IWR Launches Frederick J. Clarke Visiting Scholar Program with Selection of Dr. Martin Doyle

ALEXANDRIA, VA  — August 31, 2009. IWR has initiated its latest visiting scholar program, which is named for Lieutenant General Frederick J. Clarke, Chief of Engineers 1969-1973. Lieutenant General Clarke was instrumental in securing expert, independent advice on environmental issues facing the Corps by founding the Environmental Advisory Board (EAB). The Corps plays an increasingly important role in many of the most profound environmental issues faced by our nation's water resources. To continue to be effective in its mission, the Corps will need the advice of our nation's brightest scholars to ensure that these environmental issues are tackled with the utmost skill and understanding.

In response, IWR has started the Frederick J. Clarke Fellowship, which provides scholars with the opportunity to help advise the Corps on important policy issues related to their environmental mission. Clarke Fellowships will be awarded to researchers who have demonstrated scholarship in the areas of environmental quality and policy analysis in water resources planning. Dr. Martin Doyle, associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been selected as the inaugural Frederick J. Clarke Visiting Scholar.

Dr. Doyle’s areas of expertise include river policy and economics, infrastructure in the environment, eco-hydrology, river processes, and environmental history. While at IWR, he will examine the following issues:

• Optimal scale for geographic service areas in compensatory mitigation
• River identification and definition
• Infrastructure decommissioning
• The evolving political economy of U.S. rivers

More about Dr. Martin Doyle

Among Dr. Doyle’s notable achievements are his appointments as an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow (Stanford University - Woods Institute of Environment, 2008), GlaxoSmithKline Faculty Fellow for Public Policy (Institute for Emerging Issues, 2008), member of the Editorial Board, Ecology (2008-present), CAREER award recipient (National Science Foundation, 2005), and Nystrom Award (Association of American Geographers, 2004). He has served on many important committees and panels tackling issues related to hydrology, ecology, and infrastructure. Dr. Doyle is also an author on more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and numerous book chapters.

More about the Frederick J. Clarke Fellowship

Lieutenant General Frederick J. Clarke, Chief of Engineers (1969-1973), was among the first heads of the Army Corps of Engineers to be faced with the concerns of the nascent environmental movement, which had been highly critical of the agency and its wetlands policy. Following passage of the Environmental Policy Act of 1969, General Clarke established the Environmental Advisory Board (EAB), comprised of environmental leaders, as a means for the Chief to gain outside, expert and independent advice on environmental issues facing the Corps. This board continues to serve the Corps well by providing expert and independent advice and it has become a vehicle of communication to reach out and build partnerships, understanding and cooperation with the environmental community and public at large.

IWR has named its newest visiting scholar program after Lieutenant General Clarke because of his efforts in improving the Corps’ ability to address environmental issues while enhancing mutual understanding and confidence between the Corps and both the general public and conservation community.

Learn more about:

• Frederick J.Clarke Fellowship