Reed Noss is the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative’s Chief Science Advisor and the author of the book, Forgotten Grasslands of the South. Reed brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise in a wide variety of areas to the SGI Team. His educational background includes a B.S. in Education with an emphasis in outdoor and environmental education from the University of Dayton, an M.S. in Ecology from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, and a PhD in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida. Recently we sat down with Reed to learn a little more about him and his role at SGI.
Q: How did you get interested in nature and the outdoors?
As a kid I was almost always outside and even skipped school a lot to play outdoors. Growing up we lived in a very fossiliferous area of Ohio with tons of fossils from the Paleozoic era. I loved finding and studying them. I also loved finding and catching reptiles and amphibians of all kinds and got to know all of the ones that could be found near me in southwestern Ohio. I also enjoyed wading the local streams with my friends and catching minnows, shiners, and especially brightly colored darters. Oh, and climbing trees! I spent a lot of time in my youth at the tops of trees.
I also have to credit my grandfather for encouraging my interest in nature and the outdoors from a very young age. Very early on, he taught me how to identify the trees of Ohio. He also paid for lots of natural history courses at the nearby museum, as well as summers at a nature-oriented camp in southwestern Ohio.
My interest in nature and the outdoors never waned while I was growing up, though it was partly superseded by my interest in girls, rock and roll, sports cars, and beer during my teenage years. Then about halfway through my undergraduate degree, I found out that you could actually get a degree and pursue a career working in nature and I’ve been doing that in one way or another ever since.
Q: How did you get interested in grasslands?
I’ve always been interested in pretty much all ecosystems – forests, grasslands, wetlands, caves, streams, the ocean, and everything else. I got hooked on grasslands as an undergraduate when I worked as a naturalist at a nature preserve called Cedar Bog. Cedar Bog had wonderful open grassy fens surrounded by arborvitae / white cedar groves and wet meadows. Later, I worked for the state of Ohio where I helped identify grassland restoration sites on state parks and state natural areas. I spent a lot of my free time back then walking old railroad tracks and visiting pioneer cemeteries in search of grassland remnants. I found some really cool ones too!
In the mid-90s, I wrote a report for the National Biological Service on the endangered ecosystems of the United States. Grasslands and other fire-dependent ecosystems came out as the most highly imperiled major categories of ecosystems. Yet, they received much less conservation attention than forests or wetlands, for instance. I wanted to right that wrong. In fact, that’s why I wrote Forgotten Grasslands of the South. I wanted to raise awareness of our Southern grasslands and the importance of these highly endangered ecosystems.
Q: What did you do prior to coming to the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative?
I am fortunate to have had a more diverse career than anyone I know in my field. I’ve worked for summer camps, outdoor schools, natural history museums, Ohio state parks, Ohio natural heritage program, Florida Natural Areas Inventory (which is Florida’s heritage program), the E.P.A., several universities in multiple states, and my own conservation consulting businesses.
Q: What is your role with the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative?
I’m honored that my book Forgotten Grasslands of the South helped stimulate the creation of SGI. I began working informally with Dwayne and Theo shortly after they founded SGI. I also gave several talks at the early SGI conferences and workshops.
Officially I am the Chief Science Advisor for SGI. Through this role I serve as a part-time contractor on several projects. Two of my recent projects are leading a team to review the species status assessment process for grassland-associated species of the Southeast and leading the Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for Grasslands of the Cumberland Plateau. This last team is also working on a journal article about the historic grasslands of the Plateau.
Q: What are you most excited about when it comes to working with SGI?
The opportunity to contribute tangibly to conservation of some of the highest-biodiversity and most highly imperiled natural communities in North America.
Q: What are some of your hobbies?
It can be difficult to tell when I am working and when I am playing, because many of my hobbies such as nature photography, birding, botanizing, and hiking are directly related to my work. I try hard to make my work and play the same.
My other major hobby, which has also been a part-time profession for nearly 50 years, is martial arts. I practice at least some martial arts and associated exercises every day. When I started martial arts in 1972, I immediately went from being a C student to an A student – such is the value of self-discipline.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
I have worked all over North America and I can say with confidence that SGI is one of the best regional conservation organizations on the continent. We know our mission and we pursue it with vigor because we love these ecosystems.
SHANNON TRIMBOLI, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Shannon helps the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative tell the forgotten and untold stories of our Southeastern grasslands.