2001 Speakers & Presenters

| Bruce Anderson | Gian Basili | Wes Biggs | W. Boyd Blihovde | Jeff Bouton | Pamela J. Bowen | Reed Bowman | Dave Breininger | Buck and Linda Cooper | Jim Davis | Marc Epstein | Warren Frost | David Goodwin | Jack P. Hailman | Paul Haydt | Ross Hinkle | Carroll Holland | Kevin T. Karlson | Suzanne Kennedy | Mike Knight | Mike Legare | Sarah Linney | Jerry Lorenz | Casey Lott | Lorne K. Malo | Larry Manfredi | Stefani Melvin | Joe Michael Meyers | Steve Nesbitt| Donna M. Oddy | Jane Provancha | Zachary Prusak | Kurt Radamaker | Tami Robinson | James A. Rodgers, Jr. | Paul A. Schmalzer | Mark D. Sees | Debra Shearwater | Lisa Smith | Lee F. Snyder | Billy Specht | John Stiner | Doug Stuckey | Joanna Taylor | Walter K. Taylor | Sharon Tyson | Dorn Whitmore | Blair Witherington | Glen E. Woolfenden |

BRUCE ANDERSON
Bruce Anderson has lived in Florida for 45 years and is the coauthor of The Birdlife of Florida, a regional editor for Florida for North American Birds and for the Florida Ornithological Society Field Observation Committee report in the Florida Field Naturalist. He is a past president of the Florida Ornithological Society and a former secretary of the FOS Records Committee.
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DR. GIAN BASILI
Gian Basili is currently the Land Acquisition Planner for the St. Johns River Water Management District. He came to St. Johns from the Florida Audubon Society where he was the Director of Ornithology from 1997 – 1999. Although Gian's professional focus has switched from birds to the acquisition of environmentally sensitive lands, he continues to be active in Florida birding and bird conservation projects including the restoration of the former Zellwood Farms of the North Shore of Lake Apopka. Dr. Basili is a Judge for the Festival Birding Competition.
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WES BIGGS
Wes started birding as a youngster in Rochester N.Y. His family moved to St. Petersburg in 1962 and the birding got much better. He has been involved in the conservation movement since junior high school, and in every aspect of Florida ornithology since his early teens. As a lister he has seen more species of birds in Florida than anyone. On the scientific front, he has been involved with the two largest ornithological projects in Florida history, as a member of several Dry Tortugas banding expeditions in the 1960's and 1970's, and as the state coordinator of the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas project in the 1980's and 1990's. In the field of eco-tourism, he has headed up Florida Nature Tours since 1990, specializing in birding tours in Florida and the American Tropics. If it has feathers and lives in Florida, Wes can find it. Join him for some fun field trips! Wes Biggs is a Judge for the Festival Birding Competition.
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W. BOYD BLIHOVDE
Boyd Blihovde has a B.S. and a M.S. in Biology from the University of Central Florida, where he worked for reknowned sea turtle researcher, Dr. Lew Ehrhart for seven years (both through undergraduate work and graduate work). Boyd gained a tremendous respect for research and field biology while working for Dr. Ehrhart. During his time at UCF, he published short notes, gave many presentations, and wrote several papers that are in preparation. He received his Masters degree in Biology, studying the Florida gopher frog (Rana capito) as a student of Dr. Ehrhart's.
Boyd has worked in every major level of government (county, state, and federal). He has also worked for a consultant company. Although most of the research he has done focuses on herpetofauna, he is extremely interested in all aspects of vertebrate zoology, fire ecology, and wildlife management. Presently Boyd is a Park Biologist at the Wekiva Basin GEOpark.
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JEFF BOUTON
Jeff Bouton has studied raptors extensively throughout the country since 1984. His studies began in New York at Braddock Bay Raptor Research, where he worked in the hawk banding blinds for 9 years and served as Director of Research and Education. Other studies here included Owl banding, and winter ecology studies on Rough-legged Hawks, Snowy Owls, and other winter wanderers. He spent 5 seasons working in Cape May, NJ counting hawks for the Cape May Bird Observatory and banding raptors here as well. His studies carried him west to work with the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Peregrine Falcon Recovery Team. and north to Alaska where he conducted raptor nesting surveys in the 13 million acre Wrangell/St. Elias National Park & Preserve, did survey work through Denali Park, and was a consultant to various researchers throughout the state. He also led tours professionally throughout the state to places like Nome, Gambell, St. Paul Island, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He has lived in Port Charlotte, FL for 3 years now and has seen and learned much about the FL specialty species in this time.
