From its beginnings in 1938,

The Marine Laboratory Duke University Nicholas School of the Environments

want to bring the Marine Lab into the '90s as part of the greater Duke University realizing the full potential for science education."

Top on the list of infrastructure improvements has been the addition of town utilities to the island. "We've gone as far as we can go with any kind of growth here," said Howard Weckerle, Marine Lab Projects Coordinator.

the Marine Laboratory has served the research and educational needs of faculty and students involved in all aspects of the marine sciences. What began as a few wood frame buildings and a dock has grown into a modern teaching and research facility. This growth, however, did not occur in the context of a long­range planning process, but rather in

John Sigmon, Howard Weckerle, and Joe Ramus join Beaufort Mayor Hunter Chadwick in celebrating the completion of the water/sewer link to the town of Beaufort.

The total revamping of the island's water and sewer from one of wells and septic tanks to conn·ection to the town of Beaufort's water and sewer system was completed in September. The project's total cost of over $700,000 included visionary bursts

usually coinciding with the tenure of a director.

It was business as usual until 1979 when then Acting President of Duke University, A. Kenneth Pye, decided to see just what this reported eastern campus of Duke University really looked like. When he stepped out of his car on what he thought would be a campus on a beach he stood in amazement. Where he assumed would stand a few wood frame buildings and a dock stood a full blown university campus.

In Pye's "Directions for Progress" report to the Duke trustees in 1980 he notes, " ... that the Laboratory be placed on a sound financial basis without subsidies within five years ... with a goal of self sufficiency by 1984-1985 ... a conclusion that seems amply justified."

Enter the Nicholas School of the; Environment. By 1997 Duke University has committed nearly $1 million to infrastructure improvements on the Marine Lab campus.

"This is a real departure from the past where the Marine Lab was a tub on its own bottom. We've had to concern ourselves with the infrastructure and physical plant. No other academic program of Duke University is saddled with that responsibility," Marine Lab Director Joe Ramus noted.

"Duke has been trying to operate the Marine Lab and do education and research in the '90s with a '60s infrastructure," said Nicholas School Associate Dean John Sigmon.

"Duke University has said that the environment is high on their agenda. They

Fal/1997 THE BEAUFORT EXPERIENCE 1

all water and sewer mains, connecting to existing facilities and the repaving of vast areas of uprooted parking lots, walkways and commons areas.

These water and sewer improvements were essential for future infrastructure improvements on the island. Without them, no future building would be permitted on the island. This change was crucial to the impending construction of the Ocean Science Teaching Center (OSTC).

The next major improvement is the replacement of the island's antiquated high-voltage system. "It's a vintage '60s system that can no longer be repaired because we can't get parts for it," Weckerle said. While the trenches were dug for the high-voltage replacement, separate

{continued on page 5)

New riefs

Miyuki DeHart Earns Masters Marine Lab Librarian Miyuki DeHart

graduated from the School of Library and Information Sciences at North Carolina Central University in Durham this August with a degree in Master of Library Science. DeHart graduated cum laude with grade

point average of 3.8. She began her program at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., prior to coming to the Marine Lab. Once situated at the Marine Lab's library, DeHart picked up the program again in the fall of 1995 at NCCU to gain her advanced degree. She accumulated nearly 43,000 miles since Fall 1995 commuting as often as twice a week from her full time duties as Marine Lab librarian.

Public Television Highlights Lab The Marine Laboratory was featured

in a segment which aired on North Carolina's Public Television's "NC Now" program this summer. Highlighted in the program were the Lab's academic programs and various first summer session students and professors. Richard Forward's teaching skills took front stage along with comments by Mike Orbach and research tech, Tara Cox. A number of undergraduates also shared their positive impressions of the Lab for the camera crews. The show aired in July.

Talk Radio Features Speakers Marine Lab faculty and visiting

scholars appeared on the local talk station WTKF airing throughout the month of August. Half hour morning interviews were filled by Richard Barber along with visiting scholars Jane Lubchenco from Oregon

State University, Martin Hall from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commis­sion in San Diego and John Clark from Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota, Fla.

