Speakers

Speakers

Andy Moldenke

is a Senior Research Professor in Oregon State's Department of
Botany and Plant Pathology.  He specializes in the interactions between
plants and insects, including research on pollination in Oregon, where he
leads teams of students in studying bees every summer.

Cameron Bishop

is a Natural Resources Specialist for the Army Corps of Engineers Willamette Valley Project and a graduate of the U of O Biology program.  He has conducted wildlife monitoring and management for the Corps of Engineers for 5 years and has participated in U. S. Forest Service and BLM efforts to inventory and monitor bats in Oregon and Washington through the Northwest Bat Grid program.

City of Eugene Outdoor Program Staff

Dave Walp

grew up in Blue River, roaming the rivers and woods of the Cascades.  He has worked as a certified river guide and licensed trapper in between careers with the Northwest Outward Bound School and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.  He now teaches about outdoor skills and wildlife for a variety of local organizations including; University of Oregon and City of Eugene Outdoor Programs, West Eugene Wetlands and Nearby Nature.  He also spends his “free” time volunteering in a number of ways for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Dennis Arendt

taught birding identification for 20 years at Lane Community College and was an elementary school principal for 20 years. He started birding 1974 in Chicago and has traveled to Europe, Africa, Central and South America on birding trips.

Jill Hubbard

is a long-time Eugene birder, field trip leader and team leader for the Eugene Christmas Bird Count (which is the 3rd largest in North and Central America).

John Sullivan

grew up in Nebraska where he was introduced to birding by his
father. He began birding seriously in 1989 while volunteering for Raptor
Recovery Nebraska and his passion for birding has only increased since. He
and his wife Laura Johnson moved to the Willamette Valley in 2001 where they
currently live and enjoy birding and exploring the Northwest.

Kevin Roth

is a Fish and Wildlife Senior Technician and Assistant Manager of the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area. He has been with the ODFW for 10 years with the majority of the time spent on the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area conducting wetland/upland restoration activities for the benefit of all species.

Kris Kirkeby

is a Lane Audubon Board member and scientific illustrator. She developed the "Audubon in the Schools" program that teaches drawing techniques to school children using bird specimens as models. This popular program reaches thousands of children in Lane County schools.

Laura Johnson

is a local small animal veterinarian.  Nature has always been
her greatest passion; she started birding seriously in 1989, when a graduate
course in ornithology (in Illinois) increased her depth of appreciation for
and fascination with birds.  She and her husband, John Sullivan, have now
been in Oregon for 10 years and have thoroughly enjoyed exploring and birding
the state.

Louise Shimmel

founder and director of Cascades Raptor Center, a Eugene nature center and wildlife hospital specializing in birds of prey.  For 20 years, Louise has been sharing her fascination with the natural world with all ages, presenting hundreds of classroom programs, leading field trips at the center, and teaching classes in wildlife rehabilitation.

Noah Stryker

is an avid birder, author, photographer and seeker of adventure when birds are involved. He has traveled to remote locations to study birds and is author of the recently released “Among Penguins.” Raised near Eugene, he is spending a couple of months in the area prior to hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

Rick Ahrens

local nature guide and volunteer for Mt Pisgah Arboretum, Nearby Nature, West Eugene Wetlands, Cascades Raptor Center, ODFW and Lane County Audubon Society. Rick has been a nature guide volunteer for the past 20 years, has birded on 7 continents and started his love of birding early in life when his grandmother taught Rick and his brother about the birds near their home.

Roberta Swift

is a wildlife biologist with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fern Ridge Lake. She studies non-game wildlife species at Willamette Valley reservoirs and works to improve wildlife habitat. In past lives Roberta has contributed to research, conservation, and management of fish and wildlife species around the country.

Tom and Allison Mickel

have been birding since the mid-1970's when they met at OSU. Since then they have been active in the local birding community with both Oregon Field Ornithologists and Lane County Audubon (LCAS). They compile the Field Notes column in The Quail, the publication of LCAS, and have contributed chapters in other birding publications. Tom led field trips for the American Birding Association convention in Eugene in 2003 and has been a Christmas Bird Count leader for at least two decades!

Vjera Thompson

is an avid local birder who contributed to the publication, Birds of Lane County. She started birding at 14 and was on the board of Oregon Field Ornithologists while in high school. Vjera often birds with her husband while bicycling the many bike trails around Eugene and Springfield.

Wes Messinger

is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers botanist who works for the
recovery of endangered species and manages native plant communities to
benefit fish, wildlife, and ecosystem processes.