As this year progresses, we are continuing our efforts to achieve some of the goals outlined in January concerning the Society's public outreach program, targeting K-12 schools. This year we offered a scholarship for an Earth Science teacher to attend a conference or workshop. We expect to continue this program, and are finalizing the procedures for soliciting proposals from teachers for next year. We would also like to offer a grant fund that teachers could apply to for purchasing materials to help with teaching Earth Science in the classrooms, such as rock and mineral kits, fossils, maps, etc... To help fund these programs, we have begun a series of mineral raffles at the quarterly meetings, and hope to sell NHGS hats and shirts (see contest announcement on reverse).
We wish to thank Bob Whitmore and an anonymous member for donating the two specimens that were raffled off at the January meeting. Fine specimens of a doubly-terminated smokey quartz crystal from New Hampshire and an assemblage of stilbite, apophyllite and calcite from Poona, India were donated. The raffle was held to raise money for the Society's public outreach program, garnering a total of $47. Garret Graaskamp of Nobis Engineering won the First Prize smokey quartz crystal donated by Bob, and Steven Youngs, also of Nobis Engineering, won the stilbite-apophyllite sample. We are now actively soliciting donations for an April mineral raffle. For those who wish to dust off their collections and donate a good quality sample, please contact me or Craig Durrett.
Also, I mentioned that the Society is looking for volunteers to speak in the schools. Those that volunteer could speak on their favorite topic of interest in geology, or even speak about what they do as a career. I wish to emphasize that we must no longer sit back and watch the world turn. Those that do not understand the purpose and importance of geology are now aggressively attacking institutions and programs that are intimately connected to us. It would be a tragedy to see this country fall back to the days before the Scope's Trial. So I again ask those who can donate one or two hours out of their schedule to share the excitement of your career or the knowledge of the geology around us to volunteer (see story inside).
I hope to see you all at the next meeting!
The New Hampshire Geologic Program Advisory Committee was reestablished in the fall of 1994 by Robert W. Varney, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services. A similar committee, the Minerals Resources Committee, had served in an advisory capacity for the Department of Resources and Economic Development until about 1980. The new committee, comprised of 14 members from academia, state government, industry, and environmental protection represent a "cross-section" of the geologic and environmental community in the State. At least half are members of the New Hampshire Geological Society. Our efforts will be to provide assistance to the Commissioner and to the State Geologist in matters of research direction, publication and information transfer, as well as to serve in an advocacy role for the State's geology program. The Committee met for the first time on January 13, 1995, was charged by Commissioner Varney, and was provided a "state of the Office of State Geologist" update by Gene Boudette. We hope that our efforts will contribute to the ever increasing and important role geology plays in the future of the State.
Anyone interested in resurrecting professional registration of geologists--hydrogeologists only--should contact Ken Milender of Miller Engineering at 603-668-6016. Ken has volunteered to beat his head against the wall on this issue. Call if you would like to like to support, assist, disagree or wish him luck (he'll need it).
The views expressed above are those of the author. The NHGS has no position with regard to the issue of professional registration of geologists.
The 1995 meeting of the Geological Society of America-Northeast Section will be held at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center off I-91 in Cromwell, CT, from March 20-22. For more information, contact Norman Gray, University of Connecticut, at 203-486-4434.
The New England Section of the Association of Engineering Geologists (AEG) has several upcoming programs of probable interest to NHGS Members. For more information, contact Jutta Hager at 617-893-9700. The next scheduled events are:
The University of Vermont's Geology Department Spring Seminar Series meets at 4:00 PM in the Perkins Geology Building, Burlington, VT, as follows:
The Geological Society of Maine Spring Meeting will be April 14 at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Student Presentations begin at 1:00, and at 7:00 Dr. Thomas Eastler will present a talk on Military Geology.
Consulting Engineers of Maine and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection present their Third Annual Lessons Learned in the Remediation of Petroleum-Contaminated Sites in Maine, a day-long conference for professionals, Friday, April 21, 1995 at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine. The registration fee (includes lunch and proceedings volume) is $65 before March 31, $75 thereafter until April 14. For more information, or to register, contact: Jerry Haynes, Consulting Engineers of Maine, One Allagash Drive, Oakland, Maine 04963-1127.
The Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental problems (SAGEEP) is the world's premier conference on non-invasive investigation technology for engineering and environmental site characterization. The 1995 conference will take place April 23-26 at the Twin Towers Hotel in Orlando, Florida. For more information, contact the Environmental Engineering and Geophysical Society, PO Box 4475, Englewood, CO 80115, 303-771-6101; or e-mail Wayne Saunders at saundwr@aol.com.
The NH-VT chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society will sponsor "Our Waters-Whose Rights are Right? A Conflict Resolution Workshop" on April 28, 1995, at the Lake Morey Inn, Fairlee, VT. Contact: Nick Comerci at 802-748-3885.
The Vermont Geological Society has tentatively scheduled their spring meeting for April 29, 1995, at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Contact: Kent Koptiuch at 802-878-1620.
The sixth annual Maine Mineral Symposium will be held on the weekend of May 5-7 at the Senator Inn and Conference Center, Western Avenue of I-95 in Augusta, Maine. For more information, contact Robert Hinkley, Yarmouth Road, Route 115, Gray, ME 04039 or call 207-657-3732.
The 1995 Friends of the Pleistocene field trip will be held in Portland, Maine, from May 12 to 14, 1995. The itinerary will include coastal deposits and the deglaciation of the Sebago basin. For more information contact Woody Thompson of the Maine Geological Survey at 207-287-7178 or e-mail: thompson@mgs1.doc.state.me.us.
The Mount Washington Observatory will be holding its 1995 Symposium on June 23 and 24, 1995, at the Sheraton White Mountain Inn in North Conway, NH. Friday's session is entitled "Focus 2000: Wind, Ice, and Fog; Trends in Meteorological Instrumentation, Severe Weather Testing, and Observations." On Saturday, they will be "Exploring the World of Weather." For more information, contact the Mount Washington Observatory, PO Box 2310, North Conway, NH 03860-2310, or call 603-356-8345.
A seminar updating participants on recent changes in federal and state environmental laws is planned for Thursday, June 15, from 9-1:30 at the Center of New Hampshire in Manchester. Registration is $75, including continental breakfast, lunch, and course materials. For more information, contact Sally Perry at 603-627-8183.
Bates College and the New England Section of the National Association of Geology Teachers will be offering a summer short course aimed at teachers: "The Environmental Geology Institute: Mountains, Glaciers, and Water," Sunday July 9 through Friday July 14, 1995. The cost is $300 which includes tuition, materials, room and board. For registration information contact the Office of Special Projects, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine 04240; 207-786-6077.
For the NHGS 1995 Annual Field Trip, Peter Thompson will guide us on a full-day trip to study the geology of Mount Monadnock on August 6, 1995. We are still hoping to schedule a separate picnic and family outing to another area of geologic interest in that part of the state, possibly in June.
The Third Hutton Symposium on the Origin of Granites and Related Rocks, from August 27 to September 2, 1995, will be hosted by the University of Maryland at College Park. Two pre-conference field trips have been organized to look at igneous rocks throughout New England, including stops in the New Hampshire Plutonic Series and the White Mountain Batholith. The registration deadline is March 31, 1995. For more information, contact: Third Hutton Symposium, Department of Geology, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD 20742.
The 1995 New England Intercollegiate Geologic Conference (NEIGC) will take place October 6-8 in Brunswick, Maine, hosted by Art Hussey of Bowdoin College. Anyone planning to attend may want to make lodging reservations early as this is Columbus Day weekend. For more information, contact Art Hussey, Geology Dept., Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME 04011, or call 207-725-3219, or e-mail: ahussey@polar.bowdoin.edu.
The National Ground Water Association's 1995 Focus Conference on Eastern Regional Ground Water Issues will be held October 1 and 2, 1995 at the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza in Natick, MA. The deadline for receipt of abstracts is April 7, 1995. For more information contact: NGWA, PO Box 9050, Dublin, OH 43017.
The American Institute of Hydrology (AIH) will be holding its 1996 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts at the "57" Park Plaza Hotel. The conference theme will be "Hydrology of Urban and Urbanizing Areas - A look in to the Next Century." The itinerary will include field trips and seminars before and after the conference. Currently, the AIH is actively soliciting the submission of papers to be presented, and volunteers to help. The conference is tentatively scheduled for the week of April 21-26, 1996. Contact Steven Shope at 603-778-3988.
