The Otter - Summer 2022

SUMMER 2022

TTER

WILDCENTER.ORG

“Regenerative Agriculture,” by Luisa Rivera

p.2 Climate Solutions p.8 Getting on Board p.10 Water Works

p.14 Off the Wing p.16 Try It! p.22 Events

CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES HUMANITY HAS EVER FACED. Our new Climate Solutions exhibit, opening this summer, asks: What can we do about it?

The exhibit puts a spotlight on Adirondackers who are making extraordinary contributions to shift the narrative on this story. They’re not passive bystanders—they’re active participants, addressing climate change in their homes and hometowns.

In the exhibit, which fills our Find Out Forest, you’ll encounter farmers who are relying on research to find more climate-friendly agricultural practices, storytellers who help us understand science through art, builders who ensure function is as elegant as form and environmental 2

experts who are keeping a close eye on the ecosystems that surround us. You’ll also meet people who are ensuring underrepresented voices—those of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)—are included in these conversations.

The biggest step to take, though, won’t happen until you leave The Wild Center—and, we hope, find your own Climate Solution.

We’ll get you started. An interactive “Tinkering Studio” will let you get some hands-on experience with tools used by our experts. And throughout, we’ll give you fodder for ways you can quickly incorporate meaningful solutions into your own life, whether that’s by considering public transit, participating in local government, finding new uses for items you’d otherwise dispose of or paying more attention to the clothes you buy.

The exhibit covers four different missions:

CARING FOR OUR ONE HOME We need to support the ecosystems that support life on Earth. By protecting clean air and water and promoting wildlife diversity, we leave the planet better than we found it. The best path forward involves input and wisdom from environmental scientists, Indigenous communities and other individuals often left out of the conversation.

REBUILDING OUR FOOD SYSTEM It’s not enough to bring food production closer to the places we live.

Building a more sustainable food system means finding ways to make our farming methods friendlier to the planet. But it also means providing access to healthy, culturally relevant food to everyone. That means bringing more people from more diverse backgrounds to the table when it comes to growing and distributing food.

TAKING ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE Here, you’ll meet people who are putting their talents into action as they take steps to protect the planet. Hear from artists, educators, students and others who are using their passion to show how we can each play a role in this fight. And you’ll explore tools you can put to use yourself.

TRANSFORMING OUR ENERGY ECOSYSTEM Get inside the walls of a structure that presents options you can consider while building or renovating the places we live and work. Learn how architects, builders and others are relying on ultra-efficient building materials, renewable energy and site design—so you can see how we can construct the house of tomorrow, today.

Climate Solutions will open in July.

Learn more at wildcenter.org.

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Marvels, indeed To Dustin Angell, the men and women in these portraits are superheroes. His life-size photographs, featured throughout the exhibit, show scientists studying Adirondack ecosystems, farmers committed to sustainable food and students working toward change at the local level. In other words, they put a spotlight on people who have devoted their lives to climate solutions.

But these “gritty, secular saints,” as Angell called them, are just regular people, even while performing heroic acts. In observing his portraits, Angell hopes viewers will recognize their 4

own capacity to act and make a difference.

“I think these portraits are a way to humanize science,” says Angell, an educator at the Archbold Biological Station in Florida.

“Art is so wonderful, because it allows you to bring in the other dimensions of human experience— emotions, spirituality—and get people asking about the meaning of things. What’s the meaning of nature? What is our relationship as humans to nature? And those are the kinds of questions you start asking when you’re looking at art.”

Home grown Birch Kinsey (pictured right) is on a mission to heal. As a farmer, she wants to repair the damage done to land after decades of harmful agricultural practices. As an activist, she wants to connect people long excluded from farming and land ownership to the soil. Her work touches on food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture and climate solutions—in short, climate justice.

