Eric Stone Hired as Nature Conservancy of Idaho’s Director of Conservation Science

Hailey, ID — The Nature Conservancy of Idaho has announced the hire of Eric Stone of Jackson as the organization’s new director of conservation science. Stone will lead the organization’s conservation planning, research, restoration and monitoring efforts on projects around the state.

Stone most recently worked as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. While there, he developed management or reintroduction plans for prairie dogs, sharp-tailed grouse and bison, and examined the recovery of small mammal communities in prairie restoration sites.

Stone previously worked for the University of Colorado for nine years, where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in ecology, environmental studies and field methods. He also was an instructor for the Teton Science School in Grand Teton National Park, and has worked as a high school science teacher, ski and soccer coach and bluegrass and folk musician.

Stone says the Conservancy’s fits his diversity of professional experience. "The Nature Conservancy’s mission is clear but the strategies are diverse enough to maintain my interest," he says. "The organization has such a great variety of conservation tools to employ, ranging from easements to research to government relations."

Stone received his Ph.D. from Idaho State University and has lived in the West since 1978. "I am really connected to this landscape," he says. "I love the Northern Rockies and the fact that so much of it is still so wild and ecologically in great shape. I love its wildlife, and its variety of habitats."

The Nature Conservancy has worked in Idaho for thirty years with projects in many landscapes around the state. Recent projects include the acquisition of a ranch important for sage grouse in eastern Idaho, conservation efforts that benefit working ranches and salmon in the Lemhi and Pahsimeroi valleys and the application of cutting-edge technology to prevent, locate and eradicate non-native weeds in Hells Canyon and the Owyhee Canyonlands.

The Conservancy is one of the largest conservation organizations in Idaho, with 5200 members from every county in the state. The Idaho Chapter has four offices as well as several preserves open to the public.

"State director Laura Hubbard has put together a great team here," says Stone. "This is a strong, vibrant organization. I look forward to working with staff, board members, partners and the community to achieve lasting conservation for Idaho’s special places."

Stone is available for interviews by calling (208) 788-8988.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.