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Yahoo
9 minutes ago
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Conservationist Shiloh Schulte, of Kennebunk, dies in research helicopter crash in Alaska
A conservationist from Kennebunk, Maine, died in a helicopter crash while conducting conservation work in Alaska. The death of Shiloh Schulte, PhD,, who previously served as an elected official in Kennebunk, was announced by the Manomet Conservation Sciences. A GoFundMe has been set up to support his family, including his wife and two daughters. He was 46. "Shiloh was a lifelong birdwatcher, conservationist, and scientist whose passion for the natural world was infectious," the GoFundMe, co-organized by Jonah Jill Schulte reads. "From a young age, he could be found exploring forests and wetlands with binoculars in hand, always eager to discover and share the wonders of the avian world. His dedication to protecting shorebirds and their habitats took him to some of the most remote and challenging environments on Earth, where he worked tirelessly to ensure a future for these vulnerable species." Schulte previously served on the Kennebunk Select Board. Schulte was elected chairman of the board in July 2022. At the time, his colleagues said he had a "really great way about him to move things forward, regardless of where he is on the spectrum of an issue.' Schulte's work with the Manomet Conservation Sciences included working as the coordinator for the American Oystercatcher Recovery Program. He is credited with rebuilding the American Oystercatcher, a large shorebird once believed to be locally extirpated, by 45%. "Shiloh gave his life in the service of something greater than himself, dedicating himself to preserving the natural world for future generations," the Manomet Conservation Sciences said. His family said he will be remembered as more than a scientist. "Shiloh was so much more than a scientist," the GoFundMe page states. "He was a devoted husband and father, a loving son and brother, a generous neighbor, and a pillar of his community. Whether he was helping a neighbor with yard work, leading the town Select Board, running a marathon or inspiring others through his photography and storytelling, Shiloh gave his all—always with a warm heart and boundless energy." This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk biologist Shiloh Schulte dies in Alaskan helicopter crash
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
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Kennebunk mourns loss of Shiloh Schulte: 'He's the kind of person you want in the world'
KENNEBUNK, Maine — As the community mourns the death of Shiloh Schulte, one of its most liked, respected, and dedicated citizens, there is one word that Select Board member Kortney Nedeau says describes the loss. 'It's immeasurable,' Nedeau said. 'It's just such a shock. He was the kind of person you want in the world.' Schulte, 46, died in a helicopter crash while conducting conservation work in Alaska on June 4. As outpourings from the community have shown, the former chair of the Kennebunk Select Board will long be cherished and remembered as a kind, energetic, and generous man who was devoted to his family, dedicated to his hometown, and passionate about celebrating and protecting nature, especially its birds. On social media, for example, Nedeau provided a heartfelt example of Schulte's impact as a community member and his ability to inspire others. She said Schulte was one of the reasons that she ran for a seat on the Select Board five years ago. 'He was encouraging, courageous, genuine, even-tempered, and fair,' Nedeau wrote in a post. 'It was such an honor to serve the town of Kennebunk in such a thankless job with someone who understood our work was above ourselves ... He was so humble, insightful, and honest.' Nedeau expanded on Schulte's character during an interview. 'He was unassuming,' she said. 'He was always listening first and was the last to speak. He always rose to the occasion. He always showed up.' And his impact went well beyond Kennebunk, Nedeau noted, so much so that she imagined that the duties of small-town government and community volunteering must have been a 'piece of cake' when compared to the hard work he accomplished throughout the world. More: Conservationist Shiloh Schulte, of Kennebunk, dies in research helicopter crash in Alaska Schulte worked with Manomet Conservation Sciences, a Massachusetts-based organization dedicated to using 'science and collaboration to improve the health of flyways, coastal ecosystems, and working land and seas,' according to its website. Among his contributions, Schulte coordinated the organization's American Oystercatcher Recovery Program and is credited with helping to rebuild the presence of that large shorebird – once believed to be completely out of existence locally – by as much as 45%. Nedeau said she and her colleagues on the Select Board would always know where Schulte would be come summertime as they worked out their meeting schedule for June, July, and August. Schulte, she said, would always tell them, 'I'll be in a tent, in the Arctic, unreachable – so do whatever works best for you guys.' Indeed, with June here, Schulte was in Alaska, pursuing his passions, fulfilling his commitment to protecting nature, and meeting his responsibility to future generations. 