UMass Arbor Team wins Arboriculture Competition

UMass Arbor Team wins Arboriculture Competition

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During spring break the University of Massachusetts PLANET team traveled to FortCollins, CO to take part in the 2014 PLANET competition. The intercollegiate competition for students in Green Industry majors this year included 750 students from 65 colleges all across North America. The UMass Arboriculture Team, consisting of Luke Longstreeth (Dept. of Env. Cons. and Stockbridge School of Agriculture) and Nicolette Eicholtz (Stockbridge School of Agriculture), took first place. This is the third time the UMass team has won the Arboriculture competition, which consists of several events that test students' academic and field skills. Dr. Ryan, who accompanied the team, said, "Luke and Nikki did a great job, and I'm really proud of them--I knew they had a chance to win it all!"       ...
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Alumnus, John Organ receives Receives Prestigious National Wildlife Conservation Award

Alumnus, John Organ receives Receives Prestigious National Wildlife Conservation Award

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From the U.S. Department of the Interior - Fish and Wildlife Service Western MA Biologist Receives Prestigious National Wildlife Conservation Award John Organ, current Division Chief of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region and internationally respected biologist has received the Wildlife Management Institute’s 2014 George Bird Grinnell Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Natural Resource Conservation. The award was conferred on Wednesday, March 12, during the 79th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Denver, Colorado.   Organ also has served as past president of The Wildlife Society and is a champion of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.   “Over the course of his 35 year career, John has relentlessly driven to make worthwhile contributions to the natural resource profession, and he has done so with great energy and little focus on recognition,” said Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) president Steve Williams who presented the award at the annual Conservation Administrators Luncheon.  Williams further...
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Large Pelagics Research Center Scientists Follow 20 Tagged Leatherbacks Using Telemetry

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Courtesy: UMass News and Relations Contact: Janet Lathrop 413/545-0444 http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/tracking-endangered-leatherback-sea AMHERST, Mass. ­– A first-of-its-kind satellite tagging study of migrating New England leatherback turtles offers a greatly improved understanding of their seasonal high-use habitats, diving activity and response to key ocean and environmental features in relation to their search behavior. Leatherbacks are considered endangered species in all the world’s oceans. The study, part of doctoral research by Kara Dodge and supervised by her advisor, Molly Lutcavage of the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Large Pelagics Research Center (LPRC) in Gloucester, followed leatherbacks in their northern US feeding grounds. It allowed for a rare glimpse into the migratory patterns and behavior of immature and adult male turtles. Most satellite tagging studies of leatherbacks have focused on adult females on their tropical nesting beaches, so little is known worldwide about males and subadults, the researchers point out. But now, tagging and satellite tracking in locations where leatherbacks forage has allowed the scientists to get a much richer picture of the...
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PhD Student, MacKenzie Consoer, Receives Edith Robinson Scholarship

PhD Student, MacKenzie Consoer, Receives Edith Robinson Scholarship

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MacKenzie (‘Kenzie’) Consoer, a PhD student in the Department of Environmental Conservation, has been selectedas the 2014-15 recipient of the Edith Robinson Scholarship. Kenzie will receive a stipend, a waiver of tuition and curriculum fees. The Edith Robinson Scholarship, from the bequest of Edith Robinson, is for a continuing graduate student from Vermont or New Hampshire who is studying health, the environment, or psychology. Kenzie lives and works on a goat farm and cheesery in Hancock, NH. Her research deals with the response to flooding, particularly in Vermont....
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