Short Bio:
I am a second-year graduate student in Colorado State University’s new Master of Natural Resources Stewardship program, a non-thesis applied masters program designed for early to mid - career natural resource professionals.  My concentration within the program is restoration ecology, which stems from my interest and work experience over the last 11 years with invasive species on public lands. Prior to entering graduate school in 2007, I was a resource management specialist/planner for the National Park Service at Dinosaur National Monument for 4 ½ years.  I am fortunate to be able to continue to work for the National Park Service WASO Biological Resource Management Division Endangered Species Program while in graduate school.  I am originally from Ohio and received my undergraduate degree from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University in 1996. 

• Restoration ecology, international development, sustainable design, protected area management, community-based conservation

• I began my career with the City of Boulder, Colorado Open Space and Mountain Parks Department in 1997 doing a diversity of field work involving invasive species, endangered species, wildlife monitoring, and volunteer coordination.  In 2002 I was a private lands conservation biologist for Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, a non-profit bird conservation organization, where I worked with ranchers in the shortgrass prairie region on habitat improvement projects via federal Farm Bill and state conservation incentive programs.  I have worked for the National Park Service since 2003 – in Dinosaur National Monument as a weed management planner through 2006 and currently for the Biological Resource Management Division located here in Fort Collins, CO.

• U.S. Department of Interior. 2007. Using the Wilderness Minimum Requirement Decision Guide in Invasive Plant Management: River Corridor Management Plan for Dinosaur National Monument.  National Park Service. Dinosaur National Monument, Dinosaur, CO.  19 pp. + app.

• U.S. Department of Interior. 2006. Dinosaur National Monument Invasive Plant Management Plan and Environmental Assessment. National Park Service. Dinosaur National Monument, Dinosaur, CO. 250 pp. + app.   http://www.nps.gov/dino/parkmgmt/index.htm

• I enjoy traveling, being on or near big desert rivers, reading, eating good food, birding, exploring national parks, and listening to NPR with a bottomless cup of tea.

• Spencer Resume