Chris Swanson, Project Leader, Central AR NWR Complex and
Paul Provence, Deputy Project Leader, Central AR NWR Complex
Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most popular birding hotspots in Arkansas. Birders flock there, especially in the fall, for shorebirds, waterfowl, and waders. The refuge hosts birds in abundance, in large part, because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) manages habitat for them. Chris Swanson and Paul Provence will discuss their management regime for the refuge. Show them your appreciation, and ask questions about the work they do.
Chris Swanson is the Project Leader for the Central Arkansas National Wildlife Refuge Complex (CARNWRC) which consists of: Holla Bend, Logan Cave, Bald Knob, Cache River, Big Lake, and Wapanocca. He is a 20-year veteran of the USFWS and has worked in four Regions, two Regional Offices, two National Wildlife Refuge Complexes, two Wetland Management Districts, and a state-wide Ecological Services Field Office. He served as the Project Leader at the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office where he provided leadership in the delivery of landscape-level conservation through implementation of Endangered Species Act. He earned a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University.
Paul Provence is the Deputy Project Leader for the CARNWRC. He obtained his B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from Louisiana State University and began his professional career in 2000 working for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in the bottomland hardwoods of northeast Arkansas. He then went on to work for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the marshes of south Louisiana. Paul joined the USFWS in 2010 as a Biologist for the Southeast Louisiana Refuge Complex at Mandalay and Bayou Teche NWRs, and later served as a Biologist for the Central Louisiana Refuge Complex. In 2015, he returned to his home state of Arkansas to serve as the Refuge Manager for Bald Knob, Holla Bend and Logan Cave.
7PM via Zoom