2007 Watchable Wildlife Conference
Tucson, Arizona
October 3-5, 2007

Speakers

Richard Aiken, is a natural resource economist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. His primary project is the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. This Survey began in 1955, and has been conducted every five years since then. His first Survey was in 1985; the 2006 Survey is his fifth. He has also written many reports, including "1980-1995 Participation in Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife Watching", "Fishing and Hunting 1991-2001: Avid, Casual, and Intermediate Participation Trends", "Private and Public Land Use by Hunters", and "Net Economic Values for Wildlife-Related Recreation in 2001" (in conjunction with Genevieve Pullis-La Rouche). He holds a B.A. from Mesa State College (Grand Junction in western Colorado) and a M.A. from Colorado State University.

George Archibald, Ph.D., is the recipient of the $100,000 Indianapolis Prize, an initiative of the Indianapolis Zoo and the largest international monetary award given to an individual for conservation of an animal species. Indianapolis Zoo President and CEO Michael I. Crowther said, “George is an icon in animal conservation. With his revolutionary work and dedication to the preservation of cranes, there is absolutely no question that the population is stronger because he is their champion. He is a true hero and we are honored that he is the first recipient of the Indianapolis Prize."

Archibald co-founded the International Crane Foundation, located in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1973 when cranes were in a perilous situation and many of the 15 remaining species were on the brink of extinction. Today, several species have made remarkable turnarounds, most notably the North American Whooping Crane. Down to their last 10 to 15 birds in the 1940s, the population now numbers in the hundreds.

Kerry Baldwin is a native of Arizona and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1979 with degrees in Renewable Natural Resources and Wildlife Ecology. After graduation in 1976, Kerry was hired by the Arizona Game and Fish Department where he remained for the next 28 years. Kerry was Chief of Education for the Department for over 20 years with responsibilities for programs in conservation education, wildlife rehabilitation, hunter education, boating safety education, statewide shooting range program and off highway vehicle education with several assignments as the Assistant Director for Information and Education. In 2004, Kerry retired from Game and Fish and joined Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation as the Assistant Director for Natural Resources. Kerry's focus has been developing the mechanisms and staffing to manage the new Open Space Lands acquired under the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP). Currently, the County has acquired fee title and grazing leases on over 100,000 acres and spent just $60 million of a 2004 $174 million bond.

Mark Damian Duda is Executive Director of Responsive Management. He has directed more than 500 quantitative surveys and numerous focus groups on natural resource and outdoor recreation issues. He is the author of four books, and his research has been featured in numerous journals and magazines as well as in major media, including CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and on the front page of USA Today. Mark has been named Conservation Educator of the Year by both the Florida Wildlife Federation and National Wildlife Federation and was the recipient of the Conservation Achievement Award from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. He was named the Wildlife Professional of the Year by the Virginia Wildlife Society. He received the Conservation Achievement Award in Communications from Ducks Unlimited in 2002, as well as an award from the Potomac Ducks Unlimited Chapter for his contributions as a researcher and writer. Mark holds a Master's degree from Yale University in natural resource policy and planning.

Cindy Dillenschneider is a Professor and the Coordinator of Outdoor Education at Northland College, an environmental/liberal arts college, in Ashland, WI. Cindy holds a Master’s degree in Experiential Education from the University of Minnesota, Mankato and has been teaching in areas of Therapeutic and Universal Design in outdoor education at the college level since 1989. She began designing accessible adventures for students with disabilities while earning her undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University and has spent the past 30 years dedicated to making outdoor experiences accessible to people with of all abilities. Recently she designed wildlife viewing opportunities for people experiencing quadriplegia through the medium of sea kayaking.

Scott Estergard is a senior planner in the Arizona/Nevada Area Office of the Los Angeles District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The Phoenix Office serves Arizona, Southern Nevada and Southwestern Utah.  Since 2001 he has been leading a team working on a Corps feasibility study, completed in 2006, and which recommends restoration of 1,500 acres of desert riparian habitat on the Salt River in Phoenix.  Local Corps projects include ecosystem restoration, flood risk management, recreation, planning assistance, and work for other agencies. 

Bob Finch has 28 years of experience in natural resource management. His focus has been in the areas of land management, open space preservation, trails, habitat restoration, and volunteerism. Currently he teaches Natural Resources Management and Planning where he does his best to expose students to the wide variety of issues and challenges that face natural resources planners and managers. 