'Shiloh gave his life in the service of something greater than himself, dedicating himself to preserving the natural world for future generations," Manomet Conservation Sciences said in a statement announcing the tragedy. Schulte also was an avid and accomplished runner, who became the top Maine finisher of the Boston Marathon in 2019, completing the race in two hours and 39 minutes, according to the Dirigo Run Club, to which he belonged. In a social media post, the club described Schulte as 'known to always have a smile on his face' and as a 'fierce competitor.' Schulte served on the Kennebunk Select Board for a few years before ascending to the chair in the summer of 2022. Nedeau nominated him for the post, praising him as someone who knew how to lead a meeting, and who had a 'really great way about him to move things forward, regardless of where he is on the spectrum of an issue.' Schulte succeeded longtime Select Board member Blake Baldwin as chair. Anyone who followed the Select Board meetings during Baldwin's tenure could see the respect and esteem Baldwin had for Schulte and for the contributions he made to the discussions and hard decisions about town issues. 'He was the cool head that calmed troubled waters,' Baldwin said during a phone interview. 'For that, I was grateful to have him on the board, not just as a colleague but as a friend.' A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Schulte's family, including his wife and their two daughters. The GoFundMe campaign has a goal of $45,000. By the early afternoon of June 9, a total of $39,062 already had been raised. On the GoFundMe page, Schulte's family also refers to his passion for the natural world, describing him as an explorer of forests, wetlands and birds since an early age. Importantly, though, Schulte was more than a scientist, his family says on the fundraising page. 'He was a devoted husband and father, a loving son and brother, a generous neighbor, and a pillar of his community,' they said. 'Shiloh gave his all – always with a warm heart and a boundless energy.' In his interview, Baldwin also spoke of what Schulte was and always will be, not just to him, but to others. He spoke of Schulte's compassion for other people. In describing the impact that Schulte had, Baldwin referred to one of the most beloved movies of all time, 'It's a Wonderful Life.' In that Christmas classic, Clarence, the angel who is trying to earn his wings, explains to George Bailey, who wished he had never been born, what happens when people lose someone they love. Some people leave a big hole, Clarence said. Some people are part of your soul, Baldwin said, and when they are gone, 'they leave a big hole.' Said Baldwin, 'Shiloh is one of those people.' This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk mourns loss former Select Board chair Shiloh Schulte
Yahoo
19 hours ago
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Kennebunk wildlife biologist had passion for conservation and community
Jun. 9—Shiloh Schulte's family often found him exploring the woods, binoculars in hand, when he was growing up. His childhood interest in wildlife turned into a career in biology and a love for birds that his family adopted. Though his parents and four siblings are spread out across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, they say one object outside of their homes ties them to Schulte: bird feeders. The 46-year-old from Kennebunk, who has worked on several projects across the country to preserve landbird, seabird and shorebird populations, died in a helicopter crash Wednesday while conducting conservation work in Alaska to survey and record birds. "It's just such a tragedy, there was so much more that he could have done for the world and would have done," his brother Jonah Schulte said. "All we can do is hope to be even a little glimmer of what he was at trying to help." Shiloh Schulte, who most recently worked for the Massachusetts-based research nonprofit Manomet Conservation Sciences, was known in the company for his efforts to restore the American Oystercatcher population by 45%, according to a statement posted to social media. On the day of the crash, Schulte and the helicopter pilot, who also died, were flying from Prudhoe Bay to a remote area of Alaska's North Slope, according to the Boston Globe. The crash occurred on the first day of the study. 