Beyond the Riverbed

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

April 21, 2023 Spire 2023 Issue

By Jenna Davenport

Artist Statement

2022
Acrylic paint, wood, artificial moss
17”x16”x1.5”

Beyond the Riverbed explores the unseen displacement that occurred in Maine’s natural history. Maine was once the lumber capital of the world, but with that came detrimental effects on the natural environment. Log drives were essential to the transportation of trees to be made into lumber. Two main points of environmental concern with log drives were deforestation and the effects of dynamite used to break up stuck logs.

While deforestation and the effects of dynamite are the main environmental issues associated with log drives, the impact is far more complex. While some stuck logs were blown with dynamite, sunken logs were left to live on the bottom of the river. These sunken logs created a chain reaction of issues, resulting in the decline of the brook trout population, as noted by Daniel Michor in his dissertation titled People in Nature: Environmental History of the Kennebec River. This predictably led to a decline in predatory species and an increase in brook trout prey. Although the brook trout population decline did not directly and significantly impact the daily lives of Mainers and is not the most notable result of the lumber industry’s actions, it was a significant example of how our actions have consequences in regards to ecology and the processes of the natural world.

Lumber and artificial moss were used to create a patchwork riverbed complete with wooden river rocks. Peach-colored acrylic paint is representative of the underbelly of brook trout – pointing directly to the unfortunate effects of our state’s past decisions. Manmade materials constructing a natural environment confronts the viewer with both the past and present of the lumber industry and implores viewers to question their own relationship with the natural land.