2000 Speakers & Presenters

| Mary Jo Barkaszi | Dr. Gian Basili | Shane Belson | Ann Birch | | Dave Breininger | Judy Buhrman | Rich Burklew | Sandra Clinger | Buck and Linda Cooper | Robert A. Day | Gretchen Ehlinger | Llew Ehrhart | Marc Epstein | Teresa Fiorillo | Keith Fisher | Marty Folk | Dot Freeman | Warren Frost | Dr. R. Grant Gilmore | David Goodwin | Dr. Paul Gray | Dr. Jack P. Hailman | Ross Hinkle | Carroll Holland | Mike Knight | Mike Legare | Lorne K. Malo | Dr. Joe Michael Meyers | Larry McAdami | Raymond Mojica | Arthur Morris | Steve Nesbitt | Dick Novier | Richard T. Paul | Bill Pranty | Zachary Prusak | Kurt Radamaker | Harry Robinson | Bob and Martha Sargent | Paul A. Schmalzer | Ann F. Schnapf | Mark D. Sees | Lisa Smith | Lee F. Snyder | John Stiner | Eugene Stoccardo | Doug Stuckey | Joanna Taylor | Dr. Walter K. Taylor | Cindy Thompson | Peter Tritaik | Dorn Whitmore | Glen E. Woolfenden |

MARY JO BARKASZI
After a long educational stint involving extensive studies of seagrass beds, Mary Jo became the marine mammal stranding coordinator for the Central East Coast of Florida. She also worked as a conservation biologist for the NASA environmental contract on Kennedy Space Center. Some of her work at the Space Center included documenting seagrass responses to manatee grazing exclusion; and seagrass studies during a "soft release" program where captive manatees were reintroduced to the wild after acclimating in large holding pens in the Indian River Lagoon. Mary Jo now operates her own ecological consulting/research firm, ECOES Inc. She is a great proponent of seagrass protection and public education about this unique ecosystem.
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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SHANE BELSON
Shane Belson is a Park Biologist with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection at Tosohatchee State Reserve. Shane recently completed his master's degree on red-headed woodpecker use of habitat at Wekiwa Springs State Park. He is currently involved in a long-term fall bird migration study involving mist netting.
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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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ANNE BIRCH
Anne Birch is the Manager for Brevard County's Environmentally Endangered Lands Program. Anne is responsible for directing the EEL Program's land acquisition projects, development and implementation of sanctuary management plans, volunteer and public access programs and universal design planning for persons with physical disabilities. She is currently overseeing the design and development of four management and education centers.
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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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JUDITH BUHRMAN
Judith Buhrman is a consultant on Florida Native plant landscaping, a nature guide and a freelance writer who lives in Seminole, Florida. She organized the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society in 1990 and served on the board of directors of the FNPS from 1991-1997 in several capacities. Judith has written several articles that have appeared in Bird Watcher's Digest. She has been a volunteer for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Whooping Crane Project since 1996 and has participated in many whooping crane releases at Overstreet Ranch.
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RICH BURKLEW
Rich Burklew has worked as a Hydrologist at the St. Johns River Water Management District for over nine years. He supervises the consumptive use permitting and compliance staff in the Palm Bay Service Center. Their goal is to promote reuse, ensure proper well construction, and encourage water conservation among large water uses and prudent management of our water resources in the southeastern area of the District. Rich previously worked as a consulting hydrogoelogist for a mineral sands mining company and several consulting firms. Rich is a registered professional geologist.
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SANDRA CLINGER
Sandra Clinger is the East Central Florida Regional Coordinator for Save the Manatee Club and works on manatee protection issues in Brevard, Volusia and Indian River Counties. Sandra has been working on manatee conservation issues in the Indian River Lagoon for the past 8 years. Save the Manatee club, established in 1981, is a membership supported non-profit whose mission is to raise public awareness, to educate, to support research, rescue, and rehabilitation efforts, to advocate, and to take legal action for the protection of manatees and their habitat. Save the Manatee Club established a regional office in Brevard due to the importance of this area of the Indian River Lagoon for manatees.
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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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ROBERT A. DAY
Bob Day is presently an Environmental Specialist with the St. Johns River Water Management District - Indian River Lagoon (IRL) Program. The Program is a continuation of the IRL's National Estuary Program where Bob was Project Scientist. Following the completion of the initial phase of the national program and its merger with the IRL SWIM Program, Bob continues to be involved in projects and programs implementing the IRL Comprehensive Conservation and Management plan and the IRL SWIM Plan.
