Eric was first hired by the ADCNR, State Lands Division as a terrestrial zoologist in the Natural Heritage Section (NHS) where he surveyed for rare and poorly known nongame wildlife species, documented rare natural communities, and coordinated nongame wildlife monitoring programs as part of larger regional initiatives, with an emphasis on public lands acquired through Alabama’s Forever Wild Land Trust Program). After 14 years in the NHS, his role shifted within the State Lands Division to manage the Wehle Land Conservation Center in Bullock County, Alabama. He served as facility manager and field ecologist, leading the stewardship of the surrounding Forever Wild grounds (~1000 ac) for applied conservation providing public outdoor recreational opportunities, and coordinating outreach programs at the nature center. Most recently, Eric transferred to the newly formed Nongame Resources and Wildlife Health Section as a Nongame Program Supervisor.
Eric is an alumnus of Jacksonville State University where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology. In graduate school, Eric studied habitat fragmentation effects on breeding birds on the former Fort McClellan military base in Anniston, Alabama Eric possesses a Master Permit to band birds and has operated a MAPS banding station for 20 years on the Wehle Forever Wild Tract. He annually participates at two migration banding stations including Whigg Meadow in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and Fort Morgan along coastal Alabama. He also coordinates the management and monitoring of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers on Coosa WMA in Coosa County, Alabama, which is the only state-owned property supporting an extant population. Eric serves as the Alabama state coordinator for the USGS Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and has led a “Birding by Ear” training workshop for partner agency personnel for many years. Eric volunteers his time as has served as President of the Alabama Ornithological Society (AOS), a member of the Alabama Bird Records Committee, and is the current editor for Alabama Birdlife. He also served on the Inland Bird Banding Association’s (IBBA) Board of Directors and is an eBird regional reviewer for southeast Alabama. Eric’s research collaborations are diverse and include the conservation of coastal marshbirds, migratory raptors, and several passerine species. Although the basis of his work focuses on birds and their conservation, his research and management interests are broad and often incorporate other taxa groups. Initiatives that have applied outcomes benefitting and enhancing the conservation and function of natural communities and their biodiversity are among the most important to him.