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Grad student earns Rote research grant

More will be known about raccoons, striped skunks, bobcats, foxes and other mammals that live on former Fort Ord lands as the result of a study by CSUMB graduate student Bart Kowalski.

Kowalski is mapping the distribution of these animals on lands managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management, the Army and the Fort Ord Reuse Authority as part of his master’s degree program in Coastal and Watershed Science and Policy at CSUMB.

The largest share of the former Army base was deeded to the BLM, which manages it for multiple uses including “environmentally sensitive recreation.” His study will provide land managers with information on the factors that impact the distribution of these mammals.

“If I find that areas with highly concentrated roads and trails are less likely to be used by a certain species, then the managers could take informed actions to limit the use of those trails,” Kowalski said.

“Alternatively, they would have the knowledge of locations to open new trails with minimum impact to the mammals.”

For his work, Kowalski is this year’s winner of the James W. Rote Grant for Research in Applied Sciences.

In announcing the award, Dr. James Lindholm, the James Rote Professor of Marine Science and Policy at CSUMB, said:

“In the spirit of James Rote’s long career at the interface of science and policy, Bart’s project provides a clear linkage between research and management of the natural world.”

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Rote held a variety of science advisory positions and helped draft environmental policy at the state and federal levels. He was instrumental in getting Monterey Bay designated as a National Marine Sanctuary.

He joined the CSUMB faculty in 1995, and was a founding member of the university’s innovative interdisciplinary program linking natural science, physical science, technology, economics and policy. Illness forced him to retire in 1997. He died in 2006.

The grant program is in its third year. The $2,000 award allows students to purchase equipment for their research projects; the equipment remains in the department for use by future students.

Kowalski came to the United States in 1992 from his native Poland. After high school in Costa Mesa, he earned a bachelor’s degree at UC Santa Cruz.

“I fell in love with the Central Coast, and after graduating, moved around between Santa Cruz and Point Reyes (Marin County),” he said. “When I decided to pursue a master’s degree, I wanted to stay in the area, so CSUMB was an attractive choice.”

He is planning to graduate in fall 2011.

Erin Stanfield won the first Rote Research Grant, which she used to buy equipment for her study of algae in Pinto Lake near Watsonville. Scott Toews was last year’s recipient. His grant was used to purchase equipment necessary for his research in the mechanisms that drive genetic diversity in Monterey Bay.