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GRETCHEN EHLINGER
Originally from Minnesota, Gretchen is currently a doctoral student at Florida Tech in Ecology and Conservation Biology. She has been studying the horseshoe crabs in the Indian River Lagoon since January 1998. Canaveral National Seashore and the National Park Service are funding this study and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and NASA are providing much assistance in this study.
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LLEWELLYN M. EHRHART
University of Central Florida Professor Llew Ehrhart has been studying sea turtles on Florida's East Coast for a long time. He began a major research endeavor, funded by NASA, studying vertebrate ecology at the Kennedy Space Center in 1973. The emphasis of his research shifted almost entirely to sea turtle biology and conservation by 1976 and he continued to work on the beaches and lagoons of KSC through 1981. The geographic focus of his research shifted to south Brevard County in 1982. That work led directly to the creation of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, in 1990. Llew served on the first U.S. Sea Turtle Recovery Team (responsible for creation of the U.S. Governments plan for recovery of marine turtle stocks) and in other advisory capacities for the state and federal government. Later he served as Team Leader of the governments Green Turtle/Loggerhead Recovery Team, which completed updated Recovery Plans for the two species. In recent years LME has been an invited, keynote speaker at the Interuniversity Congress on Marine Turtles of Mexico, (Jalisco, Mexico), the annual meeting of the Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation (also in Orlando). He continues to work in the field, on the beach and in the water, at the Carr Refuge and teaches vertebrate zoology and environmental biology at the University of Central Florida, Orlando.
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MARC EPSTEIN
Marc Epstein is the Wildlife Biologist at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and a former Florida Statewide Coordinator for Wetlands Wildlife Management. Marc has specialized in coastal wetland wildlife ecology since coming to Florida in 1985.
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TERESA FIORILLO
Longtime Titusville resident and Indian River Audubon member, Teresa Fiorillo, is an Environmental Engineer for the U.S. Navy. She works for the Naval Ordinance Test Unit at the Kennedy Space Center and laughingly says she is trying to raise the Navy's environmental awareness. Teresa has been analyzing water samples in the Indian River Lagoon for the Marine Resources Council for years in addition to working at the Enchanted Forest. She journeys up to the Shiloh Marshes regularly and calls the Blue Heron created wetlands her second home
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KEITH FISHER
Keith Fisher has been working for the Department of Environmental Protection of the State of Florida for 7 years. He was the Park Biologist for Tosohatchee State Reserve until 1998 when he became manager of the St. Sebastian River Buffer Preserve.
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MARTY FOLK
Marty Folk is a wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He works with all aspects regarding the release and monitoring of Whooping Cranes in Central Florida. Marty did his graduate work on Mid-continent Sandhill Cranes in the North Platte River Valley of Nebraska. So, he's had the good fortune to have studied the most abundant crane species on earth (sandhill crane) and the most endangered one (whooping crane). He keeps up with the cranes by means of a tiny radio transmitter attached to a leg band. The cranes can be tracked for up to 3 miles on land and up to 40 miles from air craft. Marty spends 50 to 75 % of his time in the field with the cranes.
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DOT FREEMAN
Dot Freeman is a charter member of the Florida Ornithological Society and is a contributor to its journal, The Florida Field Naturalist. She served as Central Florida Editor for the North American Birds publication. While serving as Special Projects Chairman of Orange Audubon, she established bird surveys at Wekiva Springs State Park, Tossahatchee State Reserve and other state lands in Orange, Seminole and Lake Counties. For the past 6 years she has taught birding courses for Elderhostel in Winter Park.
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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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DR. R. GRANT GILMORE
Dr. R. Grant Gilmore has been studying the fish community and ecology of the Indian River Lagoon and Caribbean Sea for the past 31 years. He has published over 50 technical and popular papers on fish ecology and life history including reproductive habits of spotted seatrout, groupers, and sharks. He has appeared on 12 nationally and internationally televised programs. His appearances include programs on the Discovery Channel, and the National Geographic Ocean Science Documentary on the first American research expedition into Cuban waters since the revolution. Dr. Gilmore pioneered the sound transect technique of isolating spawning populations of spotted seatrout, black drum and silver perch. Dr. Gilmore joined the Dynamac Corporation on December 30, 1998 after spending 27 years with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution at Fort Pierce, Florida.
