Short Bio:
James hails originally from the foothills of northwestern North Carolina.  After college he shifted from neuroscientist to conservationist, and spent the following year learning practical conservation skills. James joined the Nevada Conservation Corps and worked on restoration crew projects with the NPS, BLM, US Forest Service and more.  This experience enlightened James to the complex relationship between governmental, NPO land agencies, and the public at large. It also helped James genesis the land trust-specific corps concept. 
He now resides in Vermont and is completing a master’s degree in the Field Naturalist Program at the University of Vermont.  James wants to derive ecologically and economically sustainable solutions that create momentum, both for conservationists and the public at large. His master’s project has been to design a service-learning model that can simultaneously 1) Provide land agencies with affordable, advanced stewardship support and 2) Provide a training opportunity for undergraduates. When he's not dreaming about saving the world, James enjoys pickin', an occasional homebrew, and doing all things naturalist.

• Conservation leadership, integrative landscape analysis, private land conservation, working landscapes, biodiversity, and community development.

• The Land Stewardship Program Coordinator                

                                                                                       Jan 2007 – Present
           Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, UVM                                                        

o       Thesis: Designed pilot program that serves land trusts and towns through an intern team.
o       Developed 9-week curriculum based on Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices.
o       Established partnerships with 6 regional land conservation agencies and assessed their needs.
o       Led summer pilot: supervised 8 interns, managed projects, communicated with partners.

• Teaching Assistant                                                             Aug 2006 – Present

             Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, UVM        
    o       Currently teach terrestrial wildlife lab to natural resource majors.
    o       Taught various undergraduate field and lab courses.

·                 Environmental Restoration Crew Member                 Aug 2005 – Feb 2006                                           Nevada Conservation Corps, Great Basin Institute, Reno, NV
o       Completed projects contracted by federal and state agencies with a conservation crops.
o       Applied restoration techniques including fuel-load reduction, illegal road decommission, invasive species removal, re-vegetating, and more.
o       Gained intimate knowledge of Sierra Nevada, Mojave, and Great Basin desert ecosystems.

·          Neurobiology Research Technician                                   June 2004 – Aug 2005                                        Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
o       Responsible for all aspects of laboratory function, including supervising undergraduate researchers.
o       Conducted toxicological research on the effects of the pesticide malathion on zebrafish (Danio rerio).

• James Barnes “LANDS: Serving Land Trusts -- Training the Next Generation”
  A report to the Land Trust Alliance and the Student Conservation Association (in preparation)

• Enjoying the outdoors, gardening, making music.

• Barnes Resume