Given my general bias toward giving full information, there follows a moderately detailed overview of what the Institute has been up to.  If you want to skip the rap and go directly to the page where you can join or donate: [GO TO DONATION/MEMBERSHIP PAGE]

Invitation / Request

Become a Charter Member of the Acoustic Ecology Institute

After over two years of preparatory work, the Acoustic Ecology Institute is emerging as a mature and effective organization.  As we complete the year 2005, we anticipate provisional approval by the IRS as a 501c3 non-profit organization, and we are offering our first membership options.

Your membership in the Acoustic Ecology Institute will serve the larger purpose of our work in several ways.  Firstly, it will demonstrate a broad public interest in the issues we are working on, and for the approach we take to public dialogue.  Second, it provides opportunities for the Institute to communicate with you in more depth about key topics as they arise.  And finally, the financial support provided by members can play a pivotal role in both our day to day operations and our ability to secure larger grants.

What has the Acoustic Ecology Institute accomplished?

While there are many organizations working specific projects or issues that have a sonic element, no other national environmental or resource organization has cultivated the expertise that we are building at the AEI.  We have become an important resource for other organizations, as reflected in the projects in which we’ve been brought in as the “sound specialist” that can bring together needed details and big-picture understanding:

• Greenpeace USA turned to AEI to complete a research review on the effects of seismic surveys at sea, after their research team found themselves boggled by the complexities of ocean acoustics
• The Journal of International Wildlife Law tapped AEI founder and Executive Director Jim Cummings to guest-edit a special edition on the topic of ocean noise, after he organized and moderated a diverse panel on the same topic at their conference (NRDC lawyer, head of LDEO/Columbia University ocean research program, director of the Marine Mammal Commission, and an acoustician).
• The Winter Wildlands Alliance asked Jim to help them adapt National Park Service soundscape monitoring techniques for use on National Forests

Meanwhile, the Institute’s web site has become by far the most comprehensive source for information on all aspects of sound-related environmental issues and scientific research

• Our News Digest compiles summaries of the latest developments in ongoing issues, as well as tidbits of sound-oriented general interest stories
• The rapidly evolving Science section of our site features brief summaries, written for a general audience, of the latest scientific papers related to bioacoustics and the effects of human noise on wildlife
• Resource sections include lists of academic research programs, government agencies, industrial, use group, and environmental organizations, and sites exploring the voice of the planet from an artistic perspective.

And, thanks to the generous participation of skilled volunteer interns from around the country, the Institute has put together a growing collection of Special Reports on specific events and topic of ongoing interest.  These reports provide more in-depth background and summaries, as well as links to sources for more information [SEE REPORTS]

• Naval Active Sonars
• International Whaling Commission reports on ocean noise
• Coalbed Methane Development
• Yellowstone Winter Use Plan
• National Marine Fisheries Service’s new Ocean Noise Criteria

Coming soon:

• The use and effects of sound in fish
• The effects of human noise on wildlife

Finally, the Institute (represented by Jim Cummings) engaged in a variety of outreach activities, including programs in local schools and co-sponsoring an annual lecture series at the College of Santa Fe, and has been invited to participate in a wide variety of conferences:

• Winter Wildlands Alliance Conference (10/04, Boise)
• 8^th International Wildlife Law Conference (11/04, New Orleans)
• New Mexico Heritage Preservtion Alliance (4/05, Taos)
• An Ear to the Earth Symposium and Festival (12/05, 10/06, New York)
• Sound, Environment, and Connective Technology Symposium (4/06, Riverside CA)
• Nature Sound Society Field Workshop (6/06, Sierras CA)

Now, all this may make it sound like we’re firing on all cylinders here at “the Institute.”  A peek behind the curtain, however, reveals that this is a very streamlined, mostly one-person operation, working out of a no-overhead home office.  I have one very part-time (a few hours a month) assistant who filters some online news lists for me, and the previously lauded interns working on specific projects.  While I’m proud of how much has been accomplished with so little, the year 2006 is crucial for AEI, as we need to establish a solid stream of funding in order to continue doing what we’re doing. 

The Board of Directors of AEI has set a target of finding 5-10 individuals or family foundations that could commit $5-10,000 per year for our first phase, with a goal of raising $50,000 per year.  We think this is a fairly modest target, and a worthy investment given the ways our work feeds into the larger projects of other organizations. If you know folks who might like to be part of this core circle of support, your introduction would be most welcome.

Members of the Acoustic Ecology Institute will receive:

• 20% discounts on all purchases at EarthEar, the soundscape art catalog founded in 1999, and which spawned the AEI
• A complimentary copy of one of three EarthEar CDs:
  • Forests: A Book of Hours, by Doug Quin
  • Before the War, by Doug Quin and David Rothenberg
  • Day of Sound, by Jason Reinier and friends
• Electronic delivery of a members-only AEI newsletter, which will contain highlights from our work and web site
• The satisfaction of knowing that you are making a big difference in the work we do

To go to the page where you can make online donations or memberhip payment:
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To print out a membership form and send it via fax or mail:

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