One explored ocean floors, discovered a new species of whale and championed female-led science in Alaska. Another cataloged Juneau\u2019s trails, rehabilitated birds and established a field-based education program that molded minds of decades of Juneau students.<\/p>\n
Both Mary Lou King and late marine biologist Michelle Ridgway have a history of passionate conservationism, and both will be inducted into the Alaska Women\u2019s Hall of Fame<\/a> this year as part of its 2018 class at a May 1 ceremony in Anchorage, it was announced this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n The trail she\u2019s on<\/strong><\/p>\n In her work as an author and advocate for education, King helped shape Juneau\u2019s relationship to the outdoors.<\/p>\n Her two most visible contributions to conservation and recreation \u2014 her book, \u201c90 Plus Short Walks Around Juneau,\u201d and the Seaweek Program \u2014 opened the natural world to generations of Juneauites and visitors alike. They both originated in 1987, when King helped found the Seaweek Program, a field trip curriculum for elementary students based in local intertidal zones.<\/p>\n The program started in Auke Bay Elementary School, and under King\u2019s direction, expanded to every elementary school in Juneau. She hoped the chance to view the intricate web of life in Juneau\u2019s tidepools would instill a sense of respect for the natural world.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of them (the students) had never been to the beach at a minus tide. They had no clue you could see sea stars and all those things. I think if you see those kinds of things and appreciate them, you\u2019ll be way more apt to, no matter what you do when, take care of the environment in all types of ways,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n \u201c90 plus short walks\u201d grew out of the Seaweek effort. King was trying to find access to public beaches adequate enough for the throngs of Juneau students she hoped would participate. She didn\u2019t want all of the students to go to the same beaches, stressing out starfish and sea anemones.<\/p>\n In researching all the beach accesses on Juneau\u2019s road system, King had the makings of a trail guide. With the help of other local hikers, she published the first edition in 1987. Hearthside Books reports that they sell more copies of \u201c90 Walks\u201d every year than any other book.<\/p>\n During a Monday interview at her Juneau home, King told stories of a long life in conservation. Birds are a big passion. She\u2019s raised ducks, geese and even eagles at her Sunny Point property since her and her husband Jim King bought it in 1964, as many as 40 birds at a time. (The eagles stayed with the Kings before the establishment of the Juneau Raptor Center. Jim King had a 30-year career in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and would often take in wounded or struggling eagles.)<\/p>\n At 88, King is still sharp. She still keeps two mallards and a goose.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s King\u2019s favorite trail?<\/p>\n \u201cThe one I\u2019m on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n KING Marylou<\/a> by Anonymous dd2sfNi<\/a> on Scribd<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A rare species<\/strong><\/p>\n Ridgway, who died in January from injuries sustained in a single car crash in Juneau, was known as an inveterate explorer<\/a> and top-flight marine biologist as comfortable in a submersible hundreds of feet below the waves as she was in a boardroom, influencing environmental policy.<\/p>\n Navigating the depths of the ocean and bureaucracy was her unique gift, said Kate Troll, a colleague who crossed paths with Ridgway in local and state policy arenas.<\/p>\n \u201cMichelle cut a figure that was at once memorable and impactful,\u201d Troll wrote in her nomination form, adding she was a \u201clarger than life figure in this state.\u201d<\/p>\n Ridgway published numerous scientific papers on everything from microscopic zooplankton to whales. She gained statewide notoriety for deep-sea exploration of the unexplored Zhemchug Canyon, in the Bering Sea, and for being a part of a team that discovered a new species of beaked whale<\/a>.<\/p>\n For as much as she was known for her work, she was equally well-respected as a mentor and a conservation advocate. It\u2019s something Emma Good, a marine ecology student at Western Washington University, looked up to in her mentor.<\/p>\n Ridgway took Good under her wing and helped her get a foothold in a field where females are underrepresented.<\/p>\n \u201cShe kind of encapsulated what I wanted to be when I grew up,\u201d Good said. \u201cShe did all this really cool, badass research and really spoke out for the ocean. And she taught a lot of kids while doing it. I was not the only person that she mentored.\u201d<\/p>\n You can read more about King and Ridgway in biographies attached to this article at Juneauempire.com. <\/ins><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ridgeway Michelle 2<\/a> by Anonymous dd2sfNi<\/a> on Scribd<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read a longer biography of King and Ridgway at juneauempire.com.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 and kgullufsen@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One explored ocean floors, discovered a new species of whale and championed female-led science in Alaska. Another cataloged Juneau\u2019s trails, rehabilitated birds and established a field-based education program that molded minds of decades of Juneau students. Both Mary Lou King and late marine biologist Michelle Ridgway have a history of passionate conservationism, and both will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":427,"featured_media":25430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-25429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/427"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25429"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=25429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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