Marian Elizabeth (Glasheen) Havlik was born in Hiawatha, Kansas, on January 14, 1935, to George Elsworth and Elizabeth Rose (Kish) Glasheen. She earned a diploma in nursing from the St. Francis School of Nursing in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1955. On September 15, 1956, she married Joseph Anthony Havlik with whom she had five children. She worked as a registered nurse in the chemical dependency unit at the St. Francis Hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin, between 1955-1957 and 1969-1984. She also worked at the Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse from 1985-1986.
Her interest in the field of malacology, the study of freshwater mollusks, began while helping her daughter Rosemarie with a science fair project in 1969. The research they conducted piqued her interest enough to leisurely pursue further studies. The following year, she and her daughter decided to focus on clam shells that Marian had collected with her husband, Joe, from the nearby Mississippi River. It was the lack of information at the local libraries, universities, and research laboratories on these local species that prompted Marian Havlik to dig a little deeper.
She met a clam buyer in Prairie du Chien, who shared with her stories of his first-hand experience as a commercial clammer and provided her with several shell specimens. In 1972, Marian had received a specimen of the species Lampsilis higginsi (Lea, 1857), also known as the Higgins' Eye Pearly Mussel, a very rare naiad (freshwater) mollusk, that had been collected from the East Channel of the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien. Havlik had also started visiting various natural history museums to study their collections. She attended river planning meetings to gain a greater understanding of the species' habitats and she began to interact with biologists who were familiar with the freshwater ecosystems. In learning to identify specific traits unique to dozens of other local species she became a resource for other researchers. Marian spent her spare time studying freshwater mussels and their ecosystems. Using the scientific approach she had learned as a nurse, she observed and documented her findings in notebooks and compared them to the resources she had accumulated to verify her discoveries and theories.
In 1976, Havlik applied to the Bush Leadership Foundation, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a grant to finance her continuing education. Upon receiving a Bush Leadership Fellowship, she went to Ohio State University's Museum of Zoology in Columbus, Ohio, where she spent five weeks studying under the leading expert at the time, and her future mentor, David H. Stansbery. Upon completion she began her independent study of naiad mollusks. Also in 1976, the Higgins' Eye Pearly Mussel was being considered for both federal and state endangered species lists. A Corps of Engineers-conducted dredge had disturbed a major clam bed in the Upper Mississippi River and Havlik immediately became involved. As she had one of the only specimens known to researchers, her expertise was requested by various state and federal government agencies to aid them with future projects and developments where there were known clam beds.
Thus began her professional career as a consultant; she started her own business, Malacological Consultants, in March of 1977, financed solely by her work as a registered nurse. She obtained scientific collector's permits for Federally Endangered Species in 1977 and began to work with the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the National Park Service, and state agencies in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. The business was contracted out by state chapters of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Justice, the Corps of Engineers (both federal and state agencies), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Wisconsin in Madison and La Crosse, Historical Surveys, private businesses, and local industries to conduct surveys on, field age, and translocate various species. She became SCUBA certified in 1978, and achieved Advanced Open Water SCUBA status in 1980. She testified for environmental organizations, concerned citizens, and government agencies. She lectured, published and presented papers, performed outreach, and taught at local schools and universities. From 1987 on, she spent all of her time conducting large research projects, the findings of which have resulted in many changes in state and federal management of freshwater resources, including development plans on the river, dredging practices and barge traffic patterns.
Her research interests were focused on the Upper Mississippi River System naiad mollusks, especially rare naiades; the preservation of ecosystems; and clean water and the monitoring of contaminants. She worked tirelessly advocating the protection of the overlooked, yet vital species from developers, river transportation, and unmonitored commercial clamming that destroyed their habitats, thus earning her the title of “Clam Lady.” Though she has retired as a consultant, she still actively pursues research, authors papers and reports, and provides interviews for those interested in her studies.
Chronology
| 1935 |
Birth
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| 1955 |
Earned Nursing diploma
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| 1956 |
Married Joseph Havlik
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| 1969 |
First researched clams for daughter's school project
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| 1972 |
Received first living Lampsilis higginsi specimen
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| 1976 |
Received Bush Leadership Foundation Grant
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| 1976 |
Lampsilis higginsi placed on endangered species list; Corps of Engineers dredge spoils found to contain species
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| 1977 |
Begins Malacological Consultants
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| 1978 |
Barge traffic increases on Upper Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien
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| 1982-1985 |
Mussels die off in Mississippi River
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| 1983 |
Named Field Associate to Ohio State University Museum
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| 1984 |
Proposed harbor next to homes in Prairie du Chien creates controversy
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| 1989 |
Harbor proposed again
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| 1991 |
Involved with Flambeau mine as malacological consultant
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