Home
Michael Anderson, PhD 
Senior Conservation Advisor
Mike Anderson, one of the co-founders of IWWR, has been with DUC since 1990. He led IWWR's staff and scientific programs until 2010 and now serves as Senior Conservation Advisor to DUC. In that new role, in addition to advising conservation programs, Mike is working on a revision of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, DUC plans for adapting to climate change, and a couple of books. He continues to assist with strategic and operational planning for both IWWR and DUC operations.
Mike has been very involved in several national and international waterfowl management working groups and committees including the North American Waterfowl Management Plan's Science Support Team, and the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture's Waterfowl Working Group; both of which he helped establish. Currently he serves on the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee and chairs its science sub-committee. He was also deeply involved in organization of the “Future of Waterfowl Management” forum held in August, 2008 and presently serves on the Plan Revision Steering Committee. Previously he sat on the PHJV Advisory Board, NAWMP's Continental Evaluation Team, and chaired the PHJV's Evaluation Coordinating Committee. He also recently served on the NAWMP Continental Assessment Steering Committee and the Joint Task Group on Harvest Management and NAWMP Goals. Within DUC he has been part of the Conservation Program's Advisory Committee, the Prairie Vision team, the Western Boreal Forest vision and strategy teams, DU's first continental conservation plan writing team, and helped found "Ducks University", a short course on waterfowl and wetland ecology and conservation.
In 1992 Anderson co-authored The Ecology and Management of Breeding Waterfowl published by the University of Minnesota Press. He has authored and co-authored numerous scientific papers and technical reports. Over the years, he has been invited to speak at the meetings of many professional societies, has lectured at universities and participated in dozens of professional workshops.
Anderson has a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution and behavior from the University of Minnesota, a master's degree in wildlife science from Utah State University, and a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University. He has been involved in waterfowl research, primarily on the Canadian prairies, since 1972. His two largest projects have been a long-term study of Canvasback ecology, behavior and demography (1975-1990) and the PHJV assessment study (1991-2000). His current personal research interests include coherence in waterfowl management, variation in density-dependence in waterfowl populations, spatial and temporal variation in waterfowl recruitment, and the effects of global climate change on wetlands and waterfowl habitats.