The 1996 NEIGC will take place on Friday, September 27 through Sunday, September 29 and will be headquartered in the Gorham-Littleton area of northern New Hampshire, jointly sponsored by Harvard University, the Mount Washington Observatory, and the New Hampshire Geological Society. Anyone interested in leading a field trip or otherwise volunteering to help with this event should contact Mark Van Baalen, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 20 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138; W: 617-495-3237; FAX: 617-495-8839; H: 508-486-4751; e-mail: mvb@harvarda.harvard.edu.
The education committee is initiating a school speakers program starting in the fall of 1995. A mailing for the program will go to schools during the summer. If you are interested in participating in the program, information forms will be available at NHGS meetings or can be obtained from Nelson Eby, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854. You will be asked to list the presentation(s) you would like to give, the appropriate grade levels, the geographic area you are willing to cover, and how an interested teacher can contact you to arrange a visit. Given today's political climate, it is important that the general public be made aware of the many contributions of the geosciences, and hopefully this program will be a step in this direction.
We are now seeking volunteers to chair the October 1995 Election Committee for the NHGS Board of Directors. Volunteers must be members of the Society and cannot be nominated for or hold any of the directors' positions. Responsibilities include sending out nomination forms and ensuring that biographies are collected from the nominees and printed in the Fall 1995 issue of the Granite State Geologist. Nomination forms must be sent out by June 30, 1995, so we hope there are 2 or 3 people that can assist us in this task. For more information you can contact Greg Kirby or Nelson Eby.
Volunteers are always needed to speak at future quarterly dinner meetings, to help with the annual field trip and picnic, or contribute articles to the Granite State Geologist (Tim Allen). Or you could help with the Society's Program (Greg Kirby), Membership (TBD), Finance (Craig Durrett), or Scholarship/Education (Nelson Eby & Joanne McLaughlin) committees. To volunteer to work on any of these committees, please contact the appropriate Chair.
The Spring Meeting of the New Hampshire Geological Society will be held April 13, 1995. Gene Boudette, NH State Geologist, and Dick Lane, NH Department of Transportation, will present Restabilization of a Roadcut with Ore-Grade Uranium Mineralization--a Precedent in Engineering Geology. Gene and Dick will discuss the recent work done on a roadcut through the uranium-rich Concord Granite on Interstate 89 in New London, as well as the geologic history of the area and the affinity of uranium and radon to accumulate in the peat bogs of the area. The dinner meeting takes place at Center of New Hampshire Holiday Inn in Manchester, NH. A cash bar begins at 6:00 p.m., with dinner at 7:00. The cost will be $17.00 for members and their guests, $18.00 for non-members, with a choice of Sauteed Sole or Stuffed Chicken. We need your reservations no later than April 10, 1995, to determine an accurate head count for the restaurant. For more information, contact Greg Kirby at 603-271-3624.
Other Meetings in 1995 are scheduled for June 10 (tentative), August 5 (annual field trip and picnic), and October 12 (1995 Annual Meeting). In 1996, NHGS meetings are scheduled for January 11, April 11, June 8 (tentative), August 3 or 10 (annual field trip and picnic), and October 10 (1996 Annual Meeting). Generally, the Society's meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of the months of January, April, June(?) and October; we usually shoot for the first Saturday in August for the field trip.
Hat and Shirt Contest: Craig Durrett (Finance Committee Chairman) is organizing a contest for a NHGS logo, slogan or both to be printed on baseball hats and shirts. For those who wish to submit a design or a slogan please contact Craig. We hope to have the winners determined by the August 1995 field trip and the hats and shirts available by October.
Membership Reminder: the Society's membership year runs from June 1 to May 31. Later this spring you will be mailed a renewal invoice. In order to ensure that your name appears in the next membership directory, and to continue getting The Granite State Geologist, you must return your renewal invoice, with any address corrections and proper payment, by August 1, 1995.
Last Modified June 15, 1995
The Granite State Geologist, newsletter of the
New Hampshire Geological Society
copyright ©1995 New Hampshire Geological Society
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