Calendar
November, 2006 Meeting: Kristen Stanford: Conservation efforts of two Ohio species: The Eastern Fox Snake and the Lake Erie Water Snake
| Date: | November 1, 2006 |
| Time: | 7:00 PM |
| Location: | Cincinnati Nature Center, Rowe Woods directions |
The October program will feature Kristen Stanford, who is making a long trek in from Northern Ohio to speak to us about her consrevation efforts with the Lake Erie Water Snake (an Ohio Endangered Species) and the Eastern Fox Snake.
On Kelley's Island she is known as the "Island Snake Lady." Kristen Stanford is the research/outreach coordinator for the Lake Erie watersnake through Northern Illinois University, but she works out of The Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory. She has officially been in this position since 2003.
Kristen is also a PhD student at NIU. Her work focuses on the introduction of the round goby has influenced the population demographics (survival, reproduction, population growth rate) of Lake Erie Water Snakes.
Recently, she has come to the conclusion that the outreach and management aspects of what she is doing are FAR more important in terms of long term conservation of the snake than the short term research projects.
Here are a few other conservation projects that Kristen is involved with:
- Currently working (with friend Kent Bekker) on a radio-telemetry/mark-recapture project with Eastern Fox Snakes in Ohio, re-assessing their status and distribution .
- Collaborating with other researchers from Michigan and Canada in hopes of gathering and compiling new information for the Eastern Fox Snake throughout its range.
-Member of the recovery team for the Eastern Plains Gartersnake in Ohio.
-Working in the summer as a supervisor in Stone Lab's REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program. She has sponsored 11 undergraduates from 6 universities since last year.