Birch, who was a Youth Climate Intern at The Wild Center in 2019, says her role is to bridge a gap between yesterday and tomorrow. In nature, these transition areas are known as “ecotones.” “I see climate justice work as maintaining that ecotone,” she says. “Things are not getting past me. If I go somewhere, the soil will be better when I leave. If I go somewhere, there will be food for pollinators. If I go somewhere that looks dead, I will bring as much life as I can into it and make sure it can hold itself. I want to create those ecotones between human habitats and the rest of the world, because that’s the first thing we’re going to do in healing.”

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Moss Def It’s hard to envision just how much carbon the sixmillion-acre Adirondack Park is keeping out of the atmosphere. Perhaps this 11-foot-wide, 10-foot-tall wall covered in moss can get the point across? The soft, springy moss was harvested from ground about to be excavated from nearby private land. Then it was boiled in glycerine, to preserve it, and dyed different shades of green to indicate which parts of the park are trapping the most carbon. In all of these forested areas, the element stays locked inside trees and bogs, rather than becoming a greenhouse gas in the form of carbon dioxide. “The protections that have been put in the Adirondacks have helped create spaces where forests, bogs and other ecosystems can thrive,” says Stephanie Hanson, one of our exhibit developers.

“Healthy ecosystems are key to helping manage rising temperatures by pulling down carbon from the atmosphere.”

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Be part of the solution The best climate solution is the one we reach together—and we can all learn from each other. Send us a photo of your own personal climate solution, and we may feature it in the exhibit for all to see. Whether you’ve built an at-home composter, installed energy-efficient light bulbs, changed your diet or cast a vote in a local election, we want you to tell us about it.

Scan the QR code and share your story and a photograph, if applicable, that shows how you’re finding your place in the climate movement.

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GETTING ON BOARD

Dedicated volunteers on both our Board of Trustees and Advisory Board provide needed guidance and perspectives on all aspects of our operations. These new members have long-standing ties to the Adirondacks and The Wild Center.

LEE BAILEY Trustee

In the 1990s, Lee Bailey worked for a company that provided the batteries for General Motors’ EV1, the first massproduced modern electric car. “We had a demonstration house with solar panels on the roof and an EV1 outside, and we said, ‘This is the future,’” says Bailey, a financier involved today with several clean-energy projects.

Thirty years later, the future has taken longer to arrive than he expected.

But it’s getting here. “I think people are increasingly aware of the challenges posed by climate change,” says Bailey, a St. Lawrence University alumnus who has been visiting the Adirondacks since he was 7.

And while people are sometimes slow to take the necessary steps, he says places like The Wild Center can convince people to act.

DAVE FADDEN Trustee

When storyteller and artist David Fadden worked with The Wild Center on our Ways of Knowing exhibit, he was eager for visitors to see a Native American perspective on nature and the environment. But he wasn’t sure whether it would connect.

“You do speeches, you go home, but often you don’t hear if you’ve affected people or not,” says Fadden, who operates the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center in Onchiota with his father and brother. Soon after the exhibit opened, he heard from somebody who was skeptical an Indigenous perspective could fit in a science museum. But that person came around.

“Through the process of education, this person got very emotional,” he said. “We opened their eyes to a new way of looking at the world.”

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ROBIN GOSNELL Advisory Board

Robin Gosnell practiced tax law full-time for five years before working part-time as a lawyer and administrator for a boutique investment firm in Princeton, N.J. Now retired, she sits on the boards of Princeton Day School and Trinity Counseling Service, and serves several other non-profits as well. She has a second home on Upper Saranac Lake, where she has spent almost every summer since she was an infant.

GRANT REYNOLDS Advisory Board

Grant Reynolds was raised in Lake Placid but has since lived and worked around the world. He moved back to New York City in 2012 and is founder of Parcelle, an online wine dealer. Reynolds co-authored his first book, “How to Drink Wine,” in 2020; he has been a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and was named Best New Sommelier by Wine & Spirits magazine in 2013. He has been featured in Condé Nast Traveler and Vogue, and has written about wine and restaurant culture for Vanity Fair and GQ.

ANNA SOMMER Advisory Board

Anna Sommer is a principal of Energy Futures Group, a firm seeking to transform our energy system to one that is clean, efficient, renewable, safe, affordable and equitable. Her work, which involves modeling and critiquing utility scale power systems, requires her to testify before public utility commissions around the country. She lives in Canton, N.Y., with her husband and two children.

