Personal Summary

I earned my PhD in Geography in 2006 from the University of Georgia where I studied the local effects of global conservation policy in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India. My current position is Professor of Nature-Based Tourism and Recreation in the Department of Society and Conservation, W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana. My research interests are broadly centred on the intersection of conservation and development, and as such, I often study nature-based tourism and sustainable tourism in the context of development and protected areas. My research projects include; ecotourism and environmental justice in India, scientific tourism in Chile, and geotourism in Montana. Aside from tourism, I conduct research on climate change impacts and adaptations among indigenous people in the Himalaya, private protected areas in Chile, and conservation and development initiatives in Montana. I am fortunate enough to travel all over the world conducting courses and workshops on protected area planning and management where I get to understand the challenges facing protected area managers, particularly in developing countries. Within the College, I direct the International Conservation and Development (ICD) MS option, the International Seminar on Protected area Management (ISPAM), and the Protected Area Management Distance Education Program (PAMDEP) Graduate Certificate. Finally, my wife Laura and I founded and run the Nature-Link Institute, a 501(c)3 that seeks to reconnect people with their environment through research, education, and advocacy.

Education

PhD., 2006 University of Georgia, Department of Geography, Dissertation: “The Local Effects of Global Conservation Policy: Political ecology, environmental justice and the production of scale in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India.”

M.A., 2000 Appalachian State University, Department of Geography. Thesis: “Developing a Low Impact Model for Tourism: A case study of the Garhwal Himalaya, India.”

B.S., 1998 Appalachian State University, Department of Geography. GIS concentration.

Field of Study

Nature-based tourism
Ecotourism
Community development
International conservation and development
Geographies of Tourism
GIS