The first of nine rock reefs is under construction in the St. Clair River delta northeast of Detroit. The goal of the project, which is led by Michigan Sea Grant, is to boost populations of lake sturgeon and other rare native fish by providing river-bottom rock structures where they can spawn. The rock reefs are designed to assist several native species that are considered threatened or endangered in Michigan, including lake sturgeon, mooneye, the northern madtom catfish and the river redhorse sucker. Walleye, a popular sport fish, and commercially important lake whitefish should also benefit. The new reefs will be constructed in the Middle Channel of the St. Clair River delta, near an existing lake sturgeon spawning site.
Strategies to meet the leadership and management challenges facing environmental groups is the focus of a special symposium Friday, March 16, at the University of Michigan. The "Conservation Forward: Environmental Leadership in Action" symposium concludes with a keynote address by John Ehrmann (M.S. '81, Ph.D. '7), who has pioneered the use of collaborative decision-making processes for more than two decades at the local, national and international levels. The symposium also features expert-led panel discussions on topics such as urban sustainability, energy, state and federal policy, ecosystem services and landscape-scale conservation. The discussions will give managers and leaders at southeast Michigan conservation groups the chance to learn new techniques and strategies to help their organizations.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens is celebrating its 50th anniversary and SNRE Landscape Architecture Professor Bob Grese is playing a central role in the promoting an exhibit and display commemorating the event. Grese is also director of the gardens and the Nichols Arboretum. "One of the statements Regent Fred Matthaei Sr. made when he donated the land was that he wanted the botanical gardens to be second to none in the world, so we want the public to see what progress we've made toward that goal," Grese said.
Eight SNRE students who are either Duke Conservation Fellows or Wyss Conservation Scholars returned this week from an annual retreat held each year for members of the programs. The retreat, held at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.V., was again facilitated by SNRE Professor Steven Yaffee, who also serves as the school's director of the Duke and Wyss scholars program.
SNRE student Melissa Antokal (M.S./MBA '12) was recently in Kenya to complete a team master'project with other students. On behalf of their client the Mpala Wildlife Foundation, the graduate students researched and analyzed issues around sustainable growth and responsible energy consumption. In a blog post, Antokal writes about how the adage "Location, location, location," used commonly during her previous work in the real estate industry, is also a useful guiding principle for sustainability and growth in the developing world.
Three SNRE Ph.D. students—Irem Daloglu, Dan Miller and Baruani Mshale—have received fellowships from U-M's Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute.
Jackie Turner, a U-M undergraduate with a double major in the Program in the Environment (PitE) and Screen Arts and Cultures, found that her interests in environment, sustainability, developing nations and documentary filmmaking converged when she traveled to Mpala, a 48,000-acre wildlife conservancy and biodiversity research center in Kenya, as part of a class taught by SNRE professors Rebecca Hardin and Johannes Foufopoulos.
The Wyss Foundation has awarded fellowships to two students at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) as future leaders in Western land conservation issues. The 2009 Wyss Scholars, both first-year master's students, are: Nicholas Deyo (Landscape Architecture), who graduated with a degree in ecology from the University of Montana, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa and worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Missoula; and Clayton Elliott (Environmental Policy and Planning), who graduated with degrees in environment and economics from the University of Wyoming and has worked for the Wyoming State Legislature.