Jeff Brower, Vice President and Head of Field Operations, Conservation Services, Inc.
Nicole Cavender, Ph.D. - Director of Restoration Ecology, The Wilds
Ron Circé, Manager, Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve
Jerre Creighton, Forest Research Program Manager for the Virginia Department of Forestry
Adam K. Downing, Extension Agent, Virginia Cooperative Extension
Kevin Heffernan, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Jake Hughes, Lead Biological Science Technician, Shenandoah National Park
Brian Knox, President, Sustainable Resource Management, Inc.
Joe Lehnen, Area Forester, Virginia Department of Forestry
G. Neil Loyd, DuPont VMF Products
Norris Muth, Juniata College
William J. McShea, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
Marc Puckett, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Travis Rogers, Dow AgroSciences
Phil Stokes, Ivy Creek Natural Area, private landowner
Randy Westbrooks, United States Geological Survey
Virginia Witmer, Outreach Coordinator, Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program
Matt Yancey, Extension Agent, Virginia Cooperative Extension
Lewis H. Ziska, PhD, USDA-ARS, Crop Systems and Global Change
Jeff Brower, Vice President and Head of Field Operations, Conservation Services, Inc. I live in Staunton with my wife Beth and our two Viszlas. I completed my A.S. in Forestry from Lake City Forestry College in Lake City, Florida in 1985. After graduation we moved to Staunton, VA to Start my work with the Virginia Department of Forestry as the Forest Technician for several counties in the Shenandoah Valley. I worked with landowner assistant programs including reforestation. After 15 Years with the VDOF I decided to make a change. Along with a business partner we started Conservation Services Inc. in 1999. There I took the roll of Vice President and head of field operations. Since then CSI has completed over 20,000 acres of hardwood seedling establishment. Many of our customers have been enrolled in various cost share programs including CREP, WHIP and EQIP. We continue to work with landowners in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware and North Carolina helping them establish and maintain their hardwood tree plantings.
Nicole Cavender, Ph.D. - Director of Restoration Ecology, The Wilds. Dr. Cavender focuses her expertise on the nearly 10,000 acres of land that makes up the Wilds. Her extensive experience in ecology and restoration biology is vital to assess current ecological conditions, direct research and recommend land management strategies that encourage biodiversity and improve ecological function. She is a board member of the Foundation for Environmental Research, adjunct professor of Conservation Science at Muskingum College and recently appointed to the Steering Committee of the Butterfly Conservation Initiative. Dr. Cavender continues to work with private, state, and federal agencies to develop cooperative land based research projects. Her manuscripts and publications cover a range of research related to land management and restoration ecology. She has authored and co-authored 10 published papers available for review.
Ron Circé, Manager, Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve. Undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biology w/ ecology emphasis from Texas A&M Univ. Spent 20 yrs as a research scientist for USGS in Texas, MA and Reston, VA. Authored over 50 scientific journal articles. Currently and for the past 10 yrs, Manager of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, 725 ac property owned by County of Loudoun. Setup 1st chapter of VA Master Naturalist.
Jerre Creighton, Forest Research Program Manager for the Virginia Department of Forestry. Since 2005, carries responsibility for all scientific research and demonstration relating to tree establishment and growth across the state. With a 5-person unit, the research program investigates diverse topics like: restoration of American chestnut, longleaf pine, and other diminished species; growth and yield estimation of pine plantations; forest fertilization using either traditional fertilizers or biosolids; urban forestry; or best practices for regenerating hardwood stand of various species mixes. A key product of these efforts is follow-up educational reports and training sessions for forest landowners.
Prior to moving to Charlottesville, I had nation-wide responsibilities as Manager of Silvicultural Best Practices for International Paper in Savannah, GA and before that as Forest Health Program Manger for Champion International in Pensacola, FL. In addition, I was Research Station Leader in Appomattox, VA and Research Forester in Rupert, WV - both for Westvaco (now MeadWestvaco). Received a B.S. in Forest Science from Penn State and a M.S. in Forestry from the University of Kentucky, followed by three years as a Research Associate at Auburn University.
Adam K. Downing - Since 2001 Adam has worked as the Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Agent serving Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Northern District, a 19 county area generally described as the Northern Piedmont of Virginia. His professional expertise is in providing informal education regarding forestry and natural resources to address current issues in rural, urban, and rural/urban interface areas to home & landowners, professionals, decision-makers, and the general public. His mission is to enable people to make best decisions regarding the forest & natural resources, within their realm of influence, resulting in environmentally sustainable management, growth, and quality of life for that person and that community.
Before his appointment with Virginia Cooperative Extension, Adam served Northwest Pennsylvania as an extension forester with Penn State. Prior to joining the “extension family,” Adam volunteered with the United States Peace Corps in Kenya as an agro-forestry extension agent. He has also worked as an Assistant Service Forester in Indiana with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Adam holds a B.S. Degree in Forestry from Purdue University and a M.S. Degree in Forest Resources from Penn State University.