Barber Heads for Antarctic Richard and Elaine Barber along with

a team of scientists from Duke and other institutions will conduct research on primary productivity aboard Scripps Oceanography's 280-foot vessel the RIV Ravel/e. one of the newest ships in the National Science Foundation fleet. Among those joining the Barbers on the cruise will be; Brian Kulak, (T'96), Lisa Borden, Mike Hirsch, (T'95), Marta Sanderson, (T'90), Chief Scientist Tim Cowles, (T'77), and Expedition Director Walker Smith, (T'76). The party will depart November 26 from Christ's Church New Zealand, head toward the 60th parallel, and return around January 6. They will head toward a region named the Antarctic frontal zone where the polar ocean meets the high tempered zone.

"The study is part of the Global Ocean Flux study to describe, understand, and model the control of the carbon cycle in the ocean. Barber reports, "There's a great front there where temperatures range from 0 to 10 degrees centigrade. There's a lot of activity on that front. "We're attempting to find out how a healthy ocean works with regard to carbon 1

recycling. The underlying concern is that the models that guide the policies of the US government have as a key feature the assumption the ocean food web will continue to operate in the same way they do now as we change the world. That is an optimistic assumption to make. When we gain an understanding of this undisturbed system, we'll be better able to go forward to global climate change models to assess future scenarios."

Fall 1997 THE BEAUFORT EXPERIENCE 2

Croquet Tutorial The Marine Lab has always been a

hotbed of intense croquet action. A finely coiffed court was laid out moments after the lab's first wooden structures became occupied. It was only a matter of time before the game took on a more formal appearance. A non-credit formal croquet tutorial is now being offered on the southern tip of Piver's Island. Led by Dan Rittschoff with assistance from Tim Boynton, Jim Welch, Greg Piniak and Marshall Hayes, students learn the finer points of team croquet. "Team Croquet is a cross between chess and bridge - this is not the child's game you learned on the front lawn," Rittschof noted. The tutorial

meets Tuesdays and Thursdays thoughout the semester culminating in a tournament in November. Students are put through a rigorous croquet workout. The instruction is so thorough that a few years ago, in a less formal setting, the students championed over their instructors in the final round.

Experience Newsleffer of the Duke Univerisfy Nicholas School of the Environmenf1 Morine loboratory1 Beaufort NC http://www.env.duke.edu/marinelab/marine.html

email: scolty@matZduke.edu

~ Norman l. Christensen

Joseph S. Ramus

Director of Communications Jim Roffray

Assistant Director of Commincotions/ f.dlmr

Scoff Taylor

Tracy Andacht attended the Developmen­tal Biology of Sea Urchin meeting in Woods Hole, Mass., in September. She presented a poster titled "Metal Binding Proteins Are Involved in Fertilization Envelope Elevation in the Sea Urchin, Lytechinus variegatus (Lamark)." Kevin Craig conducted a 60-day pond experiment at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City. The experi­ment involved predator-prey interactions between spot and southern flounder. Also involved in this North Carolina Sea Grant funded project were Jim Rice and Brian Burke both of North Carolina State University. Heather Koopman and Andrew Westgate spent two months tagging porpoises on the west coast of Sweden in the spring with Per Berggren of Stockholm University. Berggren will be at the Marine Laboratory as a Visiting Scientist from November until May. Andy Read, Andrew Westgate, Heather Koopman and Tara Cox worked in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada, from July to September on several field projects. One study, supported by the National Geographic Society and World Wildlife Fund, focused on the diving behavior of harbor porpoises in relation to bottom-set nets in which the porpoises frequently become entangled. On a related topic, Andy Read co-authored a paper in the journal Nature that described successful field tests of acoustic alarms to reduce the number of porpoises killed in commercial fishing nets. Kim Urian, who leads the DUML photo­identification program, was assisted this summer by Tara Cox and Melissa Gatewood, a COSEN student from Furman University. Some of the Beaufort dolphins regularly travel as far north as

