March 8, 2011
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Vicksburg, Miss. — When she was four years old, ERDC Environmental Laboratory's (EL) Dena Dickerson received a most unusual valentine from her grandfather, strongly influencing her future career as an environmental biologist and herpetologist. Replacing the candy in a heart-shaped box, he presented Dickerson with a baby alligator, which remained as a live-in pet for six years and fueled her activist passion for animal and reptile preservation.
Feb. 19, the Mississippi Wildlife Federation (MFW) paid tribute to Dickerson's wide-ranging conservation accomplishments by naming her the 2010 Conservationist of the Year.
Dickerson credits her parents with her early love of animals and reptiles, vividly remembering weekly visits from their Clinton home to the Jackson Zoo, where they leisurely watched the animals both inside and outside the cages. Her parents also tolerated unusual pets through the years; however, with the impending birth of her baby brother when Dickerson was in fourth grade, her beloved alligator found himself relocated to an Arkansas zoo.
Dickerson now assists with ERDC's dredging projects to ensure species' safeguards and compliance with environmental laws. "We strive to get the dredging projects done as environmentally friendly as possible," she said, "and we are able to share our lessons learned with dredging projects in other countries." As a behavioral ecologist, she studies the impacts of coastal development and dredging projects on threatened, endangered and sensitive species and their habitats.
Eagle Trophy Presentation
In presenting Dickerson with the top trophy among the15 conservationists recognized at the 51st annual achievement banquet, MWF President Kris Godwin noted, "This past year Dickerson assisted with recovery efforts associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, relocating nearly 200 sea turtles in 15 days. She co-wrote and coordinated multi-agency proposals for long-term evaluations of sea turtle movements and assisted in the Natural Resources Damage Assessment process."
Godwin continued, "Her passion for conservation education led her to create content for the Corps' online Education Center, providing classroom resources on a broad range of science topics. She has developed hands-on nature-based programs for a school and a local nature center, mentored students conducting research with sturgeon, wetland fishes, and wood storks, and enabled them to receive recognition from local groups and national organizations. Dickerson's conservation legacy is assured in the conservation awareness imparted to so many youngsters." Godwin added that the award recognizes Dickerson’s talent, energy, enthusiasm, work ethic and conservation ethic.
Only the fifth woman to receive the Conservationist of the Year award since its 1960 inception, Dickerson said it was an honor because she was nominated and chosen by her peers. She has volunteered with MWF for the past five years. She and her husband, EL's Jan Hoover, manage a 20-plus acre farm in Clinton, providing habitat for frogs, salamanders, giant tortoises, snakes, horses, and many rescued dogs. Dickerson trains and shows many of the dogs for obedience and agility competitions, as well as therapy dogs for hospitals and schools.
Protection Projects
Currently working with Chevron's pipeline project in the northeastern corner of Western Australia, Dickerson provides guidance on the protection of flatback sea turtles only found on that continent. She also works with whales, manatees, tortoises, and snakes, but the majority of her work has been with sea turtles.
She conducted pioneering studies on the impacts of beach nourishment and artificial lighting on the behavior of nesting and hatchling sea turtles and documented the benefits of turtle excluder devices and rescue trawling protocols.
In 2007, she served as a team member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Dhamra, India, site of the largest deep-water shipping port in the world. The team identified protection methods for the world’s largest breeding population of Olive Ridley sea turtles. While there, she initiated a program in which she and local observers went into Indian schools to teach marine biology and general science.
Dickerson began her ERDC career as a contract student in EL in 1984. She earned her master's in environmental biology at Mississippi College and taught biology and chemistry at Clinton High School. Her educational influences and expertise in the field have rescued and protected innumerable animals and reptiles through the years, resulting in the well-deserved title as Conservationist of the Year.