Citizen Scientists Recognized in the Journal Science

The 3 June 2005 issue of the journal Science cites the increasingly important role played by citizen scientists in ornithology.

First, in his editorial about the rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker (see The Citizen Scientist, 17 June 2005), Science Editor Donald Kennedy wrote about his passion for bird watching ("The Ivory-Bill Returns," Science 308, 3 June 2005, p. 1377). He then described how he first learned of the bird's rediscovery from John Fitzpatrick, who directs Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology. The story then moved to the citizen scientist responsible for the biggest ornithology news in a century:

"Cornell and the Nature Conservancy, a partner in the venture, deserve all the credit they have been given, Kennedy wrote. "But it is only fair to single out Gene Sparling of Hot Springs, Arkansas, who first found the bird, made the identification, and then guided two members of the Cornell team into the right area."

Kennedy then recounted the thrill of discovery. "No one who heard the interview of these three on National Public Radio can be unaware of the thrill this amateur naturalist had from his discovery or of the excitement it brought to his two colleagues."

And there's more, for the editor of the world's leading scientific journal then praised citizen scientists. "It is fortunate for science that it attracts people who may lack special training or higher degrees but have found the knowledge and confidence to know that they can do real science. Generations of British parson naturalists have given us centuries of first-flowering dates for British plants, and a national brigade of observers who assist Cornell with the Partners in Flight program have expanded our knowledge of bird distribution and migration. For Gene Sparling, the Cornell team, and the partner organizations who have helped preserve the Arkansas habitat, an appropriate salutation would be the ancient Hebrew blessing: 'Baruch Mechayei haMetim': 'Blessed is the one who gives life to the dead.'"

And there's still more, for the same issue of Science included a news article about the remarkable citizen scientist networks organized by Cornell's Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York (Yudhijt Bhattacharjee, "Citizen Scientists Supplement Work of Cornell Researchers," Science 308, 3 June 2005, pp. 1402-1403). This article is must-reading for bird watchers, for it explains how many of them have provided data for significant scientific studies of bird populations and migrations around the United States.

In one study, Cornell wanted to track the spread of an epidemic of conjunctivitis in house finches. They printed and distributed 60,000 computer scannable forms to 9,000 volunteer bird watchers. According to the article, Cornell's Andre Dhondt reported, "The speed at which we were able to track the epidemic was simply amazing; we couldn't have dreamed of doing it without a volunteer network."

Positive articles about citizen science like these are what The Citizen Scientist wants to share with members of the Society for Amateur Scientists and our web visitors. Unfortunately, citizen scientists don't always get the respect they have earned. Even Science has let us down in this regard.

A news story and editorial in The Citizen Scientist (TCS) reported on the snubbing of avocational archaeologist Dave Wasion in a report in Science about the discovery of the earliest known evidence of pre-Clovis people in North America (Terrence Falk, "Wisconsin dig seeks to confirm pre-Clovis Americans," vol. 305, 30 July 2004, p. 590). Wasion was first to discover the evidence that led to the dig, yet he was not even named in the story. Various professional scientists were named in the story. Dave Wasion was simply referred to as an "amateur archaeologist."

The story was written by professional writer Terrence Falk, who informed TCS that he had included Dave Wasion's name in his draft. The editors at Science removed the name. Falk submitted an article about Wasion to TCS ("The Momentous Discovery of Avocational Archaeologist David Wasion").

Later, Wasion himself wrote two articles for TCS ("The Mammoth Hunter: David Wasion's Quest for Pre-Clovis People in North America").

Science definitely doesn't have an anti-citizen science policy. In fact, several years ago they published an invited essay by an amateur scientist (Forrest M. Mims III, "Amateur Science--Strong Tradition, Bright Future," Science 284, 2 April 1999, pp. 55-56).

So maybe the editorial staff that shunned Dave Wasion needs to learn about and report more about the the achievements of countless citizen scientists in ornithology, archaeology, paleontology, astronomy, meteorology, botany, and a host of other fields. They can begin by reading their editor's inspiring editorial in the 3 June 2005 issue of Science.

Forrest M. Mims III