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DR. REED BOWMAN
Dr. Reed Bowman is the head of the Avian Ecology lab at Archbold Biological Station. He holds graduate degrees in wildlife and biology from McGill University and the University of South Florida. Over the last 20 years he has studied the ecology, demography, and conservation of several threatened and endangered birds, including the White-crowned Pigeon, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and the Florida Scrub-Jay. One of his principle interests is the many affects, both locally and worldwide, of increasing urbanization on birds. He is an editor of an forthcoming book entitled "Avian Ecology and Conservation in an Urbanizing World".
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PAMELA J. BOWEN
Ms. Pamela J. Bowen completed her masters thesis research on the Florida Burrowing Owl at the University of Central Florida in Orlando in August 2000. She conducted a statewide population census of the Burrowing Owl during the 1999 breeding season. With the assistance of over 50 volunteers from local Audubon chapters and Florida Ornithological Society, Pam documented 946 active Burrowing Owl territories in Florida. Her masters thesis, Demographic, Distribution, and Metapopulation Analyses of the Burrowing Owl in Florida, is the first comprehensive work documenting the Burrowing Owl's distribution and demographics throughout the state. During her research, Pam received the 1999 Helen G. and Allen D. Cruickshank Research Award from the Florida Ornithological Society. Her thesis abstract was published in the Raptor Research Foundation's Wingspan publication and she has submitted a journal article on the results of her research for publication in Florida Ornithological Society's Florida Field Naturalist.
Pam has also done extensive volunteer work with Audubon of Florida's Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland and with Audubon's EAGLEWATCH Program. She first began working with raptors in 1993 and has conducted research on urban and rural Bald Eagle nest productivity. In 1998, she received the Explorer's Club Award at the Florida Academy of Science's Annual Conference for her research on "A Model Approach to Urban and Rural Bald Eagle Nest Productivity".
Pam is a member of the American Ornithologists' Union, Florida Ornithological Society, National Audubon Society, Raptor Research Foundation, and the Waterbird Society. She is currently employed by St. Johns River Water Management District as an Environmental Scientist working on Lake Apopka's Marsh Flow-way Project.
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DAVE BREININGER
Dave Breininger is a senior ecologist for Dynamac Corporation, the NASA Life Sciences support contract for Kennedy Space Center. His interests are focused on habitat management, habitat characteristics, and demography combining field data with remote sensing, GIS, population models and landscape trajectories. Dave is currently investigating demography of 200 color banded Florida scrub jay families in Brevard and Indian River counties.
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BUCK AND LINDA COOPER
Buck and Linda were the 1998 recipients of Florida Audubon's distinguished Allan Cruickshank Memorial Award for their extensive conservation work in the state of Florida. They were resident naturalists at Street Audubon Nature Center in Winter Haven for 13 years. Recently retired, they now have even more time to spend with the natural world. They are acknowledged experts in the identification of Florida butterflies using binoculars only. This non-consumptive approach to butterflying is being utilized by more and more butterfly enthusiasts throughout the nation. At the recent North American Butterfly Association's (NABA) biennial Conference they gave an identification workshop on the 65 skippers of Florida to a large group from all over the United States and Canada.
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DR. JIM DAVIS
Dr Jim Davis has studied bird behavior for twenty years. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and went on to do a post-doc at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. His scientific contributions have focused on various aspects of kingfisher behavior including territoriality, vocal communication, and mating systems. Over the past 15 years, Jim has traveled to different parts of the world to observe and write about bird behavior. In 1997, he started the Australian edition of Interpretive Birding Bulletin and, in 2000, the North American edition. A limited supply of the Interpretive Birding Bulletins will be available for purchase at the meeting. Check out the IBB website at: www.ibirding.com
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MARC EPSTEIN
Marc is a professionally Certified Wildlife Biologist. For more than 20 years he has served in positions which include Wildlife Research Biologist for the SC Wildlife and Marine Resource Department, Florida Statewide Wetland Wildlife Coordinator and Area Manager, North Florida Coastal Ecosystem Coordinator, Endangered Species Section for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He currently serves as the Senior Fish and Wildlife Biologist at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Marc is also a professional photographer with published work in numerous national and international books and magazines, including Florida Wildlife, Florida Sportsman, Field and Stream Salt Water Sportsman and more. Some of his photography may be viewed at www.marcepstein.homestead.com.
