Dr. Scott Stoleson

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This year’s Earl Poole Award recipient is Dr. Scott Stoleson, a Research Biologist for the United States Forest Service’s Northern Research Station. Dr. Stoleson earned a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Dartmouth in 1979 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from Yale University.

Before moving to Pennsylvania, Dr. Stoleson studied avian demography and conservation in a variety of locations in the western United States and in both Central and South America. Dr. Stoleson joined the Forest Service in Irvine, Pennsylvania, in 2002 where his work has focused on evaluating the impacts of land management on the distribution, abundance, and demography of vertebrate populations, and assessing habitat requirements of wildlife communities and species of special concern. For one of his focal species, the Cerulean Warbler, he has studied the long-term effects of forest management practices affecting the conservation of this species in eastern North America. He has worked with and mentored numerous graduate students. He has also authored or co-authored more than 60 scientific papers. In addition, he has written book chapters on avian biology and conservation based on research in Pennsylvania, the western U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and the Galápagos Islands.

Scott has led natural history tours for the National Audubon Society to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and he leads tours and workshops for the Roger Tory Peterson Birding Festival in Jamestown, NY. He served as a field consultant for David Attenborough’s “Life of Birds” series on BBC. He was a regional cocoordinator for the 2nd Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas, served on the PA Biological Survey’s Ornithological Technical Committee, and runs a BBS route in northwestern PA.

Dr. Stoleson’s is this year’s candidate for the Earl Poole Award because of his long term commitment to ornithology as well as his serving as an important role model for upcoming ornithologists.