Chicago Zoological Society Presents Conservation Award To
Grizzly Bear Conservationist Chris Servheen
Servheen to Speak at Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield, IL—The Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, is pleased to announce Chris Servheen, Ph.D., a wildlife biologist with 30 years of significant work in grizzly bear conservation, as its 2008 George B. Rabb Conservation Award recipient. Servheen, a mammalogist and wildlife biologist at The University of Montana and the grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), will be honored at a recognition dinner for his landmark work on grizzly bear ecology and conservation in the Mission Mountains and the northwestern Montana wilderness. The event, being held on January 29, is co-hosted by the Society’s Board of Trustees and Women’s Board.
The following evening, Wednesday, January 30, Servheen will share his vast knowledge of the innovative methods he is implementing to protect the bears and their habitats during a lecture, “Grizzly Conservation.” The evening presentation will take place in Brookfield Zoo’s Discovery Center at 7:30 p.m. The cost, which includes a wine and cheese reception, is $16 ($13 for zoo members). For more information or to make reservations, go to www.BrookfieldZoo.org or call (708) 688-8971.
Servheen’s major research has been instrumental in grizzly bear conservation and is directly applicable to the recovery of large carnivore populations requiring large areas of natural habitat in regions where those areas have significantly dwindled.
As grizzly bear recovery coordinator for USFWS for the past 23 years, Servheen has tirelessly worked to set high standards for bear conservation. He has contributed greatly to bear conservation in the lower 48 states, organizing interagency grizzly bear sub-committees for federal, state, and private participants, as well as conferences on private landowner initiatives in conserving bear habitat, and serving as an advisor to many state and federal land management agencies. He has advised many private and public sector conservation initiatives, agencies, and conservation groups, including Vital Ground and The Nature Conservancy. In addition to receiving the George B. Rabb Conservation Award, Servheen recently was recognized with the Department of the Interior’s Meritorious Service Award, the second-highest award presented by the department, for his lifetime work on grizzly bear conservation.
Servheen has found that the biggest threat to the survival of grizzlies in the wild is human development. New construction and highways are quickly eating up large expanses of land that are home to the bears. While it is not possible to stop human development altogether, he is doing the next best thing. Servheen is studying the negative impact that developments have on grizzly populations and working to reverse that impact by working closely with state and federal highway departments to make sure that grizzly bears are able to safely cross new roads and interstates and, as a result, maintain their present habitats.
Servheen also takes advantage of new advancements in technology to better study and address the changing needs of grizzly bear populations. He leads research projects utilizing unobtrusive Global Positioning System collars. When placed on grizzly bears in the wild, these collars yield a wealth of information about how the animals change their movements and habits in response to human activity and development.
In addition, he has been heavily involved with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and served as co-chair of the Species Survival Commission/IUCN Bear Specialist Group. In that capacity, Servheen helped develop the International Bear Action Plan for the SSC/IUCN Bear Specialist Group. He is well-known internationally for the aforementioned work, as well as his work combating the illegal traffic in bear parts.
The George B. Rabb Conservation Award was created in 2005 by the Board of Trustees of CZS to honor the lifelong legacy of animal welfare and worldwide conservation leadership of George Rabb, Ph.D., president emeritus of the Chicago Zoological Society. Past recipients include:
- 2007 recipient Curtis Freese, Ph.D., managing director of the Northern Great Plains (NGP) program of the World Wildlife Fund, for his work in restoring and conserving the biodiversity of the North American Great Plains of the United States and Canada;
- 2006 recipient Alan Rabinowitz, Ph.D., director of the Science and Exploration Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society and preeminent wildlife scientist, known particularly for his conservation and protection of big cats native to Asia and South America; and
- 2005 Carl Safina, Ph.D., co-founder of The Blue Ocean Institute, for his life’s work and commitment to protecting the world’s oceans and marine wildlife.
The mission of the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, is to inspire conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature. Open every day of the year, the zoo is located off First Avenue between the Stevenson (I-55) and Eisenhower (I-290) expressways and is also accessible via the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), Metra commuter line, CTA, and PACE bus service.