Tuesday, April 4, 2010
As I was driving home last night I was looking forward to listening to WAMC's weekly nature program In Our Backyard with NYS Wildlife Pathologist Ward Stone. Instead, producer and co-host Joe Donahue read the following statement:
A recent article in the Albany Times Union has made some serious allegations against New York State Wildlife Pathologist Dr. Ward Stone, host of WAMC’s popular environmental program, “In Our Backyard.” A state investigation has been opened into Dr. Stone’s alleged misconduct. WAMC believes in the concept that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. We are grateful to Ward Stone for his generous volunteer contribution to WAMC’s “In Our Backyard” program and for his tireless work for the state as Wildlife Pathologist. We hope these allegations prove to be false, nevertheless, we believe it is prudent to suspend production of the program until these charges are resolved. WAMC news will continue to cover this story.As a fan of the program and a supporter of the fine work Ward Stone has done to help the environment during his 41 years with the DEC, my interest was more than piqued, so I looked up the May 2 Times Union article when I got home... and it's a doozy. Five pages of allegations of all sorts of misconduct, some of it pretty awful if it's true. Some of the sources could very well have an axe to grind, but I will certainly say that at least some of what he's being accused of seems to fall well within his reputation of being a maverick who doesn't suffer fools lightly and is very passionate about the importance of the work he does. I have long admired his work... but I suspect I wouldn't want to actually work with him. If what he is accused of is even partially true, some of it involves serious violation of the trust put in all public servants. Some of the allegations also paint a very uncomfortable picture of his personal life and his financial situation; I find it unfortunate that those points have ended up becoming a matter for public discussion, and it will be even more unfortunate if his personal difficulties end up undermining many years of excellent work as both wildlife pathologist and defender of the environment.
A number of people have questioned the timing of these allegations, just as the Lafarge cement plant is approaching final reviews in its current permit process for a planned expansion... an expansion which he is clearly against. Stone has worked with several groups opposed to the plant expansion doing analysis of harmful materials such as mercury in the areas surrounding the plant. The DEC apparently denied his request to do the study, which ended up being funded by outside donations with Stone volunteering his time. While none of the allegations have questioned the validity of his past scientific work, there is no question that his credibility has taken a major hit as a result of the Times Union article.
Time will tell how all of this plays out, both with the official investigation and in the court of public opinion.
JMH
