Jenkins has spent more than four decades conducting botanical and ecological inventories and surveys on more than half a million acres of land throughout the Northeast in areas such as West Champlain Hills and the boreal lowlands of the Adirondacks, applying his ecological knowledge of the area in publications of regional importance.
The award was presented to Jenkins by the Adirondack Research Consortium (ARC) today at the 18th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks in Lake Placid, New York. ARC is an organization dedicated to assuring that sound research informs planning, management, and policy decisions that improve the quality of life for residents as well as the ecological integrity of the Adirondack Park.
Jenkins' field studies have provided vast information about the region's natural communities and how changes to the environment introduced by pollutants or climate change can affect ecosystem health. One such well-known study looked at the ecologically and economically alarming decrease in sugar maple regeneration in the western Adirondacks and its possible correlation to reduced calcium concentration in soil caused by acid rain.
Adirondack Research Consortium Director Dan Fitts said, "The Adirondack Research
Consortium is pleased to recognize Jerry Jenkins for his dedication to ecological research and his efforts in providing both a natural history and path forward for the Adirondack Park. His work has enriched the Adirondack community and made science available and understandable to all audiences."
In his 2010 book, Climate Change in the Adirondacks: The Path to Sustainability, Jenkins paired his vast understanding of regional ecology with research into the cultural and economic aspects of the Adirondack Park to predict potential impacts of climate change to the region. In addition, Jenkins assessed the region's energy use and flow, and offered a vision for a sustainable future for the area, including strategies for energy independence.
Jenkins' list of authored materials includes hundreds of commissioned reports, several books and other major publications. Previous books by Jenkins include the WCS publication, The Adirondack Atlas: A Geologic Portrait of the Adirondack Park, and, Acid Rain in the Adirondacks: An Environmental History.
"WCS is extremely proud to have Jerry Jenkins on its staff and thankful to the Adirondack Research Consortium for recognizing his amazing contributions to the Adirondack Park," said Zoe Smith, Director of WCS's Adirondack program. "Jerry's breadth of knowledge on issues such as acid rain, climate change and the ecology of the region make him one of the region's greatest resources for natural history and conservation. His dedication to science and the Adirondacks is truly an inspiration."
Jerry Jenkins is also the founder of the Bard College White Creek Field School and helps inspire and train upcoming conservationists through his workshops and publications. He recently was honored by the Ecological Society of America with the William S. Cooper award for his role in a botanic survey of Harvard Forest published in collaboration with Forest staff.