Hylton Fothergill has been at the Arizona Office of Tourism since July 2005. As a part of the Travel Industry Marketing Division, Hylton oversees the European market for the agency. Originally from the United Kingdom, Hylton studied business and tourism at New College Durham in Northern England. Prior to moving to the United States, he got some hands-on experience spending a summer in Turkey as a tour guide for a UK tour operator. Hylton moved to the U.S. in 1989 and has gained valuable experience working in Miami, Orlando, Vail, Las Vegas and Phoenix, where he is based for the Arizona Office of Tourism.

Dan Groebner is currently the Region I Nongame Specialist for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, working out of the Pinetop Regional Office.  His responsibilities include management of northeastern Arizona’s diverse nongame assemblage of wildlife that inhabit the White Mountains, Mogollon Rim and Colorado Plateau regions, including bald and golden eagles, osprey, peregrine falcons, snakes, frogs, bats, prairie dogs, small mammals and Mexican wolves.  He represented the Department on the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Environmental Impact Statement Team starting in 1994.  In 1996, he began work on Chiricahua leopard frog recovery, with the eventual development of a breeding facility at the Region I headquarters, providing reintroduction stock for new areas in the White Mountains.

Dr. Jim Halfpenny owns A Naturalist's World, a company dedicated to providing educational programs, books, slide shows, and videos about ecologically important subjects. Topics include rare mammalian species, tracking, winter and alpine ecology, and special ecosystems: Arctic, mountain, and African. Since 1961, Jim has taught outdoor education and environmental programs for state, federal, and private organizations including among others Aspen Center for Environmental Sciences, Audubon, Colorado Outward Bound School, Defenders of Wildlife, National Outdoor Leadership School, National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Smithsonian, Teton Science School, Wilderness Society, Yellowstone Institute, and various Universities. He was a research associate of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado and is past Field Director of the Mountain Research Station (alpine branch of INSTAAR).

Dr. William Hammond has been an educator in Southwest Florida for 42 years and is currently a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and heads an international consulting firm, Natural Context. He earned a BS, MS, EdS and PhD at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. He has been recognized with many awards such as the President George Bush, Sr. and Congressional Theodore Roosevelt Award for conservation service to the nation and Urban Land Institutes Pathfinder Award in SW Florida 2001. He has conducted presentations, training workshops and consultations in 50 states and five Canadian Provinces, England, Soviet Union, Republic of Georgia, and 19 Caribbean nations for a wide range of educational, government, business, professional, and non-profit clients. His primary areas of expertise are: applied creativity in the work place, curriculum design and implementation, environmental/science/marine education, natural systems, learning styles, brain dominance research, organizational changes and management systems, communications, leadership styles, conflict resolution, creative journal keeping, environmental planning, biological assessment, interpretive exhibit and facilities design community-public communications/participation, environmental action in schools/community, and design and teacher training strategies for instructional technology.

William F. Hartwig is the retired Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, within the Department of the Interior. In this position, Mr. Hartwig provided principal support to the Service's Director with respect to operation and management of the 95 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, and the Service's land acquisition program.

Carrol Henderson: has been supervisor of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Nongame Wildlife Program since 1977. He has been involved in planning and restoring peregrine falcons, bald eagles, eastern bluebirds, river otters and trumpeter swans. Mr. Henderson is the author of Woodworking for Wildlife, Landscaping for Wildlife and Wild About Birds: the DNR Bird Feeding Guide. He is co-author of The Traveler’s Guide to Wildlife in Minnesota and Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality. Carrol and his wife Ethelle have led over 30 birding tours to Latin America since 1987. He has recently completed the Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica, published by the University of Texas Press in 2001.

Mr. Bob Hernbrode retired as Chief of Wildlife Education and Program Manager for Watchable Wildlife for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. He has spent nearly 30 years in the field of Wildlife Conservation, working for two state wildlife agencies. His diverse responsibilities include serving as a district wildlife manager in southwest Arizona, a regional biologist in southeastern Arizona, and a statewide game manager in Colorado. In 1986 he was given the assignment to develop a watchable wildlife program for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. He continues to guide the Colorado effort, developing wildlife viewing opportunities in this nationally recognized program. His program received the "Take Pride in America" 1990 national award and was named the Outstanding Watchable Wildlife Program at the National Watchable Wildlife Conference in 1992.