Manteo and as far south as Wilmington. In June, Andrew Westgate and Andy Read also found time to travel to Sarasota, Fla., to attach satellite-linked radio transmitters to a pair of bottlenose dolphins. They found that bottlenose dolphins are fairly adept at shedding the transmitter packages attached to their dorsal fins. Two new Ph.D. students have arrived in the marine mammal lab. Damon Gannon has moved from the Woods Hole Oceano­graphic lnstitituion to work on the feeding ecology of bottlenose dolphins. Caterina D'Agrosa has come from Guaymas, Mexico, via the NOAA lab on Pivers Island, to work on marine mammal fisheries interactions. Celia Bonaventura helped organize a meeting on "Hazardous Marine/F reshwa­ter Microbes and Toxins" which was held at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park on August 26 and 27 and was sponsored by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Representatives ofNational Institute of Environmental Health and Safety, Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control were there to address what is being done and to gain insights for future research funding needs. The innovative method for blood-lead measurements invented by Bob Henkens has now received US Federal Drug Administration approval as an accepted test for measuring blood-lead levels in children. This received news coverage from CNN and ABC News. Donna Shalala, Secretary for Health and Human Services, will be taking the blood-lead meter on a tour of Russia soon, exemplify­ing the technology America is developing to help the health of children of the world. Celia Bonaventura has developed a new theory of how conformational fluctuations in the hemoglobin molecule are regulated to control its oxygen affinity. A paper on the topic has been accepted for publication in the journal, Biochemistry (Al Crumbliss of Duke's Chemistry department was a major collaborator). There are interesting

Fal/1997 THEBEAUFORTEXPERIENCE 3

resemblances between this view of hemo­globin function and global fluctuations that control weather patterns. First- and second-year Coastal Environ­mental Management students combined efforts on Shackleford Banks to help in the "Big Sweep" beach clean-up during the weekend of September 19 through 21. The project was coordinated by Amy Schick and Carrie McDaniel, both second-year CEM students, and was a major success. Big Sweep was part of a visitation weekend at the Marine Lab for new students at Duke. This summer Dan and Joanne Rittschof visited Humberto Diaz at the major government research center the Institute Venezuela Investigations Cientifica. Dan conducted field research on hermit crabs and shrimp on the Carribean Coast near Cumina. The Rittschofs took time out to visit spectacular Angel Falls noting the trip to the world's tallest waterfall was much better than Disneyworld. "The ride was better and lasted for 12 hours instead of 3 minutes/' he said. Susan Conova is now working in Dan Rittschofs lab as a post doc for Ocean Environmental Technologies, a European corporation that specializes in innovative anti-fouling technologies. Conova will travel to England or Norway to learn the physics behind some experimental anti­fouling technology. Along with other Duke scientists, Joseph Bonaventura was co-author of a paper that appeared in the June 27 issue of the journal Science. The paper highlights new discoveries of the role that SNO-Hb and SNO-red blood cells play in controlling our blood pressure. The paper was highlighted in the New York Times. Joseph Bonaventura has recently given invited seminars in Rome Italy, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, Wash­ington University Medical Center and University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

(continue on page 4)

It was a big year for new academic programs at the Marine Lab. Two renewed educational opportunities were introduced, offering students a broader range of experiential marine science education.

The Beaufort-2-Bermuda spring semester replaced the traditional session at

(CURRENTS continued ftom page 3) John Layne spent 14 weeks at Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., where he did research as a Grass Fellow in Neurobiology. While there John gave a talk at the MBL General Meetings and submitted a paper to be published in the Biological Bulletin of the Marine Biological Laboratory this fall. Kristian Parker passed his prelims in June. He celebrated by heading to Fiji for two weeks in August with Virginia Barker, MEM '96, and other Duke friends. Mike Orbach has been tapped to serve on two Congressionally mandated committees. The first is the National Research Council Committee to Review Individual Fishing Quotas, which had its first meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, in September and will meet in Seattle, New Orleans, Boston and Washington, D.C., over the next year to gather public input and develop its report. The second is the Ecosystems Principles Advisory Panel to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is charged with advising NMFS\NOAA and Congress on

the Marine Lab. Students had the option of spending seven weeks in Beaufort and seven weeks at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research in Bermuda. A total of 43 students enrolled in this new program. Most students chose to split their semester between the two campuses, while a few opted to remain in Beaufort for the entire semester. This program afforded students the unique opportunity to study a marine environment transect crossing the coastal estuaries of North Carolina, through the open ocean, to the coral reefs of Bermuda.

Summer Term II also gained new direction in 1997. A Marine Conservation Biology and Policy theme session replaced the traditional summer term. A total of 56 students accepted this academically challenging new experience where each had the option of taking the core Conser­vation Biology and Policy course in addition one elective theme course over the five week session. This inaugural experi­ence included six evening lectures from a variety of invited scholars, most notable of which was Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University. Her evening seminar on

ways to incorporate ecosystems principles into marine fisheries policy and manage­ment. Both of these committees must report to Congress next fall. NSOE's Coastal Environmental Manage­ment Program was well-represented iq Boston at the bi-annual Coastal Zone '97 meetings in July. Mike Orbach presided as President over several different functions ofThe Coastal Society in conjunction with the meeting, and several NSOE students or recent graduates presented papers: Leah Bunce, Ph.D.'97; Raphael Herz, MEM'96; Nancy Ragland, MEM'97; Jim Reilly, MEM'98; Hugo Valverde, MEM'97; and Kathy Zagzebski, MEM'95. Gail Cannon assumed her new position in May as CEM Program Coodinator and NSOE Recruitment Specialist, based at the Marine Laboratory. Gail has already shown the benefits of her long history with Duke in the orientation of our 1997 entering CEM class. Selina Heppell attended the Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation Symposium in

Fa/11997 THEBEAUFORTEXPERIENCE 4

global change packed the house with nearly 200 people, including students, faculty, other area scientists and local residents. Segments from her speech appeared in the News & 0 bserver and she spoke on a morning talk show the day of her lecture.

"Marine Conservation is a cutting edge field that integrates the best of science with state of the art policy making," said Larry Crowder, a co-founder of the course with Mike Orbach. "Our program is unique nationally and provides a stimulat­ing experience for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty alike. Marine Conser­vation '97 was exhilarating, and we look forward to doing it again in '98."

Orlando, Fla., where she ran a workshop on population modeling and presented a paper on models to set turtle bycatch limits. Selina also organized a sypmosium at the Ameri­can Society of Ichthyologists and Herpe­tologists meeting in Seattle. She won a student travel award to present a paper on sea turtle population models and manage­ment at the Third World Congress of Herpetology in Prague. She also organized a symposium entitled: "Elasticity Analysis in Population Biology: Methods and Applications" at the Ecological Society of America meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., and she presented an invited paper on life history attributes of long-lived marine species at the American Fisheries Society, Monterey, Calif. Tim Shaw joined the Marine Operations team as Marine Technician on July 1. Curtis Oden, Orville Weeks and James Chadwick officially retired this summer. •

J

....

(continued from page 1) conduits were added for voice, data and emergency power.

The new high-voltage switch gear will be housed in an oceanography storage shed. This structure is scheduled to be built on the site of the former shed and outside storage area and should increase the ability ~f Marine Operations to house scientific ocean-going equipment.

Chiller (air conditioning) improve­ments are also slated to occur this year. The

include improvements in the seawall cap, increasing the height and width of the cap by six inches all around. Last year's hurricanes showed the need for this increase in height and cap dimensions.

The final piece of the improvement puzzle is the renovation of the seawater system. Simple improvements began with the replacement of the filter system in the Water Wing and a complete rota-rooting of the existing seawater system which produced a range of organic material from

Construction crews remove concrete in prepartion for new water and sewer lines.