'KENNEBUNK SURELY LOST A GOOD ONE' His friends and family said his passion for conservation and community was infectious. Schulte lived in Kennebunk with his wife, 15-year-old daughter Caelyn and 18-year-old daughter Lorien, as well as his sister, Jill, and her young children. When he wasn't traveling for work, Schulte made efforts to be involved in his community, whether it was hosting potlucks or making friends in running groups, his wife, Shevaun Schulte, said. Every spring, she said, he and his family threw neighborhood parties to collect and boil down maple sap. As a father, his wife said, Shiloh Schulte instilled a love of learning in his children, and the family often traveled and went camping together. Loved ones are seeking donations through GoFundMe to support his family. Lorien Schulte said her father enjoyed reading, and was especially fond of "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin. Even off the clock, she said, he loved to photograph birds and share them on his Instagram account. Schulte, an avid runner who completed the Boston Marathon several times and finished as the top Maine runner in 2019, also served on Kennebunk's select board from 2015-24. Residents will remember him as a "thoughtful, principled" leader, according to a statement posted to the town's Facebook page. "Shiloh was encouraging, courageous, genuine, even-tempered and fair," Select Board member Kortney Nedeau said in a statement Monday. "Kennebunk surely lost a good one." MAKING FRIENDS ACROSS THE WORLD While "tromping through the tundra" at a camp in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 2019, Michael Boardman, of North Yarmouth, said he was surprised to meet Schulte, a "fellow Mainer in the middle of nowhere." Boardman, who was serving as an artist in residence for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said he appreciated that Schulte was willing to connect with him, even though he's not an expert in science. He said Schulte's willingness to teach others about the whimbrel, a type of shorebird, resulted in him putting more emotion into his field sketches and paintings. Schulte, he said, was passionate about raising awareness of some shorebirds, working to protect them along their long migration routes. "You may never go to the Arctic, but there's a lot of birds that you see during the course of the summer that do," Boardman said. "If they disappear, the world will be a lesser place." Jonah Schulte said his older brother had made friends across the world, from South America to the Eastern Seaboard. Since his death, he said it's been heartwarming to see comments and stories from people on social media and online who knew him. "There's people everywhere that knew Shiloh," Jonah Schulte said, "and were excited to see and hear from him just because they knew that if he was there, it meant there was a good reason to be there." Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Yahoo
19 hours ago
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Prominent bird researcher from Maine killed in last week's North Slope helicopter crash
Jun. 9—The crash of a helicopter on a chartered flight over Alaska's North Slope last week killed a well-known East Coast shorebird researcher as well as the pilot. The pilot and sole passenger were killed in the crash, which occurred 25 to 30 miles southwest of Deadhorse. The Robinson R-66 helicopter was operated by Pollux Aviation. The helicopter took off from Deadhorse at 10:30 or 10:40 a.m., according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Pollux lost contact with its tracking signal just before 11 a.m. The pilot received a weather clearance before taking off, federal officials say. The Special Visual Flight Rules clearance is commonly used, especially in rural Alaska, to land in low ceilings or visibility. The crash occurred on flat, featureless, snow-covered terrain, NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson said Monday. An NTSB investigator reached the crash site by helicopter on Friday for an on-scene examination but the agency still needs to remove the wreckage, Johnson said. Bad weather "pushed them off the site" and back to Deadhorse on Friday, he said. The agency is hoping to get a helicopter out Monday to sling out the wreckage. The North Slope Borough has not publicly identified either the pilot or the passenger. A spokesperson on Monday morning said the borough was awaiting permission from family members. A Pollux representative on Monday declined to identify the pilot. Passenger Shiloh Schulte was identified by Manomet Conservation Sciences, the Massachusetts avian research nonprofit that employed him as senior shorebird scientist. The nonprofit is involved in research from Alaska to Argentina, according to its website. Schulte was conducting conservation work at the time of the crash, according to a statement from Manomet. He was coordinator for the American Oystercatcher Recovery Program. "Shiloh worked tirelessly and resourcefully, collaborating with partners along the Eastern Seaboard to help rebuild the American Oystercatcher population by 45%," the statement said. "Shiloh gave his life in the service of something greater than himself, dedicating himself to preserving the natural world for future generations." The nonprofit created an online memorial site that by Monday featured numerous accounts from friends and colleagues as well as several photos of Schulte in various aircraft conducting research. Schulte was from Kennebunk, Maine, according to local media reports. A separate GoFundme fundraising site set up by Schulte's family called him "a lifelong birdwatcher, conservationist and scientist whose passion for the natural world was infectious" and said he died while conducting remote field research in Alaska. "Shiloh was doing what he loved most — working in nature to protect the birds and wild places he cherished so deeply," it said.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- General
