Author Archives Bruce Byers

About Bruce Byers

Bruce Byers Bruce Byers is an ecologist, writer, and international ecological consultant. His creative nonfiction writing tells stories of science and conservation from around the world. As an independent consultant, he assists government agencies, NGOs, and the private sector in the United States and worldwide with strategies for conserving biodiversity and improving the human-nature relationship.

Forests, Firewood, and “Low Emissions Development” in Serbia

10 December,2011 After a week of rushing from meeting to meeting in Belgrade, talking with government officials, scientists, and non-governmental organizations about the country’s plans for using renewable energy, using energy more efficiently, managing forests, and integrating economically and politically
Read More

Firewood, Hydropower, and “Low Emissions Development” in Macedonia

5 November 2011 About three-quarters of households in Macedonia are heated with firewood.  Wood is estimated provide 30% of residential energy, and around 10% of the total energy consumption of the country.  In a still-developing country, almost 40% of which
Read More

Forests, Communities, and “Low Emissions Development” in Albania

October 27, 2011 I never imagined having a chance to work in Albania until I was invited to provide a perspective on forestry, agriculture, and other land uses as part of a multi-agency U.S. team assessing the potential for assisting
Read More

Migrating Hawks and Monarchs, Cape May, New Jersey

October 10, 2011 Sipping coffee on my 5th Floor balcony at the Ocean Holiday Motel, overlooking the dunes and beach at Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, on Columbus Day, the scientist in me couldn’t resist even an amateur attempt to quantify
Read More

Yosemite National Park: John Muir and Conservation Philosophy, Monitoring Glaciers, and Payments for Ecosystem Services

October 1, 2011 In late September I made an Indian summer pilgrimage to the “Range of Light,” as John Muir called the Sierra Nevada. In My First Summer in the Sierra, published in 1911, Muir wrote: “When we try to
Read More

Malindi Marine National Park and Reserve

25 August, 2011 At the headquarters of the Malindi Marine National Park and Reserve we met with the Senior Warden and some of his staff. The park and reserve are managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).  The warden talked
Read More

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest

24 August, 2011 Athman Seif, director of “MaMa,” the Malindi Marine Association, met us at the Malindi Airport after the short flight from Lamu.  He would be our host and local guide for the next couple of days as we
Read More

Beaches and Dunes, Kiunga Marine National Reserve

21-22 August, 2011 About 8:30 on Sunday morning the boat pulled up in front of Lamu House.  We scrambled down the steps and climbed in with our gear, joining two staff members of the USAID-funded SECURE Project and two staff
Read More

Mangroves of Lamu

20 August, 2011 Dropping down to land at the Lamu Airport after a flight of a little over an hour from Nairobi gave a gull’s eye view of the extent of mangrove cover. Low forests of these salt-tolerant trees covered
Read More

Field of Dreams of Monarchs

September-October 2010 One day in May I dug up some young milkweed plants I spotted growing along the bikepath while on a run, and transplanted them to my garden.  I guess it was a hopeful “if you plant it, they
Read More