wetland maps to be defined on a watershed basis rather than along political boundaries.  This will stimulate the community to think about freshwater as watershed  systems and will lead to a greater understanding of the science behind the hydrologic processes involved in watershed management.

Ms. Riexinger received her B.S. from Cornell University in Wildlife Biology and her M. S. degree from the University of Albany in Biodiversity Conservation and Policy.  Along with her Director’s position, Ms. Riexinger is also an outdoorsperson who enjoys birding, snorkeling and traveling.  She is on her town Conservation Board and leads a Girl Scout troop.

 

Margaret Shannon Speaks on Making Feminist Theory a Part of Sustainable Forest Management

As part of the course requirements for FOR 797-2, students share the responsibility for reporting on the speakers in the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series for distribution to co-sponsors and the Knothole.  The following was prepared by Kaity Cheng and Laura Sullivan. 

 

Dr. Margaret Shannon, Associate Dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont addressed “The Essential Role of Research for Sustainable Forest Management: Feminist Theory and Practice” on April 4, 2008.  Dr. Shannon’s stated goal for her lecture was to make people think differently about their research. To that end, she encouraged an examination of our ideologies and the use of feminist theory to challenge the validity of key normative ideas.  She then proceeded to examine ideologies central to the field of forestry.

Shannon offered several reasons why feminist theory contributes to research.  She emphasized that women are the appropriate starting point for examining inequality. The role of women reveals structures and systems of power and privilege. She gave examples of societies where women locate or gather forest resources that sustain their communities, but have been excluded from forest management discussions.

Feminist theory emphasizes the lived realities of research participants. Incorporating the lived experience of all stakeholder groups results in more comprehensive research findings, and enhances the social agency of participants. Feminist theory is oriented toward social change; feminist research is conducted for participants, as opposed to about them.

One focus of the discussion was the research ideal, or the practice of high quality research. Shannon shared her conviction that research should involve interrogating knowledge systems. This process of inquiry should reveal structures and systems of power and privilege. Scientists should integrate theories of social power with theories underpinning forestry research.  Furthermore, research as critique should draw the invisible from its shadows and make it known.

Through paintings and words, Shannon discussed sustainable forest management, which she noted is distinct from the concept of sustainable forests.  Sustainable Forest Management is more about developing a sustainable management ideology that, it is assumed, will in turn help sustain forests.  She believes it should be in opposition to ‘single objective’ forest management. Vivid in her descriptions, Dr. Shannon compared treating the forest as if it has a single value to pornography, which treats women as if they had a single value.

The lecture was sponsored by the Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management and the ESF Women’s Caucus as C. Eugene Farnsworth Memorial lecturer and part of the  Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Seminar Series.  For information about upcoming lectures in the series, please visit http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus. 

Shannon is a former SUNY ESF faculty member.  She participated in the development of the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management.  Shannon was a Senior Fulbright Fellow at the University of Freiburg, Germany, in the Forest and Environmental Science Department.  She has also directed the Environmental Law Program at SUNY Buffalo Law School.

Robin Bell's guide to preparing for tenure

Dr. Bell “Step(ped) through hints on how to be strategic; how to build the record you need to be an academic scientist.” The time between post-doc and tenure sets the stage.  If you have a plan, you are likely to do better (measures used:  submit papers and grant applications at a higher rate, be first author more frequently) and be more satisfied.  Productivity is THE measure of how good you are, with # of pubs is the most common metric Be able to say what you have contributed, and have a “home run”—an important discovery or advance.  There is a hierarchy of value associated with scientific work:  Theoretical>experimental>technological breakthroughs. Distinguish yourself from your PhD advisor, but if the relationship is good, keep working together.  Pick projects that can be published and funded.  Collaborate.  Travel to meetings If you can’t present, see about running a workshop there, or at home institution.  Ideal: prestigious PhD program and post-doc, work assignment with opportunities for research, eminent mentor, early publishing, no career interruptions (there are some gendered differences).  Align interests with rewards; make sure what you do counts.  More comprehensive notes.

Dr. Robin Bell: Ice Dynamics of the Antarctic Environment

The students enrolled in FOR 496/797 Environmental Career Strategies for Women share the responsibiltiy for reporting on speakers in the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series for our sponsors as well as for submission to the Knothole.  The following was prepared by Rachel Tucker and Johanna Duffy.  Also note:  a brief summary of Dr. Bell's advice on how to prepare for tenure has been posted at  http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/Potlucks.htm

 

Dr. Robin E. Bell, Doherty Senior Research Scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, presented Antarctic Environment: Sub-glacial Lakes Linked to Ice Dynamics at ESF on Tuesday, March 4, 2008. This presentation was jointly sponsored by Syracuse University's Department of Earth Sciences, the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program at Syracuse University, and the ESF Women's Caucus.

