Plenary Speakers

Michael P. Dombeck (Sunday, 29 June)

Dr. Michael P. Dombeck

Dr. Michael P. Dombeck dedicated a quarter of a century to managing federal lands and natural resources in the long-term public interest. His leadership in the Bureau of Land Management and as former chief of the Forest Service impacted nearly 500 million acres. His legacy is one of steadfast stewardship for the land, and he is most noted for significant efforts toward watershed health and restoration, sustainable forest ecosystem management, sound forest roads and roadless area protection. As the capstone to his life-long career in public service, he was granted the highest award in federal service, the Presidential Rank - Distinguished Executive Award. Dr. Dombeck is also the recipient of the prestigious Audubon Medal and the Lady Bird Johnson Conservation Award.

Dr. Dombeck has authored, co-authored, and edited over 200 popular and scholarly publications, including the book Watershed Restoration: Principles and Practices, and most recently the book From Conquest to Conservation: Our Public Land Legacy. Dr. Dombeck now serves as GEM Pioneer Professor and University of Wisconsin System Fellow of Global Conservation. He is helping to lead the planning and development of the Global Environmental Management Education Center in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Dr. Dombeck is the recipient of a 2003 SCB Distinguished Service Award.

David Schindler (Monday, 30 June)

Dr. David W. Schindler

Dr. David W. Schindler is the Killam Memorial Professor of Ecology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. From 1968 to 1989, he founded and directed the Experimental Lakes Project of the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans near Kenora, Ontario, conducting interdisciplinary research on the effects of eutrophication, acid rain, climate change and other human insults on boreal aquatic ecosystems. His work on eutrophication and acid rain has been widely used in formulating ecological management policy in Canada, the USA and in Europe. More recently, he has studied the effects of climate warming, alien fish stocks, airborne contaminants and other human impacts on freshwaters of northern and western Canada. During his career, he has headed the International Joint Commission's Expert Committee on Ecology and Geochemistry, and the US Academy of Sciences' Committee on the Atmosphere and the Biosphere. He has served as President of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, and as a Canadian National Representative to the International Limnological Society. He is the author of over 250 scientific publications.

Dr. Schindler has received numerous national and international research awards, including Canada's highest scientific honor, the NSERC Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal for Science and Engineering (2001). Dr. Schindler is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (UK), the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering, and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Joy Zedler (Tuesday, 1 July)

Dr. Joy Zedler

Dr. Joy Zedler is the Aldo Leopold Professor of Restoration Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Botany Department and Arboretum. Dr. Zedler's research interests include restoration and wetland ecology, the role of biodiversity in ecosystem function, use of mesocosms in wetland research, invasive plants, and adaptive management. She helps edit three peer-reviewed journals (Ecological Applications, Wetlands Ecology and Management, and Ecological Engineering). As Director of Research for the UW-Madison Arboretum, she and her graduate students conduct research on ways to restore wetlands that are dominated by invasive plants. With staff at the Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory, she continues research to improve the restoration of Tijuana Estuary and other southern California coastal wetlands.

Dr. Zedler is a member of The Nature Conservancy Governing Board, the Environmental Defense Board of Trustees, Wisconsin Natural Areas Preservation Council, and several professional societies (Ecological Society of America, Society for Ecological Restoration, Society of Wetland Scientists, American Ecological Engineering Society, and Estuarine Research Federation). The Estuarine Research Federation recently honored her with the first William Niering Outstanding Educator Award.

Jane Lubchenco (Wednesday, 2 July)

Dr. Jane Lubchenco

Dr. Jane Lubchenco is the Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and a Distinguished Professor of Zoology at Oregon State University. She is an environmental scientist and marine ecologist who is actively engaged in research, synthesis and communication of scientific knowledge. Her expertise includes coastal oceans, biodiversity, global warming, and sustainability. She is President of the International Council for Science, a Past President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the National Science Board. She co-founded and leads the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program that teaches outstanding environmental scientists to be more effective communicators of scientific information. She and her husband Bruce Menge head the $20 million, 4-university consortium called the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) that studies the dynamics of the marine ecosystem along the west coast of the US.

Dr. Lubchenco is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Lubchenco has received numerous awards including a MacArthur Fellowship, a Pew Fellowship, and the 2002 Heinz Award in the Environment. Dr. Lubchenco is also the recipient of a 2003 SCB Distinguished Service Award.