Kevin Heffernan, Virginia Natural Heritage Stewardship Biologist. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Kevin Heffernan has worked in the Department of Conservation and Recreation Division of Natural Heritage since the early 1990s. One of his first tasks was writing fact sheets on invasive plants of Virginia in a cooperative project with the Virginia Native Plant Society. In 2004, he led the development of the state invasive species management plan. He serves as coordinator for the Invasive Species Advisory Committee, which provides invasive species expertise to the Secretaries of Natural Resources and Agriculture. He is currently working on an aerial survey of Phragmites in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Mr. Heffernan is based in Richmond, Virginia.
Jake Hughes, Lead Biological Science Technician, Shenandoah National Park. Oversees Park exotic plant management program. Ten years of exotic plant management experience, at Shenandoah National Park and Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.
Brian Knox, President, Sustainable Resource Management, Inc. He has a BS in Forest Resource Management with a minor in Soil Science from West Virginia University. For more than twenty years his passion for sustainability has helped to shape the face of forestry practices in West Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Brian brings two decades of experience with the top forest product companies in the east to his current sustainable resource consulting firm. As a consultant, he works with forest landowners and groups to help them live and interact sustainably with the natural systems that surround them. This unique work history has provided him with extensive experience in timber and wildlife management, forest inventory, reforestation, biodiversity, recreation and forest aesthetics, invasive species control, erosion and sedimentation planning, hydrology, and forest soils. It also allows him to consult on all aspects of logging supervision, logger training and safety, as well as state, local, and federal forestry regulation, boundary line, and title work. With a solid background in both the forest industry and environmental concerns, he offers mediation services for disputes among industry, environmental groups and/or individual landowners.
G. Neil Loyd, DuPont VMF Products
William J. McShea, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
Education: Bucknell University, B.S. 1977, Animal Behavior; University of New Hampshire, M.S. 1981, Zoology; State University of New York at Binghamton, Ph.D., 1985
Bill McShea is an ecologist who has been working as a trust fund employee at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center for 17 years on wildlife management and conservation. His research involves forest ecology issues on public lands in the eastern U.S. and conservation issues in developing countries.
The local research has included focus on the ecological impacts of white-tailed deer, forest ecology of migratory birds, and small mammal ecology. A second effort has been to understand the dynamics of oak forests and their management for wildlife. Part of this work has involved survey work for migratory birds and small mammals for both the National Forest and Park Service lands in the area. In recent years this work has involved use of GIS and Remote Sensing technology to describe and understand animal distributions on a landscape scale.
Current projects in developing countries include a small mammal survey in Gabon, deer surveys in Burma, Laos and Brazil, and large mammal surveys in China.
He has over 60 peer-reviewed articles on wildlife ecology, in addition to many articles for public or professional education. McShea has co-edited two volumes, one on deer management and one on oak ecosystem management. He is currently involved in teacher and professional training by offering short courses in forest biodiversity, large mammal survey techniques, and wildlife management. He is part of annual courses to train secondary teachers in using forests to explain biodiversity concepts to students, and has recently started surveys of a local EPA Superfund site that is matched by student surveys of their school land.
Norris Muth, PhD, assistant professor of biology. Juniata College. Before coming to Juniata, Muth worked as a postdoctoral researcher and teaching associate at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. from 2005 to 2007.
He earned a bachelor's degree in environmental studies in 1997 from Brown University, in Providence, R.I. and went on to earn a master's degree in forest science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 1999. He earned a doctorate in ecology and evolution from the State University of New York, Stony Brook in 2007.
From 1999 to 2004, Muth worked as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., where he taught classes in evolution, biodiversity, plant ecology and general ecology.
His research interests center on conservation biology, community ecology and the history and philosophy of science. He is particularly interested in how to assess the impact of biological invasions and how biological communities interact and react to invasive species. He has published his work in several professional journals, including an article on using invasive species biology to teach about evolution in Evolutionary Science and Society: Educating a New Generation. He also has published articles in the American Journal of Botany, the Journal of Ecology, Ecology Letters, Ecoscience, Oikos and others.
Muth has taught courses in general biology, botany, plant ecology, evolutionary biology and others. In addition to his academic career, Muth also worked as a research librarian at the Peabody Museum of natural History in New Haven, Conn. from 1997 to 1998 and worked as a U.S. National park Service ranger in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine and at the San Juan Islands national Historical park in Friday Harbor, Wash.
Marc Puckett, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
BS VT 1992 Forestry and Wildlfie
MS NCSU - 1995 Wildlife Science
With DGIF since 1996.
US Army Infantry paratrooper 1983 - 1987.
USFS YCC 1981
Studied quail for my masters and have been involved in quail management / research since 1992.
