[ValleyNature] Annual Public Sable Island Update March 3rd, 7 pm, at St. Mary's Univ.

[James W. Wolford]

See below the announcement for what is at the Internet site shown.   
Cheers from Jim

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Andrew Horn <aghorn at dal.ca>
> Date: January 29, 2010 4:07:15 PM AST
> To: naturens at chebucto.ns.ca
> Subject: [NatureNS] Sable Island Status
> Reply-To: naturens at chebucto.ns.ca
>
> Hi all,
>
> Anyone interested in Sable Island might want to save the evening of  
> March 3rd, to attend the sixth of annual public meetings on the place.
>
> It's from 7-9:30PM, Scotiabank Conference Theater, Sobey Building,  
> St Mary's University. Speakers are Ian McLaren, Bill Freedman, Zoe  
> Lucas, and Mark Butler. Further details at:
>
> http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Synergy/Sable_Island_Update_2010.htm
>
> Cheers,
> Andy Horn
> Halifax

Sable Island Update
Sixth Annual Public Meeting

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
7:00 - 9:30 pm
Scotiabank Conference Theatre
Room 201, Sobey Building, Saint Mary's University Campus



Program:
Three illustrated talks will be presented by:
·         Ian McLaren, Professor Emeritus, Dalhousie University
·         Bill Freedman, Biology Department, Dalhousie University
·         Zoe Lucas, naturalist and Sable Island resident
The fourth and final presentation will be given by Mark Butler of the  
Ecology Action Centre, and Zoe Lucas. Mark and Zoe will review  
current issues and plans for the future of Sable Island, including  
the potential for either a National Park or a National Wildlife Area  
designation.

A Question and Answer Session, and Reception, will follow.

The meeting has been organized by the Sable Island Green Horse  
Society and the Ecology Action Centre, and is co-hosted by Saint  
Mary's University, the World Wildlife Fund, the Nova Scotian  
Institute of Science, and Leonard Preyra MLA, Halifax Citadel-Sable  
Island.

There is no charge for this event.
For more information about Sable Island: www.GreenHorseSociety.com


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Program Details - the Illustrated Talks


A History of the Natural History of Sable Island
Ian McLaren
George Campbell Professor Emeritus, Biology Department, Dalhousie  
University

Ian’s areas of expertise include population and evolutionary biology  
of marine plankton, seals and birds. In 1966 Ian moved from McGill  
University to join the faculty of Dalhousie University and continue  
research in marine biology. Also, having a life-long interest in  
birds, in 1967 Ian and two colleagues visited Sable Island to census  
the Ipswich Sparrow, a bird that had been only casually studied since  
Jonathan Dwight’s visit to Sable Island in 1894. The following year  
Ian initiated research of the sparrow’s breeding biology, and from  
then until 1978 Ian had several graduate students working on Sable  
Island studying horses, Harbour Seals, gulls and Least Sandpipers, as  
well as the Ipswich Sparrow. In 1981 Ian published “The Birds of  
Sable Island, Nova Scotia”, a reference so often used on the island  
that the several worn and dog-eared copies are now held together by  
bits of string. In retirement, Ian continues to research and write on  
the status, identification, and migration of birds. Ian’s interest in  
the island has continued—as educator, conservationist, and activist.

Talk subject:  Early chroniclers were impressed in many ways by Sable  
island, but tended to view its biota in terms of commerce or  
sustenance – Walrus for tusks, hides and oil, abundant waterfowl for  
the taking, and cranberries by the hogshead. The first  
superintendents of the island made casual journal entries on sea  
mammals and birds, but it was not until the mid-19th century, dating  
perhaps from John Gilpin’s 1854 visit, that visitors to and residents  
of the island began to document its rich natural heritage. Beginning  
in the late 19th century, a succession of Canadian and American  
naturalists published extensively on the flora and fauna of the  
island, preparing the way for the more analytical studies that began  
to appear after World War II.


Plants and Vegetation of Sable Island
Bill Freedman
Professor, Biology Department, Dalhousie University.

Bill is an ecologist and environmental scientist, and has been at  
Dalhousie University since 1979, where he teaches classes in  
environmental science and ecology. He has served as a volunteer with  
several environmental organizations, and is a long-serving member and  
recent Chair of the Board of Directors of the Nature Conservancy of  
Canada (NCC). Bill is involved in the development of curriculum  
materials for environmental education and has written several  
textbooks, the most recent being Environmental Science: A Canadian  
Perspective (5th edition, 2009, Pearson Education Canada) and Ecology  
– A Canadian Context (March, 2010, Nelson Canada). Bill has  
contributed to numerous environmental impact assessments of  
industrial developments, and has participated on advisory panels to  
government and industry.

Talk subject:  The dominant plant communities of Sable Island are  
grasslands and heaths. There are also rich assemblages of wetland  
species in and around the relatively few wet spots where the island’s  
freshwater lens erupts at the surface. Inundation by seawater has  
destroyed the most extensive of these freshwater wetlands, and some  
of the best surviving habitats are imperiled by the same disturbance.  
The seawater incursions occur during storm events that breach the  
protecting dune barriers. The likely ultimate causes of the  
precipitating disturbances are increasing sea level and perhaps more  
frequent events of severe weather. Localized dune instability  
associated with traffic by humans or horses may also be important.  
The introduced population of wild horses ranges in abundance from  
about 200-400 individuals. The available data and observations  
suggest that horses have not substantially altered the composition or  
cover of the most extensive vegetation types on the island.

Sable Island – Year in Review 2009
Zoe Lucas
Sable Island

Zoe Lucas first visited Sable Island in 1971, and during the last  
three decades has been involved in numerous research and  
environmental monitoring programs, including long-term study of the  
Sable horses, shark predation on Sable seals, and beach surveys for  
oiled birds, marine litter, and stranded cetaceans. Zoe also  
participates in projects supported by the Friends of the Green Horse  
Society, including study of the island’s lichens, invertebrates, and  
fresh water ponds. Results of programs have been published in various  
scientific journals. Since 2002 Zoe has managed and prepared text and  
images for the Sable Island website www.GreenHorseSociety.com, and in  
2004 became a Research Associate with the Nova Scotia Museum.

Talk subject:  Zoe will provide a review of Sable Island highlights  
for year 2009—including horse news, white seals, flotsam & jetsam,  
weather events, fungi, research activities, visitors, and new  
publications.



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