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Nature's Viewpoints on Drought

While we like to assign value to weather conditions, such as considering a drought being bad, John Weeks explains that in nature extreme weather is simply part of a cycle. He discusses how it is the extremes in climate that determine what vegetation grows. Drought is a gift to some life and a distraction to others. Locally, dry years are extremely beneficial to pheasants and wetland nesting birds. Originally aired July 15, 1988.

John Weeks studied ornithology and wildlife management at Cornell University and earned a graduate degree in plant ecology from Syracuse University. He has served as Conservation Biologist for the NYS Conservation Department; Associate Professor of Biology at SUNY Oswego; Founding Director of The Rogers Environmental Education Center at Sherburne, NY; and Director of the Onondaga Nature Center and Center for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods, Marcellus, NY. He assisted in the creation of the Cayuga Nature Center and the Sterling Nature Center in Cayuga County near Fair Haven, NY.