Smith, Charles R.

Senior Lecturer
Charles R. Smith is a naturalist, educator, and conservationist employed by Cornell University as a Senior Research Associate for the Department of Natural Resources and as a Senior Lecturer (summers only) for Cornell`s Adult University. From August 2003 until July 2004, and again from May 2007 through February 2008, he served as Interim Director of Natural Areas for Cornell Plantations. He also holds an Adjunct Associate Professorship in the Graduate Program in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Policy, Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany. He received his Ph.D. in wildlife ecology from Cornell University in 1977 and holds a B.S. (cum laude) for studies in botany, zoology, geology, physical geography, and meteorology from East Tennessee State University. Dr. Smith has more than 40 years of experience in teaching, research, and conservation related to plants, terrestrial vertebrates, butterflies, and odonates of eastern North America, including first-hand familiarity at the genus or species level with more than 85% of the vertebrate fauna of eastern North America, nearly 1000 species of vascular plants, and more than 120 species of North American and Caribbean butterflies.

research

research and scholarship focus

He works with graduate students in avian ecology and science-based conservation and teaches undergraduate courses in field biology, conservation of birds, and characterization of ecoregions. Dr. Smith has been active in research and conservation related to the birds of New York State and the Northeast for more than 30 years. Since 1992, he has coordinated the New York State Gap Analysis Project at Cornell and manages a broadly based research program in avian conservation and ecology, currently exploring applications of satellite imagery for describing relationships of birds to landscape patterns across large land areas. Since 1992, he has managed more than $2.8 million in research grants and contracts, and directed more than 25 projects to successful completion. He is author of more than 100 technical and popular papers and book chapters relating to birds and other organisms. He contributed several species accounts and two chapters on conservation and bird habitats to the revision of Birds of New York State, published by Cornell University Press in 1998. During 2007, is co-authored a chapter and wrote 12 species accounts for the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State, to be published by Cornell University Press in 2008. In 2005 he was invited to become Co-regional Editor for New York State for the Annual Counts of the North American Butterfly Association, published each year.

research areas

affiliations

academic staff in

teaching

teaching focus

In the Department of Natural Resources, Dr. Smith teaches Introductory Field Biology, Conservation of Birds, and Ecology and Conservation of Ecoregions. He also advises undergraduates in special research topics and honors thesis research topics related to bird conservation.

service

outreach focus

From 1977 through 1991, Dr. Smith worked for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in a variety of capacities, including Acting Director, Director of Education and Information Services, and Director of Special Projects. He has served as chairman of the Northeast Working Group of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Program ("Partners in Flight"), as president of the New York Chapter of The Wildlife Society, and as president of the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs. He has been an advisor and collaborator on bird conservation and management issues for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey/Biological Resources Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and to the Commissioners of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

background

educational background

Ph.D - Cornell University - 1977
B.S. - East Tennessee State University - 1970

publications

selected publications (listing in progress)

  • Smith, C.R. 2005. Birds. p. 180. In P. Eisenstadt (ed.), The Encyclopedia of New York State, Syracuse University Press.

  • Smith, C.R. 2005. Bird Watching. pp. 181-182. In P. Eisenstadt (ed.). The Encyclopedia of New York State, Syracuse University Press.

  • Smith, C.R., S.D. DeGloria, M.E. Richmond, S.K. Gregory, M. Laba, S.D. Smith, J.L. Braden, E.H. Fegraus, E.A. Hill, D.E. Ogurcak, and J.T. Weber. 2001. A Gap Analysis of New York NY-GAP. Final Report and Data. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, National Gap Analysis Office, Moscow, ID. 2-disc CD set (issued October 2001).

     

  • Mitchell, L.R., C.R. Smith, and R.A. Malecki. 2000. Ecology of Grassland Breeding Birds in the Northeastern United States - A Literature Review with Recommendations for Management. NY Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. 69 pp.

     

  • Brown, S.C. and C.R. Smith. 1998. Breeding season bird use of recently restored versus natural wetlands in New York. Journal of Wildlife Management 62(4): 1480-1491.

     

  • Smith, C.R. and S.K. Gregory. 1998. Bird habitats in New York State, pp. 29-41, in E. Levine (ed), Bull's Birds of New York State. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. 622 pp.

     

  • Smith, C.R. 1997. Use of public grazing lands by Henslow's Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, and associated grassland species in central New York State, pp.171-186, in P.D.Vickery and P.W. Dunwiddie (eds), Grasslands of North America: Ecology and Conservation of Native and Agricultural Landscapes. Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, MA. 297 pp.

     

  • Smith, C.R., D.M. Pence, and R.J. O'Connor. 1993. Status of Neotropical Migratory Birds in the Northeast: A Preliminary Assessment, pp. 172-188, in D.M. Finch and P.W. Stangel (eds.), Status and Management of Neotropical Migratory Birds. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-229. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 422 pp.

     

  • Smith, C.R., J. Giles, M.E. Richmond, J. Nagel, and D.W. Yambert. 1974. The mammals of northeastern Tennessee. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 49(3): 88-94.

     

  • Smith, C.R. and R.W. Pearman. 1971. A survey of the pteridophytes of northeastern Tennessee. Castanea 36(3): 181-191.
Keywords: biodiversity, biodiversity conservation, birds, butterflies, conservation, conservation biodiversity vertebrates birds butterflies GIS, gis, vertebrates