Urban wildlife ecology expert to speak at Clemson

CLEMSON – An expert in urban wildlife ecology, Charles Nilon is coming to Clemson University to talk about Urban Biodiversity, Everyday Nature and Environmental Justice.

Nilon will be on campus from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Nov. 1 in the Lehotsky Hall Auditorium, Room G22, Clemson, SC 29634. Doors open at 3:45 p.m. This event is free to the public.

Jared Chrisp, one of the student organizers of this event, said Nilon’s visit is part of the Clemson Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation’sMargaret H. Lloyd Environmental Lecture Series. Nilon’s visit is supported by Rob Baldwin, Margaret H. Lloyd – SmartState Endowment chair for Clemson.

Shari Rodriguez, an assistant professor of human dimensions and wildlife, arranged for Nilon’s visit.

“Dr. Nilon’s work is influential in the fields of wildlife ecology and in the human dimensions of wildlife,” Rodriguez said. “He has a vast knowledge of wildlife, ecology and social sciences, which all are important for addressing contemporary wildlife management and conservation issues, particularly in urban settings.”

Nilon is a professor of fisheries and wildlife at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. He has a doctorate in ecology and wildlife ecology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He earned a master’s of forest science with an emphasis on wildlife from Yale University. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Morehouse College.

Nilon was awarded Ecological Society of America’s Commitment to Human Diversity in Ecology Award in 2014. He co-founded the ESA’s Environmental Justice section and helped design the SEEDS program, the largest organization of professional ecologists.

In addition to being a professor, other positions Nilon has worked in include: a wildlife biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation, a research forester trainee for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, an assistant professor at Morehouse College, Urban Wildlife Program Coordinator at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and an assistant and an associate professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

His research and teaching center on wildlife ecology and conservation in urban areas. His focus includes an area called human dimensions of wildlife management which looks at how people perceive and interact with wildlife.

For more information about this event, contact Chrisp at chrisp2@g.clemson.edu.

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