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 Keynote Speaker Profiles: Dr. Matt J. Aresco Lead Biologist, Lake Jackson Ecopassage Alliance, Inc. Ph. 850.562.3093 P.O. Box 180891 Tallahassee, FL 32318 While studying the biology of Florida turtles for his Ph.D., Dr. Aresco founded the Lake Jackson Ecopassage Alliance, Inc. The mandate of this nonprofit group is to provide a viable, permanent solution for mitigating local wildlife mortality in the high impact location where US Highway 27 bisects the sensitive Lake Jackson -- Little Lake Jackson ecosystem. In collaboration with municipal and state governments, the initiative has been very successful in decreasing roadkill numbers since the Alliance was founded in 2000. Dr. Aresco is first author on 15 research articles and book chapters. Dr. Patricia Cramer Professor, College of Natural Resources Utah State University USGS Utah Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit Logan, Utah 84322-5290 Dr. Cramer is currently a research associate at the USGS Coop Unit at Utah State University, working on The National Academies sponsored project, NCHRP 25-27: 'Evaluation of the Use and Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings.' Through her work she has been in contact with hundreds of professionals across North America to learn of virtually all efforts to mitigate roads for wildlife. She helped create and then organized the ranking of research and practice priorities necessary in North America to safely accommodate wildlife movement across transportation corridors. She is finishing this project with work on the web-based decision guide for mitigating roads for wildlife, found at: www.wildlifeanroads.org. In the past Patty has served as a visiting assistant professor at Montana State University and University of Florida. Her dissertation focused on the reintroduction of the Florida panther to north Florida. While in Florida she was also a member of Paynes Prairie Wildlife Coalition, a group of scientists who worked with the Florida DOT to install a three foot high wall and 4 additional ecopassages along US 441 on the Paynes Prairie Preserve to help mostly amphibians and reptiles cross under the roadway. Wildlife crossings in North America: The state of the science and practice Dr. Lenore Fahrig Professor, Department of Biology Carlton University (ON) Ph. 613.520.2600 ext. 3856 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6 Dr. Fahrig is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. She is considered one of the pioneers in the growing field of road ecology. Through the use of predictive spatial simulation modeling, Dr. Fahrig and her students study the effects of landscape structure on abundance, distribution, and persistence of wildlife populations. Her empirical model testing includes investigating the impacts of road systems on a variety of plant, insect, amphibian, mammal, and bird species. Dr. Fahrig has been a guest speaker at several scientific conferences, has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, and was a co-author for the landmark book, Road Ecology: Science and Solutions (2003, Island Press). She is consulted as an authority for developing wildlife mitigation and management strategies in the design of transportation networks, and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Committee on Ecological Impacts of Road Density. Effects of Road Fencing on Population Persistence - Jaeger and Fahrig 2004 Effect of Road Traffic on Two Amphibian Species of Differing Vagility - Carr and Fahrig 2001 Effect of Road Traffic on Amphibian Density - Fahrig et al 1995 Kari E. Gunson MSc. Candidate, Environmental Resource Engineering Department of Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry 312 Bray Hall, 1 Forestry Drive Ph. 315.374.3760 Syracuse, NY, 13210 Kari Gunson is an ecologist specializing in geospatial analyses, namely wildlife vehicular interactions. She is currently doing her second MSc degree in geospatial technologies in the Department of Environmental Resource Engineering at the State University of New York. Her first Masters degree was in Conservation Biology at the University of Cape Town, South Afirca. Through her current research she has completed one manuscript titled 'A review of spatial predictive models for wildlife vehicle collisions' which she hopes to publish. Previously she worked for 6 years on the Trans Canada Highway Project in Banff National Park, as a research assoicate quantifying the effects of roads on wildlife. Through this research she has co-authored on 6 peer reviewed papers, and has currently completed a manuscript titled 'Limited applications of wildlife-vehicle collision analyses for mitigation planning due to spatial inaccuracy' which she also hopes to publish. Scott Jackson Professor, Holdsworth Natural Resource Center UMASS Extension Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Program University of Massachusetts Ph. 413. 545.4743 Amherst, MA 01003 Scott Jackson is the Program Director for the Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation program at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), Department of Natural Resources Conservation Extension. He has a Master’s degree in Wildlife Biology from UMass and has taught courses and workshops on the ecology and conservation of wetlands, amphibians, and reptiles, biodiversity conservation, and the natural history of New England. Mr. Jackson has spent several years investigating the impacts of transportation networks on wildlife populations and ecosystems as well as developing mitigation strategies using landscape-based ecological assessments. With a focus on amphibians, Mr. Jackson’s research aims to facilitate wildlife movement across roads and to improve methods for evaluating the effectiveness of animal passage structures. Presently, Mr. Jackson heads an effort to develop standards for river and stream crossings in MA, is a state coordinator for the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, and was one of four coordinators of the Massachusetts Herp Atlas Project (a 6-year effort to map the distribution of MA amphibians and reptiles). Recently, Scott wrote the chapter “Ecological Considerations in the Design of River and Stream Crossings”, which will be published by the USFS in Aquatic Organism Passage. His numerous other reports can be accessed online. Dr. John Middleton Professor, Department of Tourism and Environment Brock University Ph. 905.688.5550 ext. 3128 St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1 John Middleton is a faculty member in the Department of Tourism and Environment at Brock University, where he has worked since 1985. His focus is biodiversity conservation in the context of sustainable development. A native of southern Ontario, he has also spent many years living and working around the world including in Tanzania, Argentina, and Thailand. He is currently a member of the Greenbelt Council. Ellen Schwartzel Senior Policy Advisor Office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario 1075 Bay Street, Suite 605 Toronto, Ontario M5S 2B1 Ellen Schwartzel has been coordinating the research work of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario since 1996. Ellen has been involved in environmental policy development for almost 20 years, both in provincial government, and in non-government organizations. In the late 1980's she conducted research for the Office of Jim Bradley, then the Ontario Minister of the Environment. She also worked for a number of years in research and policy development capacities for both Pollution Probe and the Conservation Council of Ontario. Ellen completed both her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Botany at the University of Toronto. Patricia White Director, Habitat & Highways Campaign Defenders of Wildlife Task Force on Ecology and Transportation Ph. 202.682.9400 1130 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Trisha White is the Director of Defenders of Wildlife’s Habitat & Highways Campaign at their national headquarters in Washington, DC. The Habitat & Highways campaign seeks to reduce the impact of surface transportation infrastructure on wildlife and encourages state and local authorities to incorporate wildlife conservation into transportation and community planning. In partnership with Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP), Trisha released a report, Second Nature: Improving Transportation Without Putting Nature Second which has since been awarded the 2004 NRCA Award of Achievement for best publication. Additionally, Ms. White is a sponsor and member of the steering committee for the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET), member of the FHWA Europe Scan tour on wildlife mortality, founding member of the TRB Ecology and Transportation Task Force and the TransWild Alliance, and board member of the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project. Prior to joining Defenders of Wildlife, Trisha spent three years with World Resources Institute's Biological Resources program, and one year as environment policy consultant to USAID's Global Environment Center. In 2000, she received her Masters degree in Environment & Resource Policy from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. |