Lab 7 chiller will be moved from its present location between L-7 and the library, reducing overall noise and allowing for common grounds improvements. The Dining Hall will be receiving a new chiller from campus to replace the four older units now muse.

The Marine Lab is in the process of completing required Americans with Disabilities Act improvements. First on the list came bathroom renovations which have been completed in Dorm 3. The Dining Hall is slated for bathroom and deck work and ADA parking will be in place once the parking lots are repaved.

Some 1,376 feet of the total 2,000 feet of seawall surrounding the southern tip of the island must be repaired. Work on this project began in October. The repairs will

New England mussels to Carteret County shrimp.

The major improvements to the seawater system will come from a National Science Foundation-funded grant plus a Duke match for a "Living Resources Care System" submitted by Joe Ramus. This grant will supply approximately $165,000 for modernization of the seawater systems and a roof structure to cover the site of the existing seawater tank farm.

"We looked in detail at four systems including Horn Point on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake and Chesapeake Bio Lab on the western shore when consider­ing this project." Ramus said. "We looked at state of the art systems so we could raise our horizons. We hired the physical plant operator of the Skidaway Institute of

Fa/11997 THE BEAUFORT EXPERIENCE 5

Gail Canon and Dr. Rittschof work in the water wing.

Oceanography as a consultant and consulted with equipment manufacturers in aquaculture areas. What we'll have in place is a state of the art system that is scaled appropriately for us."

Improvements will include a roof structure over the existing tank farm with thirty percent left open and covered by horticultural screen for light experiments, a chiller and heater in the existing water wing for temperature regulation experi­ments, and new gravity tanks to replace the two we lost to the water wing.

"These improvements will allow us to comply with ALAC regulations, as well as do more competent research and teaching," Ramus said.

Sigmon remarked that the comple­tion of these infrastructure improvements will "allow the Marine Lab more flexibil­ity and new opportunities to attract students and research programs. These improvements will enhance our ability to complete our mission in education and research. Duke's commitment will allow the Marine Lab to compete with other major institutions. We've got the Hatteras, the Hudson and now the OSTC. This brings it all together in a complete package."

The Marine Lab has come a long way from a few wooden buildings and a dock. "This signifies a milestone in the evolution of the Marine Lab and its place in Duke University," Ramus said. •

Eva Oberdoerster, (Ph.D.'97), is doing a p~st-doc with John McLachlan at Tulane's Center for Bioenvironmental Researcp on endocrine disruption in invertebrates. She and Ann (Oliver) Cheek, (Ph.D. '94), will be collaborating with Kathy Reinsel, (Ph.D.'97), this spring. Oberdoerster presented a seminar at "Clean Enough," a meeting focusing on Mississippi River quality in New Orleans on September 26.

Kathy Reinsel, (Ph.D.'97), has a National Research Council Postdoctoral Associateship to work with William Fisher at the Environmental Protection Agency's Gulf Ecology Laboratory in Gulf Breeze, Fla. She will be doing field evaluation of a laboratory toxicity test. The test measures toxicity of environ­mental contaminants on the development of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio (the one we have in Beaufort, too). She'll be checking to see how well this lab test can predict effects of contami­nants in field conditions.

Marion McClary, (Ph.D.'97), is happily married and settled in at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He is still working with barnacle larvae and extending his understanding of their chemosensory capabilities.

Susan Owen, (DUML'87), graduated from Smith College in 1989 with a BA in Biology. She has completed the coursework in the Epidemiology program at the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She hopes to complete her thesis and receive her MA in December. Susan works at a non­profit clinical research organization in San Francisco managing a multicenter international epidemiological study on heart surgery patients. She would love to hear from her DUML classmates from

Fall '87. She can be reached at 603 Natoma Street #406, San Francisco, CA 94103-2734, Telephone: 415-865-0675 or Email at sgo@crucis.iref.org.

Michelle Shivers Santee, (DUML'84), and her husband, Paul, announce the arrival of Tara Allison Santee on July 7.