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WATER, WATER We usually feature one of our 300 fish, reptiles, otters, or other creatures here—but in this issue, we’re featuring the life support systems that keep the denizens of our aquatic exhibits happy and healthy. While natural processes keep aquatic habitats clean in the wild, The Wild Center needs other measures. In the basement beneath our exhibit floor, a maze of pipes, filters, chillers and other equipment works 24/7 to provide crystal-clear water.

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Our 11 aquatic exhibits are filled with 42,000 gallons of water, every drop of which gets purified multiple times daily. That cycle starts here, where beneficial bacteria consume the waste produced by our trout. (Similar life support systems handle each of the other exhibits.)

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Once through the biological filter, the water moves into these large tanks filled with 2,000 pounds of sand. After seeping through the sand, the water goes through an ultraviolet light (not seen) to complete the cleaning process.

While we want to remove waste from our exhibits, it’s actually beneficial for our manmade pond, where it provides nutrients to the plants. Curator Leah Valerio is keeping track of how much trickles out to Greenleaf Pond—typically 7,000 gallons of water a day. Because the pond loses 14,000 gallons a day through evaporation on a sunny summer day, the extra water ensures it doesn’t dry up.

Most water returns to the exhibits through these pipes. Well water replaces the water we divert to the pond. We use cold water from our heating and cooling system to chill the new water to the low 50s, which our trout prefer.

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KEEPING A GOOD THING GOING Judy and Parker Blatchford first learned of The Wild Center the way so many did: From Obie Clifford. The Wild Center’s indefatigable founding chairman made it his mission to sell everybody he met on the unlikely dream of putting a world-class natural history museum in

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Tupper Lake, and he drew the Blatchfords into his orbit, also.

“Obie wasn’t exactly shy,” says Judy, who met him after buying a home near his on Big Wolf Lake.

Clifford convinced the Blatchfords that The Wild Center would give Tupper Lake a shot in the arm,

both economically and culturally.

“One of the things that always stuck in my mind was—wow, that’s a great idea,” Parker says.

“But, boy, it’s a heavy lift.”

They threw their support behind The Wild Center before it opened, and afterward, became regular volunteers. The Blatchfords marveled at watching Clifford’s vision turn true—first with a

have continued,” Parker says.

While they live most of the year in the Philadelphia area, they’ve built a deep love of the Adirondacks. “Tupper Lake is just a great town,” Judy says. “We want to support the people who will continue to be able to have jobs and live there, and we want to support The Wild Center.”

The Blatchfords’ legacy gift is a

“When you see something that was created from nothing, and realize what a terrific job it does of educating, of engaging people, that’s something that we want to have continued,” Parker says. building rising out of a sandpit, then followed by educational programs and activities and, of course, visitors. More than a million and counting.

In their 80s now, the Blatchfords are intent on keeping that economic engine going. It’s why they’ve left a planned gift to The Wild Center, becoming members of the Linda Vaughan Society.

“When you see something that was created from nothing, and realize what a terrific job it does of educating, of engaging people, that’s something that we want to

small part of keeping that fire lit.

They hope others will follow. After all, they know how much of a difference committed individuals can make.

“It turns out we all learned something: That when people get committed to it, they can make heavy lifts,” Parker says. “And that’s what was done here.”

For more information about providing a legacy gift for The Wild Center, contact Hillarie Logan-Dechene at hlogandechene@wildcenter.org or Robin Ellis at rellis@wildcenter.org, or call 518-359-7800.

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There were more than 1,400 in all. In years past, she might have swept them up from our bird enclosures, disposing of most, while keeping some to show visitors and use others as scent-training aids for our resident otters.

Now, though, she is packaging them for shipment to Oklahoma, where a federally sanctioned repository run by the Comanche Nation provides feathers to Native American tribes for ceremonial use.

“We didn’t know that this is a resource that people needed or wanted,” says Corcoran, an assistant curator. “But now we do.”

