Drew Rayburn, Ph.D.

Director of Conservation Science and Planning

Colorado, U.S.A.

Drew Rayburn Drew Rayburn headshot. © TNC

Areas of Expertise

Conservation Ecology, Restoration Ecology, Landscape Ecology, Climate-Smart Land Management

Contact

Email: drew.rayburn@TNC.ORG

Biography

Drew Rayburn is the Director of Conservation Science & Planning for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. In this role, Drew leads a diverse and creative team of ecologists and analysts who apply the best-available science to the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of conservation plans, projects, and strategies in alignment with TNC-Colorado and Western Division priorities, TNC’s ambitious 2030 Global Goals, and the associated needs of key partners, interested parties, and rightsholders.

During his career, Drew’s work has spanned disciplines including conservation ecology, restoration ecology, landscape ecology, community ecology, spatial analysis, applied climate science, and rare species protection. An overarching theme of his work has often been understanding relationships between ecological patterns and processes across spatiotemporal scales, to better inform conservation and restoration strategies. He has been privileged to have benefited from exceptional mentors and collaborators at all stages of his career, and strives to pass on what he has learned to the next generation of ecologists and conservationists.

Prior to joining TNC in 2020, Drew served as the Natural Resources Supervisor for Jefferson County Open Space, an independent consulting ecologist, a restoration ecologist and the Director of Science for the nonprofit River Partners, and as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California-Davis. He earned a B.A. in Biology from Austin College, a M.S. in Ecology from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in Ecology from Utah State University. Drew is a Certified Ecologist Restoration Practitioner through the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), and a Certified Senior Ecologist through the Ecological Society of America (ESA).

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Publications

Visit Drew's ResearchGate Profile for a full list of publications.

Shaw JA, ES Gornish, LM Roche, AP Rayburn, AJ Zamora, EA Laca. 2022. Efficacy of strip seeding to restore grassland plant communities. Restoration Ecology 31(4), e13822.

Moutouama FT, B Kyereh, WA Asante, SSH Biaou, AP Rayburn, AK Natta. 2020. Land use / land cover change and impacts on carbon stocks in the Atacora Chain of Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot in Benin (West Africa). Journal of Environment and Earth Sciences 10(6):153-166.

Bennice C, AP Rayburn, WR Brooks, RT Hanlon. 2019. Fine-scale habitat partitioning facilitates sympatry between two octopus species in a shallow Florida lagoon. Marine Ecology Progress Series 609: 151-161.

Rayburn AP, S Murdock, J Lile, M Robbins, C White. 2019. Gone to the dogs: closure and restoration of the former Elk Meadow Park dog off-leash area. Natural Areas Journal 39(1):122-127.

Rayburn AP, M Rogner, P Frank. 2018. Status and distribution of blue elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea) on lower Cache Creek: implications for adaptive floodplain management. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 16(3).

Erfanifard Y, HH Nguyen, JP Schmidt, AP Rayburn. 2018. Fine-scale intraspecific interactions and environmental heterogeneity drive the spatial structure in old-growth stands of a dioecious plant. Forest Ecology and Management 425:92-99.

Rayburn AP, A Bradley, C Schriefer, EA Laca. 2016. Seedbank–vegetation relationships in restored and degraded annual California grasslands: implications for restoration. Ecological Restoration 34(4):277-284.

Hunter RB, JC Callaway, AP Rayburn, GC Coffman. 2016. Tarping and inundation as potential control mechanisms for seed banks of red sesbania (Sesbania punicea). Invasive Plant Science and Management 9(4):261-271.

Poulos J, AP Rayburn, EW Schupp. 2014. Simultaneous, independent, and additive effects of shrub facilitation and understory competition on the survival of a native forb (Penstemon palmeri). Plant Ecology 215:417-426.

Rayburn AP, EW Schupp, S Kay. 2014. Effects of perennial semi-arid bunchgrass spatial patterns on the performance of the invasive annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Plant Ecology 215: 247-251.

Rayburn AP, EA Laca. 2013. Strip-seeding for grassland restoration: Past successes and future potential. Ecological Restoration 31:147-153

Rayburn AP, EW Schupp. 2013. Effects of plant spatial patterns on ecological processes in experimental semiarid grassland communities. Oecologia 172:1137-1145.

Rayburn AP, J Davidson, EW Schupp. 2013. Effect of storage time, site, and flower morph on germination of seeds of the threatened distylous primrose Primula cusickiana var. maguirei. Plant Species Biology 28:101-108.

White HM, RF Long, K Velas, AP Rayburn, WL Rockey, R Kelsey. 2012. Avian use of hedgerows and adjacent crops in Central California agricultural landscapes. Ecesis 22(4):5-6.

Rayburn AP, J Davidson, HM White. 2012. Possible effects of moss on the distribution and performance of a threatened endemic primrose. Western North American Naturalist 72:84-92.

Wilson TL, AP Rayburn, TC Edwards Jr. 2012. Spatial ecology of refuge selection by an herbivore under risk from predation. Ecosphere 3:1-18.

Rayburn AP, T Wiegand. 2011. Individual species-area relationships and spatial patterns of species diversity in a Great Basin, semi-arid shrubland. Ecography 34:1-7.

Rayburn AP. 2011. Recognition and utilization of positive plant interactions may increase plant reintroduction success. Biological Conservation 4:1296.

O’Donnel RP, AP Rayburn. 2011. Biases in the protection of peripheral anuran populations in the United States. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 6:91-98.

Rayburn AP, KJ Schiffers, EW Schupp. 2011. Use of precise spatial data for describing spatial patterns and plant interactions in a diverse Great Basin shrub community. Plant Ecology 212: 585-594.

Rayburn AP, TA Monaco. 2011. Using a chronosequence to link plant spatial patterns and ecological processes in grazed Great Basin plant communities. Rangeland Ecology and Mgmt. 64:276-282.

Rayburn AP, MV Appledorn. 2010. Prioritization of potential riparian buffer locations in an urbanizing, agricultural Midwestern (U.S.A.) watershed. Proc. Urban/Rural Interfaces Conference III:80-85.

Rayburn AP, LA Schulte. 2009. Integrating historic and contemporary data to delineate remnant natural areas within agricultural landscapes. Natural Areas Journal 29:4-14.

Rayburn AP, LA Schulte. 2009. Landscape change in an agricultural watershed in the U.S. Midwest. Landscape and Urban Planning 93:132-141.

Rayburn AP, AL Major. 2008. Using landscape history and baseline data in the restoration of a Midwestern savanna. Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science 115:1-11.