Dr. Bell discussed the changes in ice dynamics that are being observed in Greenland and the Antarctic environments. She summarized the causes and effects of these changes and also compared and contrasted the ice dynamics of these two environments.

Dr. Bell first focused on what constitutes ice dynamics. Overall, the amount of global sea ice has decreased in the past 5-10 years. This reduction is studied using ice dynamics (i.e., understanding how and why changes occur in the ice sheets). Dr. Bell explained that the melting of floating ice has no impact on sea level, but that the melting of ice on the land surface (ice sheets) can lead to increases in global sea level. The three ice sheets that are the focus of Dr. Bell's research are the Greenland Ice Sheet, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The melting of any one of these ice sheets could result in a drastic rise in sea levels, from a minimum of approximately 19-feet (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) to a maximum of approximately 170-feet (East Antarctic Ice Sheet).

The melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased by 0.7 percent a year. This ice sheet is characterized by outlet glaciers (fast flowing ice) located around its margin. It was discovered that moulins (glacial lakes) were conveying surface melt water to the base of the ice sheet, lubricating the base of the sheet, and forcing the margin areas of the glacier to break off into the ocean.

Dr. Bell began to focus her research on whether similar changes were taking place in the polar ice sheets in Antarctica. Her study determined that the ice dynamics observed at the Greenland Ice Sheet were not apparent in the Antarctic glacial region. The lakes of Antarctica are buried under many layers of ice, hence the name sub-glacial lakes. If the lake water levels drop, then so do the elevations of the glacier. Although her exploration team is making great strides in understanding the dynamics of the Antarctic glacial environment, more research is required to firmly grasp the causes and effects taking place in this region of the world. During the upcoming 2007-2008 International Polar Year, Dr. Bell and more than 5,000 other scientists hope to devote their time to polar studies and polar education throughout the world in order to better understand this world-changing topic.

Dr. Bell received her B.A. in Geology from Middlebury College, and her M.S., M. Phil, and Ph.D. in marine geophysics from Columbia University. Aside from her research duties, Dr. Bell is also the Chair of National Academy of the Sciences Polar Research Board and Vice Chair of the International Planning Group for the International Polar Year. She also directs Columbia University's National Science Foundation-sponsored ADVANCE program, aimed at recruiting and retaining women in the sciences.

For more information about the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series, please visit http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus.

Bringing women's ways of knowing to deliberative democracy

Dr. Sue Senecah, Faculty of Environmental Studies, examined the history of "Tech-Reg" decision making nvite, Inform, Ignore), and contrasted it with the more collaborative approaches to problem solving that encourage systems thinking and respect different ways of knowing (traditional as well as scientific).  The former assumes linear cause and effect; the later recognizes that much conflict arises from real or perceived obstacles to participation, and that solutions come from building a trusting relationship.  Dr. Senecah notes that trust does not denote liking, but r that other party is true to his or her word.  Out of this discussion came a realization of participants that traditional ways of knowing uses as much (if not more) listening as well as talking, which means that there may be "uncomfortable" silences as each party absorbs the others words.

Dr. Rosemary O'Leary: Managing Guerilla Government

As part of the course requirements for FOR 496/797 Women & Environmental Careers, students share responsibility for reporting on speakers.  The following was prepared by Arlene Ast.

Dr. Rosemary O’Leary, distinguished Professor of Public Administration at The Maxwell School, Syracuse University discussed “Managing Guerilla Government:  Scientists’ Dissent in Environmental Organizations.”   Dr. O’Leary was the final speaker of the SUNY-ESF’s Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Spring 2007 Seminar Series and was sponsored by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and the ESF Women’s Caucus.

Dr. O’Leary discussed the topic of “Guerilla Government” which refers to career public servants who act against the wishes, either explicitly or implicitly, communicated by a superior. They are not political appointees. Most are not whistleblowers or themselves corrupt.  

While working as a Director at a State Environmental Agency, she decided to obtain data to provide a more complete and accurate scientific account of activities. This information was to provide a basis for intervention and dispute system design. O’Leary noted it should be “Built for Diversity” with a balance in decision making. The thesis of her book is that “Guerilla Government” happens all the time. There is manifestation of inevitable tensions between Bureaucracy and Democracy, which never go away. She illustrated that Bureaucratic Politics, Ethics and Organizational Management are all intertwined.

