Above: Hear from a Southborough native who took participated in two expeditions in search of the solitary wolverine. (image left from flyer, right cropped from flickr post by Ninara)
Southborough Open Land Foundation is sponsoring a special presentation by a Southborough native:
The Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF) invites you to a presentation by Rebecca Watters about a 350 mile cross country ski trek through the Altai Mountains of Mongolia in search of evidence of wolverines and other wildlife. Rebecca will also talk about wolverine/wildlife research in the United States.
Next month, SOLF is bringing Watters back to speak to the public at the Southborough Library. She’ll be giving a talk on Thursday, January 9th at 7:00 pm on the main floor. (All are welcome, no registration required.)
Back in April 2015 Watters gave a talk for SOLF at the Community House. While I’m not sure that January’s talk will cover all the same ground, I’m sure there will be chances to ask questions at the end. At that time, SOLF promoted Watter’s experience as part of a 5-person 2013 National Geographic sponsored expedition:
Wolverines live in cold, remote regions, and studying them has proven to be one of the most challenging pieces of wildlife research ever undertaken in the US.
Join us to learn more about this difficult-to-study species, and to explore conservation options in a very different cultural setting – one that includes reindeer herders, shamans, and the descendants of Genghis Khan. Her talk will explore the biology and ecology of wolverines, the critical questions of how to conserve climate sensitive wildlife, and the adventures on skis, foot, and horseback that go with research efforts on a high-elevation species on two continents.
According to a comment from Sally Watters, Rebecca returned for another expedition earlier this year:
In April of 2019, she returned with a five person team, this time made up of four women and one man, who covered a larger area of the national park in Mongolia. The talk at the library will cover the 2019 expedition, which was not sponsored by National Geographic, as well as other wildlife research topics.
As for the speaker, SOLF’s website notes:
Rebecca is a graduate of Algonquin Regional High School, St. Lawrence University, and Yale University. She is Executive Director of the Wolverine Foundation and works with Round River Conservation Studies directing a student study abroad program in Mongolia where she works closely with the National Parks administration.
Updated (12/23/19 8:37 am): According to Sally Watters, the new talk will focus on a second expedition that Rebecca undertook earlier this year (not sponsored by NatGeo.)
I would like to clarify a couple of details about Rebecca’s upcoming talk at the library. In 2013 she was part of a five person team made up of four men and one woman, sponsored by National Geographic, who cross country skied through an area of Mongolia. In April of 2019, she returned with a five person team, this time made up of four women and one man, who covered a larger area of the national park in Mongolia. The talk at the library will cover the 2019 expedition, which was not sponsored by National Geographic, as well as other wildlife research topics.
Thank you for clarifying!