Land Ethic Celebrated at Crossroads

Last fall, the Door County Environmental Council presented Crossroads with this pastel portrait of Fran Hamerstrom by Jim Ingwersen at a gathering of the Women’s Fund of Door County.

Crossroads at Big Creek’s annual observance of Aldo Leopold Day will celebrate the life and work of Fran Hamerstrom, a remarkable woman who embodied Leopold’s “land ethic.”

Hamerstrom, a wealthy Boston debutant, left her comfortable life to study wildlife in Wisconsin in 1931. She was the only female research fellow of Aldo Leopold. With her husband, she became a field researcher, helping develop wildlife management procedures still in use today, and the couple is credited for saving prairie chickens from extirpation in Wisconsin. She wrote more than 100 professional papers and also published 10 books.

Last fall, the Door County Environmental Council presented Crossroads at Big Creek with a stunning James Ingwersen portrait of Fran Hamerstrom during a gathering of the Women’s Fund of Door County. Hamerstrom is the epitome of a young woman, who against enormous odds, succeeded in the fields of wildlife management and ornithological research during an era in which women simply did not do such things.

The March 3 celebration will begin with a Nature Writing Workshop presented by Mary “Casey” Martin from 9 am – 12 pm. Martin, who was Hamerstrom’s literary agent, will present the keynote address, “Science and the Written Words of Dr. Frances Hamerstrom” at 1 pm. At 2:45 pm, while enjoying refreshments around the fireplace, participants will hear stories and reflections from Roy Lukes and others who knew Hamerstrom and her husband Fredrick.

Learners of all ages are encouraged to attend this free event.

Crossroads is located at 2041 Michigan Street, Sturgeon Bay. For more information call 920.746.5895 or visit http://www.crossroadsatbigcreek.org.