Science Fellow, EcoTrends Project

To hire Rob Baldwin on a one-year contractual basis to provide build-out analysis and future trends modelling for the Northern Forest region. The purpose of this is to inform landscape-scale conservation initiatives and forest conservation planning and policy in the region. Two Countries, One Forest (2C1F) is a collaboration working to build the scientific case for landscape conservation in the Northern Appalachian forest region, including northern New England and eastern maritime Canada. The collaboration aims to increase public awareness about the ecological attributes of the Northern Forest, and is guided by a well-respected Executive Committee of scientists and leading conservationists. Specifically, The EcoTrends project of 2C1F will hire Rob as a Science Fellow on a consulting basis for one year where he will be based at the University of Maine. Rob will conduct a future trends analysis,with data collected on past and current land use in the region, and using GIS computer modeling to forecast the impact of human development and subsequent landscape fragmentation on regional biodiversity. The result will be a “build-out” scenario for the 2C1F region. It is anticipated that this information, to be published in a peer-reviewed science journal and a companion policy report with media outreach, will be useful to local environmental groups, scientists, and regional decision-makers.