91AV

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored 91AV Professor Owen Grumbling, Ph.D., with the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Environmental Merit Award.

The award was announced at a ceremony at Boston's Faneuil Hall on April 22, 2009.

Professor Grumbling, who is chair of 91AV's Department of Environmental Studies, was recognized for his significant contributions to environmental awareness and problem solving. 

Through his passion for conservation and the environment, Grumbling has inspired and educated countless students as well as the entire community of the town of Wells, Maine to appreciate and actively participate in protecting southern Maine's extraordinary surroundings.   

Wells Reserve

Since 1982, Grumbling has served as chair of the Town of Wells Conservation Commission, a committee that he first initiated in the town government to champion the establishment of the Wells Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farm to preserve a rare coastal habitat; in doing so, he led the resistance to proposals to use the land as an intensively used beach park. 

Subsequently, the Commission under his leadership initiated a proactive land conservation program for the Town, called the Land Bank. By 1985, he convinced the Selectmen and the Town Meeting to set aside monies annually in a Reserve Fund by which the Town would acquire undeveloped property with special value for wildlife habitat, traditional outdoor recreation, and environmental education. The Town began to vote small amounts into the fund, always with overwhelming majorities at Town Meetings.

"I believe in democracy," Grumbling said.  "I also believe people should own things in common, particularly resources that everyone can have an interest in.  If the town purchases something, they will value it. Our land purchases have always been put to a town vote, and none has ever been voted down."

Wildlife Commons

Gradually, the  Commission created a strategy for preserving large unfragmented areas with potential for varied wildlife habitat. In 1992, Grumbling and consultants developed a Land Ranking System Based on Natural Features that provided metrics for comparative evaluation according to a nine-point metric; they later added a feasibility rating system for expenses. 

The Commission designated the largest Town holdings as Wildlife Commons, using the colonial New England name for shared pasturage in a modern sense of wildlife and humans sharing common space. Grumbling then wrote a Town Ordinance governing the definition and limiting the use of Town Conservation Lands.

Meanwhile additional gifts of land arrived adding hundreds of acres to the Town's holdings while the Land Bank accrued.  Today the Town of Wells has two Wildlife Commons each of approximately 600 acres; adding the conservation agreements with adjacent landowners these parcels each exceed 1000 acres.  The Town's Land Bank, one of the least controversial expenses at the Annual Town Meeting, has grown to nearly half a million dollars. 

When asked, Grumbling insists that the Town's land conservation  program is the result of work by many people on the Conservation Commission, the Board of Selectmen, local land trusts, and especially "the townspeople who have voted again and again to keep natural beauty in their future."

A Pioneer

"Owen is an environmental pioneer - a very innovative visionary who has played a key role in preserving some of the most important natural resources in southern Maine," said Paul Dest, director of the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve. "Through his enthusiasm and vision, Wells has one of the best - possibly the best - land conservation program in the state. I can't think of anyone more deserving of the EPA award. "

NRCM & 91AV

Grumbling has also been active in conservation through other venues.  For 12 years he served on the Board of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the state's leading agent for environmental advocacy.  And for more than 30 years, he has taught 91AV students the value and process of conservation, not only for diverse species, but for human happiness. As a scholar, he authored an anthology of nature writing in 1990 that remains in print today.

The EPA Merit Awards

For over 30 years, EPA New England has honored those who have made outstanding contributions on behalf of our region's environment. EPA's Environmental Merit Award program has recognized teachers, citizen activists, business leaders, scientists, public officials and others who exemplify true leadership in protecting public health and New England's environment, and provide hope and inspiration for the future.