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WARREN FROST
Warren Frost has lived and birded in the Titusville area for the past 11 years. An avid birder since his youth, Warren has spent many years birding around the United States. He is a long time member of the American Birding Association and the Indian River Audubon Society.
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DAVID GOODWIN
Dave started his birding career in St. Petersburg in the late 1960's and has extensive experience throughout the state of Florida and elsewhere in the U.S. As a middle school teacher, Dave conducts summer nature camps in the Tampa Bay area. As past president of The Florida Ornithological Society and as a regional coordinator for the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas project he has been involved in various tours for Florida Nature Tours for many years in South Florida and the Dry Tortugas. Dave is in the elite group of birders who have seen over 400 species of birds in Florida. He is currently in forth place. A day in the field with Dave will open your eyes. Dave is a judge for the Festival Birding Competition.
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DR. JACK P. HAILMAN
Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin and currently Research Associate at Archbold Biological Station near Lake Placid, Florida, Jack has published nearly 200 technical articles as well as several books, mainly on behavior of birds and related topics. He is among the fewer than a dozen researchers honored for career achievement with the Distinguished Animal Behaviorist award of the Animal Behavior Society, of which Dr. Hailman is a former president. He has been elected Fellow of three scientific societies, including the American Ornithologists' Union, and was elected to the Norwegian Academy of Sciences partly in recognition of his work on birds in Norway.
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PAUL HAYDT
Paul is an Interagency Program Manager with the St. Johns River Water Management District where he is Project Manager for the District's Northern Coastal Basin Program. Paul has a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Conservation from the School of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida. He has extensive experience in Florida working with agencies and local governments in addressing wetland management and restoration, stormwater and septic pollution abatement and endangered species management issues.
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ROSS HINKLE
Ross Hinkle is Chief Scientist for Dynamac Corporation at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Ross has specialized in the development and application of ecological monitoring and research activities at KSC for the past 18 years. He is Chair of the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection and Management Committee and a Senior Ecologist serving on the Ecological Society of America's Board of Professional Certification.
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CARROLL HOLLAND
Carroll Holland started seriously birding in 1959 with Allan Cruickshank and was a team leader for Christmas Bird Counts from 1961 through 1971. He has birded all continents except Antarctica, including pelagic birding for four years at sea on the USNS Vandenberg, and has taught school children the rudiments of birding. Carroll was trained to teach birding classes by Allan Cruickshank and has conducted Beginning and Intermediate Birding Seminars for many years. He is a long time member of the Board of Directors of the Indian River Audubon Society. Carroll is a judge for the Festival Birding Competition.
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KEVIN T. KARLSON
Kevin T. Karlson has been a wildlife photographer for 20 years and active as a birder for 22 years. He has traveled from the wilds of the Alaskan Arctic to the rainforests of Central and South America to photograph birds. His photo collection from the fragile Alaskan Arctic habitat region is one of the best in the world. His work is widely published in most birding magazines and journals, as well as books, field guides, and CD Rom projects.Kevin is currently on the advisory board of Wildbird Magazine, as well as a staff contributor of the monthly column Birder's ID. He currently serves as the photo editor for "North American Birds", a birding journal published by the American Birding Association. A resident of Cape May County, N.J., Kevin is a 10-year member of the N.J. Bird Records Committee and is active in the Cape May birding community. He is the founder and president of Jaeger Tours, Inc., a small birding tour company.
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SUZANNE KENNEDY
Suzanne Kennedy is an Environmental Specialist with the Brevard County Natural Resources Management Office. She plans, develops, and implements natural resource conservation projects with an emphasis on endangered and threatened species, plant ecology, and natural areas and habitat management strategies. Current projects include the Brevard County Natural Communities 2000-2001 Mapping Project, Rare Plant Populations of Brevard Inventory, Monitoring, and Database, developing the Significant Environmental Areas Map and Ordinance, and coordinating the Conservation Working Group, and the Non-native Invasive Plant Control Program and developing a Non-native Invasive Plants Ordinance. She received a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences in 1998 from Florida International University, in Miami, Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Tropical Botany in 1993 also from Florida International University.
