Paul Hansen: New Executive Director of Murie Center

The Murie Center recently announced Paul Walden Hansen as its new executive director, which will lead implementation of its new mission and strategic plan.

Paul Hansen, author of TAMU Press book Green in Gridlock: Common Goals, Common Ground and Compromise (TAMU Press, 2014), is former director of The Nature Conservancy’s Greater Yellowstone Program, and former executive director of the Izaak Walton League. He has won some of America’s top environmental leadership awards.

“Paul is the perfect person for this position,” said Nancy Leon, Murie Center board co-chair. “There is no conservationist in America who is better qualified to interpret the Murie legacy in the search for 21^st century conservation issue solutions.”

The Murie Center’s mission is: Bringing people together to inspire action that preserves nature. “We accomplish this by bringing the lessons of the Murie legacy to people all over America, by bringing people here to find common ground on vital issues, and by training young conservation leaders,” said Scott Fossel, Murie Center board co-chair.

The Murie Center is located in Grand Teton National Park, in close proximity to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose. The grounds are always open to the public and visitors are welcome at any time. Organized tours, special programs, and events vary by season. To view event schedules on the Murie Center’s website, click here.

To learn more about Green in Gridlock, click here.

Hundreds of E-Readers Preloaded with Texas A&M Press Content Sent To Submarines Around the World

COLLEGE STATION—Findaway World has ordered 385 e-Readers loaded with “Execute Against Japan:” The U.S. Decision to Conduct Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (Texas A&M University Press, 2009) to be sent to submarines around the world.

Findaway World has partnered with publishers around the globe to produce audio renditions of titles, developing a catalog of more than 50,000 audiobooks. It also offers titles through its digital platform and Playaway devices – MP3 players that contain only one book.

“Execute Against Japan,” written by military historian Joel Ira Holwitt, focuses on the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attacks, when American military leaders moved to targeting not only Japanese military assets but all Japanese shipping – an illegal move, according to the author.

In this 2012 Naval Operations Professional Reading Program-selected book, active duty submarine officer Holwitt combines archival sources from the National Archives, the Naval Historical Center, the Naval War College, Yale University and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. He reconstructs the development of both the U.S. submarine fleet and the policies for its use during World War II.

As he demonstrates, faced with “the terrifying specter of an Axis victory,” U.S. naval leaders reluctantly chose a form of warfare they despised, judging it to be the lesser of two wrongs.

Q&A with author Bryan Piazza

In a recent interview, author Bryan Piazza discusses his new book, Atchafalaya River Basin and gives background information on the immensely diverse ecosystem of the river basin.

The 1 million acre Atchafalaya River Basin is the site of several reality TV shows, including the popular program “Swamp People.” Although the basin is teeming with wildlife, few people are brave enough to make their home in the river basin. According to Piazza, “Some days we’ll put the boat in, and we’ll drive 3, 4 hours in a boat and never see a person, not another boat — or maybe one.”

To read the full article, click here. To learn more about the book, click here.

BRYAN P. PIAZZA is director of freshwater and marine science at The Nature Conservancy, Louisiana, based in Baton Rouge, where he leads the applied science program in support of conservation projects across the Gulf states. He also serves as a consultant, providing technical and scientific advice on a range of environmental damage, restoration, and compliance issues.

2014 Lone Star Land Steward Award

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in Austin on May 21^st will recognize the families of the Hillingdon (Giles Family), Leslie (Leslie Family), and Laurels (Langford Family) Ranches for their outstanding dedication, education, and stellar example of land stewardship.

The 2014 Lone Star Land Steward Award is bestowed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department through the Lone Star Land Steward Awards program recognizing those who have demonstrated dedicated stewardship of the land through excellence in wildlife and natural resource management. 

David K. Langford, a great-grandson of Alfred Giles, and his wife Myrna live on the Laurels Ranch and will be among those receiving the award.  Recently, David and Lorie Woodward Cantu co-authored Hillingdon Ranch: Four Season, Six Generations, published by Texas A&M University Press, 2013 demonstrating how the Giles family decedents, have worked together over many years to keep the Hillingdon properties intact, operating all the individually owned pieces as one cohesive unit which provides significant ecological benefits far beyond the ranch fences. 

Click here to read the full article about the award.

Click here to learn more about the book.

Kemp’s ridley Sea Turtles on Decline

The population of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles in Texas is now declining once again, according to a recent article by Mary Gaskill in Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

The 2013 season showed a substantial drop in the sea turtles’ numbers, according to Donna Shaver, chief of sea turtle science and recovery at Padre Island National Seashore. Although it is unclear what exactly caused the drop in numbers, Shaver suspects the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, shrimp trawling, and increased freshwater inflow might be to blame.

Gaskill is coauthor of A Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles, a guide to the places where people can view sea turtles and participate in authentic conservation projects. With California Academy of Sciences research associate Wallace J. Nichols and SEE Turtles cofounder and director Brad Nahill, Gaskill covers five continents, including the South Pacific and Caribbean, directing readers to the parks, reserves, and research sites where they can responsibly observe turtles in the wild, observe female sea turtles laying eggs, and hatchlings make their harrowing journey from nest to sea.

Options for on-site lodging and other amenities are included, if available, as well as details of other nearby attractions that travelers may wish to include in their itineraries.

A World-Wide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles will be released by Texas A&M University Press this fall.