Giant Lid Restoration in Seattle

 By Richard B. Primack

“Who knows what sort of life would result if we attained purity.” Henry David Thoreau in Walden.

For decades, I-90, one of the biggest interstate highways in the USA, cut across Mercer Island, an isolated community of metropolitan Seattle., This created noise and air pollution, and divided the island in two. To remedy this problem, in 1992 the federal government built a half-mile long “lid” over the highway, which was then restored as the Aubrey Davis Park.

Video: Vehicles entering the section of highway covered by the lid.

The park gives the impression of a deciduous forest to which playing fields, playgrounds, and wooded pathways have been added.

Photo 1.  Playing fields are a major use of space in the park.

  

Photo 2.  Tree-lined paths run along the length of the park and border the playing fields.

 The one indicator of the highway below is a cluster of tall venting chimneys. Otherwise, while walking through the park, there is no sight, sound or smell of the busy highway. 

Photo 3.  A cluster of vents is the only indication of the highway below. 

 

While these forest areas look natural, they have a very different appearance than the small patches of protected forest scattered around the island. The goal of the restoration was to provide a public amenity rather than restore the original habitat.

Photo 4.  A nearby patch of protected forest has a very different appearance and species composition than the restored park forest.

  

Ecological Meeting Emphasizes Inclusivity and Human Context

 By Richard B. Primack

“The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of any I think it is likely to be my good behavior.” Henry David Thoreau in Walden.

The COVID pandemic seriously disrupted large international scientific conferences, with many meetings cancelled or held remotely. Many people argued that this provided an opportunity to create a better way of organizing conferences that was more affordable, not as ecologically damaging, and more diverse and inclusive of participants.  

This year, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) held its annual meeting in Portland, Oregon (USA) with around 4,000 participants. While most sessions were held only in person, representing a return to the pre-COVID approach, the meeting theme of “ESA for All Ecologists,” reflected an emphasis on inclusion and the human context of ecology. This theme was reflected in many of the plenary talks and workshops.

Photo 1:  Kendra Cheruvelil, Adrienne Sponberg, and I presented a Special Session on Workplace Culture Change for a more Inclusive Ecology.

Most of the conference sessions focused on basic ecological science, including climate change ecology, biogeochemistry, plant-insect interactions, phenology, patterns of species diversity, and ecosystem processes. In addition, many sessions explored Indigenous science and working with Indigenous communities, many of which included presentations by Indigenous scientists. 

Photo 2: Making new friends at the ESA: Corey Callaghan, Carsten Meyer, Robert Guralnick, Laura Melissa Guzman, and myself. 

The new voices and perspectives at the sessions added to the vibrancy and quality of the conference. Based on the ESA example, it appears that international scientific conferences are making some post-COVID changes, just not all the changes some anticipated.

Rwanda Part 4: International Congress for Conservation Biology

 By Richard B. Primack

“The most constant phenomenon when men or women come together is talking.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

The International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) brought together over 1200 scientists, managers, and students from 91 countries at its 31^st biennial meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda this summer. Notably, this was just the second time the ICCB meeting has been held in Africa. Of the attendees, 41% were from African countries, with large contingents from Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon. 

Figure 1.  The modern conference center lit up at night.

Figure 2.  A high proportion of the attendees were from Africa. 

Many international conservation organizations and universities—including the Wildlife Conservation Society, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, and Jane Goodall Institute—made unprecedented efforts to ensure that their African staff members were able to attend, participate, and present their work at the meeting. 

Figure 3: The Wildlife Conservation Society brought their African staff members to the conference. 

Figure 4:  At the meeting, Johnny Wilson, Eric Nana, and I had a table where we told people about the upcoming second edition of the book, “Conservation Biology for Sub-Saharan Africa” and the new French edition.

Many of the symposia at the ICCB meeting focused on the conservation and management of wildlife in protected areas, especially protected areas in Africa, and emphasized the human context of this work including the legacy of colonialism and the role of collaborative conservation. 

Another symposium was devoted to the illegal bushmeat trade, which is decimating wildlife populations across much of Africa. Speakers described efforts to provide alternative employment for market traders, publicize the value of consuming domestically raised meat instead of bushmeat, and change laws to allow the police to regulate, control, and eventually reduce the movement of bushmeat. 

 

Rwanda Part 3: Birding at Nyungwe National Park

 By Richard B. Primack

“The higher the mountain on which you stand, the less change in the prospect from year to year, from age to age. Above a certain height there is no change.” Henry David Thoreau in his Familiar Letters.

Nyungwe National Park has over 300 bird species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. The richness of the bird fauna is apparently due to the Albertine Rift mountains retaining moist conditions even during drier past ice ages. Bird species were able to survive here over the past hundreds of thousands of years, when they could not elsewhere in Africa.

The main goal of our visit to the park was to see many target species sought after by serious twitchers who need to add new birds to their life lists. To accomplish this task, we hired the highly-regarded bird guide Claver Ntoyinkima. For three days, we traveled throughout the park in search of the target species, hiking the roads and trails and clambering along the canopy walkway. 

Figure 1.  Our birding group on the canopy walkway: Johnny “Birder” Wilson, Duan Biggs, myself, Abe Miller-Rushing, Claver, and Cagan Sekercioglu. 

Figure 2.  Johnny, Claver, and Duan with different birding tools. 

For Abe and me, the secondary goals were to watch the bird-watchers, observe the mountain forest, and evaluate novel aspects of park management. These include significant park entrance fees, requiring visitors to be accompanied by park rangers, the Rwandan government partnering with “African Parks” to manage the site, and numerous soldiers maintaining security due to the proximity to the border. 

Figure 3.  Claver calling in a target bird with a recording.

Figure 4.  Claver sighting a bird with binoculars.

Figure 5.  Claver using a laser to help others locate the bird. 

With Claver’s expert help, we saw most of the target species, including the highly prized red-collared mountain-babbler. Abe and I enjoyed seeing several species of turacos and sunbirds, and four species of monkeys. 

Figure 6.  The park has many monkey species, such as this L’Hoerst monkey. 

For more information on Claver and the Park: LINK