WASHINGTON (May 5, 2008) — The Wilderness Society has selected Dr. Amy Vedder to direct its ecology and economics research department. She started work as vice president April 30.
“I have always been impressed by the emphasis on science and sound information that is unique to The Wilderness Society’s determination to protect our lands and natural resources,” said Vedder, who first served the organization as a member of its Governing Council, starting in 1993. “Conservation efforts rally support, and are far more effective, when they are based on good ecological, economic, and policy information—and this is what we produce.”
Vedder’s 21–person department includes expert ecologists, economists, and geographic and policy analysts, in addition to staff who help to communicate research results. They address critical public land and natural resource issues, including the impact of roads on wildlife, the economic benefits of wilderness protection, and the capacity of forests to store the carbon that contributes to global warming. “It is an honor to work with such talented and dedicated staff, whose efforts are strongly influencing the recognition and careful management of irreplaceable wildlands that belong to all Americans,” Vedder said.
Widely known for her pioneering studies of mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Vedder co-founded, along with her husband Dr. William Weber, the Mountain Gorilla Project—a project heralded for its success in both saving the species and providing economic benefits for a poor nation. From 1990 to 2006 she worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society, directing various international programs. Since January 2007, Vedder has been the senior technical advisor for the United Nations Development Program’s Protected Areas Biodiversity Project.
A native of Palatine Bridge, N.Y., Vedder graduated from Swarthmore College and earned a master’s and Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Wisconsin. She served in the Peace Corps from 1973 to 1975 and has coauthored two books, In the Kingdom of Gorillas: Fragile Species in a Dangerous Land and African Rainforest Ecology and Conservation. Vedder was the subject of a book in the Women’s Adventures in Science series, published in association with the National Academy of Sciences.
“We are enormously pleased to have a person with the sterling international reputation that Amy has earned,” said William H. Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society. “She was a wonderful asset as a member of our board, and I look forward to working with her on a daily basis.” Vedder succeeds Dr. Thomas Bancroft, who now is vice president for science at the National Audubon Society.
The Wilderness Society’s mission is to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.
Founded in January 1935 by Aldo Leopold, Bob Marshall, and six other visionaries, the organization has 400,000 members and supporters.
