Professional Biography of James A. Kushlan
James A. Kushlan is a writer, biologist, educator, and conservationist. Professional positions included director of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, senior science advisor U.S. Geological Survey, research associate at the Smithsonian Institution, professor at the University of Mississippi and Texas A&M-Commerce, and wildlife biologist with the U.S. National Park Service. As a conservation advocate, he has engaged internationally and nationally in multiple conservation initiatives. He holds a PhD from the University of Miami and two honorary doctorates. He lives in Coconut Grove, Florida, and Annapolis, Maryland.
In his writings, Dr. Kushlan has addressed the biology and conservation of birds, especially waterbirds, and the natural and human history of south Florida. His books The Herons, Heron Conservation, Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World, and Herons Handbook are foundational monographs of these waterbird species. In Conserving Herons, he provided a global action plan for herons; and, in Waterbird Conservation for the Americas, he led creating a continental plan for waterbird conservation. His books on south Florida history and natural history include Everglades National Park, Key Biscayne, Biscayne National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, and Seeking the American Tropics: South Florida’s Early Naturalists. His books Attracting Birds to South Florida Gardens and Birds of Fairchild advocate for bird conservation in south Florida. He served as editor of the journals Florida Field Naturalist and Waterbirds and founded and edited the Journal of Heron Biology and Conservation.
As a biologist and ornithologist, in addition to his books, he has published a body of over 270 articles and other publications. Dr. Kushlan served as the 51st president of the American Ornithologists’ Union (now American Ornithological Society), the largest professional ornithological association globally. He also was founding member and president of the Waterbird Society. He served as the director of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, historically the U.S. Department of Interior’s premier wildlife research laboratory.
Among his education roles were as professors and department chair at the University of Mississippi, professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce, service on state-wide education committees in Mississippi, as trustee and vice-chair of the board of John Cabot University, capital campaign chair and advisory committee member of the University of Miami’s College of Arts and Sciences, and president of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center. He provided leadership in creating Everglades literacy education program of the Everglades Foundation.
His conservation engagements have been international, national, and local in scope. Internationally, he served as a board member of the International Waterfowl and Wetland Research Bureau (United Kingdom) and as a founding board member of its successor Wetlands International (The Netherlands), on the board and as chair of Wetlands International – Americas, on the science board of Station Biologique Tour du Valat (France), on the advisory board of BirdLife International, as founder and chair of the North American Waterbird Conservation Initiative and its successor Waterbird Conservation for the Americas, as founder and chair of the Bahamas Environmental Fund, and founder and chair of HeronConservation – the IUCN Heron Specialist Group. Nationally, he has served as a committee member of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative and Partners in Flight, as a board member of the American Bird Conservancy and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and founder and chair of the Bird Conservation Alliance. Locally, he has served on the boards of the Nature Conservancy in Mississippi, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Tropical Audubon Society, HistoryMiami Museum, Friends of the Everglades, the Everglades Foundation, and the Zoo Miami Foundation of which he was chair.
His engagements in education, ornithology and conservation, especially waterbird conservation, have been recognized by several institutions. John Cabot University and Thiel College awarded him honorary doctorates. The University of Miami, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Waterbird Society, and BirdsCaribbean each have established named research and conservation grant programs. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden established the James A. Kushlan Bird Conservation Program. Zoo Miami created the James A. Kushlan Everglades Wading Bird Exhibit. John Cabot University named an academic building in his honor. The University of Miami established the James A. Kushlan Chair in Waterbird Biology and Conservation.
Dr. Kushlan’s scholarly interests have followed three related threads, the Everglades, waterbirds especially herons, and south Florida history and natural history. His graduate research at the University of Miami focused on defining the biology and role of the alligator pond within the southern Florida wetlands. This was followed by an array of studies of Everglades wildlife including wading birds, fish, alligators and crocodiles, and base line studies of such species of concern as the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, Florida panther and Florida Bay waterbirds. His research program especially focused on understanding the ecology of the Everglades and its wildlife in relation to seasonal fluctuations in hydrology and the natural resources management implications of these findings. The concepts have been extrapolated to wetlands more broadly. His Florida oriented studies also include the history and natural history of South Florida, especially of its national parks. He conducted studies of herons and other waterbirds around the hemisphere including seabirds in The Bahamas and Panama and herons in Mexico, Venezuela, Galapagos, Panama, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Bermuda, and the Caribbean islands.
Dr. Kushlan served as the director of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center from 1995 to 2001. Since its founding in 1936, the center famously served as the federal government’s primary wildlife research laboratory. His initial task was to manage the center through a severe reduction in budget and personnel and institutional realignment and, then, to increase staffing, budget and expand functions. The center’s scientific personnel were tripled; and its units eventually stretched from Maine to Georgia. In 2000, he accepted the invitation of the U.S. Geological Survey and Smithsonian Institution to fill a joint appointment as a senior advisor to USGS leadership and as a Smithsonian Institution research associate. Dr. Kushlan co-edited the book Heron Conservation, co-authored the book The Herons, founded and led the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan Initiative, bringing together hundreds of collaborators to produce a continental plan for waterbird conservation, of which he was senior author, and founded Waterbird Conservation for the Americas to continue the work. As leader of the waterbird initiative, he took part in writing the founding document for the North American Bird Conservation Initiative and served on the US national committee. In this period, he also served on national wildlife committees and as president of American Ornithologists’ Union.
Prior to serving as director of Patuxent wildlife Research Center, Dr. Kushlan was a professor of biology at the University of Mississippi from 1988 to 1998 and at East Texas State University (now Texas A&M, Commerce) from 1984 to 1987. At East Texas State he also was director of the Center for Water Resources Studies and in 1987 received the university’s annual distinguished faculty award. At the University of Mississippi, he served an eight year term as chair of the biology department where he led the department in a reorientation towards a specialty in freshwater biology and developed an aquatic biology field station. In his term, the department achieved notable increases in institutional metrics including grant funding, publication, credit hour production, majors, and advanced degrees awarded. In Mississippi, he also served on state-wide science and environment committees. During his academic career, he provided leadership in the development and growth of the Waterbird Society and its journal, serving as the society’s journal editor and president. He also founded and chaired the IUCN Heron Specialist Group. He served on the boards of the International Waterbird and Wetlands Research Bureau, exercising leadership in its evolution to Wetlands International. He served as a trustee of John Cabot University. He co-authored the books Heron Handbook and Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World.
Prior to his professorships, Dr. Kushlan served as a senior wildlife biologist with the National Park Service in Everglades National Park, from 1974 to 1984. There he engaged in establishing and growing the South Florida Research Center and conducted his studies of the Everglades and south Florida wetlands resulting in a substantive body of published work. He was appointed to the federal Florida panther and American crocodile recovery teams and chaired the Cape Sable Sparrow recovery team. He also edited the journal, Florida Field Naturalist.
He received doctorate in biological sciences in 1974 from the University of Miami, preceded by a master’s degree in 1972, and bachelor of science degree in 1969 graduating cum laude with majors in biology and chemistry.