Abstract
This issue of the Journal is special for several reasons. The first, of course, is the wonderful collection that celebrates the place of songs in maintaining, sharing, and enhancing ethnobiological knowledge. The second reason is that this issue is the first to be published since 2015 without Steve Wolverton as co-editor. For that reason, I am taking this opportunity to acknowledge Steve and all he has done for the Society of Ethnobiology and especially for our publications.
Steve's entry point to our Society was in 2008 when he became a member and our Treasurer at the same time. He served in that capacity until 2014. Talk about being thrown into the lion's den! I was President of the Society during the first several years of Steve's time as treasurer and had the privilege of working closely with him on many initiatives. I was struck over and over by his capacity to think creatively to problem-solve and to advance the discipline of ethnobiology. For instance, during his time as Treasurer, but unrelated to that onerous task, in 2010, he initiated our Distinguished Ethnobiologist Award and, with our past President Cissy Fowler, started and served as co-editor of our on-line journal, Ethnobiology Letters, until 2015.
In 2015, it was my great fortune that Steve stepped up to join me in co-editing the Journal of Ethnobiology, which I had been doing with Kris Gremillion and Lee Newsome since 2013. In 2016, with Steve, we went from 3 issues per year (which was increased from 2 issues in 2014) to our current 4 issues per year. Over that time, we also increased our number of yearly articles from approximately 14 in 2012, to 27 in 2015, to around 40 papers per year today. Together, Steve and I built on the vision Lee, Kris, and I created: to expand our journal's (and thus the discipline's) reach by bringing to the Journal an even wider range of topics from scholars doing research around the world. We understood that this meant going to four issues per year and also being creative in our imaginings of topics for special issues. Throughout the period of change that over-lapped with Steve's tenure as co-editor, he always engaged in every endeavor—whether it was figuring out pay scales for our wonderful staff, dealing with a difficult submission, finding a new publisher, or deciding which article would go on our cover or be granted open access—with respect, grace, humor, and a clear plan for a way forward. As anyone who has worked with Steve knows, he is a dream collaborator.
In addition to all of this, Steve also contributed to the Society's publication series by co-editing two special issues for the Journal (on Archaeology and on Climate Change), and one issue for Ethnobiology Letters (on Zooarchaeology). In addition, he published his monograph “Becoming a Researcher: Making the Transition to Graduate School” in our Educational Contributions in Ethnobiology series, and has contributed individual papers to both the Journal and Ethnobiology Letters. The breadth of these publications reflect Steve's breadth as a scholar and also as a person—he is passionate about social and environmental justice, scholarship, and teaching. Importantly, many of these contributions were in addition to the daily, behind-the-scenes editing that goes on as a principal Editor of the Journal and Ethnobiology Letters. Steve continues to serve on the editorial board of Ethnobiology Letters.
Thank you Steve for all of this and more. We know that the time created by stepping down from the editorship has already been filled with other great initiatives that you are spearheading. But, if you ever get bored, we would be happy to find a place for you in one of the Journal's publications!
With gratitude,