Above picture:  Bill Bowerman (right) holds his Explorers Club flag awarded this year to carry in the field on his Bald Eagle research project.  Beside him is Andrew Ressler, National Eagle Scout Association World Explorer, holding his own flag

Bill Bowerman is a Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Toxicology in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland, USA.  He received his Ph.D. in fisheries and wildlife-environmental toxicology from Michigan State University.  He has been studying the ecology of Bald Eagles and the effects of environmental pollutants in the Great Lakes region since 1984.  He is recognized as an expert on sea eagles across the world.  He was selected as a U.S. Fulbright Specialist in 2023 and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of The Explorers Club.  He recently visited BirdLife South Africa to discuss continued collaboration with the organization on his Fulbright and sabbatical projects, including work on vultures, population ecology of raptors and impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Bill writes to MFM News: “I first heard about the Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project from Mark Anderson, BirdLife South Africa’s CEO and Chair of the Project’s Management Committee, who has been my friend since 2000.  “This is a very important avian conservation project that will restore Marion Island’s ecosystem and protect threatened seabirds by ridding the island of its alien House Mice.  It is imperative that we restore natural balance to critical island breeding colonies if we are to continue to make a difference in the recovery of these seabirds.  This is a huge project and it takes a lot of funding to restore the natural habitat of Marion Island, but it’s worth every Rand”.  Of himself, he writes that he is very interested in service to nature and youth, specifically through the Boy Scouts of America and The Explorers Club.

 

The MFM Project thanks Bill Bowerman for his generous sponsorship.  Mark Anderson is especially pleased that a long-standing friend and colleague has offered his support.

 

John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 25 January 2024

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Close-up of a Grey-headed Albatross on Marion Island; photograph by John Dickens and poster design by Michelle Risi

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.