The Future of Conservation in America
Speaker Information
Dr. Gary E. Machlis is Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Clemson University and Former Science Advisor to the Director, U.S. National Park Service (NPS). He was the first scientist appointed to this position within the NPS, and advised the director on a range of science policy issues and programs. Dr. Machlis also served as co-Leader of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Strategic Sciences Group, which conducts scientific assessments during major environmental crises. Dr. Machlis previously served as Professor of Conservation and Interim Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Idaho, and been a visiting professor at Nanjing Technological College in China and at Yale University. Dr. Machlis received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Washington in Seattle, and his Ph.D. in human ecology from Yale. He has written numerous books and scientific papers on issues of conservation and sustainability, including The State of the World’s Parks (1985), the
first systematic study of threats to protected areas around the world and Warfare Ecology: A New Synthesis for Peace and Security, was published by Springer in 2011. His research has been published in journals as varied as Bioscience, Climatic Change, Conservation Biology, Society and Natural Resources, and Science.
The role of nature in urban America and its provision of vital ecosystem services has largely focused on populations of relative affluence and recognition. Sustainability practice and policy do not commonly reflect the needs and challenges of the oft-forgotten: the poorest of the poor, the chronic underclass, victims of natural hazards, refugees, and the politically oppressed. Yet practical and effective policies and practices can be implemented that help improve life quality, living conditions, and ultimately the health of these classes or persons, expanding both social justice and the sustainability of urban America.