Tuck School of Business professor Leonard Greenhalgh has been named a recipient of Maine’s 2016 Governor’s Environmental Excellence award in recognition of his efforts to preserve coastal wetlands at his wildlife sanctuary on the St. George Peninsula.
The award is given to businesses, nonprofit organizations, public entities and new ventures for efforts to protect and improve Maine’s environment.
Greenhalgh’s efforts began 30 years ago when he purchased the current site of his sanctuary to prevent impending land development from destroying an osprey nest. He traces his interest in environmental issues to the 1960’s environmental movement, which highlighted the dangers of chemicals such as DDT, a pesticide that is toxic to a wide range of living organisms.
After acquiring the property, Greenhalgh discovered that it was previously the site of a mining operation and that surrounding wetlands were covered with up to 30 feet of debris. Because the debris had displaced food sources, such as plants, there were very few animal species left on the property.
“It really was a moonscape,” he said.
Upon making this discovery, Greenhalgh began the long process of restoring the land to its natural condition. He began by introducing indigenous plant species in order to attract more wildlife. He also removed the mining debris that littered the property using a small excavator. Finally, Greenhalgh began to construct ponds in order to create a complete ecosystem, with him finishing a one-and-a-half acre pond just last winter.
Greenhalgh estimates that as a result of his efforts, the number of animals that he has been able to positively identify at his sanctuary increased eight-fold. Otters, mink, bear, deer, eagles and monarch butterflies are among the species that now live in the sanctuary.
Restoration is a hobby Greenhalgh is happy to pursue, even if it means doing so almost entirely at his own expense, he said.
“We [the sanctuary] don’t receive many charitable allocations,” he explained.
Soon after establishing his sanctuary, Greenhalgh had the opportunity to acquire and preserve a salt marsh adjacent to the sanctuary. As a result of a lack of funding, he had to use a portion of his Dartmouth pension to purchase the marsh.
Dartmouth professor of environmental science Andrew Friedland explained that Greenhalgh’s efforts with the wetlands could yield far-reaching environmental benefits.
“Restoring wetlands is a great service for [terrestrial ecosystems] and near-shore marine ecosystems,” he said.
Friedland went on to explain that removing mining debris from wetlands could prevent further damage to the area. He said that it is common for mining debris to contain toxic metals, which can contaminate nearby water supplies or be introduced into food chain. Mining debris sometimes also contain sulfur, creating the potential for sulfates to acidify nearby waterways and interfere with fish and amphibian reproduction.
Friedland explained some of the benefits of Greenhalgh’s targeted efforts to increase biodiversity at his sanctuary, including increasing its net primary productivity, which means that more carbon dioxide will be taken up by plants and that the sanctuary will be able to support more biomass.
Preserving wetlands also helps to ensure that some of their critical functions carry on, Friedland said.
He noted that wetlands stabilize land and prevent soil loss during severe weather events. Wetlands also purify water and contain bacteria that break down raw sewage, which can be a public health hazard.
David Madore, the director of communications for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, explained the process by which Greenhalgh was selected for this award. After receiving nominations for the “Community, Public Sector or Non-Profit” category of this award from the public, a team of volunteers within the department rated the nominees from one to five in the following areas: innovation, environmental improvement, energy reduction, sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Madore added that his department was particularly impressed by the duration of Greenhalgh’s commitment to environmental preservation, calling the timeframe of Greenhalgh’s sanctuary project “amazing.”
Friedland indicated that Greenhalgh’s efforts could be tied to a larger trend of increased national interest in preserving critical ecosystems. Greenhalgh shared a similar sentiment and added that the public’s increased interest in environmental conservation made him more optimistic about the future.
