“REBUILDING” THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN: TURNING CALAMITY INTO OPPORTUNITY

New Hampshire’s Old Man of the Mountain collapsed from his perch in Franconia Notch State Park on May 3, 2003. This high profile geologic emblem of the state was remembered for its striking human form which exhibiting a stern but warm expression. Its demise was noted around the world. As of the year 2000, the state of New Hampshire did not have a formal geological survey or geologic bureau of state government, and as a result, geological considerations related to environmental protection, land and resource management, and water resources were often subordinate. The collapse of the Old Man, and the subsequent interest in the geological processes that both created and destroyed him, created opportunities for New Hampshire geologists and the staff of the newly created NH Geological Survey (NHGS) to raise the profile and relevance of geology for state regulatory programs and public policy decision-making. As a member of the Governor’s Old Man Restoration Task Force, the State Geologist had an opportunity to provide technical information to the task force and the public to aid in their understanding of the structural mechanisms and geological process that provided for the Old Man’s existence and demise. This also afforded the opportunity contribute technical considerations to the decision-making process related to the design of infrastructure for outdoor features that will be built to memorialize the Old Man, such as a nature-and-art trail, and a museum. In addition, the Task Force desired to have the memory and natural history of the Old Man reflected in the curriculum of K-12 students in NH schools. NH geologists were in a prime position to assist with developing teacher workshops, and the development of school curricula that will include quantitative scientific exercises devised around the Old Man and thereby enhance the established K-12 pedagogy. Ultimately, one of the Old Man’s legacies may well be the permanent incorporation of earth science into the statewide science curriculum. This outcome may be one of the most potent ways to instill the importance of geology into science education and the policy realm by capturing the hearts and minds of the next generation.