NEWS RELEASE
Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center
Director Mike Goldstein
University of Alaska Southeast
11120 Glacier Highway
Juneau, AK 99801
907) 796-6269
For more information contact:
Ray Massey, USFS Alaska Region (907) 586-7876
Sherri Richardson-Dodge, USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station (503) 808-2137
Katie Bausler, University of Alaska Southeast (907) 796-6530
July 16, 2010
Goldstein Appointed First Director of New Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center
JUNEAU, Alaska– Dr. Michael Goldstein, a wildlife ecologist, has been appointed the first director of the new Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center in Juneau. The center was recently established to help facilitate coastal temperate rainforest research and education and is a consortium of six public agencies including the University of Alaska Southeast.
“Mike’s background as the wildlife and terrestrial ecology program leader for the Forest Service’s Alaska Region will serve him well as ACRC’s director,” said Assistant Director Paul Brewster, Pacific Northwest Research Station. “He has a deep understanding of the ecology and management of the coastal rainforest and knows how to promote greater understanding to enhance the kinds of partnership collaborations that create relevant results and applications.”
The new center’s location in Juneau is ideal according to Goldstein. “Juneau is centered within the world’s largest contiguous temperate rainforest. The rainforest reaches north and west to include Prince William Sound in Southcentral Alaska and stretches south along the coasts of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and northern California,” said Goldstein.
The Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center objectives include:
* Providing formal and informal K – 12, undergraduate and graduate education, professional training, in-service training, technical assistance, public relations and demonstration programs relating to coastal rainforest ecosystems.
* To conduct research into Alaska’s temperate rainforest ecosystems, focusing on long-term research on Alaskan coastal forests and near-marine environments; a stimulating, state-of-the-art, collaborative research environment to expand and enhance research initiatives undertaken by partner agencies.
* Applying knowledge gained through collaboration to meet the education and management needs for sustainable use of the resources contained within coastal rainforest ecosystems.
* Making methods, literature, and new findings available to the public and communities of interest, and disseminating this information through a wide range of media products (i.e. bulletins, films, journal and magazine articles, and the internet).
* Disseminating regional, long-term predictive climate models.
“Collaborating and coordinating our work efforts will pay off in direct applications for our Southeast Alaska communities,” said University of Alaska Southeast Chancellor John Pugh. “The collaboration will allow the University’s education and research programs to place greater attention on forest and wildlife ecology and the social and economic aspects of the coastal rainforest region.”
The center will engender and support public policy dialogue to foster a greater understanding of the interactions among rainforest ecosystems, communities, and social and economic systems, according to Goldstein.
“We’re really in the start-up stage right now and looking to grow the number of center partners,” Goldstein said. “The synergy from this collaborative environment will allow us to coordinate activities among southeast Alaska’s communities and to understand and promote the values of the coastal Alaska rainforest ecosystems.”
Goldstein has already initiated meetings with other educational and research entities to explore how they might participate with the center. As an example, the recent 24-hour BioBlitz held on nearby Douglas Island was a collaborative adventure among scientists, naturalists and the public to catalogue the biodiversity of the Fish Creek watershed.
Goldstein has a doctorate in wildlife and fisheries ecology from Texas A&M University and a master’s of science degree in environmental toxicology. He has worked for the Forest Service in Juneau since 2004.
The cooperating agencies include the University of Alaska Southeast; the University of Alaska, Fairbanks; the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station; the U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region; the Alaska Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the City and Borough of Juneau. A coordinating committee with representation from each agency will oversee the center operations. Goldstein will serve as the director for a 2-year term as an employee of the University of Alaska Southeast.
Links: www.uas.alaska.edu/
www.fs.fed.us/pnw/
http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/exforests/heen-latinee/index.shtml
www.juneau.org/
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