Our People

Mark Anderson

Director of Conservation Science

Boston, Massachusetts

Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson Mark Anderson is TNC's Director of Conservation Science for the Eastern United States. © Ken Richardson

Areas of Expertise

Climate Resilience, Community Ecology, Conservation Planning, Landscape Ecology

Media Contact

Karen Foerstel
Email:

Biography

Mark provides science leadership, ecological analysis, and landscape assessments for conservation efforts across 22 states in the Eastern United States.  He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from University of New Hampshire and has worked as an ecologist for over 30 years – 27 with The Nature Conservancy. He has published widely on climate change resilience, large landscape conservation, biodiversity, and forest dynamics.  A co-author of the National Vegetation Classification, his current research interests focus on the intersection between ecological services, biodiversity, and geophysical properties.  He manages a team of six scientists specializing in landscape ecology, aquatic and terrestrial connectivity, marine spatial planning, and regional data management.

In 2017, Mark received TNC’s Conservation Achievement Award for his work to identify climate resilient “strongholds” – areas where complex topographies, elevations and geologies allow them to withstand climate impacts and continue supporting people and nature. Mark and his team have created a comprehensive map of these strongholds across the continental United States which is being used by TNC, government agencies and other conservation organizations to prioritize the most important lands and waters to protect in order to sustain the diversity of life on Earth.

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