![]() ![]() From there, Schindler and his colleagues are able to gain insights into how to manage and restore systems that have been overrun by people. The big-picture goal at the core of ASP, says Schindler, is to understand how the watersheds - some of the most pristine in the world - work, so they can prioritize which parts should be protected and conserved. But in the summers, he moves to a sleepy cabin on Lake Nerka - one of ASP’s more remote field camps, only accessible by an hours-long boat ride or float plane - and guides students through their research. In Seattle, Schindler teaches undergraduate courses in freshwater sciences - one’s a freshman-level class for non-majors that exposes students to issues associated with water conservation the other’s on limnology. “It’s become a huge part of my life since.” Schindler, who holds the Harriet Bullitt Endowed Chair in Conservation, will mark 20 field seasons in Alaska this summer. Twelve years ago, he followed his freshwater love and switched to the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. The gig was in the Department of Zoology, but the summer before he started, professor Ray Hilborn - a fellow leader of the Alaska Salmon Program - invited Schindler to Bristol Bay, Alaska “just to check it out,” he says. “The first job I ever applied for out of graduate school was at the University of Washington,” he says. ![]() Eventually, I realized I wanted to go into ecology.” So he did. And there, Schindler, unknowingly, began preparing for his life as professor of aquatic and fishery sciences and a lead investigator of one of the longest-running ecosystem research programs in the U.S.: the UW’s Alaska Salmon Program.Įven though he loved his nature-focused upbringing, Schindler never thought he’d follow in his father’s footsteps - he started his University of British Columbia experience on the pre-med track before switching gears - but, says Schindler, “I knew I liked being outside, and I knew I liked having adventures. There, Schindler’s father studied acid rain and the eutrophication of lakes and rivers. ![]() ![]()
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