As Stone Lab celebrates 100 years at Gibraltar Island this year, the anniversary provides a moment to appreciate the laboratory’s years of crucial outreach work across Lake Erie.
One person particularly familiar with such initiatives hosted at The Ohio State University’s island campus is Travis Hartman, Lake Erie Fisheries Program Administrator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. He recently reflected on his relationship with Stone Lab throughout his career.
Travis Hartman, Lake Erie Fisheries Program Administrator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife
“Stone Lab has the ability to communicate and really bring in specific groups,” Hartman said. “They have the perfect location and facilities to hold these interactive courses and events, and it’s really beneficial to us. We don’t always have the infrastructure to run events with the public or specific groups, so that’s where Stone Lab and Sea Grant are really critical.”
Hartman, who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, has worked at the Division of Wildlife since 2003. As program administrator, his job entails working with other agencies to make fish management decisions for sustainable harvest levels. He also oversees annual sampling and surveying on Lake Erie to monitor fish populations and harvests.
Hartman’s interest in Stone Lab began at a young age, when he visited South Bass Island with his family during high school.
“I saw Stone Lab and thought, man, that’s amazing that there’s a classroom and a whole campus out on the Lake Erie islands,” Hartman said. “Then, in the summer of 1998, when I was in college, I got to spend the whole summer working and living at Stone Lab. I really gained an appreciation for what all goes on out there and what a great hands-on opportunity it is for learning.”
Today, Hartman’s work at the Division of Wildlife benefits greatly from Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab’s initiatives to bring science to the people, particularly through interactions with Ohio anglers.
“Sea Grant does a great job of communicating the work that we do,” he said. “In a lot of cases, it is complex, scientific work, but it’s got to be boiled down so anglers can understand the value of managing the fishery and understanding the ecosystem. Stone Lab’s a key part of that.”
One large piece of that communication effort is Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab’s annual Lake Erie Science & Outdoor Writers Conference. The no-cost, hands-on learning experience takes place at Gibraltar Island, helping writers across the region learn about Lake Erie science and opportunities. For years, Hartman has contributed to the program as a speaker.
“I’m really hoping to give them (outdoor writers) a glimpse of what we do, talking about the types of surveys that we annually operate and the data that we acquire from those surveys. But more importantly, it’s about how we tap into them,” Hartman said. “How do they fit into the lake-wide, inter-agency management process? Most writers are surprised at how complex it is.”
At Stone Lab’s Charter Captains Day, attendees can experience hands-on learning about Lake Erie science.
Another Stone Lab outreach initiative Hartman takes part in is an annual day trip to the island campus for Lake Erie charter captains. Charter captains are experts and know their fish, Hartman said, but they might be less familiar with smaller or non-sport fish that aren’t caught on a rod and reel.
“When you take charter captains out on the boat and do the trawl, and they see a small trout-perch or a logperch darter, they’ll say, ‘wow, this is different than what I know from fishing,’” he said. “I think it’s the whole hands-on experience. It’s learning by actually doing it instead of being told about it. And it really furthers the relationship we have with the charter captain industry.”
Hartman continues to work with Ohio Sea Grant on other initiatives, often working alongside extension program leader Tory Gabriel. In recent years, he worked with Gabriel to contribute to the Erie PrOH program, a voluntary certification course for fishing guides and crew members who work on Lake Erie. With Ohio Sea Grant, Hartman also contributes to the Annual Ohio Charter Captains Conference, an event that has helped inform boat captains for 44 years.
“It’s another opportunity for us to communicate with charter captains to present our assessments, our data, our regulations, and anything that might be changing for them as an industry,” Hartman said. “It’s just a great partnership, and Sea Grant helps us communicate with our anglers, which is critical.”
As someone familiar with the benefits Stone Lab provides, Hartman added that the campus is the perfect place for students interested in fisheries science to go. His own experience there helped build relationships that in some cases have lasted his entire career.
“When I think about current fisheries students and young college kids that are considering fisheries management as a profession, you have to go to Stone Lab,” he said. “You build relationships, and the hands-on stuff that you learn is just critical. It really gets the gears turning, where you see what field work is and what the profession is really about.”
Ohio Sea Grant is supported by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, and NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs nation-wide dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and is the research, education, and outreach facility of Ohio Sea Grant and part of CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources.