A BHA Pint Night with Roman Dial

              On March 26th a large group gathered at Midnight Sun Brewing Co. in Anchorage, Alaska. The group consisted of conservationists, students, outdoor enthusiasts, and of course: hunters and anglers. Everyone was excited to hear from Roman Dial, a legendary Alaskan adventurer and scientist.

              Roman Dial has walked a majority of the Brooks Range collecting data and samples for his many scientific endeavors. He is a Mathematics and Biology professor at Alaska Pacific University (APU), which affords him a unique opportunity to have students assist in both gathering data and carrying heavy equipment into the backcountry. Roman leads the Outdoor Studies Program at APU, which is a program that converges science, math, and outdoor recreation.

              Roman has released several publications focused on many different aspects of conservation in the Brooks Range. One of his publications focused on ecological observations gathered through “pixel walking.” Pixel walking is a technique of data collection where the observer walks through an area and determines the vegetation type and that correlates with a pixel color. During this trip the group trekked 80 miles into the Noatak wilderness to gather data.

              During the presentation Roman also highlighted the behavioral and population changes he has observed in the Grizzly Bear population in southcentral Alaska. The Grizzly Bear population has become increasingly more abundant, and noticeably more aggressive. Roman highlighted one specific Grizzly that stalked his group for several days during an outing, which shows how aggressive the bears in the area are becoming. Roman also mentioned how prominently he saw the bears and described how this may indicate an increase in their population. This is an ongoing discussion and so there was no exact reasoning as to the population changes, only some speculation.

              My favorite aspect of Roman’s presentation was how he focused on the relationship between nature, science, and art. Roman discussed how he loved having students who were artists because they were able to create scientific sketches in the field that related to what they were studying. He included several amazing examples in his presentation. This portion was really eye opening for how you can create valuable art that engages with science.

              Ultimately, hearing Roman speak was an excellent reminder of why we get outside in the first place. It also gave some insight into how aspiring scientists can include their passions in their science.