Past members and core group of individuals/organizations who's participation and contribution was critical to the BWG's mission and activities. How they contributed to BWG follows:

*** Bios are kept for historical context and acknowledgement of past contributions to the organization ***

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Dave Maehr, 1998-2008: Dave, a professor at University of Kentucky-Lexington and 2004 Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, was a founding member and scientific adviser to BWG on Panthers.

It is with great sadness that the Bordercats Working Group has to announce that Dr. Dave Maehr has tragically passed on. While doing what he loved best (studying Black bears), the airplane he was riding in fatally crashed after takeoff on June 20, 2008 in Florida.

This is a huge loss to the conservation community and the world at large. Dave had an innate way of communicating the complexities of what we do as conservationist; for positive action and educating others to honor the species we co-exist with.  For the later part of his career, he worked tirelessly researching and trying to protect the Florida Panthers and Black Bears.

Dave will be truly missed as both a mentor and a friend.  His legacy will live on in all that had the good fortune of knowing him. 

Click here for more information, click here for tribute story, and click here for a blog.

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Susan George: Susan is a Senior Staff Attorney with the Institute of Public Law, where she works on public interest issues such as wildlife protection and biodiversity conservation.  Prior to this, she served as Senior Counsel for Defenders of Wildlife for twelve years, where she co-authored numerous publications state wildlife law issues, including "Saving Biodiversity:  State Laws, Policies and Programs" and "Protecting New Mexico's Natural Heritage:  Recommendations on Steps Toward a Comprehensive Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for New Mexico." 

Ms. George also worked for the Western Environmental Law Center, as well as in a private firm where she focused on civil litigation and environmental issues, and has been an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she taught Wildlife Law.  Susan is a 1988 graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she was a Lead Articles Editor for the Natural Resources Journal and earned a Natural Resources certificate.  

Susan is legal adviser to the BWG. She is actively involved with both state and federal laws protecting bordercats. She will help determine how we can best promote recovery, from a legal perspective, in Mexico. Lastly, in areas like Texas, where private land predominates, Susan will assist BWG in designing land conservation projects with private land owners.

Paul Polechla: Paul, research associate professor at the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque, will help supervise our track surveys and field work for the bordercats and will supervise undergraduate and graduate students who will supplement our research efforts. Paul will help the BWG apply for grants and will set up a protocol with museums to obtain data on locations of bordercat specimens. He will also work with Melissa Grigione on collating all literature on bordercats.

Scott Royder: Scott, former Director of Communications and Grassroots Services of The Sierra Club-Austin, has been our primary conservation contact in Texas. Scott has kept us abreast of all activities which could potentially threaten ocelot and jaguarundi recovery in Texas, such as highway projects, housing developments, international bridges, and oil/gas pipelines. He coordinated our Rio Grande survey in March and will continue to coordinate efforts between south and west Texans who are involved in bordercat issues, including land owners. Lastly, Scott has gathered sighting information for bordercats in Texas and has incorporated this data into our GIS database.

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Diana Lawhorn: Diana, a Wildlife Biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission received her M.S. in Environmental Science & Policy at the University of South Florida.  During that time and while she was working for Defenders of Wildlife, she was the point person for gathering historical sighting data for the museum project that was used to create the historical sighting maps.  

A list of affiliate-scientists and institutions

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