Robert D. Sutter
Regional Scientist/Senior Conservation Ecologist
Southern US Conservation Region

Contact Information
6114 Fayetteville Road, Suite 109
Durham, North Carolina 27713
Phone: (919) 484-7857
Fax: (919) 484-7357
E-mail: rsutter@tnc.org

Brief Biography

Rob provides and facilitates the incorporation of the best available and most current ecological information into The Nature Conservancy’s conservation work, from the selection of sites to strategic planning and monitoring ecological change. He leads numerous regional projects and networks including working with the region’s Freshwater Network, researching how well ecosystem services protects biodiversity in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, leading the International Paper Monitoring Project, advising Eglin Air Force base on their adaptive management program, and leading the SUSCR Science Council. His expertise is in developing ecologically-focused strategic conservation and adaptive management (sampling design, the analysis of monitoring data, and implementation of adaptive management) plans to direct and measure the success of conservation actions. With others in TNC he was one of the leaders in the development of the Conservation Action Planning process and developed the training workshop on ecological monitoring. He is active teaching Conservation Action Planning and monitoring and measures within TNC and to other conservation organizations (DoD, USFS, USFWS) and leads the Efroymson Franchise in the region. He got his undergraduate and Masters in Botany from Duke University, with a emphasis in plant population ecology, and has taught short courses at Duke and is on the selection committee for the Doris Duke Fellowship Program in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. He has worked over 25 years in the conservation field, 18 with The Nature Conservancy, and has over 36 publications and reports in the conservation literature.

Select Publications:

Sutter, Robert D., Alison McGee, Brett Williams and Michelle Creech. 2008. A framework for restoring longleaf pine ecosystems. Durham, North Carolina, Southern Resource Office, The Nature Conservancy

Wiens, John Wiens Robert Sutter, Mark Anderson, Jon Blanchard, Analie Barnett, Naikoa Aguilar-Amuchastegui, Chadwick Avery, and Stephen Laine. 2008. Selecting and conserving lands for biodiversity: the role of remote sensing. Journal of Remote Sensing, in press.

Mehlman, David W. Sarah.E. Mabey, Charles Duncan, David N. Ewert, Becky Abel, David Cimprich, Rob Sutter, and Mark Woodrey. 2005. Conserving stopover sites for forest-dwelling migratory landbirds. The Auk 122. 1281-1290.

Rudd, N., R.D. Sutter and G. Crichton. 1999. Monitoring protocols for mid-elevation hemlock forests along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Nature Conservancy: Chapel Hill, NC.

White, P. and R.D. Sutter. 1999. Managing biodiversity in historic habitats: Case history of the southern Appalachian grassy balds in: Ecosystem Management for Sustainability. Edited by Peine, J.D. Lewis Publishers: Boca Raton, FL.

Sutter, R.D. 1996. Monitoring in: Restoring Diversity, Strategies for Reintroduction of Endangered Plants. Edited by Falk, D.A., C.I. Millar, and M. Olwell. Island Press: Covelo, CA.

Sutter, R.D. and R. Kral. 1994. The ecology, status, and conservation of two non-alluvial wetland communities in the South Atlantic and Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain. Biological Conservation 68:235-243.

Sutter, R.D., S.E. Benjamin, N. Murdock, and B. Teague. 1993. Monitoring the effect of trampling on a low heath bald in the Southern Appalachians. Natural Areas Journal 13:250-255.

Travis, J. and R.D. Sutter. 1986. Experimental designs and statistical methods for demographic studies of rare plants. Natural Areas Journal 6(3):3-12.