Canadian to Head Australian Frog Project - Press Item
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Inviato da Wes von Papineäu on Agosto 09, 1999 at 17:45:35:
THE KITCHENER-WATERLOO RECORD (Ontario) 07 August 99 Canadian researcher to run frog conservation institute
Victoria, B.C. (CP): The frog man of the Royal B.C. Museum, once fired from his unpaid job for asking for a telephone, has landed a plum job on the other side of the world.
Stan Orchard, one of Canada's leading herpetologists, left Victoria this week for Australia, where he has been named national co-ordinator of Frogs Australia with a $1-million budget -- and even a telephone and office.
Orchard will now organize, establish and run a new, independent national conservation body in Australia.
In spite of his 17 years as a leader in his field in Canada, he did not have a free hand in Victoria.
In 1995, he complained the museum's push to make money was putting its mandate in jeopardy.
At the time he was an unpaid research associate, and lent his expertise to the museum in exchange for office space.
But following his complaints, he was fired when he asked for a telephone in his office. He was later reinstated on orders from the provincial ombudsman.
Orchard caught the interest of Australians during a 1997 Prague conference on threatened species when he presented a paper on the Canadian experience.
The Australians wanted to pattern a species survival directorate on the Canadian model, and he helped set it up. When the organizers started shopping for a co-ordinator, Orchard was hired.
He said there is a great concern among Australian scientists about the declining amphibian population, and worry about declining fresh-water sources.
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