Gray Merriam's Legacy in Frontenac County
Gray Merriam was an earnest, animated man, who could also be scrappy, and prone to stridency.
He never wavered in his commitment to the things he held dear, including: his wife and fellow nature explorer Aileen, the concept of landscape ecology and all the insights that it entails, the Kennebec Wetland complex and the Salmon River, among others.
Gray and Aileen moved to Blue Heron Ridge Road, on Kennebec Lake at the headwaters of the Salmon River, in 1996, when he retired from Carleton University, where he taught and researched for decades.
His second career as a voice for ecology in Frontenac County lasted a further 30 years, and included articles and letters printed in this newspaper, as well as articles and blogs posted on his own website and in book form. We published his last letter in the Frontenac News not too long ago.
He was also active with various organisations, as a founder in some cases, a board member and board chair in others, and as a contributing expert to all of them.
He was a long serving member and chair of the Frontenac Stewardship Council, and because the council was supported by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Natural Resources, he was often frustrated by the council's limitations when it came to taking political stands on environmental policy.
He sought out other outlets for that.
He was a supporter and resource for The Land Between, A Haliburton based organisation dedicated to information and advocacy about “ecotone” between the St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Canadian Shield and the Boreal Forest”.
Leora Berman, the Founder and Director of “The Land Between and Turtle Guardians, said that although she knew Gray was aged, “he was so fierce. I had expected to hear from him more in the future, and for him to live to 100 at least”.
He was a founder of the Friends of the Salmon River.
Susan Moore, of Friends of the Salmon River, said that at the Annual General Meeting of the group on November 2nd, those in attendance shared their memories of Gray, adding that “Gray in many ways shaped the format and working environment of the Friends of the Salmon River community group. His leadership in promoting the essential importance of the headwaters of the Salmon was inspiring. Gray's legacy will live on in our community.”
For a time, he was also involved with Frontenac County, and his influence on the planning department at the county and the development of its Official Plan and a Natural Heritage Study and Plan, is still being felt.
Joe Gallivan, the Director of Development Services with the county, said that Gray has had an important influence on him and his work.
The Natural Heritage Plan includes recognition and protection of the Kennebec Wetland Complex, a series of connected small wetlands that feature more biodiversity than would be encountered in a single larger wetland area.
“This all came from Gray. I learned a lot from him,” Joe Gallivan said, when hearing about Gray's passing, earlier this week.
In 2010, Gray oversaw the publication of a book called ‘Naturally Rich Frontenac County’. It was part of an effort to bring attention to the natural economy that is as essential as the industrial economy is temporary.
One of the basic understandings he brought forward in Frontenac County is that the most important dividing line in the county is the one between the portion on the granite of the Canadian Shield, and the portion on the Limestone of the St. Lawrence substrate. The political boundaries between townships and counties are of only transitory importance.
In 2023, Gray Merriam received an honorary doctorate from Carleton University, “in recognition of outstanding contributions to establishing and promoting the field of Landscape Ecology through teaching, research and outreach”. And the chair of the Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory at Carleton was given a new title: “Gray Merriam Chair in Landscape Ecology”.
In 2024, Gray and Aileen Merriam were honoured by the Kennebec Lake Association with a plaque that was installed on a large rock at the Kennebec Boat Launch. The plaque reads - “Gray and Aileen Merriam – In gratitude for the many years of environmental council and leadership – Kennebec Lake Association – Naturally Beautiful, Beautiful Naturally”.
Gray was also a man of contradictions. He was more than willing to point out the folly and danger of consumerism, as he said in a letter to the News:
“Someone said that our fundamental role as members of society is to be consumers. Who could possibly have said that? An economist? A spokesperson for big industry or big business? A retailers’ representative? An equally valid statement could be: our fundamental role as members of society is to care for our global and our local environments and for each other.”
And yet, he had his own consumerist instincts.
I remember leaving a Stewardship Council meeting in the Sharbot Lake with him one day, where he had been talking about inter-related ecosystems, and pointing out how the council conducted what he called 'random acts of stewardship' instead of a coordinated program.
We got to the parking lot, and he jumped into a little sports car.
“Is that yours?” I asked him.
“Sure is,” he said, his face breaking out in a smile.
He rode off like a bat out of hell, waving as he did.
Gray Merriam was 94 years old when hen died on October 17. He is survived by his wife Aileen, a biologist and artist, their two sons and three grand children
