Dedicated to the conservation of the herpetofauna.


The Mission of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation:

"To conserve amphibians, reptiles and their habitats as integral parts of our ecosystem and culture through proactive and coordinated public-private partnerships.”

Visionary Leader Award Winners

2011

The first-ever recipient of the PARC Visionary Leader Award is J. Whitfield “Whit” Gibbons, an Emeritus Professor at the University of Georgia and Head of the Environmental Outreach and Education Program at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Dr. Gibbons has devoted much of his life to herpetological research and conservation, and was a significant player in the founding and development of PARC and into its first decade. Read more about Whit… ”

2011

2011

The first-ever recipient of the PARC Visionary Leader Award is J. Whitfield "Whit" Gibbons, an Emeritus Professor at the University of Georgia and Head of the Environmental Outreach and Education Program at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Dr. Gibbons has devoted much of his life to herpetological research and conservation, and was a significant player in the founding and development of PARC and into its first decade.
 
VisionaryLeader02
J. Whitfield "Whit" Gibbons has been tremendously successful in developing students, >40 undergraduates and 45 graduates, and into driven professionals who go on to secure academic, state, and federal jobs, and many have become leaders in conservation science. He valued applied research before it was popular and while doing so, served as a powerful role model to undergraduates and Ph.D. students alike.

Whit has developed and fostered expansive environmental outreach programs centered on amphibian and reptile ecology and conservation. His outreach programs have included 100s of lectures and workshops, >1000 newspaper and magazine articles, educational videos and television productions, and 21 books focusing on herpetology and conservation.

Whit is a natural leader and has an innate ability to enthusiastically bring people together, to approach them within the context of their training and position, and to not belittle their perspective or absence of facts. He also has that far-reaching knowledge to put current issues into historical perspective through personal stories and often exciting field experiences with herps. It is not uncommon to find Whit with a cigar in one hand, and a snake in the other. PARC congratulates Whit Gibbons, our first PARC Visionary Leader.

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Who is PARC?

Our membership comes from all walks of life and includes individuals from state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, museums, pet trade industry, nature centers, zoos, energy industry, universities, herpetological organizations, research laboratories, forest industries, and environmental consultants.