Corcoran was at a zookeepers’ conference in 2018 when she learned of the value feathers have to Native tribes. But longestablished federal laws to protect birds make it a federal offense, literally, to possess feathers of migratory birds (which is to say, most birds you see.) And that has made it hard for Indigenous tribes to replace worn ceremonial objects or make new ones.

Which is why Corcoran was in a conference room cataloging and cleaning feathers before sending them to Sia, the feather repository. One of just a handful of places legally allowed to collect feathers, the organization—named for the Comanche word for “feather”—distributes them on

a first-come, first-served basis to recognized tribes.

This complicated process is necessary because of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, among the nation’s first conservation laws. Then, the U.S. government was responding to a wave of bird extinctions. The Labrador duck went first in 1878. Others followed, including the great auk and passenger pigeon.

Many were hunted to oblivion for food and fashion—at the time, feathers for ladies’ hats were tres chic.

In all, the MBTA protects nearly 1,100 bird species.

Corcoran has learned that feathers from most of the bird species cared for by The Wild Center can be used somewhere. Which makes her happy: While some of those feathers were shed naturally, others came from birds once in her care that have since died. “For me, personally, these feathers do hold a story,” says Corcoran, who is able to name some of the birds once attached to the feathers by pattern alone. (“This is a tail feather from our female kestrel, Zuma. And this kestrel feather is from my falconry bird, Vega,” she says.)

HIDDEN RESOURCE

Chelsie Corcoran is surrounded by feathers. Iridescent gray feathers from an osprey.

Ultramarine plumage from a blue jay. Plastic bags full of other feathers from kestrels and ravens, barred owls and screech owls, peregrines and hawks.

The project has “helped me give them meaning beyond death,” she says. “An American kestrel might live to be 13 to 17. But it could have life through culture that lasts 50 years or more. They’re going to go on and have a new life that may pass down through generations.”

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NEW AGAIN The average American throws away about 5 pounds of trash every day.

When you find a new use for something you’re about to discard, that’s called “upcycling.” It’s a triple whammy: You’re not only diverting waste from a landfill, but you also get something useful back in return. And, best of all, you’re recycling energy into something new and useful.

That’s why upcycling is an important climate solution. You can get started with an egg carton, which, believe it or not, has tons of extra uses. Here are nine. (Warning: Once you start finding new uses for old things, you may not want to stop!)

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Start seedlings

Cut off the lid and poke a hole in the bottom of each egg cup for drainage.

Then fill each cup with potting soil and plant some seeds. Keep it in a sunny place and water daily. You can put the lid underneath the cups to catch moisture. Once the seedlings sprout, cut each cup from the tray and plant it—cup and all. (Assuming you’re using a cardboard carton.)

Feed birds

Cut off the lid. Take two lengths of twine or another sturdy string and thread the ends through holes in each corner of the tray. Secure with a knot. Fill the cups halfway with birdseed, and hang in a tree.

Start a fire

Going camping? These will get a campfire going every time. Place dryer lint in each cardboard egg cup, then melt wax in a double boiler. Carefully pour the wax over the lint and let it cool. Light the edge of the cup to start a blaze.

Hold bits and bobs

Egg cartons are perfect for holding screws and other hardware that you remove during home projects, or for keeping track of Legos, beads or any tiny pieces you’re using for a project.

Handle with care

Egg cartons are stiff and lightweight, which makes them excellent replacements for Styrofoam packing peanuts.

Unmess your desk

Junk drawer out of control? Use an egg carton to get organized. You can use the cups to hold paper clips, thumb tacks, coins and more.

Find your inner artist

An empty egg carton does a great job doubling as a paint palette. If you’re planning to reuse the carton for more paint, you can line the cups with tinfoil to make it easier to dispose of any left over.

See the light

Take a string of lights, use egg cups as small shades around each, and you’ll have a pretty floral lamp. Cut each carton into individual cups, then cut the corners and curl backward so they look like petals. Paint the cups any color you like. After they dry, put each bulb through a hole in the bottom of the cup.