Chuck Huckelberry was born in Tucson, Arizona, graduated from Flowing Wells High School, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1972, as well as a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1976.  He is a Registered Professional Engineer and Registered Land Surveyor in the State of Arizona.   He initially worked for Shell Oil as a petroleum and drilling engineer in Los Angeles, California, and returned to Arizona to begin his career with Pima County in 1974 as a Field Engineer in the Pima County Department of Transportation.  He became the Director of the Department of Transportation and Flood Control District in 1979, and held that position until 1986.  He worked as Assistant County Manager for Public Works from 1986 to 1993, and since 1993 has held the position of County Administrator, managing a $1.4 billion budget and a staff of 8,000 employees of Pima County under the direction of the Board of Supervisors. During Mr. Huckelberry’s 30 plus year career with Pima County, he has participated in and guided regional growth and development of the Tucson Metropolitan Area, as well as all aspects of County government operations.

Mike Jimenez has a master's degree from Univ. of Montana. For the last 21 years, he's worked exclusively with wolves in:
British Columbia - Wolf researcher for University of Montana
Montana - USFWS wolf biologist and wolf manager
Wolf research biologist for Univ. of Montana
Idaho - USFWS wolf research biologist
Idaho - Project leader for Nez Perce Tribe wolf recovery program and supervised release of wolves into Idaho in 1995 and 1996
Wyoming - USFWS Project Leader for Wyoming wolf recovery from 1999 to present.

Rick Lemon is the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center (NCTC). Since 1990, Rick has led efforts on the visioning, planning, design, construction, staffing and operation for the NCTC.

Previously, Rick oversaw endangered species, wetland and environmental contaminants programs for the mid-west region of the Service. He has also worked closely with state agencies in land acquisition and education programs through the Sportfish and Wildlife Restoration programs in the Denver and Portland Regional Offices. He began his career in the Service in fish hatcheries at two field offices in Colorado and Utah.

Stephen Living is a Watchable Wildlife Biologist with the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries.  Stephen completed his MS in Biology at Southern Connecticut State University.  His professional experience includes work as a consultant in habitat management and invasive species control, environmental education and university level instruction; as well as experience leading a wide variety of natural history trips.

This presentation will highlight the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries’ efforts to provide remote viewing opportunities via web-based technologies.  DGIF has had great success with its EagleCam rated one of the “Top Ten WebCams in the World” and reaching well over a million viewers.  This effort grew out of a unique public private partnership.  Stephen will discuss the technical aspects of presenting and maintaining this project, while synthesizing the needs and goals of the project partners.  What worked and what didn’t, lessons learned and what the future holds for this technology will round out the discussion.

Marjorie Magnusson has been with the Arizona Office of Tourism for more than 20 years. By working for the Media and Communications Division of the agency, Marjorie arranges media visits to Arizona for more than 75 journalists each year. In addition to journalists, Marjorie also assists film crews with arrangements while in the state such as obtaining accommodations, transportation, tours and interviews. She has a B.S. in Travel and Tourism with an emphasis in tour operations from Brigham Young University and prior to returning to Arizona from college, she worked for Alaska Sightseeing Tours in Anchorage as director of sales for five years. Marjorie is a fourth generation Arizonan and loves nothing more than talking about Arizona.

Jim Mallman: President and founding Board member, has 28 years of experience in commodities trading and sales and marketing management. While serving as manager of commodities trading for the American Agco Company, Jim was responsible for American Agco’s Nature’s Seasons Wild Bird Seed division. It was in this position that Jim began working with state and federal agencies across the country to promote legislation that would secure permanent and stable funding for non-game wildlife.

In 1998 he made the decision to redirect his professional efforts towards wildlife conservation and accepted the position of Sales and Marketing Manager for Treessentials Company. Jim has been a strong supporter of Teaming With Wildlife, and now CARA. This proposed legislation has galvanized the largest coalition of government, businesses, and wildlife conservation groups ever. In 1996 Jim was awarded The President’s Award from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, for his work as a national spokesperson of this important issue. Jim was appointed President of Watchable Wildlife, Inc in September of 2001. He and his wife Sharon have two children and live on the St Croix River just north of Stillwater, Minnesota where Sharon works as the Asst. Director of the St Croix Watershed Research Station of the Science Museum of Minnesota. 

