Aram Calhoun

Aram completed her Dissertation in 1996 looking at the role of methanotrophic bacteria on various marsh plants in mitigating methane emission from freshwater marshes. She has worked professionally as an environmental educator and a wetland scientist and currently is a Professor of Wetland Ecology and Director of the Ecology and Environmental Sciences program at the University of Maine. Current research has focused on vernal pool ecology and conservation. Aram is part of UMaine's Sustainability Solutions initiative, a four year NSF EPScoR project that addresses pressing environmental issus through scientists and stakeholder joint problem solving. Calhoun and her team are working with regulators, legislators, municipal officials, and landowners to develop innovative approaches to vernal pool conservation at the local level. Calhoun and colleagues have just been awarded a National Science Foundation Coupled Natural Human Systems grant to continue this work. This team of ecologists and economists is using vernal pools as a model system to demonstrate how towns can have both vibrant economies and intact natural resources.