Help a friend with chickens

Egg cartons are also perfect for…holding eggs! Collect your cartons and bring them to a friend with chickens—they’ll thank you (maybe with eggs!)

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WILD

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We admit, there’s not much Wild Center in this picture—but it’s still pretty cool. The woman in the small box at the bottom of the screen to the left is Elodie Linck, the Jeanne Hutchins Youth Climate Coordinator. She’s addressing a group of students from schools in Sweden and England as they participate in a Global Earth Summit in southern Sweden in March. Even though they were 3,600 miles away, Elodie was by their side virtually, advising them on the climate action plans they drew up for their communities.

Thanks to @kssweden for sharing this shot.

OTHER WILD SHOTS top to bottom: @bisoninablanket @gretchenkoehlermusic @noco_local @sharignolek Each of these photographers will get a copy of “A Wild Journey,” our photographic history of The Wild Center.

If you’re far away, we hope you’ll get a little closer this summer.

Bring your phones and share your photos to #wildcenter.

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HONORING A LOVER OF NATURE AND SCIENCE Donors create Wild Center’s first named position When Jeanne Hutchins died in August 2021, a half-year shy of her 100th birthday, her family and friends wanted to honor her in a way that captured her essence.

Hutchins was devoted to the Adirondacks (she had been coming here for 70 years), she revered science (she held a pre-med degree) and she was committed to learning (she researched and wrote essays well into her 90s).

Those traits also embody The Wild Center’s mission— and it’s why our first-ever named position, the Jeanne Hutchins Youth Climate Coordinator, is such an apt tribute.

“She loved the lakes,” recalled her daughter, Virginia Valkenburgh, who is also a Wild Center trustee. “She loved Lake Clear, and she loved going out in the canoe all by herself. She had a best friend next door, who she would go swimming with each afternoon. And at 5 o’clock, they’d meet out there with their bathing caps on and go for a swim between their two docks.”

The named position was supported with a gift by Valkenburgh and her husband, Roger; Valkenburgh’s

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sister, Katherine Welling, and husband, Curt Welling; and longtime friends Mary and John Brock.

Over the past decade, The Wild Center has sponsored Youth Climate Summits everywhere from the Adirondacks to Sri Lanka, giving students the tools to confront climate change in their own communities. Their gift ensures this groundbreaking work will have even greater reach.

“The issues around climate change are very real, but they need a lot more understanding,” said Mary Brock, a childhood friend of Valkenburgh’s.

“This is something she would have absolutely been thrilled about,” added Brock’s husband, John.

Those traits also embody The Wild Center’s mission—and it’s why our first-ever named position, the Jeanne Hutchins Youth Climate Coordinator, is such an apt tribute.

The first person to fill the position, Elodie Linck, grew up in Saranac Lake. When she was a student, Linck participated in the Youth Climate Program; now she’s bringing the message to others. “I am grateful to have the opportunity in this position to engage with and empower young people to take action on climate change in their schools and communities in the Adirondacks and around the world,” she said. “It is an honor to have my work supported by the family and friends of Jeanne Hutchins, who cared deeply about learning and preserving our environment.”

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THERE’S MORE TO EXPLORE THIS SUMMER ALL SEASON LONG Daily, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Welded Steel: Shape, Form and Light

This art-in-nature installation by Adirondack artist Barney Bellinger is a collaboration with Tupper Arts. More than a dozen of Bellinger’s industrial metal sculptures can be found on campus. Many of the works can be seen on our Forest Music trail, where you can also listen to “Iron Harvest,” a composition by Eric Sturr inspired by Bellinger’s work.

Hopscotch, a Stickwork sculpture by Patrick Dougherty

Dougherty and a group of volunteers spent weeks bending, weaving, snagging and flexing sustainably sourced local saplings to create a whimsical immersive art piece open to Wild Center vistors.

Climate Solutions

This new exhibit, opening this summer, will show how committed individuals across the North Country and beyond are using their talents and passions to take steps to fighting climate change—and, we hope, inspire you to do the same. Read more about it on p.2.