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MIKE KNIGHT
Mike Knight is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program. He received his Bachelors degree in Outdoor Education and Recreation from Lyndon State College in Vermont. His primary responsibility with the EEL Program is to develop a network of volunteers to assist the program with its land management and conservation goals. Mike works closely with members of the Environmental Network of Volunteers (ENV) to collaborate on projects and promote environmental volunteerism in Brevard County. Other responsibilities include coordinating public access to EEL Sanctuaries and development and oversight of the EEL Insect Laboratory. Mike's hobbies include Native American flute making and antler carving. His love of the outdoors is exemplified by his interest in kayaking, climbing and his recent mountaineering expedition in Chile
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MIKE LEGARE
Mike Legare is a Wildlife Biologist with Dynamac Corporation. A relative newcomer, Mike is working on the Indigo Snake Tracking Program at Kennedy Space Center. Mike completed his master's thesis on black rail calling behavior, with his supporting research work conducted at the St. Johns National Wildlife Refuge near Titusville. Following graduation, he joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, continuing his work on Black Rails.
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SARAH LINNEY
Sarah Linney is the Field Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy's Cape Canaveral Scrub Jay Project. The main purpose of the project is to monitor the demographics of the Florida Scrub Jay population on the Cape Canaveral AFS. Her primary responsibilities include year-round field research; organizing, coordinating, and overseeing all field activities; and updating and maintaining research databases. Sarah holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. Native of N. C., moved to Florida in 1992. Active member of the Indian River Audubon Society, where she currently holds the Office of Secretary.
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DR. JERRY LORENZ
Dr. Jerry Lorenz is the research director aof the National Audubon Society's Tavernier Science Center in the Florida Keys. He received his Doctorate from the Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RASMAS), studying the impacts of water management practices on Roseate Spoonbills and their prey. Jerry has done extensive ecological research in Florida Bay since 1989.
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CASEY LOTT
Casey Lott is the project director of the Florida Keys Raptor Migration Project for Hawkwatch International and Audubon of Florida, and the staff ornithologist at Audubon's Tavernier Science Center in the Florida Keys. He has studied raptor migration in Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, and Israel and has worked as an ornithologist with songbirds and seabirds in Hawaii, Arizona, and Alaska.
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LORNE K. MALO
Lorne K. Malo is a Senior Regulatory Scientist with the St. Johns River Water Management District. He also works part-time for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection conducting bird surveys on the Wekiva, St. Johns, and Tomoka Aquatic Preserves. Lorne is an avid birder who organizes bird surveys with local volunteers on St. Johns River Water Management District properties. He is also the compiler for the Audubon Society's Econlockhatchee Christmas Bird Count. Additionally, Lorne has worked with black bears, alligators, estuarine fish, small mammals, gopher tortoises, and assorted snakes.
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LARRY MANFREDI
Larry Manfredi was born and raised in Miami Florida. He became interested in birding at the age of six, when his mother gave him his very first book on birds, Marjorie Stuart's "Birds Around Us". He has maintained a life list since the age of eight. Larry has birded most of the birding hotspots of North America (Attu Island Alaska, Southern Arizona, South Texas, California, Maine and the Dry Tortugas, to name a few), as well as many of the larger Caribbean islands, including the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic. He has also birded Europe, travelling to France, Switzerland and Italy.
Larry contributed to Bill Pranty's popular book "A Birder's Guide to Florida" and wrote the Miami Area section for one of the new Metropolitan Birdfinding Guides published by the American Birding Association. On a recent trip to the Dominican Republic with P. William Smith, a bird not previously seen on Hispaniola was discovered. Many birders might remember the Striped Headed Tanager that showed up in Larry's yard in 1992. More than 400 people came to see that amazing vagrant.
