校友的声音|
2022年9月1日
作者:Kelli M. Warshefski
值得过的生活
野生动物生态学家的遗产
罗伯特·霍尔
没有人比唐纳德·英曼博士更能体现这种自然精神.D.， 1966年.
“Ecology has given me a real true appreciation for the world we live in,” Inman says. “看看这个世界上有多少迷人、奇妙的东西. 它至今仍令我着迷.”
Inman has a long history of environmental advocacy: He studied 生物学 and 野生动物 ecology in college. 他毕生致力于保护密歇根州的公共土地. 他创立并担任保护组织主席. 和, 最明显的是, sparked an idea that would preserve and restore countless acres of land throughout the state.
绘制路线
英曼在成长过程中学会了爱和欣赏所有的生物. 10岁的时候, 他会骑着自行车到处转, 鸟书在手, 在他的家乡马斯基根发现了不同的物种. 他的父母酷爱户外活动, 他们都是尊重地球提供给他们的土地和资源的猎人. Inman was enthralled with the creatures that he shared the planet with; a fascination that blossomed into a love for 生物学. He came to 十大菠菜台子 on a General Motors scholarship in the hopes of fostering this passion, 但这所年轻的大学还没有建立生物学专业. 英曼选择了次佳选择——a 化学 主修，辅修 生物学.
 |
| 唐纳德·英曼 |
“I grew up 狩猎, and so I actually kept my shotgun in my dorm room,” Inman recalls. “在星期六早晨, I walked across campus with that gun in a case and went 狩猎 squirrels and rabbits on the Dodge property.”
“It was a really good university in just a nice small town atmosphere,” he continues. “他们有一些非常独特的人和教授.”
因曼最喜欢的教授之一是弗雷德·奥贝尔, who joined OU in 1960 as an assistant professor and eventually served as dean of freshmen, 十大菠菜台子副教务长和教务长. 因曼说:“他总是笑，很爱他的学生。.
在欧, 英曼转学到密歇根州立大学, 想把他的化学学位和他对生物学的热情结合起来. 但, the lab coats and microscopes found in bio化学 made him feel too disconnected to the tangibility of nature, so he switched to a major in 野生动物 ecology in the Fish and Wildlife Department at MSU. 以博士学位毕业.D. in ’71, Inman continued to expand his education by becoming a postdoctoral researcher (postdoc) at the Institute of Ecology at the 大学 of Georgia, 师从著名生态学家尤金·欧杜姆, Ph.D.
Odum spent most of his professional career at the 大学 of Georgia and was a leader in studying nature in terms of ecosystems. 根据2002年《十大菠菜软件》的一篇文章, 欧达姆被广泛认为是现代生态学之父, who founded and for many years directed one of the world’s largest outdoor scientific preserves.”
 |
| 密歇根州普雷斯克岛县因曼家外的一只燕尾蝶 |
“我真的从欧达姆那里学到了很多关于生态学的知识，”英曼说. “他真的让我不仅对野生动物管理感兴趣, but 野生动物 ecology and the connectedness of animals to their environment and plants.”
在完成他的博士后研究后不久, Inman began working as a biologist for the Office of Environmental Review with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), 撰写和审查环境影响报告. 他最终进入了环境执法部门, 他在哪里从法律角度审视污染的影响. 在英曼26年的职业生涯中, he continued to search and rectify the connection between humans and the environment.
点燃火花
In 1974, 范德比尔特的鸽子河国家森林, 密歇根, 被租给石油和天然气钻井. As such, Inman’s team was commissioned to establish an economic and environmental impact statement. 的 community was torn between the effect this would have on the environment and the income the proposed drilling would bring to 密歇根. A young Inman came up with a solution: in order to mitigate the damages caused by the drilling, 该州可以用一部分收入来保护休闲用地.
“It was Don who first came up with the idea to assure that revenues from the use of publicly owned non-renewable resources — oil and gas — would be invested back into non-renewable resources — land — for the perpetual use of the 密歇根 public,比尔·罗斯特说, member of former 密歇根 Governor William Milliken’s staff (1970-82) and longtime friend of Inman.
