Joe Ganey
Rocky Mountain Research Station
In a long career in field ecology, I have had so many amazing moments that it is difficult to pick a single highlight. I vividly remember the first time I found a nesting pair of Mexican spotted owls. These owls are a species I ultimately studied for close to 40 years. Owls typically don’t build nests but instead rely on existing structures. This was a nest, however, and it contained two downy owlets. The nest was on a ledge on a red sandstone cliff. The cliff was in a canyon cut into the Coconino Plateau. Lush riparian vegetation filled the canyon bottom, and old-growth coniferous forests grew in between the rocky cliffs. It was a typical southwestern landscape. This experience inspired me to spend the next four decades as a scientist. I gathered scientific knowledge to support conservation of this and similar landscapes, along with their plants and animals.
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Scientists investigated what might happen to Mexican spotted owls as the air temperature continues to rise in a changing climate. The scientist wanted to know how warmer air temperatures might...Owl-ch! – How a Changing Climate Might Affect Mexican Spotted Owls
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USDA Forest Service: Joseph Ganey
Learn more about Joe Ganey's research at his Forest Service profile page.Visit Profile