Having lived in South Florida for more than 30 years, Larry is familiar with locations of all the Florida specialties. Through many years in the field, he has gained knowledge of the local flora and fauna. He knows that many birdwatchers enjoy looking for alligators, crocodiles, manatees, butterflies and other interesting animals, in addition to finding birds. www.southfloridabirding.com/
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STEFANI MELVIN
Stefani is a senior environmental scientist at the South Florida Water Management District and is the avian ecologist in charge of evaluating bird responses to Kissimmee River restoration. She received her bachelor's degree in marine biology and a master's degree in wildlife science from Texas A&M University. She has worked on the Kissimmee project for six years. Her expertise is wading bird ecology, specifically, evaluating wading bird responses to wetland restoration. She has worked in estuarine, tropical, and freshwater systems.
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DR. JOE MICHAEL MEYERS
Dr. Joe Micheal Meyers is the Leader of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center-Athens, Georgia and is on the adjunct faculty of the Warnell School of Forest Resources, The University of Georgia. Joe was formerly Leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Puerto Rican Research Station and State Program Coordinator for Nongame Wildlife and Endangered Species in Alabama. Since 1972, he has worked on bald eagle restoration, parrot biology, avian habitat and management, and wetlands ecological research including two years of bird fieldwork in the Okefenokee Swamp. In 1995, he began long-term research to determine causes of the severe population decline of the Southeastern Painted Bunting by conducting studies in optimum bunting habitat on Georgia's Coastal Islands. Georgia Public Television recently featured this research on the 2000 Premiere of "Georgia Outdoors".
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STEVE NESBITT
Steve Nesbitt has been a wildlife biologist with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission since 1971. Steve is a member of the Whooping Crane Recovery Team and has been involved with the Southeastern Whooping Crane Reintroduction Program since its inception in 1980. In addition to whooping cranes Steve has been involved with projects dealing with brown pelicans, red-cockaded woodpeckers, white ibis, armadillos, Bachman's sparrow, brown-headed nuthatch, pine warbler, the Florida duck, bald eagles, Florida sandhill cranes, and wading bird surveys in Florida.
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DONNA M. ODDY
Donna M. Oddy is a Wildlife Biologist/Ecologist for Dynamac Corporation, the NASA Life Sciences Support Contract for the Kennedy Space Center. She has a B.S. degree in Marine Biology from Florida Institute of Technology and recently completed her M.S. degree from the University of Central Florida on the Southeastern Beach Mouse (Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She has worked with the Florida Scrub Jay for the last 12 years, on the Kennedy Space Center, as well as other sites throughout Brevard County. She has been working on the Southeastern Beach Mouse for the last 7 years. Her interests are focused on threatened and endangered species management and conservation, avian and small mammal ecology, and fire ecology.
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JANE PROVANCHA
Jane is currently employed by the Dynamac Corporation as a Program Manager and Conservation Group Leader for the Environmental Support Contract at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida
She has over 20 years of experience working in coastal habitats. She received her bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in zoology in 1978 and as a contractor for NASA for 18 years she conducted many research projects on seagrass, water quality, manatees, sea turtles, etc. She has been a sea turtle and marine mammal stranding and salvage network biologist and coordinator for northern Brevard County for over 20 years.
From 1987 to 1993, she was president of her own small business providing technical ecological services, employed and managed many biologists on contracts in the Port Canaveral area predominantly related to dredging impacts on manatees, whales and sea turtles. She is a member of several technical-working groups related to sea turtles and manatees and is a committee member of the IUCN, International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
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ZACHARY PRUSAK
Zachary Prusak is the South Mainland Region Land Manager for the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program. He is responsible for the management of over 2500 acres of EEL Sanctuary lands located in South Brevard County (including the 400-acre Malabar Scrub Sanctuary), and conducting prescribed fire within all EEL Sanctuaries. A native Floridian, Zach began his lifelong passion for Biology as a young child, when he was caught eating ants! He will share that story with you (and many others about Florida insects) on the Malabar hike.
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KURT RADAMAKER
Kurt started birding in his native California when he was a young boy, and has traveled throughout the Western Hemisphere and Europe. He is best known as an expert on the birds of the Mexican state of Baja California, having seen more species there than anyone else. He has written a number of articles on the birds of Baja and was editor and production manager for The Euphoria, a scientific journal of field ornithology on the birds of Mexico. Kurt and his wife Cindy, (who is also a birder) moved to Orlando in April 1998. In no time they both began making outstanding discoveries in a number of areas throughout Central Florida. In Dec. 1998 Kurt and Wes Biggs started the Zellwood Christmas bird count, and set the record for the most species ever found on a noncoastal count. A day in the field with Kurt is sure to yield some surprises!
