"Contested Land" is a senior thesis on the controversy surrounding plans to build on the Bernard Field Station in Claremont, California. The documentary satisfies a dual major in Intercollegiate Media Studies and Joint Sciences Biology.

This study was the first research endeavor ever conducted concerning the population of Western toads, Anaxyrus boreas, at the Bernard Field Station. Despite the current lack of information regarding this population, they will become a concern in future years because they are threatened by habitat destruction. Preceding this study, a single breeding pond has been available to this population, which has been in use for the past 20 to 30 years. However, it is likely that the current breeding pond will be destroyed and the will be land developed for human use. In order to provide these toads with another breeding site, a new pond was constructed. Its suitability as an aquatic habitat was assessed on the basis of temperature, light intensity, algal growth and sediment levels in comparison to conditions at the old breeding pond. When tadpoles were raised in the laboratory in various water treatments, those reared in water from the new pond showed no decrease in survivorship or growth rate. The only significant difference in growth was between laboratory-raised and field animals. Tadpoles living in the field were both smaller in length during the larval period as well as smaller in mass at metamorphosis. Additionally, 75% of the tadpoles translocated to the new site completed full metamorphosis. Therefore, the new pond is both hospitable and conducive to tadpole development, a positive sign for future conservation efforts.

In response to imminent habitat destruction at the Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station (BFS), translocation was assessed as a conservation strategy for a population of Western toads (Anaxyrus boreas). Currently, the BFS is home to a relatively unstudied population of Western toads, which rely on the existence of a seasonal breeding pond in open land owned by Harvey Mudd College on the west side of the field station. Unfortunately, there are plans to develop this plot of land within the next few years and so the breeding pond will be destroyed. In an effort to protect the Western toads, which are listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, a new breeding pond was developed within the protected portion of the field station. Then, the potential of the new pond to be used as a habitat for Western toads was assessed. Pond temperatures, light intensities, algae growth, and suspended material were measured in both the original and the new ponds from January to April, 2010 and were found to be suitable in both locations for the development of Western toad tadpoles. When eggs were laid in the original breeding pond, egg and then later tadpole development were monitored in the field. Additionally, nearly 400 tadpoles were captured and raised in the laboratory in water from both the new and old ponds (as well as dechloraminated tap water) in order to determine how and to what degree the different pond water types affected the development and survival of the tadpoles. In the laboratory, tadpole survival and the percent of tadpoles to achieve full metamorphosis was higher in water from the new pond than water from the original breeding pond, suggesting that there is nothing apparent about the water chemistry in the new pond that would limit tadpole development. Lastly, a mini-translocation of 400 young tadpoles was completed as a trial for a full-scale relocation attempt in the future. These tadpoles developed normally in the new pond when compared to tadpoles from the original pond and also had a high survival rate (at least 75%) to full metamorphosis. Translocation success cannot be determined without long-term monitoring and unfortunately, although the aquatic habitat of the new pond seems suitable for relocation, the terrestrial habitat as well as the predator density surrounding the new pond may limit its success in the future. However, due to the lack of time before the original breeding pond is destroyed, full-scale translocation of eggs and tadpoles during the next breeding season is recommended.

Having already been hired as an environmental organizer, I reflect on how my childhood experiences impacted me. I embark upon this vocational journey with youthful optimism, a good dose of realism, and just a touch of cynicism. An environmental organizer is someone who works mobilizing individuals around targeted environmental issues. They create policy changes that are environmentally positive… generally for little pay. What has motivated me, and scores of others, to willingly take on this seemingly impossible task? For me: was it the summer vacations to Yellowstone and The Rocky Mountains with my brothers and parents? Maybe it was being able to explore in “The Woods” behind my elementary school as a child? These questions have been central in my life this semester, as I am involved in two environmental education programs: the K-12 education component of Energy Service Corps (ESC) and the Leadership in Environmental Education Partnership (LEEP). My work within these organizations, which I will elaborate on in greater detail, compels me to contemplate the impact these programs have on children.

