It is with deep sadness I share that our dear friend Mark Paddock, who served as assistant director of UMBS for 20 years and remained a beloved, active member of our field station community throughout his retirement, died earlier this month.
A devoted conservationist, Mark was an inspiration. He believed that the field station’s science and students could power locally driven stewardship. His leadership left a powerful legacy at UMBS and throughout northern Michigan. I will miss his humor, friendship, guidance and advice. I was lucky to have Mark as a mentor and friend. It is hard to imagine UMBS without dinners, coffee and conversations with Mark.
Here is a link to read Mark’s obituary. Please join us in sending sincere condolences to Mark’s family. If you’re in the area, walk the trail at UMBS named in his honor four months ago as a surprise on his 95th birthday.
This was a historically mild winter in northern Michigan, and we’ve set another record to prove it. For 93 years, UMBS has declared the annual ice-out date on Douglas Lake — the day 75% of ice cover is gone from South Fishtail Bay. This year it happened on Saturday, March 16, the earliest “ice out” ever recorded on Douglas Lake. Combined with the latest ice-in recorded at UMBS, this winter also marks the shortest season of lake ice cover observed by field station scientists at 70 days. Read the UMBS news story analyzing the long- and short-term trends using our historic data sets.
Since my last letter to you a month ago, we’ve added three positions we’re hiring for the 2024 field season: one nurse and two nature day camp coordinators. For full descriptions of each seasonal position and how to apply, go to the UMBS Employment website.
The historic scientific field station is investing in the interior renovation of community spaces to enhance the on-campus living and learning experience. Thanks to our generous donors, we are able to respond to what students and researchers have asked for and, at the same time, prepare transitional, flexible spaces that we’ll need when we take the field station to year-round operations. Read the UMBS news story to learn about the interior redesign projects that will be staggered throughout the spring and summer.
Our 2024 Summer Lecture Series lineup is spectacular, and we hope you can join us for the free, public talks on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. that kick off May 29 with the Bennett Lecture in Mycology and Plant Biology featuring Dr. Tadashi Fukami, a professor of biology and Earth system science at Stanford University. It’s titled “Alternative Community States in Floral Microbes.”
We’re also thrilled to welcome in June the author of an award-winning book profiling U-M botanists with close ties to UMBS who braved the Colorado River in 1938 to map the plants of the Grand Canyon. The historic collection — that included four new cacti species and would one day become vital for efforts to protect and restore the river ecosystems — formed the basis for what is now Matthaei Botanical Garden’s desert house collection in Ann Arbor. Read the fascinating UMBS feature news story.
If you haven’t already, please take 10 minutes to fill out the anonymous survey to help inform the development of our five-year strategic plan. We are grateful for the people who have attended our first round of Strategic Planning discussion sessions, both virtually and in-person in Ann Arbor. Our second round will be held in-person in June and July in Pellston. We’ve also added an additional virtual event in June. Visit the UMBS Strategic Planning website for dates and times.
Though we’re moving forward into what’s shaping up to be a wonderful year of learning and discovery in our second century of operations, it’s bittersweet for our close-knit UMBS community. This is our first field season since 1971 without Mark Paddock. His loss weighs heavily on our hearts. He will be missed greatly and always remembered.
Read our full March 2024 Newsletter to be introduced to a few people you should know in our UMBS family, both past and present, and to feast your eyes on an extra vibrant sunrise along Douglas Lake. The deadline for students from all universities to apply for 2024 spring term courses and scholarships is April 30.
Sincerely,
Dr. Aimée Classen
UMBS Director