- Boston Globe
Scientist at Plymouth conservation nonprofit dies in remote Alaska crash
Schulte had traveled to Alaska to conduct conservation work, the statement said. He and the helicopter pilot were flying west from Prudhoe Bay to an area where he planned to outfit shorebirds with recording devices when the helicopter crashed on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for Manomet Conservation Sciences. The region Schulte was visiting has become a flashpoint in the debate over balancing the nation's energy needs and confronting climate change. The oil company ConocoPhillips wants to establish an oil drilling venture known as the Advertisement Schulte had also planned to visit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where he was to lead a crew tracking the migratory routes of whimbrels, another shorebird, with satellite transmitters, Manomet Conservation Sciences said. The Advertisement The crash occurred on the first day of the bird study about 20 miles west of Deadhorse in North Slope, the northernmost section of the state, Clint Johnson, chief of the safety board's regional office in Alaska, said Friday. 'It's in a very remote part of Alaska,' Johnson said. 'There's nothing there. It's treeless, barren, in the middle of no place.' Earlier in the week, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin toured parts of the North Slope to advocate for President Trump's desire to open parts of the Alaskan wilderness to drilling and mining. The helicopter had taken off at about 10:40 am. The pilot had received special weather clearance, known as VFR, or visual flight rules clearance, Johnson said. North-Slope Borough Search and Rescue traveled to the crash site on Wednesday and retrieved the victims' bodies and on Friday afternoon, NTSB investigators visited the scene, which is only accessible by helicopter, he said. An NTSB meteorologist and air traffic controller are working with investigators, who plan to transport the helicopter wreckage to Deadhorse to continue their work, according to Johnson. Officials plan to place the wreckage in a sling tethered to a helicopter for the journey back to Deadhorse, which has an airport, he said. Advertisement Last Saturday, Schulte shared photographs of Schulte coordinated an American oystercatcher recovery program which was launched in 2009 at Manomet Conservation Sciences. Conservation work by the program and its partners along the East Coast helped to rebuild the American oystercatcher population by 45 percent, the organization said. 'Shiloh gave his life in the service of something greater than himself, dedicating himself to preserving the natural world for future generations,' the group's statement said. In March, Schulte discussed progress in regrowing the population of the American oystercatcher, a striking shorebird with long, orange-red bills and black-and-white plumage who live along the Atlantic and Gulf coast, according to a news release from Manomet Conservation Sciences. In 2008, he said the population had dropped to fewer than 10,000 birds across the Americas, a 10 percent decline. Conservation efforts reversed that slide and there are now more than 14,000 birds. 'This success proves that when we commit to conservation, we can restore declining species,' he said in a statement on March 13. Following the devastating BP oil spill which released millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, Schulte led a crew of researchers enlisted by the government to document the spill's environmental impact on wildlife. Schulte's team was hired by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to locate resident oystercatchers in coastal Louisiana and outfit the oiled ones with radio transmitters to track their health, he told the Globe in 2010. Advertisement He earned a doctorate at North Carolina State University, where he studied American oystercatchers on the Outer Banks and helped to band and track the birds, according to his biography on the website for Manomet Conservation Sciences. As an undergraduate student, Schulte studied wildlife biology at the University of Vermont. He was a competitive distance runner and earned a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, the biography said. In April, he ran the Boston Marathon, finishing the race with a time of 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 50 seconds. The time placed him 137th among 2,386 men between ages 45 and 49 who competed, according to results from the Boston Athletic Association. Laura Crimaldi can be reached at
