Situated Knowledge and Fungal Conservation
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SITUATED KNOWLEDGE AND FUNGAL CONSERVATION: MOREL MUSHROOM MANAGEMENT IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION OF THE UNITED STATES by ELIZABETH S. BARRON A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Geography written under the direction of Richard A. Schroeder and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2010 ©2010 Elizabeth S. Barron ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Situated Knowledge and Fungal Conservation: Morel Mushroom Management in the mid-Atlantic Region of the United States By ELIZABETH S. BARRON Dissertation Director: Richard A. Schroeder Fungi are a mega-diverse group of organisms, currently estimated at 1.5 million species, yet their conservation has attracted little attention. Beginning in the mid-1980s in Europe, and the mid-1990s in the United States, fungal management and conservation discourses have developed noticeably in the last ten years. Reported declines in true morels (Morchella sp.) in the early 2000s raised concerns about overharvesting by visitors to national parks in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., where morel collecting is a popular and long-standing activity. In this dissertation, I explore this confluence of events, and ask: why is the conservation of this mega-diverse group of organisms emerging now, how is this happening, and what are the effects? Drawing on critical and poststructural perspectives on discourse and knowledge, I examine the ways in which fungal conservation emulates existing conservation discourses based on expert knowledge, state regulated land management, and capital investment. Like other biological scientists, mycologists emphasize biodiversity protection, data accumulation, and regulations for conservation and sustainable exploitation of fungal resources. ii Data on current and emerging fungal conservation discourses were collected using a mixed methods approach, including interviews with stakeholders and participant observation at three mycological meetings. Ecological knowledge, opinions, and relationships among mycologists, managers and long-term harvesters, vis-à-vis management and conservation, were examined. Finally, an ecological assessment based on harvester ecological knowledge demonstrates the integration of different methodological approaches. Shifting from studying accumulated scientific knowledge to examining the ways and places in which scientists create such knowledge emphasizes the practice of knowledge production. Managers and harvesters also produce knowledge and practices relevant for conservation. Participants’ biological and ecological knowledge is the epistemological foundation for their approach to fungal conservation; and these emerging “models” seem to diverge based on stakeholder group membership. However, further analysis shows that some stakeholders share concerns regarding conservation that are consistent with a specific logic, rather than with their group identity. These processes of analysis and documentation acknowledge and disrupt uniform truth regimes, giving voice to those that have been traditionally absent or marginalized in the formal protection and preservation of their own environments. iii Acknowledgements To believe in community, for me, is to be aware of the physical and emotional presence that we have in each other’s lives through shared experiences. These moments may be short - offering to return a book to the library - or they may be more significant: taking care of each other when we are sick or spending months in dialogue working through complex ideas. When I think about what I have accomplished over the past six years, I know that it would not have been possible without the support of the different communities that I have been a part of during this time. I am deeply grateful to those communities, and especially to certain individuals, named and acknowledged below. The tasks of the advisor are numerous and time consuming, and precariously balanced with a full schedule that we, as graduate students, only begin to realize the complexity of when we face the possibility of going into academia ourselves. So, I begin with my academic advisor, Richard Schroeder. For all the assigned readings, the gentle pushes in new directions, the many, many hours spent reading my work, the letters of recommendation, and the “quick questions,” thank you is an understatement. To Rick, thank you for showing me how to be strong in the face of adversity. The same can be said for Marla Emery who, as the original contact person for the morel study and its co-PI at Rutgers, has been closely involved in my Ph.D. studies from the very beginning. When I first started at Rutgers, Marla told me that her job was to teach me everything she knew, and help me through this process of becoming a geographer. With site visits, long phone calls, writing retreats, and so much more, this job accomplished with compassion and verve. To Marla, thank you for showing me how to be gracious, but determined. iv I think I have had the best committee I could have possibly asked for. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to work and share friendship with people whom I admire and respect for their scholarship and integrity. To my committee, thank you for the support, patience, and guidance you have all shown me through what has turned out to be a really intense six years. Kevin St. Martin, a committee member and interim advisor when Rick was in Tanzania, gently but persistently pushed me over the past six years to think more expansively, question more deeply, and always go that extra step. To Kevin, thank you for showing me how to be passionate and scholarly. John Dighton, as my outside committee member, introduced me to a world that I never realized was so amazing (the Mycota!). To John, thank you for showing me that I did not have to make a choice between the natural and the social sciences. I would also like to thank Laura Schneider for her early support and guidance in biogeography and land change science. I do not know if this research could have taken the path it eventually did if not for the transition that she helped me make from forest ecology into geography. In forestry, you do not have to ask trees for permission to measure their age, to learn their story, or even to drive nails into their bark. When I began to design this research project and realized that I was not only going to have to ask people for their permission to talk to them, but somehow convince them that they wanted to spend anywhere from one to four hours talking to me, I was wary. That wariness turned into surprise and joy when I found out that people were not only willing, but in many cases happy to talk to someone about their interest in morels and in fungal conservation. Some participants went above and beyond in welcoming me into their lives and work, and in sharing with me well kept family secrets that I have sworn to never reveal (so if you are v reading this dissertation with any hope of finding a good morel spot, you might as well quit now). I want to especially thank Dale and Carol H., Richard L., and Rob M. for allowing me into their homes and their lives on several occasions. Many, many thanks go to the Geography Department staff. Michelle Martel, Theresa Kirby, Betty Ann Abbatemarco, and Elaine Gordon helped me with everything from business cards, to (near) computer disasters, to paperwork that should be outlawed for its complexity. Special thanks to Mike Siegel for creating the map that appears here as Figure 2, and the photo composite that appears as Figure 6. The graduate student community in our department has grown in my time here, and all of my fellow graduate students have enriched my Ph.D. experience in various ways. For their intellectual and personal support over the years I want to especially thank Purba Rudra, Rich Nisa, Monalisa Chaterjee, Debby Scott, Rosana Grafals-Soto, Samuel Ledermann, Irene Zager, Angel Ling, Eric Sarmiento, Peter Vancura, Stella Cappocia, Jessica Kelly, and Nate Gabriel. I have been very fortunate throughout this process to be well supported by several grants and fellowships. I would like to thankfully acknowledge the support of The United States National Park Service, Rutgers University, and the United States Forest Service, who jointly funded the initial three-year graduate assistantship that allowed me to come to Rutgers to pursue a project about humans and the environment. In particular, I would like to thank Diane Pavek, Giselle Mora-Bourgeois, Jim Voigt, Becky Loncosky, Marie Frias, and Scott Bell (all at NPS) for identifying the need for this type of research in the National Park Service, and for finding the funding to support it. I would also like to acknowledge the generous support of the Canon National Parks Science Scholars vi Program, which allowed me to expand the initial research project on mid-Atlantic morels to one on American and European fungal conservation discourses. Additional funding from the Association of American Geographers, the Mycological Society of America, and the Andalusia Regional Government: Ministry of the Environment, helped me delve deeper into the realm of mycology and fungal conservation than would have otherwise been possible. John Dighton, David Minter, Anders Dahlberg and Greg Mueller all deserve extra thanks for helping with this. The last six years and been professionally and personally transformative for me in many ways, and I have gotten through them thanks to the friendship and support of many. Thanks to Rebecca McLain for helping me make connections in the Pacific Northwest, and for extra fungi-specific mentorship of NTFPs. I want to thank John Stanovick at the USFS Northern Research Station for statistical support on the ecological data and analysis.