Two scholarships established in memory of Erin Peterson and Joan Trial.
The Erin Peterson Memorial Award was established in memory of Dr. Erin Peterson, a graduate of the University of Maine and a fisheries biologist with the State of Washington. Erin lost her life at the age of 31 doing what she loved.
The award is a collaboration with the Penobscot County Conservation Association (PCCA) and Erin’s family and friends. Beginning in 2024, the award will be made annually to an individual who is pursuing an advanced degree focused on conservation and management.
The Joan Trial Graduate Travel Award was established at the University of Maine Foundation with gifts from family, colleagues, and friends.
Of particular interest to Joan were the students she taught and mentored. Establishment of this award will continue to support student’s professional development in her memory.
To learn more about these two new awards or to make a donation to either of them, please visit – https://umaine.edu/wle/alums/give-back-department/
Wildlife In the News
See what faculty, students, staff,
and alums are up to
International team studies the migration of the American woodcock (Blomberg, Roth, Brunette, Darling)
November 25, 2024 – Phys.org
The American woodcock, a plump harbinger of spring, is a well known shorebird found across eastern North America. The species is a popular game bird and has earned the admiration of hunters, birders and others through its spring display, whistling wings and unique quirks.
UMaine leads international team to study, conserve woodcock (Clements, Fish)
November 22, 2024 – UMaine News
The American woodcock is a well known shorebird found across eastern North America. Each year, they migrate from overwintering locations in the southeastern U.S. to breeding locations across the northeastern and midwestern U.S. and southeastern Canada.
Another Mural could be coming to Bangor (Fedarick)
November 19, 2024 – by Kathleen O’Brien, Bangor Daily News
Bangor could get another mural next summer, this time featuring marine life found in the Penobscot River.
Bangor Beautiful, a local nonprofit organization with the mission of improving the aesthetics of the city, asked city councilors permission to paint a mural on all four sides of the Kenduskeag Pump Station on the corner of Broad and Washington streets.
Record named executive director of UMS TRANSFORMS Student Success and Retention Initiatives
November 1, 2024 – UMaine News
A University of Maine wildlife faculty member will oversee the continued development and implementation of various programs that will help students throughout Maine’s public universities excel during and after their college careers.
UMaine steps up efforts to track ticks (Gordon)
October 18, 2024 – by Vivien Leigh, News Center Maine
ORONO, Maine — Maine could be on pace to set another record-breaking year for cases of Lyme disease. There have been 2,544 in 2024, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The state record of 2,943 cases were reported in all of 2023.
Ece’s (’24) Honors College Journey
August 2024 – University of Maine YouTube channel
Mark McCollough (’81) receives “Ding” Darling Memorial Award
Paying Closer Attention to Nature (Charney)
August 23, 2024 – Maine Calling
This show is a rebroadcast of an earlier show (original air date June 27, 2024); no calls will be taken.
Maine is filled with nature lovers—but it takes an extra level of mindfulness to really pay close attention to nature. We’ll learn how to not only stop to smell the flowers—but to truly study them and focus with all of your senses on the natural world. And we’ll discuss how to capture nature’s wonders through photography, art, writing and other methods.
Watch out for amphibians crossing Acadia Park roads (Monroe/Charney)
August 20, 2024 – Mount Desert Islander
ACADIA NAT’L PARK — Fall can be a rainy time in Acadia, prompting toads, frogs and other amphibians to move about the landscape, including into roadways.
Meet the Educators Turning Montezuma Audubon Center Visitors Into Nature Enthusiasts (Ives ’23)
July 11, 2024 – New York Audubon
Amanda Ives and Teresa Pietrusinski joined the Montezuma Audubon Center’s education team in late 2023, and they’ve been putting their skills and passion to work ever since! From running programs to leading field trips, they’re helping all of the Center’s visitors grow their passion for the outdoors.
In memory of Susan Peck Olcott ’81
July 3, 2024 – Legacy.com
A child and student of the Nature, Susan Peck Olcott, 65, passed away, with her husband by her side, on May 2, 2024, at Mon Health Medical Center.
Heat waves are not good for cold-water fish species (Whittum ’22)
June 20, 2024 – The Pitscataquis Observer
June 18 was National Go Fishing Day, but Maine biologists encouraged people to leave the cold-water species in their safe zone during the heatwave and seek warm water fish such as bass, perch, or pickerel.
Small mammals create big changes in the forest (Humphreys)
May 31, 2024 by The Wildlife Society
Researchers in Maine are looking at how the personalities of small mammals affect forest regeneration by impacting seed dispersal. The team, led by University of Maine graduate student Brigit Humphreys, set traps for small mammals like squirrels, chipmunks, mice, voles and shrews to collected data about their personality traits and tag them.
Small mammals play a vital role in maintaining forest health (Humphreys/Mortelliti)
May 23, 2024 – Rodielon Putol, Earth.com
Deep within the Penobscot Experimental Forest in Maine, a team of researchers has uncovered a fascinating phenomenon involving small mammals.
To See the Past and Predict the Future, Try ‘Reading’ a Landscape (Charney)
May 22, 2024 – NY Times
How well do you know your own backyard? Noah Charney thinks you should take another look.
Early spring means an early end to black bear hibernation (Seward)
March 18, 2024 – News Center Maine
Bear researchers are asking residents to secure trash and bird feeders while they study long-term climate impacts on the species.
Bucky Owen to Receive 2024 Common Good Award
February 21, 2024 – Bowdoin News
A lifelong advocate and champion of conservation, Ray “Bucky” Owen, a member of the Class of 1959, has worked to ensure productive management of Maine’s inland fisheries and the preservation of the state’s natural resources.For his efforts to support ecological preservation across the state, Owen has been selected by the Bowdoin College Board of Trustees to receive the 2024 Common Good Award. After majoring in biology at Bowdoin, Owen earned a PhD in ecology at the University of Illinois and spent more than thirty years as a professor at the University of Maine’s flagship campus in Orono, during which he was chair of the wildlife department for a decade.
Tribal Nations Play a Growing Role in Addressing the Biodiversity Crisis (Merriam/Zydlewski)
December 13, 2023 – Sierra – Indigenous communities work to protect salmon, wolves, and condors
FOR MOST WILDLIFE BIOLOGISTS, monitoring the health of animals consists of tracking wild creatures’ whereabouts, radio-collaring them when necessary, and taking blood samples and weight measurements.
Roth discusses wildlife with Windham Eagle
November 22, 2023 – UMaine News
The Windham Eagle interviewed Amber Roth, University of Maine associate professor of forest wildlife management, about humans cohabitating with various animals, including bears and opossums. “There is not much to worry about with an opossum,” she said.
‘Our Maine’ explores human impact on state’s wild places (Calhoun/Hunter ’74)
October 23, 2023 – Ellsworth American
SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Editors and a photographer teamed up to create “Our Maine: Exploring Its Rich Natural Heritage,” a book of essays by 33 contributors that paints a vivid portrait of Maine’s wild places and wild creatures, as well as of human impacts and the way the state’s heritage has changed.