WEEKLY EVENTS Guided Canoeing on the Raquette River

Saturdays & Sundays, May 28–June 26; Daily, July 1–September 6, 1 p.m.

Explore wetland habitats and catch a glimpse of native wildlife as you paddle.

Space is limited. Purchase canoe tickets and reserve daily admission tickets in advance. $

Friday Mornings on Wild Walk for Members

Fridays in July and August, 8–10 a.m.

Members and their guests can enjoy Wild Walk before it opens to the public. No charge, but advanced registration required, online or by phone.

SPECIAL EVENTS & PROGRAMS National Pollinator Week Monday, June 20–Sunday, June 26

Take a closer look at the industrious creatures that help sustain biodiversity on our planet and put food on our tables. Enjoy live demonstrations, virtual programs and workshops throughout the week.

Member Reception and Solutions Walkthrough Wednesday, July 6, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Members Only

Lake Placid Sinfonietta

Thursday, July 14, 6–7 p.m.

The Big Wolf Great Hall fills with music performed by the Lake Placid Sinfonietta.

Space is limited; RSVP early. $

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Fees apply where noted. Many events have limited space—please register early.

See all the details at wildcenter.org/events

Summer Climate Change Institute for Educators

Monday, July 25–Thursday, July 28, Off-Site A network of educators convene for a hands-on exploration of how to teach climate change science, impacts, justice and solutions hosted at North Country School’s spectacular Rock-E House & Basecamp in Lake Placid. $

Adirondack Water Week Friday, August 5–Sunday, August 14 During this week-plus celebration of Adirondack watersheds, explore the Raquette River and Green Leaf Pond, listen to a guest presenter or take a guided canoe trip.

Sensory Guided Canoe Trip Tuesday, August 9, 8–10:30 a.m.

Hosted by Adirondack River Walking, part of Adirondack Water Week. $ Youth Leadership Retreat Tuesday, August 9–Friday, August 12 This intensive, multi-day offsite experience for participants of The Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program develops valuable leadership skills as students spark change in their schools and communities. Apply at wildcenter.org/events. $ Carl Heilman Photography Workshops

Learn nature photography tips and techniques from award-winning photographer Carl Heilman II. Register early at wildcenter.org/events.

Saturday, August 13, Summer Landscapes. $ Saturday, October 1, Fall Landscape and Waterway Tour. $

Forest Bathing Walk: Slow Down, Unplug and Immerse Your Senses in Nature

Saturday, May 28, and Saturday, October 8 This unique eco-trip takes you through a series of sensory activities and opens up your senses to the sights, sounds, smells and textures of an Adirondack forest. $

Science and Art Summer Series

Dates TBD. $ In anticipation of our new Climate Solutions exhibit, come tinker, dance, expand your mind, and tap into your creative side. Presenters both indoors and out, workshops and activities will fuse the worlds of arts and science.

Energy Festival Saturday, October 1

Get energized this fall at a full-day event.

DIGITAL OFFERINGS

Stay tuned on all our social media channels and look for online-only special events where you’ll get behind-the-scenes tours, animal ambassador updates, talks on regional science and more.

Wild Tales YouTube series

Join our Animal Care department for a behind-the-scenes look at our animal habitats. See fish, otters, birds and other creatures while meeting the people who work 24/7 to create a safe environment for them. More info coming soon!

Science of the Seasons Fall 2022 Each season the Adirondacks go through magnificent transformations. Learn what drives these seasonal phenomena in an interactive virtual program.

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Stephanie Ratcliffe Executive Director

Karen K. Thomas Chair

The Wild Center is a not-forprofit 501(c)(3) organization chartered as an educational institution by the New York State Board of Regents.

Printed on paper proudly produced at International Paper’s Ticonderoga mill using fiber from sustainably managed Adirondack forests.

The Otter is published by The Wild Center 45 Museum Drive Tupper Lake, NY USA 12986 wildcenter.org 518.359.7800

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The Wild Center 45 Museum Drive Tupper Lake, NY 12986