Moirs Environmental Dialogues

George Divoky, founder of Friends of Cooper Island, talks with Rob about his work studying the Black Guillemot seabird in Arctic Alaska. Lori Wark, web producer for Friends of Cooper Island, joined the conversation to explain how to get involved in this research. Since 1975 George has spent his summers on remote Cooper Island. What began as an ornithologist's quest to understand the behaviors of a rare seabird, however, has turned into the story of a changing Arctic. Due to the recent melting of Arctic sea ice in summer, polar bears have begun visiting the island in search of food, reducing breeding success to near zero by 2009. After that devastating year, George came up with a solution to protect breeding birds and their chicks. By modifying hard plastic cases, George created bear-proof nest sites. The Black Guillemots began moving into their new homes in 2010 with great success. Tune in to find out how you can sponsor a nest site and help to keep the research going.