This thesis is not intended to be an indictment of our leaders — well, not entirely, anyway. This thesis is meant to be an exercise in listening. I talked to a lot of people on every side of this issue, and tried hard to listen. I obviously have my biases, but I did my best to understand where everyone was coming from. I tried to evaluate groups instead of individuals as participants in this issue. My interviewees were requested to express views on behalf of the community group to which they belonged. I tried to find the opinions that best defined the majority of each group. Sometimes these came from resolutions, sometimes surveys, and other times analyses of local newspaper letters. In writing this up, I hoped to express the the voices I heard from a common ground. It seems that we've let our voices become antagonistic — that we've lost the will to embrace new opinions and engage in debate. I hope that people reading this might listen to the voices that are speaking — understand where they come from instead of preparing a rebuttal of their opinions. Consider our own actions and how they affect the situation. Think about whether we’re prepared to let this battle divide our community into the dreamers who get their way and those who don’t — or if we are ready to listen to one another, offer compromises, and do what really benefits this community the most. This thesis is an effort to explore different perspectives on a common issue and document the voices that have been cast aside and ignored. I originally wanted to speak for the Bernard Field Station, because I wasn’t sure how much longer it would be around to speak for itself. But I now realized it is futile. If you are willing to listen, the place speaks for itself ... and the story it tells is remarkable.

Invasive species are an increasingly severe conservation problem that can dramatically alter native plant communities. Although ecologists have proposed many mechanisms for the dominance of invasive species, superior competitive ability is one of the longest standing hypotheses. In winter annual plant communities, germination timing affects competition among plants. I hypothesized that grass invasion has changed the costs and benefits of early and late germination, and that species with flexible germination timing would compete better with invasives. Experiments at the Bernard Field Station in Claremont, CA and germinator trials in a controlled environment were used to examine the survivorship and germination rate of three native forbs in the presence or absence of invasive grass competition. Germinator trials revealed that most Clarkia purpurea seeds germinated in fall conditions, though newer seeds had higher proportions germinate under winter conditions. Older seeds had a lower germination success, indicating a potential decrease in seed viability. In the field experiment, November germinants had higher survival rates than October germinants for Amsinckia menziesii and Phacelia distans, and both species had similar numbers of new germinants at each census. Removal of invasive grasses did not significantly affect the survival of either species, though a trend towards increased survivorship was observed in removal plots of November germinants. Taken together, these results show evidence for variation in germination timing and responses to environmental cues among native annual seeds, and also support the idea that germination timing has important consequences for survivorship, and potentially competitive interactions, with invasive grasses.

I studied water bird use of two lakes in the Claremont-Upland area to determine what physical, chemical, and biological aspects of these lakes provide suitable water bird habitat and food resources. I censused the Bernard Field Station Lake in Claremont and a gravel pit freshwater area in Upland from 10/85 to 3/86 for water bird use. I also mapped these sites, noted their water surface area and water depth changes, monitored their water chemistry, and censused their vegetation. The results of this work showed more total water birds per hour of observation time, and more birds per hour of observation time of each food preference type, at the Upland Lakes than at the BFS Lake, except for diving ducks, which I found at both sites in similar abundance, and coots, which I found at the BFS Lake in greater abundance than at the Upland Lakes. The Shannon-Weiner Index of Diversity, H', used to determine bird species diversity, was higher for most individual census dates and on average, at the Upland Lakes than at the BFS Lake. The Upland Lakes had fewer species and less abundance of true aquatic plants than the BFS Lake; however, the BFS Lake had fewer different types of habitat (i.e. open shoreline, thick emergent shoreline vegetation, mudflats, grassy areas, etc .) than did the Upland Lakes. The Upland Lakes, although originally very similar to the BFS Lake in total water surface area, came to have four times the water surface area of the BFS Lake as time progressed, due to winter rainfall and runoff. The results of bird censuses also showed many more migrant than resident birds using the Upland Lakes area, while few migrant birds used the BFS Lake. Water bird use differences between these sites are the resuIt of the interaction of the unique ecological factors of each site. The Upland Lakes provide more diverse habitats, greater water surface area, a more accessible, open, isolated location for stopovers for migratory birds than the BFS Lake provides. The BFS Lake provides only two major habitat types for water bird use: thick shoreline emergent vegetation (mostly cattails), and open water. Diving ducks and coots utilize these habitats well and thus, with the exception of migratory flocks of diving ducks, used the BFS Lake as frequently, or more frequently than they used the Upland Lakes. Other birds that forage in muddy, open shore or grassy, open shore areas preferred the Upland Lakes area (dabbling ducks and shorebirds). Additional observation of similar water area in Claremont, Upland, and Montclair, California could produce a larger data base to demonstrate conclusively such tentative findings of this study as size of water surface area being directly proportional to amount of migratory bird use.

An historical account of the Bernard Field Station and its present uses. Examining the rhetoric of Land Planning within the Claremont Consortium using archival documents and previous historical documentations. Examining the problems of the land's management and contentious history as well as the future intentions of the space.

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Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.