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TAMI ROBINSON
Tami Robinson has been working with the Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program since April 1998. Prior to the EEL Program Tami worked for the Brevard County Office of Natural Resources as the Endangered Species Coordinator. She received her Bachelor degree in Biology from the University of Central Florida. Her responsibilities with the EEL Program include development and implementation of management plans for the north region lands acquired through the EEL Program. Other responsibilities include grant proposal development and administration as well as planning and coordinating environmental education programs. Upon completion of the Management and Education Center at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary (proposed completion May 2002) Ms. Robinson will be in charge of the Centers day to day operations and management.
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DR. JAMES A. RODGERS, JR.
James A. Rodgers Jr., Born 1948 in North Miami, FL. MS from Louisiana State University in 1974, PhD from University of South Florida in 1979. Certified Wildlife Biologist with The Wildlife Society (1986) and Elected Member of the American Ornithologists' Union (1987). Favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut.
Employed as Naturalist with the National Audubon Society (1978 1980) at the Tampa Bay Sanctuaries, and as a Wildlife Biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission since 1980 in Gainesville. Research experience includes the breeding behavior and ecology of herons, foraging ecology of herons and egrets, nesting ecology of wood storks, least bitterns, and snail kites, pesticide contamination of waterbirds, and population genetics of wood storks and snail kites.
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PAUL A. SCHMALZER
Paul A. Schmalzer is a plant ecologist with the Dynamac Corporation at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where he has worked since 1982. His current research interests include: effects of fire on vegetation and soils, restoration of scrub ecosystems, and distribution, structure, composition, and dynamics of barrier island plant communities. He serves on the Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection and Management Committee for Brevard County, Florida.
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MARK D. SEES
A native Floridian, Mark has worked for Post, Buckley, Schuh and Jernigan as an Environmental Scientist, the St. John's River Water Management District as a Land Management Specialist and currently works for the City of Orlando as a Wetlands Analyst. He now manages the Orlando Wetlands Park for the City of Orlando.
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DEBRA SHEARWATER
Debra Shearwater is the founder/director of Shearwater Journeys, conducting pelagic trips off the central California coast since 1976. As a full-time naturalist/birder, she has participated in over 1460 pelagic trips. Seabirds and marine mammals have been a major focus of her life. Shearwater Journey's trips have produced many important North American seabird records. Debra also has experience with seabirds off the east coast of the U.S., and in the Seychelles Islands, Galapagos Islands, the Mediterranean, and off the northwest coast of Africa.
She is co-producer of a videotape, "Through the Seasons: An Introduction to the Seabirds and Marine Mammals of Monterey Bay." She was a major contributor to "Killer Whales of California and Western Mexico: A Catalog of Photo-Identified Individuals." Her current research involves Ashy Storm-Petrels, Xantus' and Craveri's Murrelets. She has been featured on the the television program, "All Bird TV."
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LISA SMITH
Lisa Smith is the Central Region Land Manager for the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program. She is responsible for the management of 1500 acres of EEL Sanctuary Lands located in Central Brevard County, including the 879+ acre Pine Island Conservation Area. Lisa is a Wetland Scientist, with over 15 years' field experience in Wetlands and Protected Species Ecology within Brevard County. She is a generation Floridian and an avid water person with years of experience canoeing the waters of Brevard and Florida, and sailing the seas of the Bahamas and Florida Keys.
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LEE F. SNYDER
Lee F. Snyder is a writer and an award winning commercial photographer whose credits include nine book titles and numerous articles with photo credits in many major national publications. His work has taken him throughout the world photographing and writing about birds. A New Englander by birth, a Floridian by choice, he has made St. Petersburg his home for the past twenty-one years. Lee is a judge for the Festival Birding Competition.
