The Cooper Ornithological Society lost a life member and a dear friend on 12 April 2010. On that date, Carl Marti, editor of Studies in Avian Biology and the society's webmaster, passed away just five short months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Carl came of age in Missouri, the heart of the American Midwest. He was born in Warrensburg, a small town outside of Kansas City, on 10 July 1944, but he grew up in Tarkio, an even smaller town in the northwestern corner of the state. He remained in Tarkio through his undergraduate education at Tarkio College, from which he received a B.A. in biology in 1966. In his early twenties, Carl moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado. There, at Colorado State University, he obtained both an M. Sc. and a Ph.D. in wildlife biology in rapid succession (1968 and 1970, respectively). Carl's dissertation research was on the foraging ecology of four sympatric species of owls, work that began a life-long passion for owls specifically and birds of prey generally.
Carl pursued this passion during his long tenure in the Department of Zoology at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. During his career, Carl published over 40 peer-reviewed papers as well as an oft-cited chapter in two editions of Raptor Research and Management Techniques (2007, Hancock House Publishers). He also had the distinction of setting the tone in the illustrious Birds of North America series published jointly by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and American Ornithologists' Union: Carl authored BNA's inaugural account, on the Barn Owl (Tyto alba), one of “his” species. During this period he served as an associate editor (1987–1991) and later as editor-in-chief (1993–1995) of the Journal of Raptor Research, and he was the book-review editor for the Auk (1996–1999).
Carl retired from Weber State as a full professor in 1999, but “retirement” did little to dampen his activities. He moved to Boise, Idaho, and was quickly appointed an adjunct professor at Boise State University's Raptor Research Center so that he could serve on the advisory committees of graduate students. While in Boise, Carl served as an associate editor of the Auk (2000–2004) and editor-in-chief of Studies in Avian Biology (2004–2010). He should have continued in the latter position were it not for his sudden illness.
During his career, Carl received various awards and honors, including the Utah Governor's Medal in Science and Technology (1988), being named, with Margaret, his wife of 43 years, Outstanding Alumnus of Tarkio College (1991), and an Outstanding Scholarship Award from Weber State's College of Science (1993). Later, Carl was named a Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union (2006), received the Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom Award from the Raptor Research Foundation for his contributions to the ecology and natural history of raptors (2009), and was named Honorary Member of the Cooper Ornithological Society (2010).
We shall remember Carl most for his warm, unassuming personality and friendly, understated demeanor. Along with the man himself, his calm presence at Cooper's annual board meetings and sure guidance of Studies in Avian Biology will be missed.
