Wildlife Biologist Assumes Mexican Wolf Coordinator Position

The Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator serves as the Service's lead scientist in the endangered wolf's recovery and reintroduction and recommends and interprets policy at the federal level.  The wolf program is a collaborative partnership among several state and federal agencies, Native American tribes and county governments. Arizona Game and Fish Department, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, and White Mountain Apache Tribe have the lead for on-the-ground management in their respective states and tribal land; the Service is the lead for initiating, conducting, and supporting programs for the recovery of threatened and endangered species.

 

"John is the quintessential research scientist and an accomplished leader who has successfully overseen a multi-agency, international recovery effort that involves state, federal, university, and Mexican partners," said H. Dale Hall, Director of the Service's Southwest Region.  "These are skills that will serve the wolf program well."

 

Dr. Morgart moved from southwestern Arizona where he was the wildlife biologist at the Service's Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge for five years.  Cabeza Prieta is the third-largest national wildlife refuge in the contiguous United States at 860,000 acres and plays a central role in recovery efforts for the endangered Sonoran pronghorn. As the Sonoran Pronghorn Recovery Coordinator, Morgart headed a collaborative team that included scientists from nearly a dozen entities spanning both sides of the border.  The team took an aggressive approach to avert pronghorn population declines.  Pronghorn have been transplanted from Mexico, more water access areas were constructed, enhanced foraging plots were expanded, areas were closed to visitors during the fawning season, and a semi-captive breeding program was established on the refuge.  Managing natural resources and recovering such a highly sensitive animal alongside an international border has been compounded by drought and increasing levels of drug smuggling and illegal cross-border traffic.

 

Morgart holds a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Arizona, and a M.S. in Zoology and a B.S. in Wildlife Biology, both from Arizona State University.  He is active in The Wildlife Society and several ornithological professional societies.  He is the author of numerous wildlife research reports and is a frequent presenter at professional conferences.  Morgart joined the Service in August 1987 to work as the Supervisory Wildlife Biologist at the 19 million acre Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska after spending several years working as a biologist in the southwest.

 

Morgart and his wife, Liz, have one girl named Jonnie, aged 13, and a ten year old boy named William.

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Author:   GunMuse       Date:   Sunday Nov 14 2004 07:13:17 am