Barzen, John (Jeb) Anthony Anthony

After receiving Wildlife Biology degrees from the University of North Dakota (M.S.-1989) and from the University of Minnesota (B.S.-1982), Jeb Barzen directed the Field Ecology Department at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) for 28 years and then founded and operated Private Lands Conservation LLC for the next 6 years.  Throughout this 34-year career, Jeb has focused on both long-term research and applying that research to the conservation of native ecosystems in North America, Southeast Asia and China.  Specifically, Jeb directed long-term research in central Wisconsin on both sandhill and whooping cranes.  Project results include developing an effective solution to damage that cranes cause to planted seeds and then adapting that solution to the marketplace so that it could be applied broadly.  With Whooping Cranes, resolving the long-term barriers to sustainable reintroduction was the focus.  With wetland and grassland ecosystems, long-term research focused on understanding small wetlands under variable hydrological conditions in Southeast Asia and promoting their importance for conservation (a SUMERNET project in part).  In China, the interest was in examining hydrologically dynamic lacustrine wetlands and in North America it was exploring the implications of longevity for many native species and how that affects the conservation of prairie and savanna ecosystems.  This body of research included publication of 49 peer-reviewed papers, mentorship of 25 graduate students (8 PhD, 17 MS) and teaching several university classes in both North American and Southeast Asia.

Further, the application of this work has been on improving conservation outcomes for both public and privately-owned lands through the marketplace or at least through engagement with people who live on (or near) those conservation lands – an idea exemplified by my own mentors in Southeast Asia.  Conservation efforts have led to the creation of national parks, funding of conservation products that benefit local people, and expanding the idea of whole-land management – a multiple resource approach to sustainability.  The work with Healthy Grown potatoes in Wisconsin mirror handicraft work arising from Phu My protected area because they both engage local people to act in their best economic interests.

Of course, all this work is beyond the scope of what one person alone can achieve.  These projects were successful only through collaboration with myriad colleagues who envisioned the same shared outcomes.