Kurt Fausch, a well-known conservation biologist, conducted a seminar titled “Linked for Life: The importance of sustaining hidden connections for conservation in streams" on Feb. 21 at NDSU. The seminar was the second of the annual Distinguished Water Seminar series presented by eminent water professionals on emerging issues, challenges and new research directions in water resources.
Fausch is a professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University, Fort Collins. He teaches fish conservation biology and a graduate course in community ecology and is active in the graduate degree program in ecology. His collaborative research has taken him worldwide, especially to Hokkaido in northern Japan where he worked with colleagues during a 15-year period. These experiences were chronicled in the documentary film, “RiverWebs,” directed and produced by Jeremy Monroe of Freshwaters Illustrated, which has been broadcast to more than 100 million homes nationwide by the Public Broadcasting Service. He has received several awards for his research and outreach, including the first International Fisheries Science Prize from the World Council of Fisheries Societies in 2008 and Award of Excellence from the American Fisheries Society in 2010. He serves on the Independent Science Advisory Board of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, which advises managers of the Columbia River about fish and wildlife conservation. Fausch is writing a book with the goal of engaging the public in understanding the interconnections between streams and rivers and their landscapes, and the importance of conserving these ecosystems.
The annual seminar series is sponsored by the North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute and this year's co-sponsors, NDSU’s environmental conservation sciences graduate program, civil engineering department, agricultural and biological engineering program and the School of Natural Resource Sciences.
For more information, contact G. Padmanabhan at g.padmanabhan@ndsu.edu or 701-231-7043, Craig Stockwell at craig.stockwell@ndsu.edu or 701-231-8449 or Xuefeng Chu at xuefeng.chu@ndsu.edu or 701-231-9758.