James Siegel

PhD candidate Anthropology Univ of Georgia, Biologist with Yakama Nation in Toppenish, WA

Today's Date: Nov 5, 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

Had large ornamental pond in my childhood in the backyard with fish and frogs. I lived in the suburbs of New York City. It was like having an aquarium in the backyard you could fall into.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

The Roslyn Duck Pond in Roslyn, NY, A Victoria era public park with ducks, geese, gulls, and terns. Lots of fish and salamanders in the area.

Now? My favorite place right now is a BLM Umtanum Creek, off the Yakima River in the Yakima River Canyon between Ellensburg and Yakima, WA

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

Turtles by far – any kind land or water turtles.

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

I think the loss of biodiversity is the present problem and global warming will be the future huge problem, if not now. The Arctic regions will be particularly vulnerable.

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

Although most environmental problems today seem biological in nature, they are actually cultural and social problems having to do with land use, economics, environmental decisions and cultural models of nature. All the environmental problems flow from sociocultural conditions. The solutions are as much cultural as biological.