Ariana La Porte
In 2011 I fell in love with raptors while working for the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. In 2012 I fell in love with desert riparian systems while working on a yellow-billed cuckoo project. In 2013, I found that the two met along the San Pedro River, where I fell in love with Gray Hawks.
I am now a graduate student in the University of Arizona's School of Natural Resources and am thrilled to combine my passion for birds of prey with my dedication to riparian conservation. After graduating from Wesleyan University with degrees in sociology and environmental studies, I pursued my interest, wildlife conservation and became a field biologist. Jobs took me to Wyoming (bighorn sheep), Guyana (lizards), San Francisco (snowy plovers, elephant seals, spotted owls, clapper rails, tide-pool fauna), Alaska (martin, ermine, flying squirrels), Arizona (yellow-billed cuckoos), Puerto Rico (orioles), and Marin, CA (raptors). |
My work in California and Arizona brought my focus to the relationship between wildlife and water resources, and I found myself on the San Pedro River looking at how over-pumping and groundwater withdrawal could affect the riparian ecosystem. There, I discovered that as a riparian-obligate and top predator, Gray Hawks serve as an indicator for riparian health, and my study took off.