Wildlife Conservation, Habitat Preservation, and Animal Welfare Across Oregon
Time: Noon to 1:15 pm
Venue: Maple Room, Inn at the 5th, Market District
205 E 6th Ave
Eugene, Oregon
97401
Enter the Maple Room at Inn at the 5th near the north stairs to 5th Avenue. Details at https://cityclubofeugene.org/see-you-at-our-new-meeting-space/. An optional lunch will be available from Magpie Coffee Shop; please, no outside food. Park in the lot north of the railroad tracks on High or park west of Market Square on 5th.
Ask a question of the speakers! info@cityclubofeugene.org
Topic:
From the Coast to the Valley, the Cascades to the High Desert ranges of Eastern Oregon, our state is blessed with extraordinary ecosystems that support an array of flora and fauna. Today, those ecosystems – and the life that rely on them – face a multitude of threats, including from climate change that is rapidly reshaping our environment.
We’ll welcome leaders from three local organizations doing extraordinary work around wildlife conservation, habitat preservation, and animal welfare to discuss these challenges, as well as to describe the opportunities they see for involving Oregonians young and old in efforts to preserve and protect our precious planet.
Photo by Mark Logan
Speakers
Title: Bird Curator
Organization: Cascades Raptor Center
Website: https://cascadesraptorcenter.org/
Biography:
Kit Lacy completed a master’s degree in biology at the University of Oregon, publishing papers on social behavior and communication in Caribbean Iguanas. Kit began volunteering at Cascades Raptor Center while also teaching college biology. After a major career shift and many years at the center, she now oversees both the ambassador animal collection and rehabilitation cases at Cascades. Kit is passionate about improving the quality of life for all raptors in human care through positive reinforcement training. She is currently board president of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (IAATE) and has served as a board member since 2013.
She presents papers on training, leads workshops and webinars, acts as a mentor to other trainers and a consultant to other facilities, and teaches ambassadors the Cascades’ criteria for selection of non-releasable raptors. She has also presented at the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council conference on age-appropriate education. Most recently she shared information with Washington rehabilitators on the Raptor Center’s reunification protocol for young raptors.
Title: Executive Director
Organization: McKenzie River Trust
Website: https://mckenzieriver.org/
Biography:
Joe Moll has been Executive Director of McKenzie River Trust since 2005. He has been a member of the Oregon Water Resources Commission since 2018. Joe began his career in conservation in the early 1990’s, working with bears and people in Montana and in Hokkaido, Japan. Since that time, he has been intrigued by a basic conundrum of those working in conservation: How best do we live in and love a place without loving it to death?
Title: Curator of Wildlife
Organization: High Desert Museum
Website: https://highdesertmuseum.org/
Biography:
Raised in Oregon, Curator of Wildlife Jon Nelson has worked with wildlife at the High Desert Museum since 2009 and became the leader of the wildlife team in 2015. He holds a bachelor of science degree in natural resource policy from Oregon State University-Cascades and has worked as a field biologist, conducting wildlife monitoring of highway undercrossing structures, raptor lead poisoning studies in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, scavenger ecology dynamics, and carnivore surveys.
At the Museum, Jon is instrumental in connecting to the Museum’s nearly 200,000 visitors per year about what they can do to help conserve habitats and species in the High Desert region. He leads the care of more than 100 animal ambassadors at the Museum and guides both public-facing and behind-the-scenes programs.
