Remembering Glenn Richard VanBlaricom
16 April 1949– December 24, 2020
Thanks to Glenn’s many students, colleagues, and friends for their contributions to this memoriam. Some content was adapted from an article published in the February 2021 issue of Marine Mammal Science
On 24 December 2020, Glenn VanBlaricom, SAFS professor emeritus, passed away at the age of 71 following a long battle with thyroid cancer.
Glenn was born in Shelton, Washington, and obtained his BS degree (Oceanography and Zoology) from the University of Washington in 1972, and his PhD from UC San Diego in 1978 (thesis title: Disturbance, predation, and resource allocation in a high-energy sublittoral sand bottom ecosystem: Experimental analyses of critical structuring processes for the infaunal community). He joined federal service in 1977 as a wildlife biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Glenn spent 16 years with the USFWS, working on the ecosystem-scale ecology of sea otters along the Big Sur coast of California and in Prince William Sound, Alaska. During his tenure with the USFWS, Glenn served as an associate adjunct professor in the Institute for Marine Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, where he taught courses in coastal marine ecology.
Glenn was informed about the newly created position of assistant unit leader-wildlife in the Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (WA Coop) by a friend and USFWS colleague, manatee biologist Tom O’Shea. In a 2015 interview, Glenn said, “Because I was a native of Washington and a UW graduate, a faculty position relating to marine sciences at UW had always been my dream job, and family issues centered in western Washington provided further incentive.” Glenn was appointed as an associate professor “without tenure” in the (then) School Fisheries. He retired from the US Geological Survey and UW in 2017.
Glenn taught a very popular class on marine mammalogy at UW. This class attracted students from all over campus, including Art, History, English Literature, and Drama, in addition to the marine sciences. Many today can attribute their interest in marine mammal science to their time in his class. Glenn also conducted a monthly series of seminars in Olympia that brought UW scientists involved in research on natural ecosystems to the state’s capitol for the benefit of state agency scientists and managers who were interested in research developments at UW.
One of the goals of the WA Coop is mentorship of graduate students, and during his 24 years as a UW faculty member, Glenn consistently maintained one of the largest labs. He was major professor for 17 PhD students and 26 MS students. Glenn’s former graduate students now work in natural resource research; in management and conservation; as university faculty; in local, state, and federal governmental agencies; in tribal resource management departments; at the United Nations headquarters in New York; and in private consulting firms. One of his PhD students, Kristin Laidre, is now a SAFS faculty member.
Glenn’s interests covered multiple research themes and ecosystems. He published over 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals on topics as diverse as community ecology and conservation biology of nearshore marine environments, population and community ecology of marine mammals and shellfish, and the ecological consequences of offshore oil development. Glenn was also the author of three books on sea otters: The Community Ecology of Sea Otters (1988), Sea Otters (2001), and Sea Otter Conservation (2015).
Glenn’s service to conservation and management was extensive. For example, he was a member (and chair) of the Endangered Species Act Black Abalone Recovery Team, and a member of the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, a program of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature involved in mitigating the impacts of expanding Russian development of offshore petroleum resources in the summer feeding grounds of the western gray whale population in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Many of Glenn’s students and colleagues highlighted his impact on their careers. Sue Moore (UW Center for Ecosystem Sentinels) noted that she first met Glenn when he was a graduate student at UC San Diego and she a marine research assistant, sorting benthic invertebrates in Paul Dayton’s lab. Sue says she was “loaned” to Glenn to help sort the many benthic core samples he’d taken both in and adjacent to bat ray pits in the shallow waters near Scripps Pier. What she remembers of those days was the fun and camaraderie that Glenn brought to his work, both in the lab and during his many dives to “collect bugs.” Glenn’s love of research is echoed in a comment by Amanda Bradford (MS 2003, PhD 2011) who went with Glenn to San Nicolas Island off California to assist with his long-term research project on black abalone. “Although I had already been in his lab for a few years, I saw this side of him that I had not seen before. The phrase ‘kid in a candy store’ comes to mind, except he was an established professor crawling around the intertidal zone. His intimate knowledge of the ecosystem brought it into sharp focus, and his enthusiasm was infectious,” she said.
Tony Orr (PhD 2011) commented: “Glenn was my PhD advisor and my friend. I was always impressed by his knowledge about various aquatic ecosystems, how articulate he was while giving lectures in the classroom or presentations at conferences, and how prolific he was providing data and information to the scientific and academic communities. He was ahead of his time concerning diversity and inclusion issues. Glenn was an inspiration, and I will be eternally grateful for the opportunities he provided to me. He may be gone but his memory and impacts live on.”
Laura Hoberecht (PhD 2006) highlighted Glenn’s professionalism: “While at SAFS, I worked with Glenn on beluga population dynamics and sea lion diets, and as my career developed, our paths crossed while investigating the effects of geoduck farming on the environment. In my experience, Glenn never advocated for any particular policies for the systems he studied, but instead prioritized communicating the results of his research to resource agencies to inform and guide their management decisions. With this approach, he made a difference in the protection and conservation of marine resources, while never compromising his scientific integrity.”
Glenn is also remembered for his generosity towards his students on a personal level. Alex Zerbini (PhD, 2006) commented, “Glenn made all the efforts to make sure international students felt at home. I’ll never forget the moment I left the plane the day I arrived in Seattle, just before starting at SAFS. Glenn was at the airport waiting for me with a whale sign in his hand, and my name written on it. He made me feel welcome from day one. During my first months here, he and Kris (Glenn’s wife) constantly checked how I felt adjusting to a new country. He was a kind man with a big heart.”
Glenn was recognized through multiple awards, including an Excellence in Scientific Communication Award from the Society of Mammalogy, a Natural Resource Response Award from the US Department of the Interior, and the Dr. Betty S. Davis Conservation Award from the Friends of the Sea Otter.
Glenn is survived by his wife, Kristina, two daughters, Christy and Betsy, and five grandchildren.
