<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}VP_2.png" style="width: 250px; height: 188px; float: right;" />Among conservation biologists, it is common to find one group dedicated to the practice of conservation working for government agencies and private conservation organizations, while a second group, the academics, focus on conservation research and teaching. In Au Sable&rsquo;s course in <strong><em>Conservation Biology</em>, </strong>however, the Institute has been blessed with a unique individual who has depth of experience and skill at both, Vern Peters, Associate Professor at King&rsquo;s University, Edmonton, Alberta, and Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Alberta.</p>
<p>
	Vern&rsquo;s career in conservation began with multiple dimensions of experience in practical conservation management with Ducks Unlimited (a private conservation organization), the Alberta Pacific Forest Industry (an industry concerned with forest conservation and management), and a large federal government agency (the Canadian Forest Service). In these organizations, Vern worked for 11 years learning how to make conservation <em>work</em> in ways that involved hunters, the timber industry, and the general public in practical, concrete, and economically sustainable ways. Vern&rsquo;s second decade as a professional, from 2005 until now, has been focused on academia, teaching undergraduate students at King&rsquo;s University and graduate students at the University of Alberta the right way to understand and practice conservation biology as <em>science</em>, while at the same time making practical applications toward solving real conservation problems.</p>
