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Current UAS News Releases
Egan Lecture: Predator Control in Alaska: Is Sound Science Constrained by Politics?Victor Van Ballenberghe, Wildlife Ecologist Friday, November 20, 2009, 7 p.m. UAS Egan Lecture Hall Victor Van Ballenberghe will review the scientific basis of the current wolf and bear control programs in Alaska and political constraints that inhibit application of sound science.
Passage of the intensive management statute in 1994 ushered in a new era of predator control in Alaska. According to Van Ballenberghe, the ensuing control programs often lacked rigorous standards for justifying, implementing, monitoring and evaluating them. He writes that rigorous standards are not required by the statutes and regulations that govern the control programs thereby inhibiting application of sound science.
Van Ballenberghe has a PhD in wildlife ecology from the University of Minnesota. He studied ecology of moose and wolves in northern Minnesota from 1967-1972. He moved to Alaska in 1974 and worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game studying moose and wolves from 1974-1980. In 1980 he joined the research branch of the US Forest Service studying moose and wolves in Denali National Park and on the Copper River Delta from 1980-2000. Since 2000 he has continued the Denali moose study and done wildlife consulting work. Van Ballenberghe was appointed to the Alaska Board of Game three times starting in 1985.
This is the last Evening at Egan event for the Fall 2009 season. UAS is working on a more limited series of lectures for Spring 2010.
All Evening at Egan lectures are simulcast on UATV Cable Channel 11 and live streamed at http://uatv.alaska.edu/. Evening at Egan podcasts can be downloaded and DVDs ordered at http://www.uas.alaska.edu/media/productions/.
For locations and complete list and descriptions of the Evening at Egan series, please visit the Evening at Egan Website.
Contact:
Katie Bausler
Director of Public Relations and Marketing
Phone:
(907) 796-6530
Email:
katie.bausler@uas.alaska.edu
UAS Professor Talks on Palin PhenomenonUniversity of Alaska Southeast Professor of Political Science Clive Thomas is giving several talks on the “Palin Phenomenon As former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue” hits bookstores this week, University of Alaska Southeast Professor of Political Science Clive Thomas is giving several talks on the “Palin Phenomenon” at universities, conferences and group meetings. His talk October 14 at Oregon State University, Corvallis drew a largely positive response from students who attended. "Understanding how and why (Palin) is still being followed so closely even after her odd and misguided actions at times, Dr. Thomas gave us insights,” wrote one student. “Why did the Republican Party nominate her? They thought that was the best option to help win the female vote, [but] it didn't work. It reminds me of hearing about Teddy Roosevelt's entry into the presidency.”
In his talk, Thomas touches on the enigmatic fascination with Palin, the contrast between those who like her and those who do not and what she tells us about American politics.
He also introduces audiences to “Alaska in myth and reality” including some Alaska political traits—populism, anti-tax and anti-government, especially anti-federal government and how Palin fits in Alaska.
Thomas was hosted by Oregon State Political Science Chair Bill Lunch. One of his students said of the talk, "I enjoyed the lecture and thought Mr. Thomas was very knowledgeable and entertaining. The phenomenon about Palin is that people love her or hate her it seems. But people can't get enough of her. I will now watch her future career moves with an insight I didn't have before this lecture."
Thomas says his talk got a more mixed reception in Utah. At the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics in Salt Lake City, “people either loved it or hated it,” said Thomas.
Thomas made similar presentations in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile during a research trip to South America this past summer. In the next few months he will present talks on Palin at several other places including San Francisco and Chicago.
"Palin is a hot topic all over the world at the moment," Thomas said.
Contact:
Clive S. Thomas, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science
Phone:
(907) 796-6115
Email:
csthomas@uas.alaska.edu
 For a listing of archived news releases by date and headline, please select an archive year.
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