Dr. Abe Miller-Rushing, “Managing for Climate Change in Our National Parks”

National parks were originally established with the goal of preserving resources as they were in the past. That goal is no longer feasible. Dr. Miller-Rushing will describe how national park managers are adjusting their approach to manage for change and the science they are using to inform their decisions. He will specifically talk about work going on in Acadia National Park, which serves as a model for how national park managers can adjust to a changing climate.

Dr. Miller-Rushing is the Science Coordinator for Acadia National Park, where he has worked since 2010. He oversees research in the park and leads the science strategy to meet the park’s priority needs. Dr. Miller-Rushing’s own research focuses on protected area management, forest responses to climate change, and citizen science. He helped to establish the Citizen Science Association and the USA National Phenology Network, a national network to monitor the impacts of climate change plants and animals. He received his bachelors in Biology from Grinnelll College in Iowa and his Ph.D. in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution from Boston University.