North Slope Science Initiative Staff Biographies

 

John Payne is the Executive Director of the North Slope Science Initiative, a consortium of 10 federal, state and local agencies and land owners having land or resource management responsibilities on the North Slope. Dr. Payne received his B.S. in Range/Wildlife Science and his M.S. in Wildlife Science from Utah State University, Logan, Utah and his Ph.D. in Public Administration from Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah.

 

Dr. Payne has held several positions over the course of his career throughout the country.  He served as the Threatened and Endangered Species Specialist for BLM in St. George, Utah, as a Pilot/Refuge Manager/Law Enforcement Agent for the Fish and Wildlife Service, King Salmon, Alaska, a Range Conservationist for BLM in St. George, Utah a Research Reclamation Specialist for USDA in Logan, Utah and as an Analyst and Pilot for the U.S. Army Security Agency.

 

 

Cleve Cowles is the Chief, Environmental Studies Section (ESS), Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region, Minerals Management Service (MMS).  His responsibilities include leadership of MMS Alaska Environmental Studies Program.  Dr. Cowles has been with the BLM / MMS Alaska OCS Region since 1979, serving as Wildlife Biologist (End. Species), Chief of the Environmental Studies Unit (1983-1994) Acting Chief of the Social and Economic Studies Unit (1992-1994), and Chief, ESS since 1995. Collateral responsibilities have included serving as the MMS Technical Representative to the OCSEAP program (1983-1992), to the MMS/UAF Coastal Marine Institute (1994-present), and recently to the North Slope Science Initiative and to the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. He received his B.S. in Wildlife Science from the University of Maine (1969) and M.S. (1974) and Ph.D. (1979) in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  Design and analysis of management decision systems, environmental research monitoring, cooperative project development, and information applications to decision making continue as his career interests. He has authored or co-authored articles in J. of Environmental Management, Arctic, J. of Mammalogy, J. of Wildlife Management, and elsewhere.  Professional memberships include the Arctic Institute of North America and The Wildlife Society. 

 

 

Tim Jennings is Program Supervisor for Fisheries and Ecological Services in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  He oversees operations for three Fish & Wildlife field offices:  Fairbanks, Juneau, and the Conservation Genetics Laboratory.  He received his B.S. in Biology from Whitworth College in 1977 and M.S. in Fisheries Biology from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in 1983.

 

Mr. Jennings has worked on fisheries and wildlife issues in Alaska over the last 30 years, serving variously as a State employee, private consultant, and as a manager for two Federal agencies.  His North Slope experience includes the Endicott and West Dock fisheries monitoring studies, subsistence surveys and fisheries work at Nuiqsut on the Colville River, and a dozen years as Permitting Chief for northern Alaska for the Corps of Engineers.  He also served as the Corps Project Manager for completion of the Northstar offshore oilfield Environmental Impact Statement project review.  Over the last 7 years with the Service, Mr. Jennings has been a manager in the Federal Subsistence Management Program.  In his current position, he contributes to a variety of fish and wildlife management and policy issues related to fisheries, endangered species, environmental contaminants, habitat restoration, and project planning.

 

 

Carl Markon is the Senior Geographer at the USGS Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, Ak.  He is in charge of all of the USGS Geography Discipline geographic research in Alaska dealing primarily with the use of remote sensing and geographic spatial data sets to help monitor and assess landscape issues across Alaska.  He also has oversight of the USGS Earth Science and Information Center at the Alaska Science Center; is the USGS Land Remote Sensing Program Science Advisor; and is the current USGS Geographic Infomation Office, National Geospatial Program Office Alaskan State Liaison, concerned with development and coordination of geospatial datasets for Alaska such as the acquisition of new high resolution digital elevation data and digital orthophoto quadrangles to replace the aging USGS topographic map series. Mr. Markon recieved his B.S. in Forestry at the University of Minnesota and his M.S. from the University of Alaska, Anchorage.  During his 30 years stay in Alaska, he has used remote sensing and geographic information systems for land use, land cover, and land surface change in Alaska, Canada, and the Baja, Mexico, and was one of the primariy co-investigators on the Circum-Arctic Vegetation Mapping project. He has authored and co-authored articles in GeoCarto International, International Journal of Remote Sensing, Natural Areas Journal, Polar Record, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, and Arctic.

 

Noah Owen Ashley is a Wildlife Biologist for the Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough.  Dr. Ashley received his B. A. in Biology at Colby College (1997) and his Ph. D. in Zoology at the University of Washington (2004). Over the past seven years, Dr. Ashley has conducted stress physiology and immunology studies on North Slope birds, but is currently broadening his research to include caribou and polar bears to better understand the physiological and health impacts from oil and gas activities. His responsibilities include reviewing North Slope management plans from various agencies, evaluating impacts to wildlife, fish, and subsistence, and conducting and facilitating monitoring and mitigation studies.

 

 

Gary Schultz is the Manager of the Northern Oil & Gas Team of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining Land and Water.  This team manages the use of State-owned land associated with oil and gas exploration and development projects.  Projects this team reviews and authorizes include major oil & gas development projects, off-road travel, ice road construction, site restoration, and contaminated sites cleanups.  Mr. Schultz has worked on these North Slope projects for the last 18 years.  Over the last 5 years he has been doing research on the impacts of ice road construction.  He received his B.S. in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University in 1976. 

 

 

Bob Winfree is the Alaska Regional Science Advisor for the National Park Service. In this capacity he provides leadership, scientific expertise and advice to the Regional Directorate, park superintendents, various committees and other organizations concerned with science, conservation, and responsible use of Alaska’s natural and cultural resources.   He also coordinates production of the Alaska Park Science journal and the biennial Alaska Park Science Symposium series, two programs that reflect his personal commitment to making science relevant to resource managers and decision makers, educators, students, and the general public. Dr. Winfree earned his Doctorate, Masters, and Baccalaureate degrees in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, at Texas A&M and Iowa State University, respectively.  He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in marine biology at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and graduated from the USDA Graduate School - Executive Potential Program in 2003.   Before moving to Alaska in 2002, he served as a supervisory research physiologist, laboratory director, and senior scientist for three federal agencies; in Idaho, New York, and at the Grand Canyon in Arizona.   He conducted marine and aquatic research & development in Florida and the Caribbean Basin before joining federal service in 1990.