NEWS RELEASE

News Bureau . Schofield Hall 201 . Eau Claire, WI 54702
phone: (715) 836-4741
fax: (715) 836-2900

EAU CLAIRE — Fifteen University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students presented professional research posters and papers at the 100th anniversary annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers held March 14-19 in Philadelphia.

According to associate professor of geography Garry Running, UW-Eau Claire typically has the largest group of presenters at the conference, and this year marked the largest group of UW-Eau Claire undergraduate presenters to attend the meeting to date.

“Our undergrad’s presentations were surrounded by posters and papers presented by research faculty and graduate students from all over the place,” Running said. “That was the caliber of the competition, and they did us proud.”

Running noted that Erin Heidtke, Eau Claire, and Jennifer Freeland, Alma, were approached by graduate schools about their work. Travis Franz, Colby, and Eric Lynde, Oregon, were approached by James O. Wheeler, professor emeritus from the University of Georgia-Athens and one of more well-known names in geography in the United States. Wheeler wanted to include the maps from their presentation, “The Hinterlands of Major League Baseball,” in the next edition of his textbook, “Urban Geography.”

Presentations included the following:

• “Locating a Native Village Visited by Lewis and Clark: Literature Review and Subsurface Investigations” was presented by Beth Guse, Mayville, and Sabrina Hicks, Oconomowoc. Associate professor Harry Jol and Curt Peterson were co-authors.
• “Recent Hydrographic Change in the Tiffany Bottoms, Chippewa River, Wisconsin” was presented by associate professor Doug Faulkner and Adam Lange, Burnett. Other authors included Ryan DeChaine, Brainerd, Minn., and Theresa Stiper, Milwaukee.
• “GIS-based Investigation of PreContact Land Use: Small Stream Valleys, Eau Claire County, WI,” presented by Freeland. Michele Shaw, Gilman, Running and R. Barth were co-authors.
• “A Study of Vegetation Methods for Application in Nature Mapping: A Citizen Science Based Process” was presented by Heidtke and lecturer Lisa Theo.
• “North Star Middle School Nature Trail” was presented by Heidtke and Franz.
• “A Ground Penetrating Radar Investigation of an 1805 Lewis and Clark Site” was presented by Jeremy Treague, Danbury, and Rebecca Thorn, Green Leaf. Co-authors included Jol and Peterson.
• “Searching for the Ancient Jewish City of Yavne: A Geophysical Survey of Tel Yavne, Israel” was presented by Bryan Frenz, Tomah, and Jol. Other co-authors included R. Freund, P. Bauman, D. Parker, P. Reeder, A. Goren, B. Selavan and D. Willner.
• “The Hinterlands of Major League Baseball” was presented by Franz, Lynde and assistant professor Timothy Bawden.
• “Origin and Distribution of Fluvial Terraces Along the Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers, Canada” was presented by professor Karen Havholm and Lange. Running and D. Wiseman were co-authors.
• “Locating a Mapped Lewis and Clark Native Encampment, Oregon: A GIS” was presented by Joel Stevens, Boyceville, and Ryan Zahler, White Bear Lake, Minn. Jol and Peterson were co-authors.
• “Simplifying Urban Geography Concepts: A Teaching Tool for K-16 Educators” was presented by Theo, Tracey Gilbert, Park Falls, and Mitchel Stimers, Rice Lake.
• “Somali Immigrant Settlement in Small Midwestern Communities” was presented by Jessica Schaid, Rochester, Minn., and assistant professor Zoltan Grossman.

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KO/NW

Judy Berthiaume, Director
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 201
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu

Updated: April 27, 2004