MONTHLY SPEAKERS
JANUARY 2022 - "A BURNING ISSUE: SPOTTED OWLS AND WILDFIRE"
Speaker: Gavin Jones
Date: January 11, 2022
Program Summary: How have recent megafires impacted California spotted owls? And what can be done to conserve spotted owls in as fires become more severe in a changing climate? These questions and others will be tackled in an upcoming talk by Dr. Gavin Jones, a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service – Rocky Mountain Research Station. We’ll learn about the ecology of spotted owls, the history of conflict surrounding management of their habitat, and a new conservation conflict involving wildfire, forest restoration, and spotted owl conservation. Dr. Jones will cover recent scientific evidence that will inform long-term conservation of the California spotted owl and restoration of fire-suppressed dry forests. Join us!
Speaker Bio: Dr. Gavin Jones is a Research Ecologist with Rocky Mountain Research Station – Wildlife and Terrestrial Ecosystems Program (USDA Forest Service) and an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at the University of New Mexico. Previously he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida working with Dr. Rob Fletcher. Gavin earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the supervision of Dr. Zach Peery. He is also an Associate Editor at the Journal of Wildlife Management and Fire Ecology which are the flagship peer-reviewed scientific journals of The Wildlife Society and the Association for Fire Ecology, respectively. Gavin and his lab group use empirical field data, ecological theory, and quantitative approaches to figure out how to more effectively conserve wildlife and their ecosystems. His research advances understanding of how to conserve species and biodiversity in a rapidly changing world, with changing human needs and pressures. Much of his past and ongoing work focuses on how wildlife respond to fire and forest management, and the ecology and conservation of wildlife in fire-prone ecosystems.
