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My work is always rooted in natural history, ecology, and conservation biology, but plies the terrain at the margins of disciplines. I’m most interested in the connections between sciences, humanities, and public policy, and between analytical and creative modes of thought. In addition to helping to coordinate the Conservation Biology and Natural History and Ecology emphasis areas within the Environmental Studies curriculum, I teach courses that link with many other curricular areas, including creative writing, environmental politics, and ecopsychology (see course list below).
Recent field research projects include an ongoing study of migratory and wintering shorebirds at Estero Santa Cruz in the Gulf of California, Mexico (currently in press in Waterbirds). For many years I've been involved in studying the ecological effects of livestock grazing in western North America. I chaired the committee that wrote a position statement on this topic for the Society for Conservation Biology. More recently, colleagues and I conducted a study of the ecological effects of historic livestock grazing on plant communities in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Earlier field research concerned marine mammals and marine birds. I continue to be fascinated with these animals; they remain strong interests, and subjects in my teaching. I have written two books—Singing Stone: A Natural History of the Escalante Canyons and Desert Wetlands—as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters. I co-founded the North Cascades Institute in Washington State, and have served on the Board of Governors of the Society for Conservation Biology, the Science Advisory Council of the Grand Canyon Trust, and many other local and regional organizations. I was a long-term member of the Education Committee of the Society for Conservation Biology, and recently served as President of the society’s Colorado Plateau Chapter.
I am passionate about the importance of natural history—the oldest continuous human endeavor—which I have defined as “a practice of intentional, focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world.” (see “Natural History and the Spiral of Offering,” in Publications) Stemming from this passion is a current project of special interest—collaborating with several colleagues around the country to create the Natural History Network--an organization to promote the essential importance of natural history, and share ideas on how to succeed with this work. Our first endeavor has been the creation of the Journal of Natural History Education, a peer-reviewed journal by and for practitioners.
Even after twenty years of teaching at Prescott College, I continue to be humbled and exhilarated by the deep commitment to both learning and the betterment of the world that students and colleagues here exhibit every day.
During the 2008-2009 academic year I have the good fortune of being on sabbatical. My year will be devoted to the practice and promotion of natural history. My own natural history practice will take me to familiar backyard trails here in the Central Highlands of Arizona, but also to such places as the Oregon Cascades, where I’ll have the honor of being a writer-in-residence at an old growth forest (the Andrews Forest Writers’ Residency), Alaska, Antarctica, and Ecuador. My efforts at communicating the critical importance of paying attention to nature will largely be channeled through the Natural History Network. I facilitated an interactive symposium on natural history with NHN colleagues at the Society for Human Ecology conference in September, and we are preparing an expanded symposium on natural history at next summer's Ecological Society of America meeting. Most exciting, I’m launching a book project, tentatively titled Precious Attention: Mindfulness and the Practice of Natural History, which will feature the voices and stories of a wide variety of authors--poets, musicians, scientists, and everything in between--describing how the practice of paying attention to nature has served their work and play.
Link to interview with Tom
Advanced Seminar in Conservation Biology
Coastal Ecology of the Gulf of California
Conservation Biology
Ideologies of Nature
Natural History and Ecology of the Southwest
Natural History of Alaska
Nature and Psyche
Nature’s Voice: Reading and Writing About Natural History
Seabird Ecology and Island Biogeography
Topics in Geography: Alaska
Ph.D., Environmental Studies. The Union Institute, 1998.
M.S., Biology. Western Washington University, 1983.
B.S., Field Biology. The Evergreen State College, 1977.
Revitalizing Natural History
Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon; November 2008
A Renaissance of Natural History in Human Ecology
(Interactive Symposium, co-facilitated with John Anderson, Joshua Tewksbury, and Saul Weisberg)
Society for Human Ecology conference, Bellingham, Washington; September 2008
Shorebird Use of Estero Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
Colorado River Delta Shorebird Workshop, Yuma, Arizona; November 2007
The Legacy and Future Visions of Conservation Biology on the Colorado Plateau
Panel Discussion Participant, Ninth Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau,
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona; October 2007
The Greatest Alchemy: The Magic of Desert Wetlands
College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine; October 2007
What Greater Treasure?: Living Water in the Desert
Keynote Address, Gila River Festival, Silver City, New Mexico; September 2007
Natural History: The Original Practice of Human Ecology
Society for Human Ecology conference, Bar Harbor, Maine; October 2006
Livestock Grazing in the American West:
A Case Study of Ecological and Sociopolitical Conflict
EcoLeague Curriculum Exchange Symposium, Society for Human Ecology conference,
Bar Harbor, Maine; October 2006
Nature Writing: The Product and the Process
Highlands Center for Natural History, Prescott, Arizona; October 2006
Why Natural History Matters
Forestry Seminar Series, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona; October 2006
An Overview of the Ecological Effects of Livestock Grazing in the Arid West
California Partners in Flight conference, Bishop, California; August 2006
Monitoring Migratory and Wintering Shorebirds at Estero Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
Shorebird Science in the Western Hemisphere conference, Boulder, Colorado; February 2006
(Poster presentation by colleague H. River Gates)
The Greatest Alchemy: Wetlands and the Arid West
Keynote address, Western Wetlands Conference, Denver, Colorado; October 2005
In the Land of Singing Stones
Everett Ruess Arts and Humanities Festival (sponsored by Utah Humanities Council), Escalante, Utah; October 2005
Desert Wetlands
Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona; September 2005
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