Dr. John Morton is an avian ecologist with expertise in American black ducks, sanderlings, and Mariana crows. His current interests are climate change adaptation, inventory and monitoring design, and the effects of human disturbance on wildlife. Graduate studies he has supported recently include shorebird use of Chickaloon Flats, behavior and distribution of American marten, terrestrial arthropod diversity, response to climate change by the National Wildlife Refuge System, distribution and abundance of exotic earthworms, and residential perspectives of brown and black bears on the Kenai Peninsula.

email: john_m_morton@fws.gov 

Mark Laker is an ecologist with expertise in fish biology, limnology, data management, application development, and geographic information systems (GIS). He is currently developing a web based system to provide public access to Refuge biological inventory and monitoring data. Additional interests include using aquatic inventories and remote sensing data to classify aquatic resources on the Refuge. Mark earned his M.S. in Fisheries Biology from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

e-mail: mark_laker@fws.gov 

Dr. Elizabeth Bella is a vegetation ecologist with interests in invasive plant biology, landscape vegetation dynamics, systematic botany, and climate change effects to northern ecosystems. She is currently investigating the application of historical legacy data to enhance understanding of current and future vegetation trends, potential tree growth on the Kenai Peninsula in a changing climate, and assisting with DNA barcoding.

e-mail: elizabeth_bella@fws.gov 

Nathan Olson is a wildlife biologist and airplane pilot with interests in big game management, predator prey relationships, human/wildlife interactions in the urban environment, and wildlife habitat use patterns. He is an experienced natural resource pilot with skills ranging from logistic support for field camps to dip netting swans from float equipped aircraft. Nate earned his BS from the University of Montana in Missoula.
email: nathan_olson@fws.gov

Dr. Dawn Magness is a landscape ecologist interested in climate change adaptation, landscape planning, ecological services, and spatial modeling. She earned her M.S. in Fish and Wildlife Science at Texas A & M University and her Ph.D. in the interdisciplinary Resilience and Adaptation Program at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Her current projects use multiple methods to assess ecosystem vulnerability to inform strategic adaptation planning. She has conducted research on songbirds, flying squirrels, and American marten.

email: dawn_magness@fws.gov 

Matt Bowser has interests in biotic inventories and monitoring, insect ecology, exotic earthworms, DNA barcoding as an identification tool, faunistics of Alaskan terrestrial arthropods, management of natural history collections, botany, and systematics of bristletails. Matt is currently the president of the Alaska Entomological Society.

e-mail: matt_bowser@fws.gov 

Todd Eskelin provides general support for both the Refuge Biology Program and game management issues including Federal subsistence, black bear baiting, and other recreational game harvest. Todd has 20 years of experience surveying and banding birds throughout Alaska. He currently reviews all eBird entries from the Kenai Peninsula Borough, and maintains bird records for both the Refuge and the Kenai Peninsula.

e-mail: todd_eskelin@fws.gov 

Toby Burke provides general support for the Refuge Biology Program including conducting surveys of breeding trumpeter swans and snowshoe hares, and helping to manage invasive plants as a certified herbicide applicator. With expertise in the identification and distribution of birds in Alaska, Toby contributes data to the North American Breeding Bird Survey and Alaska Landbird Monitoring System, helps coordinate the local Christmas Bird Count, and leads field trips as part of the Kenai Birding Festival and Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival.

e-mail: toby_burke@fws.gov