Keeping traditions alive

Ever since Jon Niles’ grandfather built a camp on Drews Lake in the late 1940s, the Niles family has spent their summers there, continuing the tradition with each subsequent generation. Jon Niles, now in his 20s and ready to begin a career armed with a PhD in wildlife and fisheries resources, credits his passion for ecology from those Drews Lake summers. As he remarked, “Being exposed to summers at Drews and living on the lake, you are outside most of the time swimming, kayaking, fishing.”
I first met Jon through a collaborative grant proposal project with him and the environmental staff of the Houlton Band of Maliseets. The grant was written to assess brook trout habitat on five tributaries of the Meduxnekeag. Those meetings first took place as conference calls as Jon was finishing up his PhD work at West Virginia University. He was always very enthusiastic about doing research work here in northern Maine and one time I asked him about that. He told me that he really felt that the time he spent here in the County was probably why he is in the field he is in today. He has great memories of spending summers here and in addition to it being an overlooked yet great area of the country, he also felt that he wanted to give back in some way. Since his specialty is in cold water fish species, particularly brook trout, and Maine is one of the last strongholds for native brook trout, it is a natural fit.
As Jon looks forward to beginning a two-year visiting assistant professor position in the Department of Biology at Susquehanna University in central Pennsylvania, I asked him what he was most looking forward to. He replied that he really enjoys the collaboration that happens in academia and while he loves teaching in the classroom, he also feels it is a benefit that in his new position he will be able to do research projects in the summers and use interested undergraduate students with his field work. Many students appreciate the passing down of knowledge of the natural world and to Jon that is most rewarding of all. So, while his summers as assistant professor can lead him to projects all over the world, in the immediate future Jon envisions continuing his summers at Drews Lake and getting to know the brook trout population on surrounding tributaries a little better.
Finally, words of wisdom for those aspiring to careers in natural resources? “No matter what you do, you need the field experience. Paid or unpaid, it’s the only way to get your foot in the door.” With that in mind, Jon says that with his interest in watershed protection and restoration, anyone looking to do some ecology collaboration should get in touch with him. You never know.
Jon can be reached via e-mail at niles@susqu.edu.
    Editor’s note: Angie Wotton loves her work as district manager for the SASWCD. She also raises pastured pork and vegetables with her husband on their small West Berry Farm in Hammond. She can be reached 532-9407 or via e-mail at angela.wotton@me.nacdnet.net