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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. PAUL GRAY
Dr. Paul Gray is Manager of Audubon's Kissimmee Prairie and Lake Okeechobee Sanctuaries since 1994. His duties include Land Management, Wetland and Upland Restoration projects, coordinating research on Sanctuaries, Environmental Education, and Environmental Policy work. He spent three years as Supervisor of the South Florida Field Station of the Waterfowl Management Section of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Dr. Gray has worked on numerous research projects on Songbirds, Pesticides, Waterfowl, and Bats.
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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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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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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 upcoming 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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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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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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LARRY McADAM
Larry McAdam is presently an oceanography and meteorology instructor and planetarium Director at Seminole Community College in Sanford, Florida.
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RAYMOND MOJICA
Raymond Mojica has been a Land Manager with the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program since 1999 where he manages 300 acres of dune, coastal strand and maritime hammock within the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. Ray has worked in Volusia County restoring salt marshes within the Canaveral National seashore and in the Bahamas conducting fisheries and coral research.
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ARTHUR MORRIS
Internationally noted bird photographer and author. Mr. Morris' technically perfect, artistically designed images appear regularly in Natural History, Birder's World, Wildbird, Nature Photographer, Outdoor Photographer, and countless other magazines, books, and calendars. He has been a Canon contract photographer since 1995, and is the author/photographer of several books including "Bird Photography Pure and Simple" and "Shorebirds: Beautiful Beachcombers." His latest book, "The Art of Bird Photography; The Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques" has become an instant classic.
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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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DICK NOVIER
Dick Novier learned about wildlife in upstate New York, both as a duck hunter and as a New York state trooper. As happened with many a hunter before him, the love of the outdoors began to fit better with bird study and observation than with bird shooting and eating. In 1987 he put down the guns and picked up the binoculars. Their loss and our gain! The following year, Dick took early retirement and he and wife Pam moved to Brevard County, Florida. Again their loss, and our gain. A whole new world of birds opened up for Dick, and now he is one of the most active and respected birders in the county. For the last 4 years, he has been involved in Florida Scrub Jay research as well as leading tours to the Dry Tortugas for Florida Nature Tours, and still finds time to chase rare birds all over the state and country. Join up with "The Big Buteo" for a fun time.
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RICHARD T. PAUL
Richard T. Paul is the Manager/Biologist of the National Audubon Society's Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries. He has studied colonial waterbird populations and particularly the ecology of the Reddish Egret in Texas and Florida. He worked for the National Audubon Society's Field Research Department in Tavernier, Florida, before moving to Tampa in 1980. Rich has broad experience in colonial waterbirds, coastal habitats, and wetlands protection efforts in Florida. Rich has studied colonial waterbirds in Thailand, the Bahamas, the Central Pacific, Mexico, and Galapagos. He manages colonial waterbird protection efforts in Clearwater Harbor, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, and Lake Worth.
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BILL PRANTY
Bill Pranty was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but has lived in Florida since 1978. He recently worked on the breeding biology of the federally endangered Florida Grasshopper Sparrow at Avon Park Air Force Range. Bill is the coordinator for the Florida Important Bird Areas program for the National Audubon Society. Bill has been birding since the age of 14, and in 1996, the American Birding Association published his book, "A Birder's Guide to Florida." He has authored or co-authored numerous scientific articles on birds. Bill is a member of the Florida Ornithological Society, Wilson Ornithological Society, American Birding Association, and The Nature Conservancy. Bill is also a judge for the Festival Birding Competition.
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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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HARRY ROBINSON
Harry was born in England and has birded throughout that country since boyhood. Back home he is well known as one of the editors of the annual report of the birds of the Isles of Scilly. In Dec. 1987, he made his first trip to the U.S., getting off the plane in Orlando just in time to teem up with Wes Biggs for a number of Christmas bird counts. He came back for another visit the next May and moved here for good in Nov. 1998. Harry didn't waste any time making a name for himself in Florida; his reports of near shore pelagics from coastal Volusia County for several years were unprecedented. Starting on Aug.15, 1998 Harry began what is probably the most intensive and successful avian population survey in Florida history. Twice a week for 11-13 hours a day he covers an 8800 acre area owned by the St. Johns River Water Management District on the North shore of Lake Apopka. In this area long known to birders as Zellwood, he has observed 284 species of birds, earning the respect and admiration of his colleagues, and the Bob Owens award from the District for his outstanding volunteer efforts. A field trip with "Sir Harry" will be a unique experience, to say the least!
