Staff

Peter Morrison is the Executive Director, of Pacific Biodiversity Institute. He is an ecologist and GIS/remote sensing expert with a Masters in Forest Ecology from the University of Washington. He has over 30 years of work experience in ecological assessments, vegetation mapping, remote-sensing, GIS, botanical surveys, landscape analysis, conservation planning and project management. Recently, he has lead projects focused on forest and rangeland health assessments, field surveys and habitat mapping of imperiled and non-native species, landscape-level watershed and ecosystem analysis, mapping and analysis of wildlands, and the development of conservation priorities. He worked as an ecologist for Sierra Biodiversity Institute, the Wilderness Society, the US Forest Service, Oregon State University and the Sierra Club and as a consultant for government agencies and conservation organizations. Peter has received numerous awards for his conservation science work. His efforts have aided the protection of several million acres of critical habitat in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and Chile. Peter is an author or co-author of over 100 scientific reports, papers and book chapters.

George Wooten is a botanist and fire behavior analyst with a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry and graduate studies in Molecular Biology. George has worked for Pacific Biodiversity Institute for over 10 years on botanical surveys, ecological assessments and wildfire behavior analysis. He spent ten years as a Forest Service Botanist and Contracting Representative, during which time he helped map and plan the layout of the Okanogan National Forest’s plan and final EIS for the management of habitat for late-successional and old-growth forest related species.  He also works as an adjunct instructor for Wenatchee Valley College where he teaches Botany and Web Publishing.

Hans Smith is a conservation scientist, and GIS Analyst who works part-time with PBI. He started his work at PBI in 2003 as an intern and has worked with us for over six years. Now, he spends most of his time working for the Yakama Tribe as a project manager focused on salmon restoration. At PBI Hans participated in and managed projects focused on forest and rangeland health assessments, field surveys for rare plants, vegetation mapping, and studies of invasive species. He has also conducted landscape-level watershed and ecosystem-level spatial analysis. Hans has a Bachelors of Science in Conservation of Wildland Resources from the University of Washington College of Forest Resources and has advanced GIS training from ESRI. He has worked on numerous conservation projects in Washington, Oregon, Arizona and in Costa Rica. Hans is an author or co-author of 40 scientific reports.

Carol Fisher is our bookkeeper and office assistant. She lives on Studhorse Mountain, above our office and has a deep interest in creating a sustainable and ecologically responsible community.