Friday, April 1, 2011

Team Pinta 2011!

We have a team for this summer! I've been meaning to announce this for quite some time, but as always, things can change quickly with this project! Even though things aren't quite finalized, I'll go ahead and introduce the new members. It took me about 2 months of searching through lots of applications to find everyone, and I'm very excited about how the team is shaping up. Claire Phillips is an experienced field biologist, who has spent the last few years working with USGS on desert tortoise ecology and conservation. John Mulligan is senior at SUNY-ESF who has extensive hiking and camping experience, and done fieldwork in Wisconsin and Montana. Caity Homan is a junior at SUNY-ESF who has also spent lots of time backpacking and hiking and done fieldwork in New York and New Zealand.

Francisco was originally going to join us again this summer, but unfortunately (for us) he has some grad school opportunities that he can't pass up. Due to his departure, we may be adding to the group an undergraduate student from the Galapagos, which would be a great opportunity for all parties. More updates as we find out more.

Now that it is April, it has dawned on me that the date for our departure is quite close! We will most likely leave the US on May 16th. Lots to do before then...