O’Leary provided many specific examples of “Guerilla” intervention and its impact on the final outcome and directed individuals to her recent book “The Ethics of Dissent: Managing Guerilla Government (Public Affairs and Policy Administration)”for 24 separate and distinct examples of Guerilla Government. She found that many “guerillas” work behind the scenes. They obey superiors in public but in private may leak information to the media or ghostwrite letters. These individuals may neglect policies or directives in which they disagree or they fail to implement orders they think unfair.

“Guerilla Government is here to stay,” stated O’Leary. She noted that most public organizations are inadequately equipped to deal effectively with Guerilla Governments. O’Leary provided suggestions to work with Guerilla Governments which include encouraging staff to challenge assumptions and actions of the organization to create multiple channels for dialogue, debate and dissent. “There need to be dissent boundaries and you need to know when to stop. You must understand the formal and informal (i.e., Guerilla Government) organization. Learn to separate the people from the problem and listen.”

In closing, O’Leary suggests that before you consider becoming a “Guerilla,” you must consider that any change may be immediate and permanent. “Your reasoning could be based on safety and health concerns. Clearly, an ethical decision. However, be aware that others may view your choice as insubordinate and with an ulterior motive.”

Dr. O’Leary is a graduate of the University of Kansas and obtained her Ph.D from Syracuse University in Public management, law and public policy, organization theory, administrative and environmental law, environment and natural resource policy and management, as well as dispute resolution. She serves as the Co-Director, Program for the Analysis and Resolution of Conflict, and Senior Research Associate in Syracuse University's Campbell Public Affairs Institute and Center for Environmental Policy and Administration..  O’Leary’s areas of expertise include Public Management, Environmental Policy, Dispute Resolution, and Law.  She is nationally recognized for her teaching, research, and service.

For more information about the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series, please visit http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus.

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Sharon Todd: Are Quiltmakers, Scuba Divers, and Outdoor Adventurists Cut from the Same Cloth?

As part of the course requirements for FOR 496/797 Women in Environmental Careers, students share the responsibility for reporting on speakers in ESF’s Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series.   The following was prepared by Corenne Black and Rachel Kaminski.

            On April 10, 2007, Dr. Sharon Todd, Associate Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the State University of New York at Cortland, presented her research, entitled “Cut from the Same Cloth: Quiltmakers, Scuba Divers, and Outdoor Adventurists” at SUNY-ESF. Her presentation was part of the ongoing SUNY-ESF Women in Environmental and Scientific Professions Seminar Series, sponsored by SUNY-ESF and the ESF Women’s Caucus. The presentation focused on the degree of seriousness people apply to certain recreational activities.

Dr. Todd enthusiastically presented her research involving quiltmakers, scuba divers, and outdoor adventurists, which reexamined traditional conceptions about competition in recreation research. Traditionally, studies have presented a linear relationship of competitiveness where initially one competes against the learning the activity, followed by competing against the standards of the activity, then progressing to competing against oneself, and finally to competing with other people. This is commonly represented in terms of beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert. Dr. Todd developed a theory of a nonlinear competitiveness curve incorporating one competing against perfection, which she classified as the “truly elite” and the “over-the-hiller” (i.e., “post expert”). Using her research, which involved surveying quiltmakers, scuba divers, and outdoor adventurists, Dr. Todd was able to show how each of these groups of leisure pursers support her theory of a nonlinear competitiveness curve.

            Dr. Todd also studied for her research the role of leisure constraints on the level of development of quiltmakers, scuba divers, and outdoor adventurists in terms of intrapersonal (i.e., an individual’s personal or psychological constraints), interpersonal (i.e., constraints created by someone else), and structural (i.e., constraints related to environmental, time, money) constraints. These barriers to participating in leisure activities can affect one’s level of competitiveness and can potentially prevent one from progressing through levels of leisure development (e.g., intermediate to advance). Graphing the results of how constraints affect the level of development shows a nonlinear curve and hence supports Dr. Todd’s theory of a nonlinear competitiveness curve as well. So yes, quiltmakers, scuba divers, and outdoor adventurists are cut from the same cloth in terms of their leisure pursuits.

Dr. Sharon Todd received a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.S. in Recreation from Southern Illinois University. She pursued her M.S in Recreation and Parks as well as her Ph.D. in Leisure Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Her academic interests includes social psychology of leisure and outdoor research methods.  She spends her leisure time cross-country skiing, camping, canoeing, and playing field hockey. Currently, Dr. Todd is an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at SUNY Cortland as well as the Co-Director of SUNY Cortland’s Outdoor Education Practicum.