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BOB AND MARTHA SARGENT
Bob and Martha Sargent are nationally known experts on the lives of North America's hummingbirds. They are licensed bird banders specializing in the banding of Hummingbirds. They are authors of books, scientific publications as well as popular magazine and newspaper articles. They have been involved in organized birding for 16 years and have been bird banders for 12 years. The Sargent's are authors of the newly released and highly successful book Ruby-throated Hummingbird from Stackpole Books. The Sargent's are founders and directors of The Hummer/Bird Study Group, Inc., a 1700 member non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of hummingbirds and other Neo-tropical migrant birds. Under the funding of this organization they operate a seasonal banding station at Fort Morgan, Alabama. In addition to their banding at Fort Morgan, they operate a banding site at their home near Trussville, Alabama. They are leaders in the pioneering study of wintering hummingbirds and they travel over 20,000 miles each winter to capture, identify, band, and document these more rare species that are found in the eastern United States. Their efforts have resulted in the identification and documentation of some 38 first state records representing 11 different species of the hummingbird family. Bob and Martha are past president and treasurer of the Alabama Ornithological society and are members of GOS, MOS, TOS, and FOS. They are members of the Ornithological Societies of North America. Mostly, they are just like all of you, THEY SIMPLY LOVE BIRDS.
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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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ANN F. SCHNAPF
Ann F. Schnapf has worked as the Assistant Manager of Audubon's Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries since 1991, managing coastal bird nesting colonies. She received her undergraduate degree in biology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and her master's degree in biology from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She has also worked for the Texas Nature Conservancy as Assistant Land Steward managing nature preserves to protect rare species and for Hillsborough County's Resource Management office which manages conservation lands purchased through the County's Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program. She is past president of the Tampa Audubon Society and current serves as Vice President of the Florida Ornithological Society.
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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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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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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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EUGENE STOCCARDO
Eugene started birding in Central Florida 15 years ago and quickly became known as one of the best observers in Florida. He has conducted breeding surveys of island nesting colonies, and has led tours for Florida Nature Tours for several years. Eugene is involved with a number of Florida conservation organizations and is active in efforts to check urban sprawl in the Central Florida area. His knowledge of Florida native plants and ecology adds another dimension to the experience of being in the field with Eugene.
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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 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Currently, she manages the refuge Visitor Center, volunteer program and public use activities on the refuge. 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. Walter K. Taylor is a native of Kentucky, but has spent the past 31 years in Florida. This year will begin Dr. Taylor's 32nd year as Professor of Biology at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Taylor teaches Ornithology, Biodiversity, Invertebrate Zoology, Zoogeography, and Florida Wildflowers. Dr. Taylor's two highly acclaimed books on Florida wildflowers, The Guide to Florida Wildflowers (1992 Taylor Publishing Co., Dallas, TX) and Florida Wildflowers in Their Natural Communities (1998, University Press of Florida, Gainesville), are possessed and used by many thousands of folk. Dr. Taylor is a judge for the Festival Birding Competition.
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CINDY THOMPSON
Cindy came to Florida in 1989 to go birding and ended up taking several season jobs with the National Audubon Society and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Cindy began working on the conservation efforts for the red-cockaded woodpecker in 1991 with the Forest Service at Osceola National Forest in 1991. Since 1994, she has been working for the Fish and Wildlife Service at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, managing cluster populations of this fascinating endangered woodpecker.
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PAUL TRITAIK
Paul Tritaik is the Refuge Manager of both Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (since 1993) and Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. At Pelican Island NWR, Paul is currently involved in habitat restoration activities for the island's nesting pelicans and wading birds. Additionally, he is heavily involved in developing new facilities for Pelican Island for the 100th anniversary of the national wildlife refuge system in the year 2003. At Archie Carr NWR, Paul has been actively involved in acquiring beachfront land in the interests of protection of endangered sea turtles and beach nesting habitat.
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DORN WHITMORE
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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GLEN E. WOOLFENDEN
Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at the University of South Florida, Tampa, and Research Biologist at Archbold Biological Station near Lake Placid, Florida, Glen became interested in birds as a youth and made their study part of his profession. In recent years he has studied the behavior and ecology of the Florida scrub jay with many colleagues, and, with William B. Robertson, the Sooty Tern. Past president of the American Ornithologists' Union and the Florida Ornithological Society, he has received several awards including the Brewster Medal of the American Ornithologists' Union and a Distinguished Animal Behaviorist award from the Animal Behavior Society.
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