Michael J. Manfredo is a professor and Head of the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University. He received his B.S. and M.S. at the Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. at Colorado State University. Dr. Manfredo’s research, teaching and outreach activities focus on the role of social science in natural resource management. His theoretical focus is on applying attitude and value theory to natural resource issues. He has published over 65 peer-reviewed articles in a wide variety of natural resource journals such as Wildlife Society Bulletin, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Journal of Coastal Zone Management, Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Travel Research, Society and Natural Resources, Journal of Forestry, North American Journal of Fisheries, Journal of Environmental Management, Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Leisure Sciences, and Journal of Leisure Research.  He was the founding co-editor of the journal Human Dimensions of Wildlife.  He recently co-edited his third book entitled Society and Natural Resources: A summary of knowledge. He is also currently working on a book about human relationships with wildlife. Professor Manfredo has been principal investigator on over 75 research projects with funds primarily obtained from fish, wildlife, and land management agencies.

Maggie O'Connell is a Visitor Services Specialist at the headquarters office of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). She coordinates hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and wildlife photography programs, including the NWRS Birding Initiative.  Maggie has more than 17 years of front-line visitor services experience on refuges including Minnesota Valley NWR (MN), Chincoteague NWR (VA), Okefenokee NWR (GA), and most recently Bosque del Apache NWR (NM).  A native Midwesterner, she is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

Dave Peterson is the President of Watchable Media, Inc. a provider of web, print and other media solutions for wildlife related enterprises.  Prior to WMI, Peterson was co-owner and CTO of Voyageur I.T., a web development, hosting and marketing service provider he founded in 1996. He holds a B.A. in Finance from the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Peterson currently manages most web related projects for Watchable Wildlife, Inc.

Miles Phillips is the Nature Tourism Program Specialist for the Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Miles has conducted Ecotourism work in Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Texas, West Virginia, and South Carolina where he worked for Sea Grant Extension on coastal tourism development. He has also worked as a consulting environmental engineer prior to working in the tourism industry. Mr. Phillips has worked as a Interpretive Tour Guide and is a certified Interpretive Guide Trainer.

Tara L. Teel is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University.  She received her Ph.D. in Human Dimensions from Colorado State University and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from Utah State University. Dr. Teel’s research interests are in human dimensions of natural resources, specifically in the application of social science theory and methods to natural resource-related issues. She works closely with wildlife and other natural resource agencies in collection and application of social science data to inform their planning, management, and communication efforts. In addition to serving as a co-investigator on the Wildlife Values in the West study presented at this meeting, Dr. Teel is currently the co-principal investigator along with Mike Manfredo for a project entitled Advancing Human Dimensions Expertise among State and Province Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The project, sponsored by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, has resulted in development and implementation of an educational program providing training to state and province fish and wildlife agency employees in human dimensions concepts and techniques. In addition to research, Dr. Teel teaches courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in the areas of natural resources tourism, human dimensions and recreation behavior theory, and human dimensions research methods and statistical analysis. She was also recently elected to serve as the psychology representative on the board of the Social Science Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Keynote - Dr. Benjamin N. Tuggle is the Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest Region. Since 1979, Dr. Tuggle's distinguished career with the Fish & Wildlife Service has included leadership positions throughout the organization. He served as the Acting Special Assistant to the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service prior to his current position; and before that assignment, he was the Chief of the Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation in the Washington Office. Dr. Tuggle works extensively in a collaborative manner with other federal, state and local resource agencies; the private sector; and non-governmental environmental groups, in order to accomplish goals and objectives that promote fish and wildlife conservation. He has maintained this collaborative, productive and positive interaction within FWS and with its partners throughout his career with the Service.

Sam Vaughn currently serves as Associate Manager for Interpretive Planning at Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service in West Virginia. Sam has worked for Harpers Ferry Center for 13 years, in interpretive planning, visitor studies/social science, and as the service center liaison. Sam has over 30 years experience in the National Park Service at 3 parks, the National Capital Regional Office, and Harpers Ferry Center.

Don Virgovic: has been with the USDA Forest Service for 24 years holding positions as a District Wildlife Biologist and Forest Fisheries Program Leader in Colorado, and as Pacific Northwest Region Assistant Fisheries Program Manager (Oregon and Washington). Consulting Biologist for the New Zealand Department of Conservation. In 2003 Don took over from our good friend Kimberly Anderson as the Forest Service National NatureWatch Program Leader, (We are trying to forgive him). Don has been doing a great job promoting the NatureWatch Program Mission: "To provide children and adults the opportunity to safely view, and participate in, activities and programs that raise their level of awareness and understanding of wildlife, fish, and plants, and their connection to ecosystems, landscapes, and people." His Personal interests include jazz guitar, sea kayaking and cooking. Don clams to be able to do all thee at once.