The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the opening on May 19 of Awakening Natures Voice - Rachel Carson: 1907-2007, a national exhibition about the life and accomplishments of Rachel Carson, one of the worlds foremost leaders in conservation. The exhibition, marking the centennial of her birth, will be shown at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster, Mass., through mid-November.
The exhibition includes artifacts, photographs, and historical materials from the Services archival collection and from other institutions. The shows guest curator is Dr. John Juriga, who is associated with the Ward Museum of Wild Fowl Art in Salisbury, Maryland. Both Dr. Juriga and the Ward Museum have loaned artifacts for display.
"I think it is very fitting that this exhibit is housed here by the sea, along the Atlantic coast that inspired much of Rachel Carsons work and passions," said Marvin Moriarty, northeast regional director for the Service. "The Service is proud to take part in this partnership celebrating her legacy. Carsons quiet, determined voice lives on, urging us to conserve our natural resources for future generations."
According to Robert Dwyer, director of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, "We are very proud that the museum was chosen as the location of this six month national exhibition, which illuminates the many facets of the Rachel Carson story. This exhibition is a natural match for our mission to inspire appreciation, stewardship and understanding of nature through discovery and learning."
Museum sponsors and supporters for the exhibition and related programs during the year are the International Fund for Animal Welfare, as well as The Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank Charitable Foundation Trust, the Bilezikian Family Foundation, The New York Community Trust, Friends of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, the Van Amerigen Foundation, and Cape Wind.
Carsons distinction in writing and biology led to a job early in her career with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries - now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - in 1936. During her tenure with the agency, she served first as a biologist and ultimately as the agencys editor-in-chief. She resigned her government job in 1952 to pursue her writing full-time after her second book, The Sea Around Us, became a best-seller.
Considered by many to be the mother of modern-day ecology, her influential writing and scientific credibility revolutionized Americas interest in protecting the environment. She is best known for her book, Silent Spring, an impassioned plea for the nation to consider the effects of chemicals on the world around us. Carson died of cancer in 1964, shortly after its publication.
The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge along the coast in Wells, Maine, honors Carson and is a memorial to the coastal landscapes she cherished. Established in 1966, the former Coastal Maine National Wildlife Refuge was renamed and rededicated by the Service in June 1970.
Rachel Carson Centennial Web site:
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge: /www.fws.gov
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
###