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BILLY SPECHT
Mr. Billy Specht serves as Manager of Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. In this position, he is responsible for developing and managing a variety of education programs for Kennedy Space Center which are designed to educate and inspire the public about space exploration. He graduated from Queens College in North Carolina with a bachelor's degree in Education and Liberal Arts and is currently working on his masters in Business Management. He served as a Senior Instructor at Sea World of Florida for several years before moving to Miami, Florida to serve as the Manager of Education at Miami Seaquarium. During his work with the marine life parks, he developed education programs designed to educate the public on the importance of conservation. His special focus was in the protection of Florida manatees. His interest in conservation peaked during two trips to the Amazon River to learn more about amazonian manatees and conservation efforts to protect the Amazon jungle.
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JOHN STINER
John Steiner is Resources Management at Canaveral National Seashore. His responsibilities include protecting and interpreting the many archeological sites contained within the Seashore. Although he obtained a Masters Degree in Biology from Western Michigan University, he fosters a great love for history, which he cultivated as a child when he would ride his bike 15 miles to the Gettysburg Battlefield and crawl over every nook and cranny of Devil's Den. Come join John on a bus tour entitled "Mosquito Lagoon: Glimpse into the Past" to examine several archeological sites and the Eldora statehouse, one of the last remnants of an 1800's Florida waterway community. Investigate the lives of Native Americans that once lived here and hardy settlers who braved the wilds of Florida before the creation of air conditioning and mosquito control.
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DOUG STUCKEY
Doug Stuckey is a veteran birder and long time member of the Indian River Audubon Society who has lived in Titusville for more than 34 years. He has spent 31 of those years birding in Brevard County, participating in Christmas Bird Counts for more than 25 years. Doug was the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge CBC Compiler for 11 years and has led field trips for over 16 years. He has birded most of the United States (44 states) and has a North American Life List of 552 species.
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JOANNA TAYLOR
Joanna Taylor is the public use specialist at Pelican Island and Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuges. Currently, she manages volunteer program and public use activities on the refuges. Joanna began her career with the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1988 at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center working with the whooping crane captive propagation research group. Joanna worked closely with the captive whooping flock and other endangered avian flocks for 8 years and assisted in the research and cryopreservation of genetic material.
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DR. WALTER K. TAYLOR
Dr. Taylor is Professor of Biology at the University of Central Florida, where he is in his 33rd year of teaching. He is a much sought after speaker on Florida wildflowers. He and his wife Karin have traveled all over the state giving presentations, promoting the cause off wildflower preservation, preservation of the environment, and seeking out these beauties for their own enjoyment. Dr. Taylor's two books on wildflowers, Guide to Florida Wildflowers and Florida Wildflowers in Their Natural Communities are immensely popular and have received outstanding reviews.
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SHARON TYSON
Sharon Tyson is presently employed as a Biologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and operates her company, Indian River Environmental, conducting manatee and marine research. Sharon started researching manatees as a volunteer for Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in 1987, obtaining her degree in Biology at UCF in 1991. She continued conducting radio telemetry research and scar photo identifications on manatees along the Atlantic coast of Florida for a federal research group from 1998 through 1996. Moving to Jupiter in 1991 for a year, she conducted manatee salvage and rescues in South Florida for the Florida Marine Research Institute. After a short stint at the St. Sebastian River Buffer Preserve, Sharon started her company, researching boating activity, consulting, and conducting manatee research primarily around Brevard County power plants. She recognizes hundreds of individual manatees and has enjoyed getting to know family and personal histories for many of the animals.
top Dorn Whitmore, Supervisory Ranger, has worked at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for more than 20 years. Over the span of his career he has lectured on a variety of natural history topics and led countless birding tours. For the most of the 1990's, Dorn was charged with the acquisition and development of the new sea turtle refuge – Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. Dorn also oversaw the effort to expand and protect the nation's first National Wildlife Refuge at Pelican Island.
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BLAIR WITHERINGTON, Ph.D.
Blair Witherington, Ph.D.: Little Turtles, Big Ocean.
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DR. GLEN E. WOOLFENDEN
Research Associate at Archbold Biological Station, has studied the jays at Archbold Station for over 30 years. His research has resulted in many papers and an acclaimed book concerning these jays. Dr. Woolfendon will discuss the natural history and demography of the Florida Scrub Jay. His pioneering research laid a foundation for other collaborative research on aspects of the jay's biology.
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