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About Us
Research Ranch Advisory Team

William V. Branan:

--- EDUCATION ---
Ph.D. Forest Resources (wildlife management) Univ. of Georgia 1984
M.S. Biology (ornithology, limnology) Univ. of Missouri 1974
B.S. Wildlife Management Auburn Univ. 1969

--- SKILLS ---
Administration; building public education & involvement in resource issues; water quality/quantity, and regional land-use planning; wildlife habitat management, environmental education; & program development.

--- PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE ---
Director, Audubon Research Ranch Sanctuary, 1993-2006, Elgin, AZ 85611. My duties: Direct and fund the Sanctuary, including the Grassland Resource Center, 8,000 acres, 90 research projects, professional conferences, and outreach to the community & state. Received the Charles Callison Award in 2004, Audubon’s highest staff award.

• Santa Cruz County Planning and Zoning Commission (served two years as chairman).
• Santa Cruz County Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (two years as chairman).
• Bureau of Land Management Statewide Resource Advisory Council – federally appointed.
• Upper San Pedro River Political Advisory Commission; also member: Technical Committee.

Director of Environmental Protection, The Conservancy, Inc., 1991-1993, promoting protection and stewardship of the natural ecosystems, resources, & environmental quality of Southwest Florida. Governor appointed to Save the Manatee Board. County appointed to Collier Environmental Affairs Commission.

Technical Coordinator, Coastal Resources Management Project, through the Royal Thai Office of National Environment Board (Thailand's EPA) and the Univ. of Rhode Island, 1988-91, to formulate, test, and implement national coastal resource policies, protecting water quality, corals, wetlands, marine parks, especially related to community and tourism development. I also advised in Sri Lanka, & the Maldives.

Executive Director, Florida Defenders of the Environment, 1985-88, to research key environmental issues and then to advise state and federal agencies and the public on resource protection, especially concerning Florida's rivers, marshes, estuaries, & growth management.

Research Biologist, Foundation for Nature Preservation, Suriname, South America, through the Univ. of Georgia, National Science Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund, 1979-85, conducting wildlife & habitat research in Suriname's marshes & rain forest to advise government agencies on management of three deer species. I also advised in Guyana, French Guiana, Costa Rica, & El Salvador.

Instructor, Oneida Institute & Cumberland College, Oneida, KY, 1977-78, teaching high school math, biology, chemistry, & physics to an under-served, often minority population, as well as college biology, geology, botany, environmental education, & environmental culture.
Director, Lakeside Nature Center, Kansas City, MO, 1971-74, providing volunteer guided nature walks, a nature museum, an up-close in-school native wildlife presentation, as well as family activities.

Director, Pine Mountain Environmental Center, Pine Mountain, KY, 1974-77, providing a resident college level and college prep environmental education program in affiliation with Berea College, as well as resident programs for the mountain region elementary through high school students.

Director, Big Cypress Nature Center, Naples, FL, 1969-71, providing a fourth grade week-long program through nine area schools, while also hosting a “Junior Audubon” program for selected middle school students, an “Earth Limited” program for high school students, as well as many family activities.