Mike Pentony, (MEM'96), left his position with the NOAA Coastal Services Center in Charleston, S.C., to join the staff of the New England Fisheries Management Council. Pentony will be overseeing the incorporation of fishery habitat issues into federal fishery management plans, pursuant to the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act which mandate the consideration of such issues.

Brian Kulak, (T'96, DUML'95/'96), will head to the Antarctic on a research cruise under the direction of Richard Barber. The Duke presence on these Antarctic cruises is impressive; in addition to Dick Barber, Elaine Barber,

Ten Years Ago ..... Fall Term 1987

Fal/1997 THE BEAUFORT EXPERIENCE 6

and Lisa Borden, there is Mike Hirsh (Duke '95), Marta Sanderson (Duke '90), Chief Scientist Tim Cowles (Duke'77), and Expedition Director Walker Smith (Duke '76).

Class of '77 Reunion See the Marine Lab's web site for more photos. Lookunder resources.

Formed in 1986, the Marine Laboratory Advisory Board meets twice annually to bolster the programs of the Marine Labora­tory. This year we welcome five new mem­bers.

Richard H. Bierly lives in Morehead City with his wife, Mary. He serves as the president of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, is a member of the board of the 70 West Blue Marlin Tournament, president of Carteret County Crossroads and a representative of the Regional Wastewater Task Force. Bierly retired as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Washington office of Manchester Corp., a small privately owned career counseling firm. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Government Affairs and International Trade for U nisys Corporation.

Bishop Robert W. Estill served as the Bishop of North Carolina from 1983 to 1994 and has held faculty positions at the Episco­pal Theological Seminar in Kentucky and the Virginia Theological Seminary. He has served as the Chairman of the Board for the Penick Home and Conference Center, Thompson Children's Home, St. Augustine's College and the University of the South, Kanuga. Bishop Estill has also served as President of the North Carolina Council of Churches from 1990 to 1991 and on the board of the General Theological Seminary in New York. Bishop Estill lives with his wife, Joyce, in Raleigh.

William A. Lane, (T' 44), is president of Dunspaugh Dalton Foundation Inc., a non-

profit organization in Coral Gables, Fla., whose areas of interest are higher education, social services, youth agencies, health organizations, hospitals and cultural programs. Lane also served as a Duke Trustee from 1983 to 1994 serving until the mandatory retirement age of70. He and his wife, Tina, live in Coral Gables.

Stephen E. Roady, (L'76), is a partner in the law firm of Swidler & Berlin in Washington, D.C. Before joining this firm, he was a partner in the Environmental Section of Andrews & Kuske. Roady has also served as counsel to the minority with the US Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works. While there he assisted in drafting the Clean Air Act amendments. Roady and his wife, Celia (T'73 L'76), live in Washington.

Wayne F. Wilbanks, (T'82), is president of the Wilbanks, Smith and Thomas Asset Management firm in Norfolk, Va. He has devoted much of his life as an active volunteer in the non-profit world. Wilbanks currently serves on many boards including the Norfolk Symphony Board. He and his wife, Ashlin, live in Norfolk.

Board Highlights Smith Holcomb retired from the board

this summer. Holcomb had been an active member since 1988. Nelson Crisp and Howard Hardesty will step down as co-chairpersons of the board. They will remain on the board as active members.

Bob Hardy, (T'66), replaces Crisp and Hardesty as chairman of the Advisory Board. Hardy joined the board in 1991 and has an active law practice with Steveig, Miller and Co. of Houston. He lives in Morehead City with his wife Diane (W'67), son, Thomas (T'96), and daughter Karen (T'98). Bob's daughter, Karen, participated in the inaugural Beaufort-2-Bermuda program this spring. Bob is active on the water and enjoys the respect of his fellow board members.

Marine Lab Hosts Parents Weekend

The Marine Lab opened its doors to the parents of current students on October 24 and 25 for its first ever parents weekend. Parents were invited to spend the day with their children or participate in their renewal of commitment to higher education.