Can girls be fishermen? A discussion on recreation and gender,

Dr. Diane Kuehn looked at the factor's in people's lives that impacted their participation in sport fishing.  She wanted to know why fishing has declined over the last decade, and why only 12-14% of those that fish are women.  The results of her two-part surveys indicate that there is a significant difference in the starting age of anglers:  males had started at an average age of 7, and all started prior to adulthood; females had started at an average age of 10, and 22% had been introduced to the sport as adults.  Most had learned from their fathers; the adult women were introduced by their partners or spouses.  Grandfathers and uncles were more likely to teach nephews and grandsons than nieces and granddaughters. Kuehn also looked at frequency and opportunity to fish.  In all age groups, females fished less frequently. Their activity was influenced by the support of other family members.  Males, on the other hand, were influenced more by their commitment to the sport.  Socialization during the activity was important to both genders during adolescence, and fishing as a family tradition was very important to girls.  Women were much more focused on the social aspect of fishing.  While this can be important to men, too, they also cited the sport of it, and men were much more likely to fish by themselves.
Kuehn then inquired of the participants about their favorite outdoor activities, why they enjoy them, and who introduced them to these pursuits.

Climate Change Scientist Speaks in Syracuse

By Diane Kuehn, SUNY-ESF

Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel a Climate Scientist with the Global Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) based in Washington, DC, spoke at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) on Tuesday, March 6 on “Global Warming: The Science behind the Headlines.” The presentation was co-sponsored by the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Initiative of Syracuse University, SUNY-ESF, the ESF Women's Caucus, and the Syracuse University Graduate School.   The presentation was part of SUNY-ESF's Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series.

Dr. Ekwurzel began her presentation by discussing climate changes and trends since 1850. Some of the points she mentioned were:

·         7% of the maximum area of frozen ground has decreased since 1900 in the Northern Hemisphere.

·         Satellite data collected since 1978 indicate a 20% reduction in the extent of summer sea ice.

·         Eleven of the last twelve years have been the hottest on record since 1850.

Dr. Ekwurzel discussed the connection between reduced sea ice and snow coverage and the increased average global temperatures. Specifically, since sea ice and snow work to reflect back into the atmosphere about 90% of the sun’s energy, losing ice actually increases heat absorption by the earth.

Why is the snow and sea ice melting? Given the relative stability of the sun’s energy output and of the amount of other particles in the air (such as those from volcanic ash) over time, most of the change appears to be due to increasing amounts of heat-trapping emissions in our atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, for example, is produced in large quantities by fossil fuel-burning machines and power generation facilities today and, because of its slow absorption by the earth’s oceans (absorption can take anywhere from 50 to 1000 years), accumulates in our atmosphere over time. Methane (average absorption time of 12 years) and nitrous oxide (average absorption time of 114 years) are two of the other heat-trapping gases.

What can we expect in the future in Central New York? Dr. Ekwurzel discussed future changes such as the annual average temperature rising, shorter winters, and a shorter coverage of ice on nearby lakes. She also stated that there will likely be more intense precipitation, both in the winter and during other seasons as well, when storms do occur. Elsewhere in the country, subtropical areas will likely continue to dry out, coastal areas may experience flooding, and urban areas (because of the extensive amount of pavement and buildings) will have amplified summertime temperatures.

What options does our society have for the future? The first option that Dr. Ekwurzel raised is to decrease the amount of longer-lived gases (e.g., carbon dioxide) released into the atmosphere to prevent the buildup of these gases over time. Our society may also need to adapt to climate changes over time by altering the design of our homes or the location of our residences (e.g., away from coastal areas). Finally, Dr. Ekwurzel emphasized the need for new options for the future.

Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel works on the national climate program for the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). She is leading UCS's climate science education work aimed at strengthening support for strong federal climate legislation and sound U.S. climate policies. Prior to joining UCS, Dr. Ekwurzel was on the faculty of the University of Arizona Department of Hydrology and Water Resources with a joint appointment in the Geosciences Department. Her specialty is isotope geochemistry, a tool she has used to study climate variability in places as disparate as the Arctic Ocean and the desert Southwest. She has published on topics that include climate variability and fire, isotopic dating of groundwater, Arctic Ocean tracer oceanography, paleohydrology, and coastal sediment erosion. She has also worked as a hydrologist with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, working with communities to protect groundwater sources. Dr. Ekwurzel completed her doctorate work at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and post-doctoral research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.