Banquet Speaker

John Wiens

Banquet speech title: "Does natural history have a place in modern conservation?"
Banquet speaker: John Wiens

John Wiens grew up in Oklahoma as an avid birdwatcher. Following degrees from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he joined the faculty of Oregon State University and, subsequently, the University of New Mexico and Colorado State University, where he was a University Distinguished Professor. His work, which has emphasized landscape ecology and the ecology of birds and insects in arid environments, has led to over 200 scientific papers and 7 books. John left academia in 2002 to join The Nature Conservancy as a Lead Scientist, with the challenge of putting years of classroom teaching and academic research into conservation practice in the real world. His current scientific work at TNC addresses the critical issue of conservation in a rapidly changing world – “conservation futures.” Climate change, economic globalization, changing land use, and increasing demands on natural ecosystems to provide goods and services are changing the ways in which people relate to nature, and conservation must adapt to this changing context.