Re: [ECOLOG-L] Retaliation from State Park Officials
Excellent advice Crystal, to be the change we desire, not the Cassandra-cry of doom and gloom! Honey instead of vinegar; charm instead of insult. Cordially yours, Tacy Fletcher (uses pseudonym "Cayt Fletch" on facebook) also tflet...@pnc.edu From: Crystal Y. Tipton To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 12:17 AM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Retaliation from State Park Officials You could pull together a band of volunteers and propose specific projects to park staff that would address some of the degradation you are concerned about. Start with low-hanging fruit that is easy to address by volunteers and shows quick results. Document before as well as your post-project success, and post it for positive publicity. Thank the park publicly for supporting your volunteer project. Then do it again, with progressively higher-hanging fruit. Where possible, work with current volunteer infrastructure to address your projects. Be positive and thankful, even when it may be frustrating to work with bureaucracy. Allow State Park personnel to take credit as much as possible -- even where it may not really be due. Make them look good and get the work done in the process. If your state budget is anything like that of my state, it will be very difficult to find new resources to pay personnel to do new projects -- but as volunteers you can often build momentum and leverage private or other grant funds to do some of the bigger projects once you've gained credibility. You may also want to consider incorporating your group as a nonprofit. Similar organizations you might look at who have done this are Poudre Wilderness Volunteers (www.poudrewildernessvolunteers.org) and Overland Mountain Bike Club (www.overlandmtb.org) as well as CATS ( http://redrockcanyonopenspace.org/about/). Good Luck! *Crystal Y. Tipton* M.S. Student: Rangeland Ecology Colorado State University Office: WCNR 202 phone: 217.390.7340 email: crysta...@gmail.com On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 11:11 AM, John A. wrote: > I'm in a situation where I may be facing personal retaliation from > state park employees, and I'd appreciate some advice from anyone who's > dealt with this situation before. > > The essence is that I'm a frequent visitor to a superb state park > which I've come to deeply love. Unfortunately law enforcement is > nonexistent; the park is weakly staffed and they focus their attention on > the campground and nearby parking lots, ignoring the many miles of trails > which extend across most of the park property. The employees are poorly > trained and profoundly ignorant of the park environment, and they have no > interest in addressing vandalism and other abuses, much less ecological > issues. > > I've expressed my concerns to the park management, in person and in > writing, and I've also written several letters to the editor over the past > few years. Nothing has changed--in fact, the neglect and abandonment have > become worse than ever--and at this point I have a strong sense that the > park management is gunning for me. I'm not sure what form the retaliation > will take, but recent exchanges have not been positive, and some of their > comments could be taken as veiled threats. > > I've kept a detailed record of the park's slow degradation, as well as > interactions with park staff, but I sincerely doubt that simply documenting > facts will make much difference here. The employees managing the park are > favored in the state bureaucracy, and I'll find no help at higher levels. > > So I'd like to ask if anyone has had experience dealing with similar > circumstances, and what other avenues I might pursue. Please contact me > off-list with any advice or similar experiences, and I'll offer my thanks > in advance. > > > - J. A. >
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Jobs, Internships, AmeriCorps, and the like - a discussion
Dear Neahga, I absolutely agree with James. I am a woman in my late 40's who, while pursuing my bachelor's degree (which I was attempting for the first time in my life) had experience in my chosen field of environment restoration and conservation, but was not competitive in my market. We all need a competitive edge, which is what my four terms in Americorp gave me. Besides all the fabulous networking opportunities, Americorp pays the education award to help you pay down your loans, and does not prohibit you from earning a wage while working in one of the accepted activities at the same time. More importantly it imparts a hard-work ethic and service-learning geared mentality which will give you a competitive edge. I wish I could do more Americorp terms, but can't--I'm maxed out. What I would love is a full-time permanent job too, but my field is more competitive than when I first entered it, and the government looks favorably on ALL the time I spent in my field while earning little or nothing in my field. Non-profits also look favorably on these hours although they may or may not credit them. It is the for-profit industry who may look down their nose at it, but that is a misguided attitude. I am now in graduate school, and it is a struggle to remain competitive, but the Americorp experience coupled with my Bachelor's Degree/scholarship search/part-time work experience has honed my ability to rise to such a challenge. In no way when I was involved with it, did it ever take on an odious factor, because I could make choices, adjustments, and volunteer with who I wanted (within certain work-type parameters). If an activity/volunteer opportunity lacked luster for me, then I adjusted again to find the "right" group of appreciative co-workers. One receives the same protections while involved in the volunteer work of Americorp from workman's compensation when injured to protection from sexual harassment from contractors/vendors and coworkers. I was involved in the Americorp Minimun-time ed award, so someone's experience with traveling around the country in one of the other commitments may be different. But one thing I was amazed when I encountered a group of traveling Americorp conservationists was that frequently counselors came all the way out to the field to talk individually with the participants about any