Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Advisory Committee

Natural Heritage Logo The role of the Committee, established in 1981, is to provide the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife with independent scientific advice on the conservation and protection of over 400 species of wild plants and animals that are not hunted, fished or trapped. In addition, the Committee advises the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program on matters such as promotion of the Natural Heritage Fund, funding priorities for biological field research and inventory as well as other issues concerning the protection of biodiversity in Massachusetts.

Committee members

Kathleen S. Anderson, of Middleborough, is currently the chairperson of the Committee. She was founding director of the Manomet Bird Observatory and a founder and first President of the Plymouth County Wildlands Trust (now the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts). For eleven years she was ornithologist at the Encephalitis Field Station, U.S. Public Health Service, in southeastern Massachusetts. She has been a 20 –year member of the Policy Council of the American Bird Conservancy (formerly the U.S. Section of the International Council for Bird Preservation), serving as Secretary for fifteen years. Mrs. Anderson has had a lifelong commitment to the study and protection of birds, land preservation and the conservation of natural resources.

Marilyn J. Flor, of Rockport, retired from the Massachusetts Audubon Society after 37 years. She taught Audubon’s Natural History Program in elementary schools in Essex and Berkshire County for many years. At Audubon’s Berkshire Sanctuaries she was Resident Naturalist, developing and leading programs, editing the newsletter and directing the Pleasant Valley Sanctuary day camp. She served on and chaired the Lenox Conservation Commission and continues to have an interest in land preservation. Ms. Flor is a naturalist with a special interest in amphibians, reptiles and vernal pools. She has served on the Committee since 1981 and as its Secretary from 1986 to 1999.

Joseph S. Larson, Ph.D., of Pelham, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he served as Director of The Environmental Institute and Chairman of the Department of Natural Resources Conservation. A member of the state Fisheries and Wildlife Board, he has particular expertise in beaver behavior, and the ecological functions and endangered species habitat of freshwater wetlands. He has served as a wetland science and policy advisor to local, state, national and international agencies, has held registration as a forester in Maine and Maryland, and holds professional certification as a Senior Ecologist, Wildlife Biologist and Wetland Scientist.

Mark Mello, of New Bedford, is Research Director at the Lloyd Center for Environmental Studies in South Dartmouth, MA. He holds an MS degree in Zoology and his particular expertise is insects, especially butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), and estuarine and freshwater ecology.

Glenn Motzkin, of Shutesbury, is a Plant Ecologist at the Harvard Forest, Harvard University, an Ecology Advisor to the Trustees of Reservations and a member of the Science Advisory Committee of the Connecticut River Watershed Council. He has worked as a private consultant in community ecology and has participated in development of a statewide vision for Massachusetts’ forests. His research has focused on forested bogs, uncommon plant communities, and the relationships between land use history and current vegetation in New England.

Thomas J. Rawinski, of Oakham, has the title of Botanist with the U. S. Forest Service in Durham, NH. He is involved primarily with invasive plant issues throughout New England and New York. Tom received an M. S. in wildlife science from Cornell University. He has worked as an ecologist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Nature Conservancy. His particular expertise is plant ecology and botany, with extensive training and experience in ecological research. In 2001 Tom was the recipient of the Conservation Award from the New England Wildflower Society.

Jonathan A. Shaw, of Sandwich, has been involved for over 20 years in the conservation of rare and endangered plants through protection in the wild, seed banking and other techniques and public education. He has served as Executive Director, New England Wild Flower Society; President, Bok Tower Gardens; Trustee, National Center for Plant Conservation; and Trustee and Treasurer, American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta.

Associate Members

William Brumback, of Acton, is the Conservation Director of the New England WildFlower Society and oversees the Society's plant conservation programs. These programs currently include the New England Plant Conservation Program (NEPCoP), a regional voluntary collaborative of 150 colalborators, mostly professional in all six New England states, and the Plant Conservation Volunteer Corps (over 400 trained amateurs monitoring rare plants and invasive species throughout New England). Bill Published with other authors, "Flora Conservanda: New England, The NEPCoP List of plants in need of conservation", which provides the status of over 500 plants that are of conservation concern in New England.

Andy Finton, of Watertown, is Director of Conservation Science for the Massachusetts Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, responsible for defining conservation goals, assessing threats, and implementing conservation strategies. Andy worked with the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program in developing the Commonweath's BioMap, prioritizing rare species habitats and natural communities for conservation, and for the New York Natural Heritage Program as an Ecologist overseeing biological inventory in the Hudson Valley. Andy earned a B.S. from Cornell and an M.S. in Forest Ecology from the University of Massachusetts.

Timothy Flanagan, of Lenox, is a Professor of Environmental and Life Sciences at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His professional interests include landscape ecology, geomorphology, and biodiversity studies. He also maintains a private practice in environmental consulting doing wetlands delineation and biological inventories for the protection of natural areas. He has previously worked as the Science curator at the Berkshire Museum and as a Project Director for the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

Blair Nikula, of Harwich Port, is an expert on dragonflies and damselflies (odonates), co-edits the Internet newsletter Ode News, and is co-authoring a beginner’s guide to odonates. He has also been an active birder for nearly 40 years, is a Past-President of the Cape Cod Bird Club, served for fifteen years as a regional editor of American Birds, and has co-authored many articles on birds. He is an accomplished photographer, with photo credits in over a dozen natural history books and numerous magazines.

Wayne R. Petersen, of Hanson, is Director of the Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program at the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He is a New England Regional Editor for North American Birds magazine and the American Birds Christmas Count, and serves on the board of Bird Observer Magazine and The New England Naturalist. A former life science teacher, today he gives workshops, lectures widely and leads international birding tours. He is author of the "National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Songbirds and Familiar Backyard Birds" and co-author of "Birds of Massachusetts", the "Massachusetts Breeding Birds Atlas", and "Bird of New England".

Mark Pokras D.V.M., of Westborough, is Director of the Wildlife Clinic at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton. Born and educated through grammar school in the U.S., he attended junior and senior high school in Mexico and Venezuela. After college he worked in ornithology and estuarine biology before attending veterinary school. His particular expertise is wildlife medicine. He is a co-founder of the Center for Conservation Medicine at Tufts and is a founding member of the International Association of Wildlife Veterinarians. He is nationally known for his work in wildlife rehabilitation and his research on the health of the Common Loon.

Bryan Windmiller, holds a PhD in biology and a Master's degree in Environmental Policy, both from Tufts University. He has worked as a consulting wildlife ecologist since 1987. Bryan’s research interests include: assessing the impacts of residential construction on vernal pool amphibian populations, the conservation of Blanding’s turtles in Concord, Massachusetts, and the ecology of amphibian populations exposed to the emerging fungal disease, chytridiomycosis.

Background on the Committee

The Fisheries and Wildlife Board first established the Committee in 1981. It was given official status under state law in 1983 (MGL c131, s5B)as the Non-Game Advisory Committee. In 2002, legislation changed the Committee's name to it's current title, to more accurately reflect the Committee's role. The Commissioner of the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement, with the approval of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, appoints the members. The Committee makes recommendations to the Board and Division Director. There are seven Committee members and an equal number of Associate Members. The Committee meets monthly, typically at the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife’s Field Headquarters in Westborough. The public is invited to attend. For further information, please contact the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, Rte 135, Westborough, MA 01581, (508) 389-6360 or natural.heritage@state.ma.us.