Travis Rogers, Dow AgroSciences. He started his Dow AgroSciences' career in the Pest Management and Stored Product Fumigation industries. For the last five years, Travis has worked as a forestry and vegetation management specialist where he provides training and product/ technical support to the forestry, utility, roadside, and invasive plant markets. He has responsibilities for North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Travis earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural business and a master's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He is past president of the North Carolina Vegetation Management Association, South Carolina Vegetation Management Association, and current president of the South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council. Travis is a certified arborist and also a member of the UAA, Southern ISA, and SAF. He resides in Charleston, SC with his wife and two children.
Phil Stokes. A native of central Illinois, Phil Stokes chose in 1992 to settle in inviting Charlottesville countryside. An interest in gardening broadened into an interest in conservation and in particular growing native plants to enhance wildlife habitat. Knowledge of local flora was obtained from naturalists with VNPS, Ivy Creek Natural Area, PVCC, and numerous land conservation seminars.
Over the past dozen years by trial and error experimentation many lessons were learned about invasive removal and establishment of native plantings at his residence and farm acreage. Phil currently is a board member and guide for Charlottesville's Ivy Creek Natural Area, board member of the Albemarle Co. Natural Heritage Committee, and Vice President of the Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards.
Randy Westbrooks, USGS Invasive Species Prevention Specialist. Randy Westbrooks, a native of Gaffney, South Carolina, received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology from the University of South Carolina in 1976/1978, and his Ph.D. in Botany and Weed Science from North Carolina State University in 1989. Since 1979, Dr. Westbrooks has served as an Invasive Species Prevention Specialist with the U.S. Government, in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as the Department of the Interior – currently with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Dr. Westbrooks is working to develop a Global Early Warning System for Invasive Species – in cooperation with the World Conservation Union - Invasive Species Specialist Group, based in Auckland, New Zealand. As part of this effort, he is launching an effort with partners from the 2008 Weeds Across Borders Conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada, to develop a North American Early Warning System for Invasive Plants.
Internationally, Dr. Westbrooks is working to develop a Global Early Warning System for Invasive Species – in cooperation with the World Conservation Union - Invasive Species Specialist Group, based in Auckland, New Zealand. As part of this effort, he is launching an effort with partners from the 2008 Weeds Across Borders Conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada, to develop a North American Early Warning System for Invasive Plants.
At the national level, Dr. Westbrooks is working with numerous interagency groups to develop a National Early Detection and Rapid Response System for Invasive Plants in the United States. Currently, the effort is focusing on the establishment of State EDRR Coordinating Committees to lead the development of state and local elements of the National EDRR System.
This includes State Early Detection and Reporting Networks (trained volunteers and agency field personnel), Regional Invasive Plant Atlases [Data collection and synthesis; e.g., The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (WWW.IPANE.ORG)], State Invasive Species Councils (interagency coordination), and Invasive Plant Task Forces (rapid assessment and rapid response to confirmed invaders). The Carolinas Beach Vitex Task Force (WWW.BEACHVITEX.ORG), which was established in 2003, is a good example of the new trend in interagency partnering to address new and emerging invasive plants – particularly new species that pose a threat to natural ecosystems, and are not already regulated.
Dr. Westbrooks’ Motto is: Partnerships Now…. Weeds Won’t Wait!
Virginia Witmer, Outreach Coordinator, Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program. Since January 1993, Virginia is responsible for coordinating all facets of the program's communication strategy from publications, website management and media relations to exhibits, workshops and campaigns, such as the Plant ES Natives campaign. Virginia graduated from Allegheny College with a special major in International Development and attended the Environmental Resource Policy Masters program at George Washington University. Virginia lives in Richmond with her husband and two children.
Matt Yancey, Extension Agent, Virginia Cooperative Extension. Master of Forestry from VA Tech, Bachelor of Science in Forest Products Marketing and Management from VA Tech. Professional experience in wood products and homebuilding industries, as well as USDA Forest Service and private agriculture operations. As an Extension agent, he provides non-biased research-based information related to natural resources. Focus areas include forest landowner education, logger and forester education, and development and sustainability of profitable forestry and agriculture enterprises in northwestern Virginia.
Lewis H. Ziska, PhD, USDA-ARS, Crop Systems and Global Change
Dr. Ziska is a Plant Physiologist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland. After graduating from the University of California, Davis, he began his career as a Smithsonian fellow, and then took up residence as the Project Leader for global climate change at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines before joining USDA. Dr. Ziska has published numerous papers on carbon dioxide and climate change impacts on agriculture, weed biology and public health. At present he is investigating the role of rising carbon dioxide and changing climate on food security, invasive species and aerobiology.
Dr. Ziska’s research has appeared in: The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report and CNN Headline News. He has appeared on the ABC nightly news with Charles Gibson and the NBC nightly news with Brian Williams. He was also featured in the HBO documentary, “Too Hot Not to Handle”.
