2022 Landscape Practitioner Award
David Theobald
Dr. David Theobald, Research Scientist at Conservation Planning Technologies in Fort Collins, Colorado, was awarded the 2022 Distinguished Landscape Practitioner Award by the North American Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (NA-IALE) at their Virtual Meeting this month. This honor is bestowed to individuals who have made outstanding contributions over a period of years to the application of the principles of landscape ecology to real-world problems.
Dr. Theobald’s research has focused on land-use trends in the United States, particularly when he was a faculty member at Colorado State University and as a postdoc within the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Program. He has completed more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.
In 2013, he founded his own company Conservation Planning Technologies, where he integrates spatial analysis and earth systems data and design to address conservation planning challenges from local to global scales. His book GIS Concepts and ArcGIS Methods is available from his website. He also has developed the Google Earth Engine toolbox LandSCaPeN, as well a Google Earth Engine data product and many other analysis tools. As one of the nominators stated, “All of these products are evidence of his application of the principles of landscape ecology in addressing societal needs”, which make him highly deserving of the award.
When asked what motivated him to practice landscape ecology, Dr. Theobald said, “For me, landscape ecology provides a powerful lens to understand our dynamic and living world. Originally I was simply fascinated by the patterns and palettes of landscapes interpreted through paintings and more recently through maps and imagery. More recently, I am compelled to practice the science of landscape ecology to understand why dynamic processes and complex patterns emerge, and how collectively we can make wiser and more just decisions.”
Dave holds a MSc in Geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a BS and PhD in Geography from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Dr. David Theobald, Research Scientist at Conservation Planning Technologies in Fort Collins, Colorado, was awarded the 2022 Distinguished Landscape Practitioner Award by the North American Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (NA-IALE) at their Virtual Meeting this month. This honor is bestowed to individuals who have made outstanding contributions over a period of years to the application of the principles of landscape ecology to real-world problems.
Dr. Theobald’s research has focused on land-use trends in the United States, particularly when he was a faculty member at Colorado State University and as a postdoc within the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Program. He has completed more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.
In 2013, he founded his own company Conservation Planning Technologies, where he integrates spatial analysis and earth systems data and design to address conservation planning challenges from local to global scales. His book GIS Concepts and ArcGIS Methods is available from his website. He also has developed the Google Earth Engine toolbox LandSCaPeN, as well a Google Earth Engine data product and many other analysis tools. As one of the nominators stated, “All of these products are evidence of his application of the principles of landscape ecology in addressing societal needs”, which make him highly deserving of the award.
When asked what motivated him to practice landscape ecology, Dr. Theobald said, “For me, landscape ecology provides a powerful lens to understand our dynamic and living world. Originally I was simply fascinated by the patterns and palettes of landscapes interpreted through paintings and more recently through maps and imagery. More recently, I am compelled to practice the science of landscape ecology to understand why dynamic processes and complex patterns emerge, and how collectively we can make wiser and more just decisions.”
Dave holds a MSc in Geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a BS and PhD in Geography from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
