Presenter: Professor John Iverson

Location: In-person at Lebanon Citizens National Bank (LCNB)

On-the-ground conservation biology is generally the purview of institutions, organizations, and government agencies. Many organizations undertakes in situ and ex situ conservation projects around the world. However, the value of private, grassroots, local conservation efforts, particularly focusing on turtles and other herps, should not be overlooked. Dr. Iverson purchased a 36-acre mid-growth forest after the big trees were logged in 1993, and expanded it with the purchase of a contiguous 40-acre cornfield in 1997. Professor Iverson has constructed 55 permanent to ephemeral wetlands (38 by hand), planted over 50,000 trees, reduced invasive herbaceous species by over 99%, and hence, created a 71-acre reforested, permanently protected wildlife reserve. The habitat now supports thriving populations of 17 amphibian and 13 reptile species.

John B. Iverson holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Florida and is Biology Research Professor at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Because of his interests in the natural history, ecology, and evolution of iguanas and turtles, he is currently on the steering committees (and founding member) of the IUCN/SSC Iguana Specialist Group, and the Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. He has been involved with the Turtle Survival Alliance since its inception in 2001 (currently a Board member), and serves on the Board of the Turtle Conservation Fund. He has been active in several herp societies, serving as editor and president of the Herpetologists League. He has maintained long-term field research sites since 1980 for rock iguanas in the Exumas in the Bahamas, and since 1981 for turtles at the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in western Nebraska. His hobby is restoring a 76 acre woodlot/cornfield (now in a Conservation Easement) to a mature hardwood forest.

To learn more about Dr. Iverson, click here.