and all concerns they had about their experience while they were traveling as a group around the US. I agree with one of the negatives that Neahga brought up about the unpaid internship that colleges offer for credit hours. This type of internship only benefits the student who is in a position to draw on the wealth of their parents or their own trust-fund to pay for their home/food/transportation and course costs in order to count the time towards course credit which usually costs $800-1600. Poorer students cannot afford that, but competitive savvy "hungry" students need to not turn up their noses at the Americorp world, when it works very well! If your university offers Americorp, then it behooves you to find out more about it from the professional who administers it instead of going on what you've heard. If you are not eligible, then please don't knock it. In the end, isn't the desire to be highly-competitive in an economy that doesn't have that many full-time jobs to begin with, what we need to be retrained for? Cordially yours, Tacy Fletcher (uses pseudonym "Cayt Fletch" on facebook) also tflet...@pnc.edu Fletch > > From: James Katz >To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU >Sent: Monday, March 4, 2013 8:30 AM >Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Jobs, Internships, AmeriCorps, and the like - a >discussion > >Hi Neahga, > >I completely agree that the whole internship route does limit full pay jobs >for the majority of us looking for work. Many employers seem to prefer to >hire interns who will work for less, sacrificing time training new people >due to the temporary nature of the positions. However it seems that with >the way the economy is right now, for individuals coming straight out of >school, these internships are among the best options. > >Granted I would love to be working full time right now and not as Seasonal; >however, it seems to me (And I have only been out of school for a short >time so I could be wrong) that the funding is just not there to hire as >many permanent employees as there are people looking for jobs or even to >hire a small fraction of us. Those jobs that are available require at >least a few years of experience working, I believe that the internships >provide by SCA, AmeriCorps, and other programs provide that required >experience and without them many of us would be unemployed or searching for >work in another field...not
Re: [ECOLOG-L] definition of "native"
>From a land-manager's perspective regarding the post oaks of the Texas region, >most likely one would say that post-oaks havenaturalizedas many introduced >species do. Whether the species was introduced by animal or weather phenomena >is a debate not worth having. But for fun I thought I would add the POV of a >stewardship technician: that if it isn't running amok, then I have more >aggressive plant species to try to corral. Cordially yours, Tacy Fletcher (uses pseudonym "Cayt Fletch" on facebook) also tflet...@pnc.edu Fletch > > From: Martin Meiss >To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU >Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 8:39 AM >Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] definition of "native" > > Even if we agree as to what "native" means, phrases such as "native to >Texas" are problematic, and not just because, as Matt Chew points out, >human political constructs vary with time. If a tree is native to one >little corner of Texas, then the statement "native to Texas" applies, but >what does it mean? It might be politically significant, for instance for >state laws governing exploitation of the species, but biologically not very >useful. It seems to me that for biological purposes, the concept of >"native" should be tied to some biologically oriented construct, such as >Holdridge's life zones. > > Of course, a person out for a walk my come upon a species and wonder >if it is found in the area because of human intervention. Phrasing the >question as "Is this species native to this area?" would probably be >understood, but perhaps it would be better to ask in terms of human >intervention, i.e., "Is this species introduced?" Sometimes it is easier >to account for what humans do than for what nature does. > >Martin M. Meiss > > >2012/3/13 Matt Chew > >> The general definition of 'native' is 'not introduced'. It is a historical >> criterion, not an ecological one, and it rests entirely on absence of >> evidence for introduction. That definition has not changed at all since it >> was first fully codified in England in 1847. >> >> David McNeely's claim that "Post oak has been in Texas probably for much of >> its existence as a species" suggests that Texas has been Texas for a very >> long time indeed. But Texas, as a place identified by various sets of >> boundaries, is itself "post European" by the standard David provided. By >> 1847 Texas was already flying the fifth of its six European-derived flags, >> during the Mexican-American War. And of course, post oak certainly isn't >> endemic to any version of Texas, no matter how expansively imagined; most >> post oaks have not been in Texas in any way. >> >> The tree hasn't even been called 'post oak' for "much of its existence as a >> species". Whether it was a species at all before being described and named >> _Quercus_stellata_ by Friederich Adam Julius von Wangenheim late in the >> 18th century is arguable, but it is certain that _Quercus_stellata_ >> translates more literally to "star oak" than "post oak". Very Texan. >> >> While this is all good semantic fun, it also draws attention serious >> conceptual weaknesses in our vague ideas and ideals of place-based >> belonging. For more, see >> >> http://asu.academia.edu/MattChew/Papers/450641/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Biotic_Nativeness_A_Historical_Perspective >> a.k.a. chapter 4 of Richardson's "Fifty Years of Invasion Ecology: The >> Legacy of Charles Elton." >> >> Matthew K Chew >> Assistant Research Professor >> Arizona State University School of Life Sciences >> >> ASU Center for Biology & Society >> PO Box 873301 >> Tempe, AZ 85287-3301 USA >> Tel 480.965.8422 >> Fax 480.965.8330 >> mc...@asu.edu or anek...@gmail.com >> http://cbs.asu.edu/people/profiles/chew.php >> http://asu.academia.edu/MattChew >> > > >
