About Tom

Tom is one of our river enthusiasts.  After working on streams as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, Tom moved to Montana in 1996 to earn his Master's Degree at the Flathead Lake Biological Station under the mentorship of Dr. Jack Stanford.  His thesis examined the effects of nutrient-enriched ground water on algal production on the Nyack Flood Plain of the Middle Fork Flathead River.  During that time, he discovered his passion for paddling whitewater rivers.  Following the completion of his degree in 1998, Tom stayed on at the Station as a researcher conducting water quality studies, particularly related to the long-term monitoring of Flathead Lake.

In 2000, Tom switched gears from research and dove headfirst into environmental education.  For five years he taught field ecology courses, informing students of all ages about the wonders of our fresh waters and the threats they face.  His main position was as an instructor (and then a Board Member) for the Wild Rockies Field Institute (WRFI), a nonprofit organization based in Missoula that offers university-accredited courses in ecology and natural resource management and policy.  Tom also found time during this period to teach in Glacier National Park for the Glacier Institute, to lead educational rafts trips in Utah for the Canyonlands Field Institute, to present river ecology seminars for raft guides, to guide whitewater rivers commercially in Montana and Idaho, and to explore many of the great rivers of the Western U.S. on his own.  Tom still recognizes the value of educating people about our rivers and natural world and he continues to teach part time and serve on WRFI’s Board of Directors.

Tom returned to the Biological Station and to the realm of river research in March of 2005.  As a Biological Station Research Scientist, he serves as the Research Coordinator for the British Columbia component of the Station’s large international research project, the Salmonid Rivers Observatory Network (SaRON).  This position has Tom conducting and overseeing research operations on several rivers of north coastal British Columbia and Alaska.  He spends May–October in Terrace, BC, and returns to the Station for the winter months. 

Education

• M.S. 1998. Aquatic Ecology. Flathead Lake Biological Station, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
• B.A. 1994. Environmental and Evolutionary Biology. Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
• H.S. 1990. Groton School, Groton, MA
• Resume (MS Word, 38kb)

Angling for salmon during some rare spare time