Wildlife, exploration, environmental protection and trade will all be discussed over the course of a seminar series this fall at West Virginia University. The series is sponsored by the Environmental Research Center in WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.

“There are myriad environmental issues impacting the world and numerous environmental research interests at WVU,” said Jim Anderson, director of the ERC and professor of wildlife and fisheries resources.

“This seminar series is designed to address some of these issues,” he added. “We hope that the diversity of the topics will appeal to a wide array of students, staff and faculty. This semester most of our topics have important implications for environmental policy.”

Those topics will be addressed by the following speakers:

• Mark Duda, executive director of Responsive Management in Franklin, Va., will speak on “Wildlife Management: The Human Element” at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, in 308 Percival Hall. Responsive Management is an internationally recognized public opinion and attitude survey research firm specializing in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues.

• Jeffery Hazboun, a seasoned wildlife biologist pursuing a doctorate in physics at Utah State University, will present “Explore to Conserve: A Scientist’s Role in Outreach, Media, and Modern Exploration” at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 3, in 332 Percival Hall. Hazboun serves as the science coordinator for The Kamchatka Project, a grassroots effort to explore critical salmon habitat in remote rivers of the Siberian Kamchatka Peninsula, and has worked with National Geographic to communicate information about the area to a broad audience.

• Debbie Reed, executive director of the International Biochar Initiative in Westerville, Oh., will speak on “Commercializing Biochar: Policy Considerations and Related Issues” at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in 316 Percival Hall. The International Biochar Initiative promotes the development of systems that follow Cradle to Cradle sustainability guidelines for biochar, the nutrient-rich residue left from use of poultry waste as fuel.

• Dennis Whigham, senior botanist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., will speak on “Common Reed (Phragmites australis) Invasion into Chesapeake Bay Tidal Wetlands – Ecological Issues and Consequences” at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in 334 Percival Hall. Whigham’s research interests include wetland ecology and management, forest ecology, and the ecology of woodland herbs.

• Dale Colyer, a WVU professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics, will speak on “Green Trade Agreements: A Triumph for Environmentalists?” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, in 334 Percival Hall. Colyer, a WVU Benedum Distinguished Scholar, recently published a book on green trade agreements through MacMillan’s Palgrave imprint.

The seminars are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Anderson at 304-293-3825 or jim.anderson@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

dw/09/29/11

CONTACT: David Welsh, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
304.293.2394; dwelsh@wvu.edu

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