Friday was spent in the classroom with Larry Crowder, Richard Forward and Pat McClellan-Green exploring topics such as marine ecology, physiology and molecular and cellular processes. Saturday began with tours of historic Beaufort. The afternoon brought a classic "Beaufort Experience" featuring walking tours of the island, boat tours of local estuaries aboard the RIV Susan Hudson and presentations by faculty, graduate and CEM students on the importance of undergraduate education. A Down East pig pickin' wrapped up the event.

DUKE UNIVERSITY NICHOLAS SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT MARINE LABORATORY ANNUAL FUND

Name ----------------------------------------------School/Year ____________________________________________ _

(state) (zip) Address --------------~--~~~~--------------------------------------------------------------------------

(street/PO Box) (city)

Telephone (home) ------------------------------------- (office) -------------------------------------------------My personal pledge is: $ _________ _

My company ----------------------- matches $ ----------Total Annual Fund Pledge $ _________ _

Divide this gift with spouse ------------------------------------------------­

School/Year -----------------------------------------------------------0 Payment enclosed

0 Credit card: 0 Mastercard OVISA OAMEX 0 Discover 0 Optima

Acct. # ------------------------------- Exp. Date ----------------------­

Name as it appears on card: -------------------------------------------------

Fal/1997 THE BEAUFORT EXPERIENCE 7

RETURN FORM TO: Marine Laboratory Annual Fund

Duke University Marine Laboratory 135 Duke Marine Lab Road

Beaufort NC 28516

On Saturday last (October 4) we celebrated a "flushing ceremony", an event which at first blush was conducive of mirth. Assembled for the ceremony were the Marine Laboratory Advisory Board, the Dean and administration of the Nicholas School of the Environment, faculty, students and equally important the Mayor and Commissioners of the Town of Beaufort. Mter appropriate pledges of mutual cooperation, the Mayor and Director released a slug of Duke blue-dyed water into the new sewer system from a water closet on the quad. Presumably the dye would make its way to Beaufort's wastewater treatment plant several miles away. However, this potentially mirthful ceremony was full of symbolism and spoke to the future of the Marine Laboratory.

Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment Marine Laboratory Beaufort, NC 285 16-9721

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Salutary was the fact that in order to obtain connection to Beaufort's utilities, Pivers Island had to be annexed into the Town of Beaufort. Thus, the historic identity of the Marine Laboratory with the Town was formalized with the act of annexation. The process took three years, full of good will, then acrimony and back to good will as the annexation was rescinded and then the recision rescinded. Lawyers can make things convoluted. At issue was that a non-taxable entity (the Marine Lab) would take some of the permitted capacity of Beaufort's freshwater treatment plant theraby denying that capacity to a taxable entity. But it was argued that the Marine Lab was a major economic and cultural asset to Beaufort while drawing on no services. Another issue was ownership of the subaqueous crossings between Pivers Island and Front Street. For various reasons neither entity wanted ownership because of the perceived liability. However, if a storm so great occurred such that the pipes lying 17 feet into the channel sediments were unearthed

by the surge, liability would be a mute point for either Duke or the Town. Finally the impediments to agreement were negotiated.

Sixty years of on-site sewage treatment in soils which are marginally appropriate for sewage treatment challenges the leadership-by-example incumbent upon the Nicholas School. So too, the latter-day and frequent sightings of the "honey wagon" on Pivers Island. And it was clear that Duke would not receive a permit to build the Ocean Science Teaching Center on Pivers Island·-- or any other building for that matter -- unless other provisions were made for off-site sewage treatment. Enter Duke's Facilities Management Department and Executive Vice President in an action that provided planning, engineering and nearly $1 million to solve the problem. That combined with a facilities audit and long­range planning by University Architect signals a new era for the Marine Laboratory --the marine sciences program will be supported by University infrastructure rather than by its own.

So you see a little flush can mean a lot.

Nonprofit organization

US POSTAGE

PAID

Beaufort, NC

Permit No. 25