Steve Trombulak, a professor of biology and environmental studies at Middlebury College, stressed the importance of protecting biodiversity in the Northern Forest in a speech last night that kicked off a term-long series of talks on the Forest.
"The Northern Forest has a strong ecological value and a strong cultural identity," Trombulak said. "It will serve as a microcosm of how regional issues of conservation will be dealt with."
The Northern Forest is a 26-million-acre expanse of land stretching through Maine, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire where the second College grant is located.
Trombulak said all the states involved are making arrangements to protect the Northern Forest, and over the past six years, conservation groups have generated increased public support for protecting the Forest.
"The public is willing to come out and say these issues are important," he said.
About 65 people attended Trombulak's speech titled the "Biological Integrity in the Northern Forest," which was delivered in the Rockefeller Center.
Trombulak's speech was the first in a series of lectures that will run throughout the term and are intended to inform the Dartmouth community about issues involving the Northern Forest, organizer of the series Josh Mooney '98 said.
Mooney said the protection of the Northern Forest is "by far the most important environmental issue in Northeast."
Other speakers this term include Kevin Evans, the Dartmouth College forester, Brian Hart, grassroots organizer of the New Hampshire branch of the Northern Forest Alliance, Michael Kellett, executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods and Bill McKibben, author of "The End of Nature."
The lectures are sponsored by the Environmental Studies division of the Dartmouth Outing Club, the Ethics Institute and the biology, earth sciences and environmental studies departments.
