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| A classic "pose" . . . on an evening tour Roy told Art he never likes pictures of himself. I like this one, so he'll have to live with it! |
Consistent eyes and ears on the ground would be crucial not only for the more technical aspects of marsh management -- e.g., tending to changing water levels, bird-dogging contractors working on the property, monitoring wildlife movements, etc. It would also be critical when it came to the more mundane -- e.g., locking the gate that was left open after dark, keeping an eye out for signs of trespassing, etc., etc., etc. Both lists were feeling seemingly endless.
My hope was that I could find a 20- to 40-something with a basic understanding of marsh management, and maybe more importantly some personal familiarity with the area. I knew I was an outsider and that until I could start earning some local trust and respect, I would be seen as an outsider for a while.
What I found in Roy Kroll is quite frankly too much to describe in a single post . . . maybe even in an entire blog! But before I go any further, it's important to say a few words about Roy as our on-site marsh manager. (He can write his section of the "About Us" -- I get to write about him otherwise because he'd be too modest to say any of it himself.)
Roy and I first met not long after I graduated from college. I was the early 20-something and he was the early 40-something. At the time, Roy managed the most influential private marsh on Lake Erie, Winous Point (WP). That place and that story deserve more than a few posts in their own right, but for now, just know -- if you don't -- that Winous is the oldest continuously operating duck hunting club in North America. Founded in the 1850s, it has endured to be foundational not only to the evolution of waterfowl hunting, it has also been instrumental in both the practical and academic understanding of waterfowl and wetland ecology and preservation.
At 5,000+ acres, Winous is a "Holy Land" of sorts for the waterfowl and wetland enthusiast, not only on Lake Erie but around the Great Lakes and beyond. To me, Roy was an icon. (I still see him that way.) For more than a quarter century, he humbly managed Winous Point Club and Conservancy.
[A couple important add-ons: (1) Roy was instrumental in founding the "Conservancy" aspect to Winous' identity to insure long-term preservation of this magical place, and (2) while juggling the sometimes tenuous balance between hunting and management, Roy also juggled in education. While graduate research has been continuous at WP since 1949 (with more than 60 M.S. or PhD projects completed), Roy was instrumental in growing the post-graduate program and in the development of undergraduate internships (2/year since 1983). It should be noted further that many of the individual students who lived and studied at WP have gone on to fulfilling, if not prestigious careers in natural resource conservation in Ohio and all over the country.] . . . Refer back to yesterday's post; with a fundamental goal of incorporating education into its core mission, Standing Rush would do well to learn from Winous' track record in influencing youth and fostering learning.
So, back to our story. Suffice it to say, as soon as I met Roy, I knew I wanted to get to know this guy.
We stayed in touch over the years. Shared interests occasionally put us in the same room, and I never missed the opportunity to get an update. Adjectives from those early impressions include modest, passionate, experienced, measured, hands-on, practical, logical, and candid. Having worked side-by-side with him for more than two years now, I stand by all those adjectives, and have a growing list that make our collaboration that much more fun and rewarding. In so many important respects, we see the world the same way.
So, how did Roy become our manager? It all evolved quickly once I made the commitment to myself to pursue this project. I reached out to him as soon as I decided we were serious because I knew he would at least be familiar with the site. What I didn't know while he spoke with me from his northern Michigan cabin was that he and his wife had actually LIVED ON what's now Standing Rush property while he was completing his Master's thesis on our East Marsh!
That's right, Roy lived in what is now our field office in the late 1970s. And he had been keeping a close eye on the Bay View Marshes over the years as he traveled east from Winous the handful of miles along Sandusky Bay. As we were solidifying plans to make the purchase, Roy was semi-retired in Michigan. And the opportunity to return to Lake Country -- and specifically back to the marsh where he had cut his teeth as a biologist and marsh manager, proved to be an opportunity he just couldn't pass up.
Before long, Roy and his wife (God bless her) were relocating to Bay View.