November 10, 2009. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

      Damon Releasing Banded Juvenile Loon at Seney                                          The Uncommon Loon

Wildlife biologist Damon McCormick will give an illustrated presentation, The Uncommon Loon. Damon is a director of Common Coast Research & Conservation (CCRC), an Upper Peninsula-based nonprofit that focuses upon the study and protection of common loons and their aquatic habitat, and he is currently working on a book project involving the loons of Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Much of his work over the past decade has taken place at Seney NWR, where the long-term monitoring of a large population of color-marked loons has illuminated many facets of the species' biology and natural history. He will present findings from this research, discuss threats currently faced by loons in the Upper Peninsula and the broader Great Lakes region, and weigh the positives and negatives of our own interactions with this icon of northern wilderness.

Damon McCormick never anticipated that an adolescence spent in suburban Detroit would eventually lead him to the comparative wilderness of the Upper Peninsula, nor that a humanities education from the University of Michigan would function as the academic platform for his labor as a wildlife biologist. He never ceases to be grateful for both surprises. Having worked with loons since 1997, he has directed most of his energies toward efforts in the eastern and central UP. He can be reached at dlm@commoncoast.org or 906.202.0602.

The CCRC mission statement is:

1. To research the population dynamics and breeding biology of the common loon.

2. To investigate the factors inhibiting the long-term viability of common loon populations.

3. To evaluate the contaminants exposure and overall ecological health of aquatic environments by utilizing the common loon and other bio-indicators.

4. To promote public appreciation of the present status and future conservation needs of the common loon.

5. To facilitate the conservation and restoration of watersheds necessary to protect common loon populations.

Go to http://www.commoncoast.org/ for more information about the common loon and the activities of CCRC, along with some great photos of loons. 

Click on General Information for directions to the meeting site.