Project Manager Qualifications & Organization Description 

Dr. Chad Zirbel is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Zirbel received his PhD from Michigan State University in Plant Biology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (2018) and his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2012). Dr. Zirbel is currently the postdoctoral research associate studying bison reintroduction at Cedar Creek. Dr. Zirbel has 9 years of experience working in and studying Midwestern oak savannas and grasslands.  
Dr. Zirbel will serve as project coordinator, working with collaborators at the University of Minnesota and Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. Dr. Zirbel will coordinate the field sampling, trail camera sampling, and GPS collaring efforts. Dr. Zirbel will also lead the stakeholder’s meeting at Cedar Creek as a part of activity 3.  

Dr. Forest Isbell will act as a co-Principle Investigator at the University of Minnesota and will work with Dr. Zirbel to coordinate work at Cedar Creek. As Associate Director of Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, Dr. Isbell designs, conducts, and reports independent ecological research; manages Cedar Creek's land, staff, and budgets; and supervises Cedar Creek's Education and Outreach program. Isbell has conducted field research at Cedar Creek for eight years and is a co-Principle Investigator on the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research project based at Cedar Creek. Isbell has also received an NSF CAREER award, was a Lead Author on global and regional reports for the United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and was recognized by the Web of Science as one of the most highly cited researchers in the field of Ecology and the Environment. Isbell has published more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, including 11 publications in the world's top journals (Nature, Science, PNAS). 

Dr. Caitlin Barale Potter will co-lead Activity 3 at Cedar Creek coordinating educational programs and outreach events. Dr. Barale Potter organizes and leads outreach and educational events for thousands of students and members of the general public who visit Cedar Creek each year. 

Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve

Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve is a University of Minnesota biological field station that is world-renowned for its long-term ecological research. Its 5,500 acres includes many ecosystems and species found throughout the forests, grasslands, and wetlands of Minnesota and North America. Faculty, staff, and students who work at Cedar Creek are dedicated to discovering sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. We do this by: (1) investigating the fundamental processes that govern the dynamics and functioning of ecological communities and ecosystems, and how human activities are changing ecosystems; (2) sharing knowledge gained at Cedar Creek with citizens of the state, the nation, and the world; and (3) conserving natural ecosystems as platforms for study and as examples of intact ecosystems. Cedar Creek has a long history of ecology research and active research has been conducted within Cedar Creek’s oak savannas since the 1960s. 

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota is a land-grant institution of higher education, and ENRTF funding granted for this project would be managed by the University of Minnesota.