“可能是我点燃了火花, 但有很多人参与了推动它的发展,英曼谦虚地说. 比尔就是其中之一.”
 |
| 在空闲时间，英曼喜欢钓鱼和打猎 |
的 密歇根自然资源信托基金 (MNRTF)于1976年签署成为立法. 在那段时间里, Rustem was an executive assistant to the governor and part of his portfolio was conservation and environmental policy. “I worked with the DNR and the legislature in getting what was the Kammer Recreation Trust Fund bill (the first iteration of the MNRTF) passed by the legislature. 庞蒂亚克州参议员克里·卡默是该法案的发起人.”
在那段时间里, Rustem and Inman found a common love of nature and became fast friends. “唐和我一直都有打猎和钓鱼的共同爱好, which meant that we cared deeply about the woods and waters of 密歇根 and the flora and fauna that help define the state,鲁斯坦说. “We also were both passionate about ensuring public access to those resources for both the present and future generations.”
迄今为止，该基金已发放了超过1美元的奖金.20亿美元回到密歇根州. MNRTF向密歇根州的每个县提供资金以获得土地, 改善公众户外娱乐活动，加强地方社区经济. 仅在奥克兰县，就有175个项目得到了MNRTF的资助.
 |
| Inman's appreciation for nature is evident in his lifelong career and continued endeavors in 野生动物 conservation |
根据2021年MNRTF年度报告, 在整个密歇根州，“大约2.79亿美元投资于小径. 超过1000个公园已被收购、开发或两者兼而有之. 其他获得资助的项目包括球场, 船发射, 起点处, 洗手间和其他设施, 总共是2,715 .自1976年以来信托基金协助的项目.”
“我想了很多关于基金已经走了多远. 我非常自豪，”英曼说，眼里含着泪水. “的 state has stood up to many attacks on that particular piece of legislation to try to earmark some of those funds for other purposes. 所以，我很高兴它通过了，并且今天仍然很坚定. 这是密歇根的遗产.”
保护遗产
1997年从DNR退休，担任下半岛副局长, 英曼和他的妻子, 维吉尼亚皮尔斯, DNR的同事, 在一片五百英亩的荒地上定居下来, 密歇根州北部未开发的土地.
 |
| 英曼和他的妻子, 维吉尼亚皮尔斯, stroll through their fields with canine companion, Mr. 木 |
但是，退休并没有阻止他们继续他们的保护工作. 因曼和皮尔斯创立了密歇根资源管理协会, a conservation organization composed of naturalists and scientists that work to influence decision makers in conservation and environmental policy, 并成为了密歇根的环境顾问. 英曼曾短暂地担任过水源土地保护协会的主席, 该组织旨在保护密歇根州东北部的水域和土地, 皮尔斯至今仍在董事会中占有一席之地. 在过去的25年里，这对夫妇也一直在环游世界, 探索了非洲的几个国家, along with Central and South America; Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador; Hong Kong, China; Havana, Cuba; and many more countries and cultures throughout the world.
 |
| Inman and Pierce's favorite spot: sitting on their back porch looking out over Kelsey Lake and enjoying the natural world around them |
“唐深信环境保护，”皮尔斯说. “I am extremely proud of his significant contribution in the creation of 密歇根’s land trust fund. 的 passage and implementation of the trust fund has had a real life effect on 密歇根’s outdoor recreation offerings.”
他们的家可以俯瞰凯尔西湖, 周围是茂密的森林, Inman and Pierce now spend most of their time watching the plethora of 野生动物 in their backyard, 狩猎, 在他们的码头捕鱼, 享受朋友和家人的快乐.
皮尔斯解释说:“我喜欢我们家的环境. “It sits on a 40-acre lake with nearly 500 acres of woods and marshes and all the living 野生动物 that inhabits those places. 我喜欢坐在门廊上看湖和鸟, 早上喝杯咖啡，晚上喝杯酒.”
“在我休息的时候, 我想我曾经拥有过多么美好的生活, 我做了多少，我对这个世界有多感激,英曼说。. “我觉得我的生活是值得过的.”
While Inman has a slower stride these days, his legacy continues to build momentum. From the recreational lands that are still being funded through the MNRTF to his impact on local communities and the many lives he has affected throughout his career, 英曼的生活植根于公园, 小径, 野生动物, 密歇根州的水和森林的雄伟之美.