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Position Description
I developed an ecologically based management plan for the 264-acre Tifft Nature Preserve that incorporates management and restoration, as well as ecological and environmental research, educational programming and public enjoyment of the preserve. I will actively conduct management and research to enhance wildlife habitat, control invasive species, and restore native plant communities on the preserve. Management and research will be incorporated into educational programming for school children and the general public to encourage appreciation of the natural world and lifelong learning by all visitors.
Research Interests
My research interests include wildlife habitat relationships and management techniques for restoring and enhancing habitat, especially for nongame and rare species. I have considerable experience working with reptiles and amphibians, but I enjoy working with all taxa from birds to insects to native plants. I am also interested in control and management of invasive plants in grassland and forest communities.
Education
M.S. 2004, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University
Thesis: Wildlife use of snags in managed ponderosa pine stands in the Black Hills, South
Dakota
B.S. 1999, Zoology, Conservation Biology, Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Experience
Natural Resource Specialist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2004 – 2007
Assisted landowners with managing and protecting habitat for at-risk species on private lands
Research Assistant, USDA Forest Service Black Hills National Forest, 2002 – 2004
Examined the use of snags by wildlife in managed stands of ponderosa pine
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Colorado State University, 2002 – 2003
Assisted with teaching responsibilities for upper level undergraduate courses in natural resources
Publications
Spiering, D.J. 2009. Woodpeckers at Tifft nature preserve (and beyond): a brief review of the habitats and
conservation of the woodpeckers in eastern North America. Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural
Sciences 38, 55-66. pdf
Spiering, D. J. and R. L. Knight. 2005. Snag density and use by cavity-nesting birds in managed stands of
the Black Hills National Forest. Forest Ecology and Management 214, 40-52. pdf
Spiering, D. J. 2004. Wildlife use of snags in managed ponderosa pine stands in the Black Hills, South
Dakota. Thesis. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
McCoy, T.R., D.J. Spiering, and C.D. Kreh. 2002. Pine Log and Point Washington State Forests
Flatwoods Salamander Project: January - April, 2002. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation
Commission, Division of Wildlife - Bureau of Wildlife Management. Panama City, FL.
Professional Certification
Associate Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America, 2003 - 2013
Associate Wildlife Biologist by The Wildlife Society, 2006 - 2016
Professional Membership
Ecological Society of America
Society for Conservation Biology
The Wildlife Society
Buffalo Ornithological Society
Nature Sanctuary Society of WNY
Niagara Frontier Botanical Society
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