Binoculars to the ready. Magnus and Rosalie birding in the Tatry Mountains of Poland in 2022
Magnus Persmark and Rosalie Hammond, who live in Eugene, Oregon, USA, have sponsored 12 hectares towards ridding Marion Island of its albatross-killing House Mice. They first heard of the Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project from their friend, Laurie Smaglick Johnson – who continues to support the project through her photography and in several other ways.
MFM News reached out to Magnus and Rosalie to learn more about them and why they decided to support the MFM Project. Magnus replies: “I am a biochemist and Rosalie a nurse practitioner. We have both been interested in the natural world for decades and started birding early. For Magnus, who grew up in Sweden, oceanic birds were exotic wanderers that were occasionally brought into the west coast during storms and could be spotted from sea-watching spots on rocky outcroppings. My wife and I met on a pelagic trip out of Monterey, California, while we were both in graduate school. During our years living in North Carolina, we regularly joined pelagic trips into the Gulf Stream and our fascination with seabirds was cemented.”
Magnus continues “We are fortunate in having been able to travel to Antarctica and to sub-Antarctic islands off South America and New Zealand. The scenery and abundance of wildlife, particularly penguins and tubenoses [procellariiforms], were awe-inspiring and left lasting memories. Particularly impactful were our experiences on pest-free islands in New Zealand, where before-and-after habitat photos and thriving populations of birds, that are struggling or have been extirpated elsewhere, fully opened our eyes to the fragility of these refugia. Conversations with individuals involved in ongoing pest-eradication efforts in New Zealand added depth to our knowledge. After seeing truly horrific images of mice devouring albatrosses on Marion Island, we immediately decided to contribute to the effort to rid this critical locality of its pests and help alleviate a man-made tragedy.”
Progress to date: each exposed rectangle represents 100 hectares that have been sponsored by MFM Project supporters
The Mouse-Free Marion Project’s crowdfunding Sponsor a Hectare scheme has now reached 42.3%, with 12 817 ha sponsored out of the 30 000-ha target as of 04 November 2025. The 2587 individual sponsorships listed on the scheme’s Honour Roll have raised 12.8 million Rands towards eradicating Marion Island’s alien House Mice. Clicking on names in bold on the roll will take you to interesting and inspiring articles featuring the sponsors. It is important to note that the Sponsor a Hectare scheme will raise only part of the MFM Project’s total projected costs. The project team is working hard in other ways to raise the bulk of the funds required in addition to the hectare scheme.
The MFM Project Team is deeply grateful to Magnus and Rosalie, and to all the other hectare sponsors around the world, whose love of seabirds has led them to contribute to the rehabilitation of a special island in the Southern Ocean.
John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 25 November 2025
*************************************************************************************
A young Wandering Albatross; photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson while aboard the Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 voyage
The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean. The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate. For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org.
